Please keep in mind that this guide is meant as a breakdown of Nightmare King Grimm's moves and the means to dodge them, and aims to look at the boss purely from a perspective of game mechanics. This guide was made while only focusing on specific in-game abilities, and does not focus on charm loadouts or damage upgrades in any way shape or form.

Everything in this guide along with the guide itself was created during the Lifeblood update beta period. Therefore, the only charm I have equipped throughout the clips is Grimmchild.

Keeping the above in mind, the only things required to perform everything in this guide are:

• Access to the Nightmare King Grimm boss fight
  (requires Grimmchild equipped)
  
  
• Mothwing Cloak + Shade Cloak upgrade
  
  
• Monarch Wings

Note that Abyss Shriek is used in one instance. However, this is more of a case of convenience than requirement.

• 3/31/2018
  
  - Added parrying as an option to dodge uppercut
  
  
• 4/20/2018
  
  - Added a link where there should've been one
  - Minor changes to some paragraphs
  
  
• 5/25/2018
  
  - Uppercut is now among the moves with a healing opportunity, bringing the total up to 5
  - Specified that Grimm is vulnerable to spells during Bullet Hell
  - Added downslashing as a way to dodge Bullet Hell

With that out of the way, it's time to move on to the first aspect...

 
Chances are that if you're reading this guide, you already know, at the very least, who Nightmare King Grimm is.

So, we're not going to look into that here. We're going to look into the way he moves and attacks.

Considered one of the hardest bosses in the game, Nightmare King Grimm's entire moveset deals two masks per hit and is paced rather quickly compared to other bosses in the game. However, this is balanced out by the fact that Grimm never wanders.

Being here, you've likely fought most of the other bosses this game has to offer. You've also probably noticed that they move around in the arena before using one of their attacks. Some of them also have hazards or minions along in the fight to further hinder you. This is where Grimm's fight is different, as it takes away the random element that moving would add, by removing wandering as a whole.

With a moveset comparable only to the Mantis Lords', Grimm will teleport before and after each of his attacks. Each of his attacks has a fixed location, either in the arena as a whole, or based on the player's current location. Therefore, one conclusion we can get from this is that he telegraphs all of his moves.

Knowing all of this, we can move on to:

• Breaking down his moveset
  
  
• Listing most of the possible ways to dodge his moves
  (this includes both safer and riskier methods)
  
  
• Things you can do to manipulate the fight in your favor
  
  
• What you can do, and what you shouldn't do

...all in the next sections of this guide, and the main focus of it.

 
Also known as Dash-uppercut. This move provides a healing opportunity and is executed in the following order:

• Grimm spawns at a fixed location away from the player, on the ground, on either side
  (dashing towards him at this point will cause him to take a step back)
  
  
• Performs a dash towards the player while slashing
  
  
• Stops at a fixed location, then ascends using an uppercut-like move
  
  
• Disappears once he reaches a certain point in the air, spawning a set of falling flames with fixed locations based on where he disappeared

1. Walking away



Contrary to popular belief, walking away from this move is possible, allows you to get in a hit on him if timed right, and follows up with the options of using the Shade Cloak to dash through the flames, or standing still at that spot in order to dodge them. It is also possible to heal safely in the same spot instead of dealing damage.

Alternative, safer option: Instead of walking, dash away from him. This gives you a bigger window to react and still allows for getting a hit in if you move back towards him in time. However, it would then be recommended to use normal movement to dodge the incoming flames.


2. Shade Dashing through him



Done by dashing towards him late enough for him to not back off, but early enough to avoid getting hit. Ideal timing is at the same time as him. The flames can then be dodged by mostly standing still.


3. Jumping over him (risky)



Requires rather precise positioning and timing. Overall not an option you would choose, but still a possibility. Moving away from him slightly before jumping offers a bigger reaction window, while doing this without moving away requires on point timing or good prediction. It is also possible to nail pogo off him at this point, but it also requires precise timing.

Alternative: Quickly dashing or double jumping to the right after jumping makes this dodge slightly easier to perform, no longer facing the risk of touching his head hitbox unless the double jump is extremely late.


4. Parrying (risky)



Done by slashing at the right time to parry his own slash without colliding with his hitbox and then walking through him. Both parrying and walking require precise timing to avoid taking damage. Shade dashing after parrying makes that less risky.

