| “ | Shattered corpse, reanimated by infected parasites. The shape of this creature... I have seen something like it before. More than once, perhaps. It looks a little like the bugs of Hallownest, but not quite the same. Where did these empty little wanderers come from? | „ |
| ~ The Hunter's Notes on Broken Vessel. |
| “ | ... | „ |
| ~ Broken Vessel/Lost Kin's Dreamnail dialogue, hinting it is empty. |
| “ | I sleep in the deep caves below the world | „ |
| ~ Broken Vessel's statue in the Hall of Gods when it is not fought in the base game. |
The Broken Vessel is a major antagonist and boss in Hollow Knight. It is a vessel similar to the Knight that has been posthumously infected by parasites, turning it into a destructive force like the rest of the plague-bringers.
Biography[]
Base Game[]
When the Radiance plagued the kingdom of Hallownest with the Infection, the Broken Vessel was one of the vessels of Void created by the Pale King with the purpose to seal away the plague within themselves. Only the Hollow Knight managed to succeed the thought impossible achievement, while all of the remaining Vessels were discarded by the King as they were seen as not hollow enough. However, some Vessels managed to escape the Abyss, only to perish by the forces of the infected; including the Vessel that would become the Broken Vessel, meeting its demise in the Ancient Basin while fighting against infected parasites.
The Knight encounters the broken shell of the Vessel in its original death spot in the western portion of the Ancient Basin, where it is resurrected by a multitude of Lightseeds jumping into the large crack on the back of its head. Because it had been infected, the Broken Vessel serves as an obstacle in the Knight's adventure through Hallownest. The Broken Vessel uses attacks similar to the Knight, such as dashing and slashing its Nail both on the ground and air, as well as its own form of the Desolate Dive spell, where it slams its Nail into the ground and conjures four Infection blobs from underground to rise upwards. It also has an attack where it shakes its head front and back, releasing a multitude of infection blobs to cover the entire arena.
Defeating the Broken Vessel leads to a room where the Knight acquires the Monarch Wings, granting them the ability to double jump. This also marks where the Forgotten Crossroads becomes the Infected Crossroads, assuming that no Dreamers have been killed by that point.
Optionally, using the Dream Nail on the Broken Vessel's deceased body will trigger a Dream Boss against a stronger variation of the Broken Vessel named Lost Kin. It fights similarly to the Broken Vessel, but its attacks are much faster in speed in addition to summoning Infected Balloons at a quicker pace and releasing six Infection blobs during its slam attacks. After defeating the Lost Kin, the ghost of the vessel appears above the Broken Vessel's corpse. It will bow before disappearing when interacted with, granting the Knight 400 Essence to their Dream Nail.
Godmaster[]
In Godmaster, the Broken Vessel is fought in the Pantheon of the Artist as the ninth boss, and later on as the nineteenth boss in the Pantheon of Hallownest. The Lost Kin is fought in the Pantheon of the Knight as the second boss, and later on as the thirty-second boss of the Pantheon of Hallownest.
A statue of it is found in the first floor in the Hall of Gods. If the player has not encountered it yet, the statue will not show and an empty stand will read: "I sleep in the deep caves below the world". Otherwise encountering it in the base game will make the statue materialize in a bright light. Allowing it to be fought, encountering its dream form will allow the player to Dreamnail the statue to fight The Lost Kin.
The Broken Vessel statue reads: "Broken shell of an empty god", while the Lost Kin version reads: "Lost god of the abyss".
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- As the Lost Kin, the Broken Vessel one of the six bosses who can be refought as a Dream Boss, the others being Soul Master, False Knight, Dung Defender, Zote, and Grimm.
- Defeating the Broken Vessel unlocks the "Release" achievement, while defeating the Lost Kin unlocks the "Peace" achievement.
- Upon defeat, The Broken Vessel reaches out to the Knight before dying. After defeating Lost Kin, their ghost bows to the Knight before being absorbed for Essence.
- The Broken Vessel wields an Old Nail.
- The Lost Kin is the only ghost in the game who does not speak a single word, only bowing its head when interacted with.
- The Broken Vessel/Lost Kin is one of the only two bosses who can summon Infected Balloons to aid them in battle, the other being Winged Nosk.
- For some reason, when the Broken Vessel originally died, it left a corpse and not a shade.
External Links[]
- Broken Vessel and Lost Kin on the Hollow Knight wiki
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 Villains
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Hollow Knight The Infected Other Hollow Knight: Silksong | ||