How to Obtain the Collector’s Map in Hollow Knight

Learn how to obtain the Collector’s Map in Hollow Knight!

Hollow Knight, a Metroidvania action-adventure game from Team Cherry, recounts the adventures of an unnamed warrior known as the Knight as he moves through Hallownest. This kingdom is now in ruins due to a supernatural infection. The Knight can acquire new spells, charms, abilities, and items as they explore Hallownest, which will help them move across various terrain features of the overworld and eliminate enemies.

One of the items in the game is the Collector’s Map. This item marks the location of all 46 Grubs on any of the Knight’s purchased maps. This guide will teach you how to obtain the Collector’s Map! The Knight can get rewards for freeing Grubs like Geo, a Mask Shard, a Hallownest Seal, Charms, and more. Finding and freeing half (23) of the total Grubs unlocks the ‘Grubfriend’ Achievement, and freeing all 46 Grubs unlocks the ‘Metamorphosis’ Achievement.

Location

The Collector’s Map in Hollow Knight can be found at the top of the Tower of Love, which is in the rightmost part of the City of Tears. Before the Knight can obtain the Knight, the Knight will have to defeat the Collector, a hidden boss in the game.

Additionally, the Knight must first obtain an item called the Love Key before the Knight can enter the Tower of Love, defeat the Collector, and obtain the Collector’s Map.

Love Key

The Love Key can be found at the far end of the room near the bottom-rightmost part of the Queen’s Gardens, held by a corpse who was the original inhabitant of the Tower of Love.

The Knight will face a variety of enemies in the Queen’s Gardens. On the way to the Love Key, the Knight will encounter the following enemies: Oomas, Tomas, Spiny Husks, Fool Eaters, Mossflies, Mantis Petras, and Mantis Traitors.

Before the Knight can go to the Queen’s Gardens and find Love Key, the Knight must have the Isma’s Tear ability, which allows the Knight to swim in pools of acid, the Mantis Claw ability, which allows the Knight to stick and slide to walls and jump off of them, and the Mothwing Cloak ability, which allows the Knight to perform a horizontal dash forward.

Although not required, having the Monarch Wings ability, which allows the Knight to perform a secondary jump in mid-air, would be helpful. With these abilities, getting to the Queen’s Gardens area and finding the Love Key will be a breeze.

This is what the Knight must do to find the Love Key in the Queen’s Gardens (assuming this is the Knight’s first time in the area):

1. Starting from the Queen’s Station Stagway Bench, head to the right and take the exit, jump up the small platforms to head to the very top, then take the exit on the top left of the room.
   
2. Upon entering, the Knight will be in Fog Canyon. In this area, the Knight will encounter many Uomas and Oomas. Be cautious when attacking Oomas, as it will cause its shell to pop, and its orange core will follow the Knight and explode. Head up by jumping on the platforms, sticking to the left side of the room while moving up, and taking the next exit on the left in the middle of the room.
   
3. Next, head to the left, where there is a pool of acid and a wall of thorns. Drop down and swim to the left of the pool of acid (thanks to Isma’s Tear ability), pass through the narrow space below the wall of thorns, and jump to the next platform where there is a gate. The room will now be filled with greenery; continue heading to the left, jump up the platforms, and take the exit at the end of the path.
   
4. Then, upon entering the next room, the Knight is now in the Queen’s Gardens! Head to the left, where the Knight will encounter a Spiny Husk, drop down a few platforms where the Knight will encounter a Mossfly, and continue to the left, where the Knight will run into two Mossflies, a Spiny Husk and another separate Spiny Husk.
   
5. As the Knight continues heading to the left, you will see that part of the floor is vines filled with thorns. Jump and dash or perform a secondary jump over the thorns with the help of the Monarch Wings ability or the Mothwing Cloak ability, head to the left, then take the exit at the end of the path.
   
6. After that, head to the left, where the Knight will find a Mantis Petra, drop down on the gap on the left, then head downwards using the small platforms that drop down after being touched (the room’s floor is covered in thorny vines, so be careful not to fall there) where the Knight will run into another Mantis Petra and two more Mossflies, then head for the exit on the bottom right of the room next to the vines with thorns.
   
7. Next, head to the right, where there are several stable and dropping platforms and thorny vines on the bottom. Once the Knight is in the middle of this part of the room, the Knight will be trapped inside this little area, and the Knight must defeat the enemies in the room to continue. Here, the Knight will have to defeat three Mantis Petras. 
   
8. After defeating all the Mantis Petras, head to the newly-opened path on the right, drop down the gap, head to the right, drop down another gap where there is a closed exit on the right, drop down the gap on the left towards a dropping platform, jump towards the next dropping platform on the left (be careful not to hit the thorns on the ceiling and the floor), and dash towards the safe ground on the left with the help of the Mothwing Cloak ability where the Knight will run into a Fool Eater.
9. Then, dash towards the next dropping platform on the left, jump, and dash towards the next safe platform on the left, where the Knight will run into another Fool Eater, and jump down the shaft on the left, where the Knight will run into another Fool Eater at the bottom.
   
