Key Takeaway
To defeat the Pure Vessel, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with his attack patterns. You should also employ charms that will suit your attack preference best. Before you fight him in the Pantheon of the Knight, be sure to practice fighting him first in the Hall of Gods.
The Pure Vessel is a boss from the Hollow Knight Godmaster DLC. It is a stronger variation of the Hollow Knight boss fight. If you found the Hollow Knight a tough challenge, this one will challenge you further.
The Pure Vessel is the boss at the end of the Pantheon of the Knight. You also fight him once more as the 41st boss of the Pantheon of Hallownest.
The Pure Vessel is the uninfected version of the Hollow Knight. That said, he is faster and stronger than his original variation. The Pure Vessel will not give you breathing room. He’ll often follow one attack quickly with another. The only enough time you have to heal during this fight is when he’s staggered.
Aside from being stronger and faster than the Hollow Knight, the Pure Vessel also uses new attacks. Although most of them are just upgrades of his former attacks. To beat this boss, you’ll need to familiarize every one of his attacks.
Table Of Contents
The Pure Vessel’s Attacks
Take note of the following attacks. This guide will also talk about how you can take advantage of the attacks and when to deal damage.
Triple Slash
This is when the Pure Vessel slashes his sword forward three times. He moves forward just a little bit with each slash.
Considering the reach of the Pure Vessel’s sword, you’ll need to be as far away from him as possible when he does this attack. If you’re standing close to him, this can be hard to do given how fast he does this attack.
That said, if you’re far enough from him, dash away even further. If you’re close enough to him, you can dash towards him to get behind him. Be sure to get far behind enough as his attacks can also hit you if you’re standing too close behind him.
You also have the option to jump over him. You can then slash downwards to do a nail pogo on him or his sword.
Lunge Attack
The Pure Vessel will also occasionally lunge towards you with his Nail pointing outwards. His movement covers 50% of the arena.
The best way to avoid this attack while also having the opportunity to attack him is to jump, land a nail-pogo on him, land behind him, then attack once more if you can. Alternatively, you can also jump over him and perform a Descending Dark to deal more damage.
Dagger Attack
The Pure Vessel will stand at either end of the arena, summon outward-pointing daggers circling him, then fire them forward. The daggers cover almost the entirety of the arena. However, there are gaps in between the daggers that are safe spaces.
Before the Pure Vessel fires these daggers, there’s a beam of light that shows which direction they’ll fly at. Stand in an area that’s not hit by these beams of light and you’ll be safe from the attack.
It can be hard to land a hit on the Pure Vessel while he’s doing this attack. It’s best to focus on not getting hit with this one. Otherwise, you can fire a Shade Soul at him if you know you’re in the clear.
Soul Pillars
The Pure Vessel will begin this attack by teleporting above you. He’ll then lunge downwards. After a few seconds, pillars will sprout up from below. There are going to be pillars all around the arena, but there are also spaces in between them you can stand on to avoid being damaged.
If you can manage it, you can pinpoint exactly where the Pure Vessel is going to land. Then, jump over him once he lands. You can then nail-pogo on him until the pillars disappear. You can end this with a Descending Dark to deal more damage.
Focus
The Pure Vessel has a focus move similar to yours. However, instead of healing, his is a more offensive attack. When the Pure Vessel starts focusing soul, orbs of light will begin to pop up all around the arena. Make sure you aren’t covered by these orbs as these will eventually formulate into an explosion after a few seconds.
The Pure Vessel starts performing this attack after his health reaches about 60%.
Only attack him once he’s finished performing this attack. Otherwise, if there’s no orb of light around you, you can stand close to him and attack him freely.
Void Tendrils
This is when the Pure Vessel leans backwards and opens his cloak, revealing his void tendrils. These tendrils will then sprout forward, covering more than half of the arena.
When you see the Pure Vessel start to lean back, immediately jump and position yourself above him. You can then attack him from here by performing a nail-pogo. You can then end this with a Descending Dark attack.
Aside from these attacks, the Pure Vessel will also jump around, teleport around, perform a backstep, and parry. He’ll be fast so you’ll need to be fast too.
Other Tips For Beating The Pure Vessel
It’s best to use the Sharp Shadow charm during this fight so you can extend your shadow dashes further. On top of that, this will also allow you to deal a bit of damage whenever you’ll have to dash through the Pure Vessel.
You’ll also want to employ charms that will make your attack preference stronger. For example, if you use spells and abilities more often, use charms such as the Shaman Stone and the Soul Catcher. If you’re more of a melee attacker, use Quick Slash and Fragile Strength.
Take advantage of the fact that Fragile charms don’t break while you’re in Godhome. That means you can undergo any Pantheon runs you want and your Fragile charms will remain unbroken even if you die during these runs. That’s because Godhome is considered to be a dream realm, and these charms don’t shatter while you’re here.
Before you fight the Pure Vessel in the Pantheon of the Knight or the Pantheon of Hallownest, be sure to practice fighting him first in the Hall of the Gods. Familiarize his attack patterns here. Once you’re confident enough, you can then make the Pantheon run and defeat him there.
