How to Find All the Grubs in the City of Tears in Hollow Knight

Learn how to find all the grubs in the City of Tears in Hollow Knight!

Hollow Knight is a Metroidvania action-adventure game developed by Team Cherry. It follows a nameless warrior known as the Knight as they travel over Hallownest, which a terrible infection has ravaged.

As the Knight goes around Hallownest, he will meet a variety of individuals who will help the player fully appreciate the game’s plot. Some of these characters are cute little animals called Grubs.

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

The Knight will detect the existence of a Grub because its high-pitched wailing can be heard in its vicinity. When discovered, the Knight can release them by shattering the glass jar with the Nail.

When the Knight frees a Grub, it makes a joyful cry and burrows into the ground to rejoin its colony with the Grubfather.

Hollow Knight Grub Rewards

There are rewards for liberating a specific number of the 46 Grubs that are strewn about Hallownest:

The Grubfather, who is situated in the northwesterly corner of the Forgotten Crossroads, will provide the Knight Geo as a reward for the first four Grubs (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 the Knight saves the fifth Grub, the Grubfather will reward the Knight with 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).
The Grubfather will give the Knight the Grubsong Charm after the Knight has saved the tenth Grub. This charm enables the Knight to collect Souls whenever they sustain an injury.
After the Knight releases the 11th through 15th Grubs, the Grubfather will reward him 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).
The Grubfather will award the Knight with a Rancid Egg after freeing the 16th Grub.
After freeing the 17th through 22nd Grubs, the Grubfather will give the Knight some 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 all the Grubs, the Grubfather will grant him a Hallownest Seal, and the Grubfriend Achievement will also become unlocked.
After freeing the 24th through 30th Grubs, the Grubfather will offer 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).
For freeing the 31st Grub, the Grubfather will reward the Knight with a Pale Ore.
After releasing the 32nd through 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 Knight will get a King’s Idol from the Grubfather for freeing the 38th Grub.
The Grubfather will reward the Knight with Geo after releasing the 39th through 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 give the Knight the Grubberfly’s Elegy Charm as a gift for saving all of the Grubs in Hallownest and earning the Metamorphosis Achievement. This charm enables the Knight to fire projectiles when using the Nail and at full health.

In this guide, you will learn how to find all the Grubs in the City of Tears!

The City of Tears Hollow Knight Grub 1

A screenshot of a location of one of the grubs in the City of Tears in Hollow Knight

There are a total of eight Grubs in the City of Tears, and one of them can be found on top of a platform in an area guarded by a Winged Sentry near the entrance of the Soul Sanctum near the middle of the map of the City of Tears.

There are various enemies in the City of Tears, but on the way to the first Grub, the Knight will run into Winged Sentries, Lance Sentries, and a Heavy Sentry.

Before the Knight can free the first Grub, it is required that the Knight has the Mantis Claw ability, which allows the Knight to cling to walls and jump off of them, or the Monarch Wings ability, which allows the Knight to perform a secondary jump in midair.

With either of these abilities, finding the first Grub will be a piece of cake.

To find the first Grub in the City of Tears, this is what the Knight must do this:

Start from the City Storerooms Stag Station, go to the left to exit the room, head to the bottom, continue to the left, and then drop down the exit.
Next, head to the bottom of the room using small platforms in the middle, where the Knight will run into some Winged Sentries and Lance Sentries and take the exit on the right.
Afterward, go to the right, take the exit at the end of the path, and jump across the gap into the next room, where there is a Bench. Here, the Knight can heal, change the equipped charms, or 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, then ride the elevator just one level down.
Next, head to the right, where the Knight will run into a Winged Sentry and head up the platform above by double jumping using the Monarch Wings ability or climbing up the wall on the right and then jumping towards the platform using the Mantis Claw ability.
Finally, the Knight will find a Grub trapped inside a glass jar! The Knight can now break the glass jar and free the Grub!

