How to Obtain the Isma’s Tear Ability in Hollow Knight

Learn how to obtain the Isma’s Tear Ability in Hollow Knight!

Team Cherry’s Metroidvania action-adventure game, Hollow Knight, follows the journey of a nameless warrior called the Knight as he travels through Hallownest, which is now a kingdom in ruins because of a supernatural disease. As the Knight journeys through Hallownest, he can unlock new abilities, spells, and charms that will help him traverse through different areas of Hallownest and defeat enemies.

One of the most useful abilities that the Knight can perform is Isma’s Tear ability. Isma’s Tear ability gives the Knight the ability to swim in pools of acid without taking any damage. With Isma’s Tear ability, the Knight can explore more of Hallownest!

Location

The Isma’s Tear ability can be found on top of a platform on the eastern end of Isma’s Grove. Before the Knight can get to the Isma’s Tear ability, however, the Knight must first obtain the Mantis Claw ability (from the Mantis Village) so that Knight can cling to walls and jump off them, the Crystal Heart ability (from the east of Crystal Peak) so the Knight can fly forward horizontally until the Knight hits a surface, defeat the Dung Defender (in the eastern part of the Royal Waterways), and turn the switch just ahead of the Dung Defender’s arena to remove the obstruction that leads to Isma’s Grove.

After doing those mentioned above, this is what the Knight must do:

1. Starting from the Dung Defender’s arena in the Royal Waterways, take the path on the left, up the shaft, left again, down, and take the exit on the bottom.
   
2. Next, take the path on the right, downwards, then the left, then the bottom path that leads to the left, and down, take the path on the right where the Knight will encounter two Pilflips. Continue heading to the right until the Knight reaches an exit downwards.
   
3. In this next room, take the path on the left, where the Knight will encounter two more Pilflips, then take the path below with the small platforms where the Knight will encounter two Flukefeys; then, at the bottom, take the path on the right where the Knight will encounter another Pilflip.
   
4. Continue heading right, and you will see a wide gap. To cross this gap, let the Knight face the right side, hold down the assigned super dash button to charge up the Crystal Heart ability, then release it once it is charged up to super dash across the gap and a room full of spikes until the Knight reaches a wall.
   
5. After that, quickly cling to the wall so that the Knight will not fall into the pool of acid, slide down a little bit and jump towards the wall on the opposite side, then slide down a little bit and just above the pool of acid, hold down the assigned super dash button again to charge up the Crystal Heart ability and release to super dash. Once the Knight reaches another wall, cling to the wall and jump to get to the platform above.
   
6. Continue to head on the right and, using the small platforms where the Knight will encounter a few Hwurmps, get on the path that leads upwards, and, at the very top, the Knight will find some writing from the Dung Defender. Continue and take the exit on the right.
   
7. Upon entering this next room, take the path upwards, where the Knight will face two Winged Sentries. At the top, take the path on the right, then take the following path that leads downwards.
   
8. At the bottom of the path, the Knight will face a Husk Sentry and a Heavy Sentry, then two Winged Sentries, then a Lance Sentry and another Heavy Sentry, which the Knight must first defeat to continue.
   
9. After defeating the enemies, take the path on the right, down, left, and down again, and the Knight will reach Isma’s Grove.
   
10. Finally, head to the right (be careful not to fall on the acid below as the Knight does not have Isma’s Tear ability yet) until the Knight reaches the end of the path, and there you will find something glowing on the floor. Inspect the glow, and the Knight will obtain the Isma’s Tear ability!

Although not required to complete the game, with the Isma’s Tear ability, the Knight can now access the Grub in Isma’s Grove, a Grub and a shortcut in Kingdom’s Edge, the Shape of Unn charm in Greenpath, the Queen’s Gardens area, and the Fog Canyon area which can be entered through the Fungal Wastes or the Forgotten Crossroads.

After obtaining Isma’s Tear ability, the Knight can now explore more of Hallownest while being immune to pools of acid!