Hollow Knight Charms: The Complete Guide to Every Charm and Best Builds

Charms are the primary customization system in Hollow Knight. There are 45 charms in total (40 in the base game plus 5 added through DLC updates), each taking up notches on your charm bracelet. Building the right loadout transforms the game — the Knight you take into the Pantheon of Hallownest is functionally a different character than the one you explore Dirtmouth with.

Here's every charm in the game, where to find them, and the best builds for different situations.

How Charms Work

You start with 3 notches. Additional notch slots come from Salubra in the Forgotten Crossroads (upgrades purchased with Geo) and one hidden notch at Salubra's Blessing. Max notches: 11.

Notch costs range from 1 (small charms) to 5 (endgame/boss charms). Some charms overcharm — you can equip them even when they exceed your notch count, but you take double damage from all sources.

The Essential Charms

Quick Slash (3 notches, Kingdom's Edge) Increases nail attack speed significantly. Pairs with anything, mandatory for most DPS builds.

Mark of Pride (3 notches, Mantis Village) Extends nail range by 25%. Turns your nail into a respectable long-range weapon. Works well with Longnail for massive range.

Longnail (2 notches, Sly's shop) Adds 15% nail range. Stackable with Mark of Pride.

Shaman Stone (3 notches, Soul Sanctum) Makes spells 33% larger and 20% stronger. Essential for all spell-focused builds.

Quick Focus (3 notches, Mantis Village) Focus (healing) takes less time. Critical for aggressive builds that rely on healing mid-combat.

Unbreakable Strength (0 notches) Permanent nail damage upgrade. Buy from Divine (3 charms upgrade her for this — Fragile Strength, Heart, Greed, all upgraded).

The Soul and Spell Charms

Spell Twister (2 notches, Soul Sanctum) Spells cost less soul. Combined with Shaman Stone creates the core spell build.

Soul Catcher (2 notches, Ancestral Mound) More soul per hit. Essential for magic-heavy runs where you're casting frequently.

Soul Eater (4 notches, Resting Grounds) Even more soul per hit. Upgrade of Soul Catcher effectively — replaces it in high-notch builds.

Shaman Stone (already mentioned — pairs with these)

The Movement Charms

Sprintmaster (1 notch, purchased from Sly) Faster movement. Cheap quality-of-life improvement.

Dashmaster (2 notches, Royal Waterways) Faster dash cooldown and dash in any direction while midair. Mobility-focused essential.

Sharp Shadow (2 notches, Deepnest) Dash damages enemies. Combined with Dashmaster enables dash-focused playstyles.

The Defensive Charms

Stalwart Shell (2 notches, City of Tears) More invulnerability after getting hit. Good for aggressive players who get hit often.

Shape of Unn (2 notches, Queen's Gardens) Slug-slide while focusing. Lets you reposition while healing.

Baldur Shell (2 notches, Howling Cliffs) Shield while focusing. Completely blocks one hit during heal attempts.

Thorns of Agony (1 notch, Greenpath) Damages enemies who hit you. Passive damage for defensive builds.

The Notch-Efficient Damage Charms

Fragile Strength / Unbreakable Strength (3 notches, Fragile from Leg Eater) 50% more nail damage. Essential damage multiplier. Fragile version breaks on death (Unbreakable doesn't).

Fury of the Fallen (2 notches, King's Pass) 75% more nail damage at 1 HP. Strong for low-health builds or clutch situations.

Grubberfly's Elegy (2 notches, given by Grubfather after rescuing 46 grubs) Nail beams at full HP. Excellent for boss fights where you can maintain full health.

Nailmaster's Glory (1 notch, after meeting all three Nailmasters) Faster Nail Arts charge. Useful for Nail Art focused builds.

The Utility Charms

Gathering Swarm (1 notch, Sly's shop) Dropped Geo flies to you. Quality-of-life essential, cheap notch cost.

Wayward Compass (1 notch, Iselda's shop) Position shown on map. Useful early game, situational later.

Defender's Crest (1 notch, Royal Waterways) Releases damaging gas clouds. Plus synergy with Flukenest for the famous Defender's Crest Fluke build.

Glowing Womb (2 notches, Forgotten Crossroads) Creates Hatchlings that attack enemies. Synergizes with Defender's Crest.