The City of Tears Hollow Knight Grub 2

The second Grub in the City of Tears is located in the northwest corner of the Soul Sanctum, a sub-area in the upper left half of the City of Tears, on top of a platform on the left side of the room.

Along the way to the Grub in the Soul Sanctum, the Knight will encounter a variety of foes, including Winged Sentries, Lance Sentries, Heavy Sentries, Follies, Mistakes, and Soul Twisters.

The Soul Master, a main boss in the area, and the Soul Warrior, a mini-boss, will also be encountered by the Knight.

The Knight must have the Mantis Claw ability, which enables the Knight to cling to walls and jump off of them, the Monarch Wings ability, which enables the Knight to perform a double jump in midair, and the Descending Dark spell, which enables the Knight to strike the ground with concentrated Soul and shadow. With these spells and abilities, locating the second Grub in the area will be simple.

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

From the City Storerooms Stag Station, head to the left to 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.
Afterward, head to the bottom of the room using small platforms where the Knight will run into some Winged Sentries and Lance Sentries and take the exit on the right.
Then, continue to the right, take the exit at the end of the path on the right, and jump across the gap into the next room, where the Knight will find a Bench. Sit on the Bench to heal and save your progress.
Next, 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, then take the exit on the rightmost part of the room.
After that, continue 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 has now arrived in the Soul Sanctum. Head to the right, head up the platform above with the help of the Mantis Claw ability 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 Knight will be trapped in an open area, and the Knight will find 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.
Then, head up using the small platforms where the Knight will run into a Soul Twister; at the top, take the path on the right, drop down the gap, hit the lever to open a shortcut, and then ride the elevator on the right.
Next, head to the left, jump up the platform above where the Knight will run into a Mistake, head to the right, jump up the next platform where the Knight will find another Mistake, and head to the left to take the exit.
After that, head to the left, jump across the gap, jump across another gap, and take the exit at the end of the path on the left.
Then, head to the left, drop down a narrow shaft, and head to the left again, and the Knight will encounter the Soul Master. The Knight must defeat the Soul Master to continue. Halfway through the fight, the Soul Master breaks the glass that was on the ground, and the Knight and Soul Master continue fighting down below in this new arena. After defeating the Soul Master and obtaining the Desolate Dive spell, head to the left, climb up the wall with the help of the Mantis Claw ability, then take the exit.
Next, head to the left, where the Knight will find two Follies and drop down on the gap, where the Knight will run into many more Mistakes and Follies. On the floor of this open area is breakable glass. Use the Desolate Dive spell on the glass floor to break it and break through two more glass floors below.
Next, climb back up the shaft with the help of the Mantis Claw ability, head to the left on the platform just below the platform where the Knight used the Desolate Dive spell, and drop down the narrow shaft while sliding on the wall on the left, 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 the Knight will have to fight more Follies and Mistakes.
Finally, on this platform, the Knight will find a Grub trapped inside a glass jar! Strike the glass jar to break it and free the Grub!

The City of Tears Hollow Knight Grub 3

The third Grub in the City of Tears can be found in the leftmost part of a room near the middle of the Watcher’s Spire, a sub-area in the City of Tears.

The Knight will battle several enemies in the City of Tears and Watcher’s Spire, but the Knight will only encounter a Winged Sentry and a Lance Sentry on the way to the third Grub.

The Knight must first learn the Mantis Claw ability, which lets the Knight cling to walls and jump off them before the Knight can find the specified Grub.

Although not required, to navigate Watcher’s Spire more easily, it is advised that the Knight have the Monarch Wings ability, which allows the Knight to make a double jump in mid-air, and the Mothwing Cloak ability, which allows the Knight to rush forwards. With these abilities, finding the Grub in the Watcher’s Spire will be a breeze.