 
Also known as Dive Kick. The order of execution is:

• Grimm spawns at a fixed location in the air, positioned diagonally from the player, on either side
  
  
• Dashes diagonally towards the ground where the player is, leaving behind a large trail of fire
  
  
• After a small pause, dashes on the ground, towards the player, still leaving the same trail of fire, disappearing after a fixed distance
  (dodging too early can cause him to dash into you at this moment)

1. Jump and nail pogo



Best done just before the small pause, as it makes landing the hit easier. Adding in dash or double jump further increases safety.

Alternative: Similar to the above, but the initial jump is straight up and followed by either a dash or a double jump towards where he paused. This essentially removes the nail pogo part, making it safer but losing out on a damage opportunity.


2. Dash towards him and dodge on opposite side



The timing on this is a lot more lenient than it looks, but it implies starting the dash earlier than shown rather than later. After the dash, follow up with either a double jump or another dash on the opposite side. Note that it is also possible to pogo off him, but is a lot riskier.

 
One of the moves that gives you a healing opportunity. This one has the following steps:

• Spawns on the ground, at a set distance away from you, on either side
  (can be easily mistaken for uppercut)
  (note that he sometimes spawns closer to you, in which case he will back off on his own to the set distance)
  
  
• Stands still while shooting a set of 4 semi-homing firebats towards you, in the following order:
  1 high, 1 low, 1 high, 1 low. Disappears a short period after shooting the 4th one
  (note that closing in on him too early during this step will cause him to teleport to the other side and shoot two bats simultaneously, which can be dodged by jumping / dashing through the middle)

1. Jumping and closing in the distance



This is done by either dashing towards him after you jump, or timing a good double jump. Also a good time to deal damage to him, but if your health is lacking, then the next option may be wiser for you.


2. Jumping over the second bat and healing



Fairly straightforward to perform and does not require moving. Dodging this way grants a good healing opportunity. Depending on charm loadout, it is advised to start healing as soon as you hit the ground, given that the last bat will fly over your head.

 
Another move that grants a healing opportunity. Major on some charm loadouts, minor on others. Goes in this order:

• Grimm spawns at a set height in the arena and stands still
  
  
• Proceeds to spawn flame pillars gradually, directly under you, 4 times, then disappears. The pillars have a wider hit area at the base

Moving away from their spawn location



The most straightforward approach. There are a few options you can choose from once the 4th pillar begins to spawn: using Abyss Shriek on the boss to deal a good amount of damage, healing immediately once outside the 4th pillar's reach , or slashing at the boss to deal damage that way. Note that while using charms such as Shape of Unn, the approach on this move differs.

Alternative: To avoid being backed into a corner or simply to ensure better positioning of either yourself or the pillars, Shade Dash through some of them as you need to, making sure not to dash too low (results in getting damaged by the wider ground area) or too high (can result in taking contact damage from Grimm).

 
The last of the moves (excluding his stagger) that provides a healing opportunity. It has one step:

• Grimm disappears completely (thus cannot be damaged during this) and spikes come out of the ground at fixed locations

Don't get hit by it



Often enough, you will be in the right position to naturally dodge this move. If not, you are given a fair time window to take a small step to the side regardless. As soon as you find yourself out of the spikes' reach, begin to heal if needed. The timing on this can be tough depending on his follow up move.

 
Also known as pufferfish due to the shape Grimm takes while doing it. This move is done when Grimm drops under 75%, 50%, and 25% health respectively. During this:

• Grimm will always spawn in the center of the arena, and become invulnerable to nail attacks (spells will still damage him)
  
  
• Proceeds to shoot smaller fireballs in most directions, especially below him and to the sides, then disappears

1. The classic way

As soon as you see him spawn in the middle, dash to the closest wall, but not right next to it. Maintain spaces as close to even as your reaction time allows you between you, Grimm and the wall. After that, proceed to unfocus your eyes around the area in front of your character, and only dodge where needed.