10. Next, jump and dash towards the next dropping platform on the right, jump and dash towards the safe platform on the right where the Knight will find a Mantis Petra, jump and dash towards the next dropping platform on the right, jump and dash towards the platform on the right where there is a lever, and strike the lever to open the closed gate from earlier.
    
11. After that, jump and dash towards the platform on the right, jump up the wall on the right, head up the path with the help of the Mantis Claw ability where there is a wooden barrier on the left wall at the top, attack the wooden barrier several times to break it and reveal a path, jump up towards the previous platform above, and take the newly-opened exit on the right.
    
12. Then, jump across the gap towards the platform above on the right, head to the right, dash across the gap, continue heading to the right, head down the gap, head down using the dropping platforms where the Knight will find two Mossflies, then take the next exit on the right.
    
13. Next, head to the right, where the Knight runs into a Mossfly; drop down the small platform below on the right, where the Knight will find another Mossfly; drop-down another small platform below on the left, where the Knight will find another Mossfly, drop down towards the small platform below on the right, and jump towards the platform on the right where there is a Geo Deposit.
    
14. After that, head to the right, drop on the pool of acid, swim to the right through the narrow path, jump up the platform, and head to the right, where the Knight will run into two Mantis Traitors.
    
15. Finally, at the end of the room, the Knight will find a corpse holding something glowing. Inspect the glowing thing, and the Knight has now obtained the Love Key!

Now that the Knight has the Love Key, the Knight can enter the Tower of Love, defeat the Collector, and find the Collector’s map!

The Collector’s Map in Hollow Knight

Again, the Collector’s map can be found at the top of the Tower of Love, a sub-area on the rightmost part of the City of Tears, and can be entered through the central cliff of the Kingdom’s Edge.

The Knight will encounter various enemies in the City of Tears and Kingdom’s Edge. On the trip to the Collector’s Map, the Knight will confront these particular enemies: a Husk Hornhead, a Husk Dandy, a Gluttonous Husk, Vengeflies, Belflies, Booflies, Hoppers, Primal Aspids, and the Collector.

Before the Knight can find the Collector’s Map, the Knight must have the Mantis Claw ability, which allows the Knight to cling to walls and jump off them. Although not required, having the Isma’s Tear ability, which allows the Knight to swim in acid pools, 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 help. Reaching the Tower of Love and obtaining the Collector’s Map will be a breeze with these abilities.

To find the Collector’s Map, this is what the Knight must do:

1. Starting from the King’s Station Stagway 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, drop to the bottom of the room and take the exit on the right.
   
2. Then, there is a broken Bench in half, a flooded Stagway Station, and two Vengeflies. Drop on the water, swim to the right, and the Knight will go through a hidden passageway.
   
3. Upon entering, there will be a dive-bombing Belfly from the ceiling, so dodge or hide below an elevated platform to avoid damage. Jump up the platform, head to the right, where the Knight will run into two Belflies, then take the exit at the end of the path.
   
4. After that, the Knight is now on the central cliff of Kingdom’s Edge! If the Knight has learned Isma’s Tear ability, head to the right, where the Knight will find a Boofly, jump to the small platforms, and follow it upwards until there is a ledge and exit on the right. The Knight will need to take the exit on the bottom right of the room and take the next exit that leads upwards, then continue heading upwards if the Knight has not yet learned Isma’s Tear ability.
   
5. Next, drop down the pool of acid (thanks to Isma’s Tear ability), swim to the right towards the narrow path, jump towards the small platform, and head up of the room with the help of the ledges and the 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.
   
6. Then, The Knight will return to the center cliff, but from a higher height this time. Head to the left, where the Knight will run into a Hopper and a Boofly; jump towards the small platform below on the left where the Knight will find a Primal Aspid and a Belfly; jump towards the small platform below on the left, jump towards another small platform below on the left, jump towards the small platform on the left, and jump towards the platform on the left where the Knight will find another Belfly.
   
7. After that, head to the left, drop down the shaft on the left, where the Knight will encounter another Hopper, then take the large exit on the left.
   
8. Next, the Knight has now arrived at the entrance of the Tower of Love! Head to the left across the gap, inspect the locked door at the end of the path, confirm on the prompt to use the Love Key and enter the newly-opened Tower of Love.
   
9. It is recommended to drop to the previous shaft before the entrance inside the Tower of Love and then strike the switch on the right side towards the bottom of the section to activate the shortcut, which can be reached just past the King’s Station. The Knight can utilize the exit above just before the exit at the end of the path that leads to Kingdom’s Edge to avoid having to take all of the previous steps.
   
10. Then, head to the left, head up the wall on the left with the help of the Mantis Claw ability; at the top, 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 and with one of the glass jars having a live Vengefly, at the end of the path head up, at the top jump towards the platform on the left, head to the left where there will be more glass jars and with one of them having another live Vengefly, at the end of the path head up with the help of the Mantis Claw ability, and jump towards the platform on the right.
    
