One of the few survivors of the Infection that ravaged Hallownest, the warrior Ogrim had previously served as a knight to the king in Hollow Knight. As the Dung Defender, he guards the path to Isma’s Grove in the city sewers, where players can battle him.
The Royal Waterways has a couple of entrances, but it is likely that players will first gain access to the area through the City of Tears. To the left of the Fountain Square in the city, players can find a hatch on the ground that emits a light glow. Opening this hatch will require the use of a Simple Key, and players can then descend into the sewer system.
As players progress further into the Royal Waterways, they will begin to hear cheerful shouts and laughter echoing out from the darkened passages where the Dung Defender awaits.
The Dung Defender's Attacks & How to Counter Them
Dung Toss
The Dung Defender will roll up a large ball of dung and throw it at the player. The ball will bounce around the arena for a few seconds, bouncing randomly, and will persist even if it hits the Knight. Players can get rid of the dung balls faster by dealing damage to them, but doing so even with an upgraded Nail can be difficult, and Spells are much more efficient at destroying them.
Dive
To quickly travel across the field, the Dung Defender will dive in and out of the ground as if he’s swimming. Players should jump over the Dung Defender as he performs this attack to avoid contact damage.
Dung Toss Combo
This combo is an extension of the regular Dung Toss. Players will need to be on the lookout for the Dung Defender to throw two dung balls that bounce around the arena, which can be followed up with two different variations.
While the two dung balls are bouncing around, he will either dive underground to execute his Burst attack or curl into a ball and join the mayhem for a few seconds. If he uses Curl, players can simply wait in either the far left or right corners of the room to avoid being hit and provide a wide window to heal.
Burst
Similar to his Dive maneuver, the Dung Defender will disappear underground before moving back and forth across the arena, tracking the player’s movements. He will then burst out from the ground, alongside two dung balls on either side of him.
During this attack, players can force the Dung Defender to surface by using the Desolate Dive/Descending Dark spell. This will cause him to re-emerge and will briefly be knocked in a supine position, allowing players to get in a few hits.
Evade
If players get too close to the Dung Defender, he will curl into a ball and roll backwards to get away.
Zeal
When the Dung Defender reaches around 50% of his health, he will beat his chest and shout in a similar fashion as he did at the beginning of the battle, initiating a short frenzy mode. He will begin to chain his attacks together, executing them at a faster rate and making them more difficult to dodge.
Players can take advantage of the Thorns of Agony charm, which will deal damage after taking a hit, making it crucial when in close range. Grubsong will also allow players to generate Soul when taking damage, providing a valuable resource for healing and casting Spells.
Defeating the Dung Defender
Upon defeating the Dung Defender, players will be rewarded with the Defender’s Crest charm, which creates a damaging cloud around the Knight when equipped. Additionally, the Dung Defender will no longer impede the player’s progress, and they will be able to travel to Isma’s Grove. To collect the next mobility upgrade from the Grove, players will need to have previously found the Crystal Heart ability.
Dream Battle: White Defender
After collecting the Dream Nail, players can find the Dung Defender asleep in his cave below the arena where they originally fought him. Here, players can use the Dream Nail to initiate the battle against his stronger Dream variant, the White Defender.
As is the case with all Dream variants, the White Defender is faster and stronger than his base counterpart, but he also has two additional attacks: Spike Slam and Defender Jubilee. When using the former, he will jab his arms into the ground to create large shockwaves too high for the player to jump over, making the Shade Cloak essential for the battle. Meanwhile, the Defender Jubilee acts as a prolonged Dung Toss, but the White Defender will dive underground, creating spikes across the ground before re-emerging with a Burst attack.
Fragile charms are useful in Dream battles as they will not break upon death, meaning that players can use Fragile Strength and Fragile Heart if they have not yet upgraded them to Unbreakable, and have enough Notches to equip them. For players that prefer to use spellcasting, charms such as Shaman Stone and Spell Twister are crucial for efficient Soul usage. On the other hand, Quick Slash and Longnail or Mark of Pride are indispensable for players that rely on Nail attacks.
Players will receive 300 Essence after defeating the White Defender. However, he can be challenged up to five more times, dealing an extra mask of damage for every defeat that he suffers. Although players cannot receive more Essence, they will be immortalized as a dung statue after the fifth victory, marking the Knight as one of the greatest warriors in loyal Ogrim’s eyes.
Hollow Knight is available on PC, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.