To find the third Grub in the City of Tears, this is what the Knight must do:

From the Bench on the western part of the Watcher’s Spire, head to the right to exit, jump across the gap, continue to the right, drop down the platform, jump across a gap, jump across another gap, head to the right, then take the exit on the top right corner of the room.
After that, head up the wall on the right using the Mantis Claw ability, where the Knight will find a Winged Sentry, jump towards the platform on the left, head to the left, and then ride the elevator up.
Next, head to the right, take the exit above, head up the shaft using the Mantis Claw ability, head to the left, and then drop to the open area where the Knight will run into a Lance Sentry.
Finally, head to the left and the Knight will find a Grub trapped inside a glass jar! The Knight can now strike the glass jar to break it and free the Grub!

The City of Tears Hollow Knight Grub 4

The fourth Grub can be found at the end of a room southeast of the City of Tears.

As mentioned, there are a lot of different enemies in the City of Tears, but the Knight will only encounter the following enemies on the way to the fourth Grub: a Husk Hornhead, Husk Dandies, Gluttonous Husks, Cowardly Husks, and Great Husk Sentries,

Before the Knight can find the fourth Grub, the Knight must have the Mothwing Cloak ability, which allows the Knight to perform a horizontal dash forward.

With this ability, finding and freeing the fourth Grub in the City of Tears will be no challenge.

To find the fourth Grub in the City of Tears, this is what the Knight must do this:

From the King’s Station Stag Station, head to the left to exit; the Knight will then be in a room where there is a Husk Hornead, a Husk Dandy, and a Gluttonous Husk, drop to the bottom of the room, and head to the left to take the exit.
Next, head to the left, where the Knight will encounter a Cowardly Husk, a Husk Dandy, and a Great Husk Sentry; jump up the next platform above on the left, jump up the small platform above on the right, and jump then dash with the help of the Mothwing Cloak ability towards the large platform above on the left.
Then, head to the left, where the Knight will find a Husk Dandy and a Great Husk Sentry; jump towards the platform slightly above on the left at the end of the path, jump towards the platform above on the right, jump up the small platform above on the left, jump up the platform above, jump and dash using the Mothwing Cloak ability towards the platform on the right, then jump and dash again towards the next platform on the right.
After that, head to the right, jump up the next platform above on the right, jump towards the platform below on the right where the Knight will encounter a Cowardly Husk and a Gluttonous Husk, and drop down the gap on the left while moving to the right where the Knight will land on a platform with another Gluttonous Husk and an entrance to a room.
Finally, enter the room, and inside, the Knight will find a Grub trapped inside a glass jar! The Knight can now break the glass jar and free the Grub!

The City of Tears Hollow Knight Grub 5

The fifth Grub in the City of Tears can be found inside a hidden passageway on the southeasternmost part of the map of the City of Tears.

There are many enemies in the City of Tears, but the Knight will only encounter a Husk Hornhead, a Husk Dandy, a Gluttonous Husk, Vengeflies, and Belflies on the way to the fifth Grub.

Fortunately, the Knight does not need any abilities or spells to find and free the mentioned Grub.

To find and free the fifth Grub in the City of Tears, this is what the Knight must do:

From the King’s Station Stag Station, exit the room on the left; the Knight will be in a room with a Husk Hornead, a Husk Dandy, and a Gluttonous Husk; head to the bottom of the room, and exit the room on the bottom right.
Next, head to the right, where the Knight will find two Vengeflies, drop down on the water, swim to the right, and the Knight will pass through a hidden passageway.
After that, the Knight will find a Belfly from the ceiling, which will dive down and explode, so dodge or hide below the platform to avoid damage, jump towards the platform, and head to the right, where the Knight will run into another Belfly.
Finally, drop down on the gap, drop down the water on the left, swim to the left, and on top of a platform, the Knight will find a Grub trapped inside a glass jar! The Knight can now strike the glass jar to free the Grub!

The City of Tears Hollow Knight Grub 6-8

The sixth, seventh, and eighth Grubs are located at the top of the Tower of Love, which may be accessed from the middle of the Kingdom’s Edge.

