How to Defeat the Uumuu

Team Cherry’s Metroidvania action-adventure game, Hollow Knight, follows the journey of a nameless warrior called the Knight as he travels through Hallownest, which is now a kingdom in ruins because of a supernatural disease. As the Knight journeys through Hallownest, he will encounter different enemies, bosses, and mini-bosses. One of these bosses is the Uumuu.

The Uumuu is the main boss in the game that guards the entrance to Monomon, the Teacher’s location in the Fog Canyon. Monomon, the Teacher, is one of the Dreamers the Knight will encounter.

According to in-game lore, the Uumuu is a being similar to the Oomas, and Uomas found in the Fog Canyon. Uumuu, however, is intelligent but also Infected.

In this guide, you will learn how to defeat the Uumuu!

Location

Uumuu can be found inside the Teacher’s Archives in the middle of the Fog Canyon. Head to the bottom of the area, and the Uumuu will appear from beloOoma’sacid pool. Inside the Teacher’s Archives, the Knight will encounter a lot of Oomas, Uomas, and Charged Lumaflies.

Moves

In battle, the Uumuu will perform the following moves:

When the Uumuu is not attacking, the Uumuu will float around the room while slowly chasing the Knight.

The Uumuu will create small bursts of lightning on the Knight’s position one after the other for about six seconds. Each burst of lightning will appear on the Knight’s current position (so the Knight should constantly move), and each burst of lightning will be active for about two seconds. This attack is similar to the Volt Twisters of the Soul Sanctum.

The Uumuu will create small bursts of lightning all around the arena at roughly the same (but varying) times, with each burst of lightning being active for about one second, but the whole attack will last for almost three seconds. The bursts of lightning will appear in either one of two patterns around the arena. In one of the patterns, the platform on the top left will be safe to stand on, while on the other platform, the top right will be safe to stand on. However, the bottom platform will always be safe to stand on all the patterns.

Strategy

The Knight can evade Uumuu’s Chase attack by simply keeping on moving around the arena so that the Knight will not be hit by the small bursts of lightning that will appear based on the Knight’s position. As for Uumuu’s Burst attack, the Knight can evade this attack by staying on parts of the arena that do not have a burst of lightning. As stated above, the platform on the top left or the top right will be safe to stand on depending on the pattern of the bursts of lightning. Additionally, the platforms on the bottom will always be safe to stand on.

While battling the Uumuu, the goal is to hit Uumuu’s vulnerable core. However, its core is protected by an outer layer that will deflect the Knight’s attacks and Spells. For the Knight to deal damage to Uumuu, the Knight would have just to dodge all of Uumuu’s attacks for a while, and, eventually, Quirrel will suddenly appear in the arena and pop Uumuu’s outer layer and expose Uumuu’s vulnerable core. Once this happens, the Knight may be able to attack and deal damage to Uumuu for about five seconds.

As you can probably tell, because of the rate of how often the Knight can deal damage on Uumuu, this fight will be quite long. When the Quirrel pops Uumuu’s outer layer, and the opportunity arises to attack, deal as much damage as possible, then get ready to dodge as Uumuu will immediately attack once it recovers. If the Knight’s health is running low, Uumuu’s vulnerable moment can also be an opportunity to heal.

Some abilities can help in dodging Uumuu’s attacks, like the Mothwing Cloak ability, which allows the Knight to dash forwards, and the Shade Cloak ability (the upgrade of the Mothwing Cloak ability), which allows the Knight to dash forwards through enemies and their attacks, Monarch Wing’s ability which allows the Knight to perform a double jump, the Mantis Claw ability which allows the Knight to cling to walls and jump off of them, and the Isma’s Tear ability which will allow the Knight to fall on the acid below without taking damage.

As for Spells, the Vengeful Spirit Spell or the Shade Soul Spell (the upgrade to the Vengeful Spirit Spell) would be useful as these are quick spells that will shoot out a spirit (or shadow in Shade Soul Spell’s case) that flies forwards and hit enemies in its path. The Howling Wraiths spell or the Abyss Shriek spell (the upgrade to the Howling Wraiths spell) would also be great as this spell will release Soul and deal damage above and around the Knight. Just make sure not to use this spell when Uumuu’s outer layer is still active, as the spells will not have any effect.

Charms are also very beneficial in fighting Uumuu. The Quick Focus Charm can be great to have as it can help the Knight heal faster, the Mark of Pride and Longnail Charm can help by increasing the length of the Knight’s Nail, the Shaman Stone Charm can help by increasing the size and damage of Spells, the Soul Catcher and Soul Eater Charm can help by increasing the amount of Soul that the Knight will gain when hitting enemies, The Kingsoul Charm can help by regenerating Soul every two seconds, the Grubsong Charm can help by gaining Soul every time the Knight takes damage, the Spell Twister Charm can help by reducing the amount of Soul needed to cast Spells, and the Stalwart Shell Charm shell can help by increasing the invincibility time and decreasing the recoil every time the Knight takes damage.

Even with the fact that you would have to wait for the opportune moment to deal damage to Uumuu, It is important that you do not get greedy in attacking the Uumuu, as this will result in the Knight taking damage right after Uumuu recovers. Learn when to attack, when not to attack, and when to dodge, and you will defeat Uumuu in no time.