Key takeaways
- There are 46 Grubs to rescue in Hollow Knight, spread across 13 areas, and none of them can be permanently missed — so the real challenge is routing them around the movement abilities you don’t have yet. The progression-friendly approach…
There are 46 Grubs to rescue in Hollow Knight, spread across 13 areas, and none of them can be permanently missed — so the real challenge is routing them around the movement abilities you don’t have yet. The progression-friendly approach is to clear each area’s Grubs the moment you unlock the ability that gates them, then hand them in as a batch at Grubfather’s room in the northwest of Forgotten Crossroads. This checklist lists every Grub by the ability that unlocks it, the landmark to look for, the obstacle in the way, and the reward tier each rescue feeds into.
What the Grubfather actually pays out
Rewards are handed over in fixed tiers rather than one per Grub, which is why partial completion can feel unrewarding. The order below follows the reward table documented on the community wiki; the exact sequence is confirmed in-game the first time you hand in a batch.
| Grubs rescued | Reward | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Grubsong (charm) | Costs 1 notch; grants 15 SOUL every time you take damage |
| 10 | Hallownest Seal | Relic — resells for 450 Geo |
| 16 | Pale Ore | 1 of only 6 in the game; required for nail upgrades |
| 23 | Rancid Egg | Consumable used to summon your shade |
| 31 | Mask Shard | 1 of 16 total, and 4 shards make one extra mask |
| 37 | Arcane Egg | Relic — resells for 1,200 Geo |
| 40 | King’s Idol | Relic — resells for 800 Geo |
| 46 | Grubberfly’s Elegy (charm) | Costs 3 notches; fires a projectile at full health |
Two details about the payout matter before you start. Rewards stack: if you free 20 Grubs before ever visiting Grubfather, he hands over every tier up to 20 in a single visit, one after another. And the relics are just Geo in a different shape — the charms are the real prize.
What the two Grub charms are actually worth
| Charm | Notch cost | Effect | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grubsong | 1 | Grants 15 SOUL whenever you take damage | None worth mentioning; it fits in almost any build as filler |
| Grubberfly’s Elegy | 3 | At full health, your nail fires a beam dealing roughly half a nail hit, per community damage tables | 3 notches is a lot for a condition — lose one mask and the charm switches off |
The ability gates that decide your route
Almost every Grub sits behind exactly one gate. Learn the gate and the route writes itself — you never have to wander a late-game area wondering why one cage is still sealed.
| Ability | Where it comes from | Grubs it opens up |
|---|---|---|
| Mothwing Cloak (dash) | Greenpath, after Hornet | Greenpath and Fungal Wastes dash gaps |
| Mantis Claw (wall cling) | Mantis Village | Vertical shafts in Crossroads, City of Tears and Deepnest |
| Desolate Dive | Soul Sanctum | Breakable floors, including the Resting Grounds crypts |
| Lumafly Lantern (1,800 Geo from Sly) | Dirtmouth | Dark rooms in Crystal Peak, Deepnest and the Royal Waterways |
| Monarch Wings (double jump) | Ancient Basin | High ledges in upper City of Tears and Queen’s Gardens |
| Crystal Heart (super dash) | Crystal Peak | Long horizontal gaps in Crystal Peak and Kingdom’s Edge |
| Isma’s Tear (acid immunity) | Royal Waterways, beyond Dung Defender | Acid pools in Fog Canyon, Greenpath and Queen’s Gardens |
| Shade Cloak | The Abyss, behind the King’s Brand door | Shade Gates in Fog Canyon and Deepnest |
Progression-ordered Grub checklist
Stage 1 — nail only: Forgotten Crossroads and Howling Cliffs
Forgotten Crossroads is the tutorial for Grub hunting, and it holds the largest early cluster. Expect cages near the well, above the Hot Spring, and one behind a breakable wall in the upper-left of the map — the kind of spot you only find if you swing at every suspicious wall you pass. The Howling Cliffs rescue sits high up the vertical climb near the top of the area, and it is the one most players leave for a return trip because the platforming is miserable without a dash.
The obstacle here is patience, not difficulty: no Grub in this stage is behind a gate, so a single clean sweep of both areas before Hornet will pay for your first charm.
Stage 2 — Mothwing Cloak and Mantis Claw: Greenpath and Fungal Wastes
Greenpath’s cages hide behind vine walls and across dash gaps, with at least one tucked into the bramble-heavy side rooms where the spikes punish sloppy movement. Fungal Wastes adds cages around the Mantis Village approach and near the acid pools, where the Mantis Claw turns a dead-end shaft into a two-second detour.
Obstacles: dash-length gaps you will overshoot the first time, wall-cling shafts with no floor, and the Mantis Tribe if you push into the village early. Reason to do this now rather than later — the dash and claw are the two gates that unlock the most Grubs per minute of hunting.
Stage 3 — Desolate Dive and the Lantern: City of Tears and Resting Grounds
The City of Tears is dense with cages: the Soul Sanctum, the corridors around Watcher’s Spire, the gate near King’s Station, and the Pleasure House, where the kitchen cage effectively needs Monarch Wings or the tower lift. The Resting Grounds contributes the crypt cage below the main graveyard, which opens only after a Desolate Dive through the floor.
Obstacles: pitch-dark rooms that are unplayable without the Lumafly Lantern, and the occasional Grub Mimic — a cage that bursts open into an enemy instead of a Grub. Mimics are counted among the 46 by the community wiki, so kill them and move on rather than assuming you misread the room.
Stage 4 — Crystal Heart and Monarch Wings: Crystal Peak, Kingdom’s Edge, Queen’s Gardens
Crystal Peak is the single richest area for Grubs, and it is also where the super dash earns its keep: several cages sit on the far side of gaps that no jump or dash can clear. Kingdom’s Edge adds cages on the vertical climb toward the Colosseum of Fools and one inside the Hive, which needs Wings to enter comfortably. Queen’s Gardens cages sit on high
