There are only three upgrades in Hollow Knight that are 100% required to beat the game. Those are Vengeful Spirit, Mothwing Cloak and finally Mantis Claw. This third ability is essentially wall jump and will allow you to access most of the game.
How to Get Mantis Claw in Hollow Knight
If you are just looking for a map to get you straight to the Mantis Claw take a look here at the path we will be going over.
Starting from Dirtmouth, Drop into the well and head left.
In the next tall room drop all the way to the bottom.
In the spot where your normally find Cornifer, go to the bottom of the room and to the right.
From this spot drop down and go to the room on the left.
This is where you are required to have Mothwing Cloak to progress. If you do not already have the dash ability click here
Now you will be in a very tall room which is the beginning of the Fungal Wastes. Hug the right wall and you will come to an opening with an NPC called the Leg Eater. He will sell you fragile charms that will break if you die. In order to get them fixed you will have to come back to the Leg Eater and pay geo or get them turned unbreakable from another NPC named Devine who is part of the Grimm Troupe. You will not see the Grimm Troupe until much later.
In this same room, go ahead and sit on the bug that can be used as a bench and save. The next section will have a long way to go before another bench is available.
Once back in the main room, navigate to the bottom and follow the sign to the right. The signs will lead you to the City of Tears which is locked off until you get the Mantis Claw.
Note – If you go to the left there are two large mushroom enemies. Once you beat both of them you will get a Charm Notch which is super helpful. You may want to grab this before moving on.
There is only one path for the next couple of rooms. Just follow around to the right and in the next room drop to the bottom. At this point there are two options. To the right is a dream warrior’s grave which you will not be able to interact with until later in the game. Right now it will act as a dead end. Continue to the left.
This next room is big and open. It looks like there should be a boss fight and the ground will even rumble the first time you come in. if you hang out for a second an NPC named Cloth will appear and you can talk to her. She will help you in your journey later on. Just keep following the path
In the next room you will see purple mushrooms for the first time. You will bounce off the mushrooms just a bit if you touch them. The way to do a large bounce off the purple mushroom is to jump and then down strike the mushroom while in the air. The down attack will launch the little knight up into the air.
In this same room, drop to the bottom and you will have two paths to go. To the right is how you can get to the City of tears. This is where you will want to go after you get the Mantis Claw. For now, that path is blocked, you will want to head to the left.
Drop to the bottom of the room. You will notice a tall wall to the left that you can’t climb. This is showing you that you need the wall jump and will be a shortcut later. From here follow the path to the right.
In this next room you need to continue to follow the path all the way to the right and then drop down as soon as you are able to. Be careful because you are a very long way from a bench and the next room is a tough one.
The room is tall and has a LOT of mantis enemies. Luckily, there is a bench at the very bottom. Again, be careful not to die in this area because you are finally close to getting the Mantis Claw. You can follow the signs all the way to the bench.
After you get to the bench, this will reset all of the enemies. Make your way back up the same way you came but search for an opening on the left hand side.
Once you get through the door you need to use your jump and dash to get into the Mantis Village area.
All the way to the left and bottom you will find a switch that must be triggered to continue
From here make your way up above and you will find the Mantis Claw glowing on the floor. All you have to do is reach out and pick it up.
nce you have the Mantis Claw ability, you have two options:
- Leave the way you came to get back up to the City of Tears. In the city you can upgrade your nail and find another ability known as Desolate Dive
- Go up and out. From there follow the path out and to the left until you reach the Queen’s station. Right now, you are close to a stag station which is a fast travel location. Stag stations make it easier to get back to places you have been before.
Full map to Mantis Claw
Credit to https://scripterswar.com/hollowknight/map
