How to Find the Grub in the Soul Sanctum in Hollow Knight

Learn how to find the Grub in the Soul Sanctum in Hollow Knight!

Hollow Knight, a Metroidvania action-adventure game developed by Team Cherry, tells the story of a nameless warrior known as the Knight as he travels over Hallownest, devastated by a terrible disease. As the Knight wanders around Hallownest, he will encounter several creatures that will help the player fully comprehend the game’s storyline. Some of these characters are cute little creatures called Grubs.

Grubs are small green creatures confined inside glass jars that the Knight will encounter throughout Hallownest. The Collector, a Void creature who enjoys collecting dead and alive bugs from all across Hallownest and keeping them in glass jars, captured these Grubs.

The Knight will detect the presence of a Grub because its high-pitched wailing can be heard in its vicinity. When they are discovered, the Knight can free them by striking the glass jar with the Nail and breaking it. When the Knight frees a Grub, it shouts a joyful yell and burrows into the ground to rejoin its colony with the Grubfather.

There is a total of 46 Grubs all around Hallownest, and there are rewards for freeing a certain number of them:

The Knight will receive Geo as a reward for the first four Grubs from the Grubfather, who is situated in the northwesterly corner of the Forgotten Crossroads (10 Geo for the first Grub, 20 Geo for the second, 30 Geo for the third, and 40 Geo for the fourth Grub found).
After rescuing the fifth Grub, the Grubfather will prize the Knight a Mask Shard.
After freeing the sixth through ninth Grubs, the Grubfather will reward the Knight with Geo (50 Geo for the sixth, 60 Geo for the seventh, 70 Geo for the eighth, and 80 Geo for the ninth Grub found).
After the Knight has freed the tenth Grub, the Grubfather will give the Knight the Grubsong Charm, which enables the Knight to gain Soul whenever they sustain damage.
After the Knight frees the 11th through 15th Grubs, the Grubfather will reward the Knight with Geo (90 Geo for the 11th, 100 Geo for the 12th, 110 Geo for the 13th, 120 Geo for the 14th, and 130 Geo for the 15th Grub found).
After freeing the 16th Grub, the Grubfather will give the Knight a Rancid Egg as a reward.
After freeing the 17th through 22nd Grubs, the Grubfather will reward the Knight with Geo (140 Geo for the 17th, 150 Geo for the 18th, 160 Geo for the 19th, 165 Geo for the 20th, 170 Geo for the 21st, and 180 Geo for the 22nd Grub found).
After the Knight has freed half (23) of the total number of Grubs, the Grubfather will award him a Hallownest Seal, and the Grubfriend Achievement will be unlocked.
After freeing the 24th to 30th Grub, the Grubfather will give the Knight some Geo (200 Geo for the 24th, 200 Geo for the 25th, 205 Geo for the 26th, 210 Geo for the 27th, 215 Geo for the 28th, 220 Geo for the 29th, and 220 Geo for the 30th Grub found).
To liberate the 31st Grub, the Grubfather will reward the Knight with a Pale Ore.
After releasing the 32nd to 37th Grubs, the Grubfather will reward the Knight with Geo (230 Geo for the 32nd, 235 Geo for the 33rd, 240 Geo for the 34th, 245 Geo for the 35th, 250 Geo for the 36th, and 255 Geo for the 37th Grub found).
The Grubfather will reward the Knight with a King’s Idol for freeing the 38th Grub.
The Grubfather will reward the Knight with Geo after releasing the 39th to 45th Grub (260 Geo for the 39th, 265 Geo for the 40th, 270 Geo for the 41st, 280 Geo for the 42nd, 290 Geo for the 43rd, 295 Geo for the 44th, and 300 Geo for the 45th Grub found).
The Grubfather will reward the Knight with the Grubberfly’s Elegy Charm, which allows the Knight to launch projectiles when attacking with the Nail and when at full health after rescuing all of the Grubs in Hallownest as well as unlocking the Metamorphosis Achievement.

This guide will teach you how to find all the Grubs in the Soul Sanctum!

Soul Sanctum Grub

A screenshot showing where to find the grub in the Soul Sanctum Area

There is only one Grub in the Soul Sanctum area, and it can be found on top of a platform on the left side of the room in the northwestern part of the Soul Sanctum, which is in the upper left part of the City of Tears.

The Knight will face various enemies along the path to the Grub in the Soul Sanctum, including Winged Sentries, Lance Sentries, Heavy Sentries, Follies, Mistakes, and Soul Twisters. In addition, the Knight will face the Soul Warrior, a mini-boss, and the Soul Master, a main boss, in the area.

To find the Grub in the Soul Sanctum, the Knight must have the Monarch Wings ability, which allows the Knight to perform a double jump in mid-air, the Mantis Claw ability, which allows the Knight to cling to walls and jump off of them, and the Descending Dark spell, which allows the Knight to strike the ground with concentrated Soul and shadow. Finding the Grub in the area will be easy with these spells and abilities.

