You’re trekking through the Fungal Wastes, dodging those annoying exploding spores and trying not to fall into the acid, when the music shifts. The atmosphere gets heavy. Suddenly, you drop into a massive, hollowed-out arena at the bottom of a village. Three towering figures sit on bone-carved thrones. They don't attack you instantly. They wait. It's a challenge. To actually start the Mantis Lords Hollow Knight encounter, you have to look them in the eye and challenge them. It’s polite. It's terrifying.
Most games just throw monsters at you. Team Cherry did something different here. They built a respect-based duel that feels less like a video game boss and more like a high-stakes dance.
Honestly, the Mantis Lords are the "git gud" moment of Hollow Knight. If you haven't mastered the dash and the nail swing by the time you hit this chamber, you're going to have a rough time. But once the rhythm clicks? It’s pure magic.
The Rhythm of the Fungal Wastes
There is a specific cadence to this fight. It starts with just one Lord. She lunges across the stage, or she drops from the ceiling, or she throws that spinning wind-blade thing. You learn her tells. You realize that every move has a perfect counter. Jump, dash, strike.
Then you beat her. She retreats to her throne. You think it's over.
It isn't.
The other two stand up. They move in sync. This is where the Mantis Lords Hollow Knight fight transforms from a standard encounter into a frantic, 2-on-1 ballet. The music—composed by Christopher Larkin—ramps up with these driving, neoclassical strings that match the speed of the mantis blades. It’s one of the few times in the game where the difficulty feels perfectly fair. If you take damage, it’s usually because you got greedy or panicked. You can't panic here. You have to be cold.
Why They Don't Just Kill You
Lore-wise, these three are fascinating. They aren't infected. While the rest of Hallownest fell to the Radiance’s orange goo and went mindless, the Mantis Tribe stayed sharp. They closed their gates. They kept their honor.
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When you win, they don't die. They bow.
That bow is probably the most satisfying moment in the first ten hours of the game. It changes the entire world state of the Mantis Village. Suddenly, those warrior mantises that were trying to skewer you five minutes ago? They stop attacking. They bow to you as you pass. You’ve earned your place in their hierarchy. It’s a rare moment of narrative payoff through gameplay that doesn't require a single line of dialogue or a cutscene.
Mechanics That Define the Fight
Let's talk about the actual moves because people always get tripped up on the projectile phase. When both lords are on the walls, they throw their blades.
- If the blades meet in the middle and stay high, you stay still or heal.
- If they throw them low, you have to hop.
- If they throw them so they converge and then spread out, you’re looking at a different timing entirely.
It’s basically a memory game played at 100 miles per hour.
You’ve probably noticed that the arena has pits of spikes on either side. It limits your movement, forcing you to stay aggressive. You can't just run away. Hollow Knight rewards bravery, and nowhere is that more obvious than here. Most players find that the Longnail charm or Mark of Pride (which you actually get from the Mantis Village after winning) makes the fight easier, but you don't have Mark of Pride yet. You're fighting with your raw skills and maybe a bit of Quick Focus if you’re lucky enough to have it.
Interestingly, if you come back much later in the game with the Monarch Wings or the Shadow Dash, the fight becomes a joke. But doing it early—when you only have the Mothwing Cloak—is the intended experience. It’s the gatekeeper.
The Sisters of Battle Variation
If you thought the base fight was intense, the Godmaster DLC introduced the Sisters of Battle. This version is available in the Pantheon of Hallownest.
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All three fight you at once.
It sounds like a mess. It should be a mess. Three bosses attacking simultaneously usually breaks a game’s combat system. But it doesn't break this one. The AI is programmed so their attacks overlap in a way that always leaves a "safe" path if your reflexes are fast enough. It’s the ultimate version of the Mantis Lords Hollow Knight experience. It’s breathless. You’re dashing between blades, parrying strikes in mid-air, and finding half-second windows to land a hit.
Many players, including prominent speedrunners like Fireb0rn, often cite Sisters of Battle as the "pinnacle of boss design." It’s not about being "hard" like Absolute Radiance. It’s about being "fast."
The Traitor Lord Contrast
It’s worth mentioning the fourth brother. The one who isn't there.
There’s a fourth throne in the arena. It’s smashed to pieces. That belonged to the Traitor Lord, who chose to embrace the Infection for more power. He’s up in the Queen’s Gardens. When you fight him, the vibe is totally different. He’s bulky, he’s aggressive, and he feels "wrong."
The contrast between the three sisters—who are graceful and disciplined—and their brother, who is a mutated mess, tells a story about the cost of power. The Mantis Lords chose to stay small and fast to preserve their minds. The brother chose to be a giant and lost himself.
Strategic Insights for Your Next Run
If you're currently stuck or planning a new playthrough, don't overthink the charms.
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- Shaman Stone is okay, but the Lords move so fast that Vengeful Spirit often misses.
- Fragile Strength (or Unbreakable) is the MVP. Ending the phases faster reduces the chance of you making a stupid mistake.
- Steady Body is actually surprisingly good here. It prevents you from being knocked back into the spikes when you hit them.
Most people try to heal when the Lords are on the thrones. Don't. You usually only have time for one mask, and if you mistime it, you’ll get hit immediately when they drop back down. The best time to heal is actually during the dual-blade throw if they do the "high-meeting" pattern. You can stand dead center and get two heals off comfortably.
Also, try downward slashing (pogoing). You can bounce on their heads when they lunge across the floor. It keeps you safe and builds soul.
Beyond the Battle
Winning this fight unlocks the Deepnest entrance. Most players realize pretty quickly that the Mantis Lords were actually protecting the rest of the world from Deepnest. They aren't villains. They’re the border guard. Once you pass them, you enter the darkest, creepiest part of the game.
The Mantis Lords Hollow Knight encounter serves as the literal and metaphorical "gate" to the mid-game. It’s the moment the training wheels come off.
Actionable Steps for Completionists
If you want to truly master this encounter and everything surrounding it, follow this progression:
- Challenge the Lords early: Don't wait until you have a Coiled Nail. Do it with the first upgrade to keep the challenge real.
- Retrieve the Mark of Pride: After the fight, head to the right side of the village. The chest contains one of the best charms in the game. It increases your nail range significantly.
- Visit the Traitor Lord: Complete the Queen’s Gardens arc to see what happened to the fourth Lord. It adds a lot of emotional weight to the sisters' story.
- Unlock the Hall of Gods: Find the Junk Pit in the Royal Waterways and enter Godhome. Practice the Sisters of Battle variation.
- Listen to the OST: Go back and listen to the track "Mantis Lords." Notice how the harpsichord and strings mimic the clicking of insect legs and the clashing of chitinous blades.
The legacy of this fight persists because it respects the player's intelligence. It doesn't use cheap tricks. It doesn't rely on RNG (random number generation) to create difficulty. It’s just you, your nail, and three of the finest warriors in Hallownest.
Once you’ve mastered the rhythm, go to the Hall of Gods in the Godmaster DLC and try the Radiant difficulty version. On Radiant, a single hit kills you. It forces you to play the "dance" perfectly. Successfully completing a Radiant Sisters of Battle run is essentially the gold medal of Hollow Knight combat. It proves you aren't just lucky—you've learned the language of the game.