11. Afterward, head to the right, where the Knight will be trapped in a large arena and fight the Collector. The Knight must defeat the Collector to continue.
    
12. Next, head to the right, head up the shaft at the end of the path, jump to the platform on the left at the top, and head to the right, where the Knight will find three Grubs trapped inside glass jars.
    
13. Finally, continue heading to the right, and at the end of the path, there is a large desk and chair with something glowing. Inspect the glowing thing, and the Knight has now obtained the Collector’s Map!

The Collector Tips

As the Knight has to defeat the Collector to obtain its Map, it is important to know how to defeat it.

In battle, the Collector will use the following moves:

Hop

The Collector will hop around the arena to move. The Collector will make several hops before launching its next attack.

Jar

The Collector will leap into the ceiling, causing glass jars to fall from various parts of the ceiling. When the glass jars fall to the ground and break, they randomly release either a Vengefly, an Aspid Hunter, or a Baldur. The glass jars will not break when they fall and hit the Knight, but they will cause contact damage.

By listening to the rattling glass noises for each jar that falls, the player can predict the number of glass jars that will fall. Furthermore, the player can predict where the glass jars will fall by observing the trail of dust they leave as they fall. Once the glass jars have fallen, the Collector will drop back down into the arena.

Grab

The Collector will leap toward the Knight and perform a grabbing gesture that, if the Knight is hit, causes contact damage.

Fighting the Collector

The main challenge in fighting the Collector is that the Knight does not generate Soul when striking it with the Nail, making healing and casting Spells difficult. While fighting the Collector, the only way to gain Soul is to hit it with the Dream Nail, with Weaverlings from the Weaversong Charm coupled with the Grubsong Charm, or attack the summoned enemies in the arena. When the Collector is staggered, it is the best time to hit it with the Dream Nail.

As previously stated, the Collector will use the Hop attack to move around the arena and avoid the Knight’s attacks. The Jar attack, which also spawns other small enemies, is another challenge in the fight against the Collector.

When the Collector uses the Jar attack, the number of glass jars dropped is determined by the number of summoned enemies still alive in the arena and the current phase of the fight. If there are four or more summoned enemies alive in the arena, the Collector will stop dropping glass jars.

For the first phase, the Collector will drop one to two glass jars simultaneously, with a maximum of five summoned enemies. After the Knight has dealt 350 damage to the Collector, the fight will enter phase 2, which will speed up the Collector’s drop of glass jars. During the second phase, The Collector will drop two to three glass jars at once, and the maximum number of summoned enemies is six.

If the Knight truly requires healing, the player should proceed cautiously because the Collector moves quickly and has a difficult-to-read movement pattern. When healing, be wary of the Collector’s Grab attack, which has a long range.

It is recommended that the Knight fight the Collector on the ground because its movement speed is fast. When the Collector hops around the arena, the Knight can simply dash under it. If dodging the Collector’s attacks remains difficult, the Knight should have the Shade Cloak ability (an upgrade to the Mothwing Cloak ability), which allows the Knight to dash through enemies and their attacks without taking damage.

The Knight’s Nail

It is also recommended that the Knight’s Nail be at least the Coiled Nail, as this can kill the summoned enemies with a single hit.

Nail Arts, such as the Cyclone Slash Nail Art, and Spells, such as the Vengeful Spirit spell, the Shade Soul spell (the Vengeful Spirit spell’s upgrade), the Desolate Dive spell, and the Descending Dark spell (the Desolate Dive spell’s upgrade), are also effective in dealing massive damage to the Collector and its summoned enemies. However, because the Soul is a bit of a luxury in the fight against the Collector, it is suggested that the Knight’s Soul be used for healing.

If the Knight dies while fighting the Collector, he can return to the Tower of Love and find the Knight’s Shade trapped inside a glass jar just before entering the arena to battle the Collector.

When the Collector’s health is drained, it becomes intangible and appears staggered while slowly chuckling. To beat the Collector completely, the Knight must strike it 15 more times with the Nail.

Charms can also help the Knight fight the Collector: the Quick Focus Charm can help the Knight heal faster, and the Shape of Unn Charm can help by allowing the Knight to move while healing. 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, and the Soul Catcher and Soul Eater Charm can help by increasing the amount of Soul that the Knight gains when hitting enemies.

The Kingsoul Charm can help by regenerating Soul every two seconds, 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 required to cast Spells, the Stalwart Shell Charm can help by increasing invincibility time and decreasing recoil every time the Knight takes damage, and the Fragile Strength Charm or the Unbreakable Strength Charm can help by increasing the Nail’s damage output by 50%.

After defeating the Collector and acquiring the Collector’s Map in Hollow Knight, the Knight can now see the Grubs’ locations on the Knight’s Map, making finding all of them much easier!