To find the Grub in the Soul Sanctum, this is what the Knight must do (the following steps assume that this is the player’s first time in the Soul Sanctum):

Starting from the City Storerooms Stag Station, head to the left, take the exit, head to the left, drop down the gap, head to the bottom of the room, continue heading to the left, then drop down the exit that leads down.
Then, head to the bottom of the room using small platforms where the Knight will encounter some Winged Sentries and Lance Sentries and take the exit on the right.
Next, continue heading to the right, take the exit on the rightmost part of the room, and jump across the gap where the Knight will find a Bench. Sit on the Bench to heal and save your progress.
Then, head to the left, drop down the gap, take the exit at the bottom, head to the right, where the Knight will find a Heavy Sentry, and then take the exit on the rightmost part of the room.
After that, continue heading to the right, jump up the small platforms, and take the exit that leads upwards on the top right side of the room.
The Knight is now in the Soul Sanctum. Head to the right, jump up the platform above with the help of the Mantis Claw or the Monarch Wings ability, and ride the elevator on the left to go up; at the top, continue on the path on the left, then ride the next elevator up.
At the top, head to the right, where the path to continue and back will be closed, and the Knight will run into the Soul Warrior, which, as mentioned, is a mini-boss. The Knight must first defeat the Soul Warrior to continue. Once the Knight has defeated the Soul Warrior, continue and take the exit on the right.
Next, head up using the small platforms where the Knight will encounter a Soul Twister at the top of the shaft, take the path on the right, drop down the gap, hit the lever to open a shortcut, and ride the elevator on the right.
Then, head to the left, jump up the platform above where the Knight will find a Mistake, head to the right, jump up the next platform where the Knight will encounter another Mistake, and take the exit on the left.
After that, continue on the left, jump across the gap, jump across another gap, and take the exit on the leftmost side of the room.
Next, head to the left, drop down a narrow shaft, and head to the left again, and the Knight will face the Soul Master. The Knight must defeat the Soul Master to continue. The Soul Master will break the glass on the ground halfway during the battle, and the Knight and the Soul Master will continue fighting in this new arena. After defeating the Soul Master and obtaining the Desolate Dive spell, head to the left, head up the wall with the help of the Mantis Claw ability and take the exit.
After that, head to the left, where the Knight will run into two Follies and drop down on the gap, where the Knight will encounter many more Mistakes and Follies. Part of the floor of this open area is breakable glass, thanks to the Desolate Dive spell that was just obtained after defeating the Soul Master. Use the Desolate Dive spell on the glass floor to break it and break through two more glass floors.
Next, head back up the shaft with the help of the Mantis Claw ability, head to the left just under the platform where the Knight cast the Desolate Dive spell, and drop down the narrow shaft while clinging to the wall on the left also with the help of the Mantis Claw ability, move to the left after falling through the shaft so the Knight will land on a platform and not continue falling on the gap below where there will be more Follies and Mistakes.
Finally, the Knight will find a Grub trapped inside a glass jar! Strike the glass jar to break it and free the Grub!

Soul Warrior Tips

The Soul Warriors will teleport around the room and use the following moves: the Dive-Slash attack, where the Soul Warrior will disappear, reappear above the Knight, and slash down with its pinblade while falling.

The Soul Warrior will always start the battle with the Knight with this attack: the Dash-Slash attack, where the Soul Warrior will raise its pinblade then dash and slash towards the Knight’s current location; Skitter, where the Soul Warrior will walk forwards or backward slowly inside the arena then perform a different attack.

If the Knight gets close to the Soul Warrior while it is performing Skitter, the Soul Warrior may quickly dash backward. After it dashes, the Soul Warrior may then immediately perform the next move: Teleport, where the Soul Warrior will disappear and reappear around the room to perform a different attack or evade the Knight; the Conjure Orb attack, where the Soul Warrior will shoot a Soul orb that homes in on the Knight.

This attack is similar to the attack used by Soul Twisters and the Soul Master, and the Summon attack, where the Soul Warrior will constantly summon a Folly that follows the Knight and deals contact damage unless it is killed. The Soul Warrior will call a total of 24 Follies one by one, and there is no limit to the number of Follies that can be present inside the arena simultaneously.

Only the Soul Warrior in the room that can only be entered with the Elegant Key and the first Soul Warrior in the Trial of the Fool in the Colosseum of Fools can perform this attack.

When the Soul Warrior performs the Dive-Slash attack, it will pause mid-air before diving. When the Soul Warrior performs the Dash-Slash attack, it will wind up first before dashing and slashing toward the Knight. With this in mind, the Knight can evade the Dive-Slash attack by dashing out of the Soul Warrior’s landing spot and the Dash-Slash attack by jumping over the Soul Warrior and dashing out of the way.

When the Soul Warrior performs the Conjure Orb attack, it will also wind up. The Knight can just keep evading the homing Soul Orb until it collides with a surface, or the Knight can strike it to destroy it immediately. Because the Soul Warrior will only stay on the ground (unless when diving during the Dive-Slash attack), the conjured orbs are easy to anticipate.

As for the Soul Warrior’s Summon attack, the Follies will spawn even if the Soul Warrior is moving or attacking. It is advisable to get rid of the Folly as quickly as possible before another one spawns, as doing so will just make evading the Soul Warrior and the Follies that are roaming around the arena more difficult.

