Hollow Knight – 3HR Speedrun Achievement Guide

When I tried the 3-hour speedrun, I made a list of steps to help me complete it. I want to share this guide with other players who aren’t experienced speedrunners and would like a simple guide to follow.

Please Note: I will be using screenshots of area maps to demonstrate the path through specific locations.

Intro

I recommend defeating any enemies in your path that don’t take much time, as Geos (the game currency) are very important for this run. I’ll let you know how much Geo you might need for each area to avoid getting stuck.

Another important tip: whenever you see a bench, make sure to sit on it. Saving frequently is crucial in case you die. Many players skip benches that only take a few seconds to save at, only to die and spend five minutes making up that lost time.

Note: I’ll include target times for each section so you can gauge your progress. I was fairly relaxed when testing this run, so these goals should be easy to reach unless you happen to die unexpectedly.

Leg 1: Vengeful Spirit

• 1 – The beginning. Follow the basic path down the left side of the Forgotten Crossroads.
• 2 – The open hut here will have the Dirtmouth merchant, Sly. Talk to him to wake him up.
• 3 – Pay some Geo to unlock the Stag Station.
• 4 – Defeat the Failed Champion, make sure to get the Geo chest before leaving the room.
• 5 – Unlock the Vengeful Spirit spell at the Shaman’s hut.

Goal time to finish leg: 15M (Saving at bench after getting Vengeful Spirit).

Total run time: 15M.

Leg 2: Mothwing Cloak (Dash)

• 1 – Where you should be, head back to Dirtmouth merchant Sly.
• 2 – Buy the Gathering Swarm Charm. You should have enough Geo with the chest. **
• 3 – OPTIONAL – You can pick up the Hunter’s Journal here if you want, it takes at most 15 seconds.
• A – There will be a toll gate that requires some Geo, shouldn’t be a big deal for you.
• 4 – Unlock the Stag Station.
• 5 – Fight Hornet and take the Mothwing Cloak.

** Gathering Swarm in my opinion is probably the most important Charm for this entire run other than Dash Master. You won’t have to stick around to pick up Geo and ensure that you get every bit of it that drops (that doesn’t land in acid at least).

For the goal time here, I’m including time to save Zote.

Goal time to finish leg: 15M (Saving at Stag Station bench after beating Hornet).

Total run time: 30M.

Leg 3: Dash Master and Mantis Claw

• 1 – Where you are.
• 2 – Unlock the Stag Station.
• 3 – Farming Room. **
• A – You can purchase the Fragil Greed Charm here for 250 Geo if you feel confident enough. 
• 4 – Pick up the Dash Master Charm ***
• 5 – Grab the Mantis Claw ability.

** After passing through this room, you can revisit it to fight one big mushroom. The mushroom drops 45 Geo and takes roughly 15 seconds to kill once you are used to his patterns. This is a great farm spot if you feel you are short on Geo.

*** Dash Master is a great Charm that will let you fly through rooms pretty quickly. While it may not be required, I consider it a great pickup in the long run.

Goal time to finish leg: 10M (As soon as I got the claw).

Total run time: 40M.

Leg 4: Desolate Dive

I want to point out that you don’t need the Desolate Dive spell for this run. The main reasons I go through Soul Sanctum and fight Soul Master are to get the Geo from his chest and to be able to afford the Lumafly Lantern.

If you prefer, you can skip Soul Sanctum completely and just farm about 2000 Geo elsewhere instead.

• 1 – Where you are.
• 2 – The first nail upgrade of the game does not required a pale ore, simply 250 Geo. **
• A – There is an optional bench here. If you are going to Soul Sanctum, hit this up first just in case.
• 3 – Soul Master fight and Desolate Dive magic.
• 4 – Geo chest, sweet sweet Geos.
• 5 – Simple Key location. ***
• 6 – Unlock Stag Station.

** Nail upgrades immensely speed up boss times, and are definitely worth getting.

*** This simple key is essential for accessing the Royal Waterways without spending the Geo to buy a simple key from Sly.