The Knight will face enemies in the City of Tears and Kingdom’s Edge. During the journey to the Grubs, the Knight will encounter the following enemies: a Gluttonous Husk, Vengeflies, Belflies, Booflies, Hoppers, Primal Aspids, and the Collector, a secret boss in the area.

Before the Knight can find the Grubs, the Knight must first acquire the Mantis Claw ability, which allows the Knight to cling to walls and jump off of them.

Although not required, having the Isma’s Tear ability, which allows the Knight to swim in pools of acid, the Mothwing Cloak ability, which allows the Knight to perform a horizontal dash, and the Monarch Wings ability, which allows the Knight to perform a secondary jump in mid-air, would be greatly helpful. With these abilities, getting to the Tower of Love and rescuing the Grubs will be a breeze.

Related: Best Hollow Knight Charms

Additionally, before the Knight can enter the Tower of Love, the Knight must first obtain the Love Key, which can be found at the right end of the path near the bottom-rightmost area of the Queen’s Gardens.

Once the Knight has the Love Key, the Knight can enter the Tower of Love and find the Grubs! To find the sixth, seventh, and eighth Grubs, this is what the Knight must do this:

From the King’s Station Stag Station, take the exit on the left, drop to the bottom of the room, and take the exit on the right.
Next, head to the right, where there are two Vengeflies, drop down on the water, swim to the right, and pass through a hidden passageway.
After that, jump up the platform above where there is a Belfly, jump towards the platform above on the right, head to the right where the Knight will run into two separate Belflies, and then take the exit.
The Knight has now arrived in Kingdom’s Edge. If the Knight already has Isma’s Tear ability, head to the right, where the Knight will find a Boofly, jump towards the small platforms, head up using the small platforms towards a ledge, and exit on the right. If the Knight has not yet learned Isma’s Tear, the Knight must take the exit on the bottom right of the middle room of Kingdom’s Edge, then proceed up the room and take the exit that leads upwards.
Then, drop down the pool of acid, swim to the right through the narrow path, jump up the small platform, and head up the room with the help of the ledges and platforms where the Knight will run into a Primal Aspid, a Boofly, another Primal Aspid, another Boofly, and another Primal Aspid, then take the next exit on the left.
Next, head to the left, where the Knight will run into a Hopper and a Boofly; jump to the small platform below on the left where the Knight will find a Primal Aspid and a Belfly; jump to the small platform below on the left; jump to another small platform below on the left, jump to the small platform on the left, and jump to the platform on the left where the Knight will find another Belfly.
After that, head to the left, drop down the shaft on the left, where the Knight will run into another Hopper, and then head to the left to exit the room.
The Knight is finally at the entrance of the Tower of Love! Cross the gap on the left, inspect the locked door, confirm on the prompt to use the Love Key, and enter the Tower of Love.
It is recommended to drop down the shaft before the entrance to the Tower of Love and then activate the shortcut by pressing the switch on the right side of the section toward the bottom to avoid repeating all prior steps when returning to the Tower of Love. The shortcut can be found in an exit above just before the entrance to Kingdom’s Edge.
Then, head to the left, climb up the wall on the left using the Mantis Claw ability, jump towards the platform on the right, and head to the right, where there will be glass jars with one having a dead bug inside. Another one with a live Vengefly, climb up the next shaft, jump to the platform on the left, head to the left where there will be more glass jars with one of them having another Vengefly, climb up the next shaft, and jump to the platform on the right.
After that, head to the right, where the Knight will become stuck in an open arena and must fight the Collector. The Knight must defeat the Collector to continue.
Finally, head to the right, climb up the shaft, jump to the platform on the left, and head to the left. There, the Knight will find three Grubs trapped inside glass jars! The Knight can now strike the glass jars and free the Grubs!

After freeing all of the Grubs in the City of Tears, the Knight is one step closer to rescuing them all, obtaining the Grubberfly’s Elegy Charm, and unlocking the Metamorphosis Achievement!