Flukenest (3 notches, Royal Waterways) Vengeful Spirit becomes Flukes. Combined with Defender's Crest creates the most absurd damage output in the game for certain matchups.

The 5-Notch Powerhouses

Grubsong (1 notch, given by Grubfather after rescuing 10 grubs) Soul on damage taken. Low cost for a good utility effect.

Joni's Blessing (4 notches, Howling Cliffs) 40% more max HP but converts all HP to Lifeblood (can't heal with focus). Permanent buff but changes how you play fundamentally.

Heart of Hallownest (4 notches, hidden in Hall of Gods) Increases max HP. Expensive but reliable defensive boost.

The Best Charm Builds

General Exploration Build (8-11 notches):

• Quick Slash (3)
• Mark of Pride (3)
• Dashmaster (2)
• Gathering Swarm (1)
• Wayward Compass (1 — situational)

Safe, efficient, works everywhere.

Spell Build (10-11 notches):

• Shaman Stone (3)
• Spell Twister (2)
• Soul Catcher or Soul Eater (2 or 4)
• Grubberfly's Elegy (2)

Cast spells repeatedly from range, use nail beams as primary attack.

Defender's Crest Flukenest Build (5 notches):

• Defender's Crest (1)
• Flukenest (3)
• Spell Twister (2) or Shaman Stone (3)

Vengeful Spirit becomes corrosive flukes that absolutely annihilate specific bosses (Watcher Knights, Traitor Lord, Nosk, Mantis Lords, most of the Pantheon).

Tanky Build (8-10 notches):

• Baldur Shell (2)
• Stalwart Shell (2)
• Quick Focus (3)
• Shape of Unn (2)

Survive through healing, absorb hits that others can't.

Nail Arts Build (8-10 notches):

• Mark of Pride (3)
• Fragile Strength / Unbreakable Strength (3)
• Nailmaster's Glory (1)
• Quick Slash (3 if notches allow)

Slash-focused aggressive play.

Grubberfly Pacifist Build (7-10 notches):

• Grubberfly's Elegy (2)
• Mark of Pride (3) + Longnail (2)
• Dashmaster (2)

Never take a hit, kill enemies at range with nail beams.

The Path of Pain / Pantheon Build

For the hardest content in the game, most players end up with variations of:

• Quick Slash (3)
• Shaman Stone (3)
• Mark of Pride (3) or Longnail (2)
• Quick Focus (3) or Grubberfly's Elegy (2)

Some players prefer overcharming with Fragile Strength + everything else for a DPS race approach.

How to Max Your Charm Count

1. Buy all four notch slots from Salubra (Forgotten Crossroads).
2. Find the hidden Salubra's Blessing by bringing charms to her.
3. Rescue grubs to increase Grubfather's notch offerings.
4. Complete collections like the Journal for maximum total notches.

Max notches is 11, which is enough for most practical builds.

The DLC Charms

Grimmchild (2 notches, starts quest with Grimm Troupe DLC installed) Flying companion that grows stronger. Can be turned into Carefree Melody if you complete the pacifist route.

Weaversong (2 notches, Weaver's Den) Spawns weaverlings that attack. Synergizes well with Glowing Womb.

Dreamshield (3 notches, Resting Grounds) Creates a rotating shield. Niche but useful.

Carefree Melody (3 notches, pacifist Grimm route) Chance to ignore damage completely.

Kingsoul / Void Heart (0 or 5 notches) Required for Godhome access. Upgraded form offers massive Soul and some abilities.

Why Hollow Knight's Charm System Works

The charm system succeeds because every charm enables a playstyle rather than just buffing stats. Deciding between Quick Slash and Fragile Strength isn't about numbers — it's about whether you want to attack fast or attack hard. That philosophy runs through the entire system, and it's why Hollow Knight rewards replaying with different builds.

Team Cherry's design philosophy — giving players meaningful choices rather than obvious upgrades — is part of why Hollow Knight remains one of the best indie games ever made and a template that the metroidvania genre keeps reaching for.

If you're still early in Hollow Knight and haven't figured out your preferred playstyle, start with Quick Slash plus a movement charm plus one defensive charm. Experiment from there. The game rewards players who commit to specific builds, and every charm on this list has scenarios where it's the best choice.