Lower fireballs require small hops, some middle fireballs don't require jumping, some require long jumps. In cases where two sets of fireballs are too close to eachother, either:

• make use of double jump (while keeping in mind that you descend a small bit before going up)
  
  
• move closer to the wall in order to gain the needed time to dodge normally (but remember to move back as soon as you can afterwards, you don't want to get cornered)
  
  
• make use of Shade Cloak to dash through the fireballs (but ensure you don't dash into a different set instead)

2. Downslashing

Done by jumping above his head at the beginning of the attack then downslashing at a constant rhythm in order to stay in the air, out of reach of any fireballs. Reaching the top will require double jumping and downslashing a few times, and can end up damaging you unless the attack is anticipated. Using Descending Dark near the end of the attack allows you to deal a fair amount of damage.


Dodging this attack ends up relying heavily on intuition and reaction time, but it only happens 3 times throughout the fight. Getting more comfortable with the other attacks would, in this case, make up for getting hit by this once or twice. At that point, getting hit and surviving simply means you get to reposition.

Note: While I do have proper recordings of this, the gifs themselves are still a work in progress as it is the longest attack and unfortunately steam does not like that. Until then, it would be wiser to check through some of the links at the bottom for actual footage.

 
This concerns the fight as a whole, and gives a few indications of what you can do, and what you shouldn't do (this implies that it is risky, but not impossible).

• Stand still, especially around the middle. Standing still ensures you do not move towards one of his attacks and thus take away from your reaction time window. Standing around the middle gives you more space to react.
  
  
• Start walking in the opposite direction whenever he spawns. If he spawns on the ground, you will be naturally dodging uppercut, or otherwise giving yourself a bigger reaction window for the fire bats. If he spawns in the air, you will be giving yourself a bigger window to dodge his dive using the jumping over method, or would otherwise be moving away from a fire pillar, at which point you can simply dash through it to close in the distance and likely have convenient positioning. For the pufferfish attack, the specific instructions continue to apply.
  
  
• Heal whenever you need to and have an opportunity. It is more important to survive given that his damage output is too high to simply facetank him. Get comfortable with the times when you can heal, especially every time you stagger him (done right away, this allows up to 3 heals at normal speed).
  
  
• If at full health, hit the bat with glowy eyes once you stagger him in order to deal additional damage.
  
  
• Keep trying. Grimm is a great challenge to beat, and you too can do it.

• Moving around too much. This goes hand in hand with what was said at the very first point earlier.
  
  
• Sticking around corners. While there are strategies that use this, it is fairly easy to get yourself damaged by removing the ability to retreat from one of his attacks.
  
  
• Heal too much. Yes, this is a bit of a contradiction. Get used to how long you can actually heal during opportunities and don't risk going over that, as you would be losing more than gaining unless you had very specific charm loadouts. If not starting healing in time is one of your issues, then consider using the Quick Focus charm.
  
  
• Jump around for no reason. Same reasoning as moving around.
  
  
• Dash into damage or run into damage, anything similar to that. Don't take too many risks that don't benefit you. Getting used to his moveset and improving overall will make your runs smoother.
  
  
• Panic. Yeah, this is a hard one. As the fight gets more intense and the masks drop in numbers, so does one's patience and composure overall. Nevertheless, do your best to not let this get to you, as you can still recover even in dire situations by keeping your cool and making use of healing opportunities. It may take a few tries, it may take a dozen tries, but you will improve, and you will succeed.

 
I want to once again state that this is my own take on the Nightmare King Grimm fight and aims to view it from a more general perspective, focusing on the fight's mechanics rather than on specific builds. Various upgrades and builds will definitely work with this, and make the experience a lot easier. If you're looking into specific builds or strategies, then I suggest checking out one of these guides:

http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1299176274

http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1263912404

http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1224991990

I also want to note that I had planned on using gameplay footage of various other things. However, as this guide already contains a fair amount of animated images, it concerns me that steam wouldn't be able to handle many more of them.

Some stuff might still be missing, and will likely be updated in the following days after I take a little break.

• Naturally, Team Cherry for making this game
  
• All of the people involved in making the guides linked above
  
• The friends that put up with me sending them a bunch of gameplay gifs while making this
  
• the few people that told me it's impossible to walk away from uppercut
  
• The Hollow Knight wiki[hollowknight.wikia.com], source of the only still image in this guide
  
• And obviously, you for reading this far.