The ideal moment to attack the Soul Warrior is after it does its Dive-Slash attack or Dash-Slash attack, as it will pause for a while after both attacks. After it does the Dive-Slash attack and before it recovers, the Knight can attack it as much as possible. After it performs the Dash-Slash attack, the Knight can jump and attack it from above.

In terms of spells, the Vengeful Spirit Spell is the most useful because it is a rapid spell that will fly forward and hit foes in its pathway. It would be advantageous to cast this spell and hit both the Soul Warrior and the summoned Follies simultaneously.

Charms can also help the Knight defeat the Soul Warrior: The Mark of Pride and Longnail Charm can help by increasing the length of the Knight’s Nail, the Shaman Stone Charm can help by increasing the size and damage of Spells, the Grubsong Charm can help by gaining Soul every time the Knight takes damage, the Spell Twister Charm can help by reducing the amount of Soul needed to cast Spells, the Defender’s Crest Charm can help by summoning damaging clouds around the Knight to kill the Follies, and the Spore Shroom Charm can help by releasing a cloud of damaging spores around the Knight.

Soul Master Tips

The fight between the Knight and the Soul Master is broken into two phases:

First Phase

In the first phase, the Soul Master will execute these attacks: Dash, where the Soul Master will dash across the arena and deal contact damage. This can be evaded by jumping and dashing; the Orb attack, where The Soul Master will launch a soul orb from his head that will target the Knight and only come to a stop if it strikes the Knight, a wall, or the ground.

Be careful not to be tricked because Orb and Dash’s first assault animations may resemble one another. If the Knight is next to the Soul Master, this attack will not hit the Knight. On the other hand, if the Knight is far enough away from the Soul Master, this strike can be avoided by jumping or dashing away; the Clock attack, where the Soul Master will levitate across the arena surrounded by four orbs.

If Soul Master is levitating to the left side of the arena, the orbs will revolve clockwise and counterclockwise if Soul Master is levitating to the right side of the arena. Soul Master will vanish after levitating across the arena, but the orbs will remain and levitate across the arena again.

When Soul Master executes this, it is easily attacked; just be wary of the orbs; the Slam attack, where the Soul Master will target the Knight before slamming straight down onto the ground, causing a shockwave to reverberate across both sides of the arena; and the Fake Out Slam attack, where it begins similarly to the Slam attack, but halfway down the drop, Soul Master will reset and perform the Slam attack on the Knight’s new and current position, creating a shockwave on impact. The reset in the middle of the Slam attack indicates that Soul Master will use the Fake Out Slam.

To move about the arena, Soul Master will either teleport or he will teleport at least once before performing an attack.

Attack Soul Master from below while he produces orbs for the Orb attack or during the Clock attack by trying to keep up with and striking below him. Conversely, there will be plenty of opportunities to heal, particularly when he staggers and deflates, which will happen after doing a certain amount of damage to him. After the Clock assault, there is an additional chance to heal. You will be protected and unaffected by orbs if you stay in the middle.

Second Phase

The Soul Master will appear defeated after suffering a specific amount of damage from the Knight and will drop the Desolate Dive spell for the Knight. However, the Soul Master will return, slam on the ground, and change the fight arena as soon as the Knight tries to absorb the spell.

Soul Master will perform these attacks during the second phase: the Altered Slam attack, where the Soul Master will follow the Knight and slam into the ground, causing a massive blast instead of a shockwave. Soul Master can perform this strike in rapid succession, and this attack can be avoided by fleeing the blast zone; the Fake Out Altered Slam attack is the same as the original Fake Out Slam attack but with the Altered Slam attack.

Watch out for the reset during the Altered Slam attack since this is the sign that Soul Master will do the Fake Out Altered Slam, just like the original Fake Out Slam. This can also be avoided by avoiding the blast’s vicinity and the Altered Orb attack, where the Soul Master will hover in one spot briefly before summoning orbs on other areas of the arena that will still chase the Knight. As Soul Master will remain stationary, this could be an opportunity to attack. Just watch out for the homing orbs.

Anticipating and avoiding attacks is critical during this phase because the Knight will have fewer opportunities to heal. Despite the changes to Soul Master’s attacks, this phase will be easier than the first since it is simpler to anticipate his attacks.

There are more attack opportunities when Soul Master performs the Altered Orb attack. Don’t be too greedy with your attacks during this window since you should still be able to manage the orbs homing in on the Knight.

Equipping Charms will undoubtedly aid in the battle against the Soul Master. Charms such as Spell Twister charm to reduce the Soul required to cast spells, Soul Catcher charm to increase the Soul gained from hitting enemies, Longnail or Mark of Pride charm to increase the range of the Knight’s Nail (by 15% for Longnail Charm and 25% for Mark of Pride Charm), and Fragile Strength charm to increase attack damage are recommended.

After finding the Grub in the Soul Sanctum, the Knight is one step closer to finding them all, receiving the Grubberfly’s Elegy Charm and unlocking the Metamorphosis Achievement!