Note: There is a vendor will buy any Wanderer’s Journals, Hallownest Crests you may have found for decent amounts of Geo. This can help immensely if you did happen to pick any up after going through the Soul Sanctum. he is located two rooms down from the bench marked as A.

Goal time to finish leg: 15M (Saving at bench at #6, Stag Station).

Total run time: 55M.

Leg 5: Lumafly Lantern and Crystal Dash

• 1 – From the Stag in Leg 4, go to Dirtmouth and buy the Lumafly Lantern. (1800 Geo) **
• 2 – Take the Stag to the Forgotten Crossroads unlocked in Leg 1 and head to Crystal Peak.
• 3 – Head down to the merchant Salubra using Mantis Claw, buy the Longnail Charm. (300 Geo) **
• 4A – This entrance to the mines requires the Lantern and some Geo to unlock the gate.
• 4B – This entrance simply requires Desolate Dive.
• 5 – Climb all the way up and half way back down to reach Crystal Dash.
• 6 – Climb all the way down on the right side to reach the Resting Grounds, get the Dream Nail.
• 7 – You are automatically moved to this bugs hut.
• 8 – Unlock the Stag here. (Free)

** Many will say that the Lumafly Lantern isn’t required, and it really isn’t. However, if you aren’t incredibly familar with the dark areas of the game, it will make the run much easier.

*** The LongNail Charm is required to skip getting the Monarch Wings ability. This is not 100% required, but does largely speed the run up quite a bit.

Goal time to finish leg: 15M (Saving at bench at in resting grounds Stag Station).

Total run time: 1H 10M.

Leg 6: Acid Resistance

• 1 – Take the Stag to the City Storerooms.
• 2 – Unlock this door using the Simple Key we picked up in Leg 4.
• 3 – Beat up the Dung Defender and hit the switch to drain the acid.
• 4 – Pick up Acid Resistance.
• 5 – Head out of the Royal Waterway via the Laughing Bugs house.

Goal time to finish leg: 10M (At picking up Acid Resistance).

Total run time: 1H 20M.

Leg 7: The Watcher

If you’ve followed the guide up to this point, we are now going entering the last stages of the run. You should have all the tools to complete the next legs without issues.

• 1 – Where you are.
• A – This route is completely optional, but will lead you to a pale ore for a nail upgrade. **
• B – The second nail upgrade. (800 Geo)
• 2 – The ledge. ***
• 3 – The Watcher.
• 4 – Unlock the Stag Station.

** While nail upgrades are completely optional, they speed up boss fights immensely. This one is the relatively easy to pick up, but will cost you time. (Took me about 8 minutes)

*** With the Long Nail Charm equipped, at the height of your jump use your downslash to bounce off of the environment jugs to get enough height to reach the ledge. It may take a few tries of leaving/re-entering the area, but it is entirely possible.

Leg 8: The Teacher

• 1 – Take the Stag from Kings Station to Queens Station.
• 2 – Follow the path to the Teacher’s Archives. **

** This place is super straight forward. My only advice is that is soon as you enter it to save at the bench at the top of the first room. After beating the jelly fish, find the Teacher’s tube and talk to the NPC there, then dream nail the Teacher.

Leg 9: The Beast

• 1 – Where you are.
• A – Optional bench. **
• B – Optional bench. **
• 2 – The Beast’s Den. While it is a small maze-like place, it largely only has one non-dead end path.
• 3 – Unlock the Stag Station.

** Queen’s Gardens can be a rough place, I advise to hit both benches if possible just in case. This is emphasized a bit more on B bench, as going into to Deepnest can also suck sometimes.

Leg 10: The End

• 1 – Head back to Dirthmouth using the Stag. Save and do whatever you want to do in town.
• 2 – Go to the end and beat the game!

Following this guide I was able to complete the game in 2H and 27M. I died roughly about 6 times because I’m just not very good at certain spots in the game yet. There is plenty of room for error and improvement, so good luck!