[Off Topic] An Actual Hollow Knight Markoff Tutorial

In lieu of the first HK Markoff Tutorial, I'd like to present a more detailed guide to beating Ascended/Radiant Markoff in Godhome.

Mechanics

Markoff's arena consists of 5 platforms, 4 arranged in a rectangular formation and 1 in the middle. Two walls on either side of the arena can be climbed using the Mantis Claw. Crucially, in the Ascended and Radiant difficulties, the floor is missing. The knight spawns on the bottom-left platform.

The Markoff fight is divided into two stages. In the second stage, when he hits 50%50% HP, he spawns a second Dreamshield and his Nail Barrage attack speeds up.

Markoff has 3 primary attack. Paraphrasing the wiki:

• Dreamshield Summon: Markoth spawns a glowing shield that constantly orbits around him, blocking attacks and dealing contact damage. In the second stage, he summons another shield that orbits directly opposite the previous one.
• Nail Barrage: Markoth creates a nail that aims in the Knight's direction for a moment before flying forward. He sends a Nail every 11-22 seconds. In the second stage, his attack rate increases to sending a nail every 0.750.75-1.251.25 seconds.
• Shield Cyclone: Markoth spins his shield in an increasingly wider radius before retracting it. The second shield summoned is not affected by this attack and continues orbiting around him normally.

Markoff starts with 650 health in Attuned, and 950 in Ascended and Radiant. To put these numbers into perspective, this is 4646 hits with the pure nail, or 3131 hits with the pure nail and strength. This makes him one of the weaker bosses, with a health similar to Attuned Troupe Master Grimm.

Abilities

The most importance thing about this fight is patience. Though Markoff is relatively weak in health, opportunities to deal damage are hard to find. A poorly planned attack can lead to taking double or triple damage from a combination of the Dreamshield/contact damage, the Nail Barrage, and falling off the arena.

Markoff is most vulnerable during the Shield Cyclone phase, which happens every 15 seconds. You can reliably heal two masks of health during this period (though this isn't necessarily the best use of soul). In the first stage, you can use the shade cloak to dash past the shield during this phase and deal several hits of nail damage. This is also possible during the second phase, but riskier due to the second orbiting Dreamshield.

As with most dream bosses, spells are great against Markoff due to the knock-back and slow movement speed. You can reliably get double or triple hits with the Shade Soul, and the Descending Dark offers crucial invincibility frames during the Nail Barrage attacks. Note that Abyss Shriek is less effective due to awkward positioning, risk associated with the Dreamshield, and the high knock-back that prevents the Shriek from getting all 44 damage ticks.

Nail Arts are often overlooked, but are one of the most potent weapons against Markoff. Specifically, the Dash Slash deals 250%250% (compared to the 50%50% buff of strength charms) and offers a great increase in range and AOE. This is enough to outrange the dreamshield, allowing you to get semi-consistent damage during the nail barrage phase. The Great Slash is also a good option for extra damage.

Charms

Shaman Stone — 5/5

Increases damage of spells and increases size of Shade Soul. Spells are the most reliable source of DPS against Markoff, so a must-have for this fight. Increased Shade Soul size is useful for hitting Markoff across the arena.

Spell Twister — 4.5/5

Reduces the amount of soul required to cast spells. Soul is hard to acquire in this fight, so also very effective. Can be replaced with Soul Catcher or Soul Eater.

Soul Eater — 4.5/5

Greatly increases the amount of soul acquired from a nail hit, with a large notch cost. Great with overcharmed builds in Radiant.

Fragile/Permanent Strength — 4/5

Offers an additional 50%50% nail damage. Great for burst DPS during the Shield Cyclone phase.

Nailmaster's Glory — 4/5

Greatly reduces the amount of time required to charge up nail arts. Paired with Dash/Great Slash, can be a great source of DPS throughout the fight. Note that nail arts do not stack on top of strength.

Longnail/Mark of Pride — 4/5

Increases length of nail. Overall pretty effective due to Markoff's unpredictable movement. Does not stack with Dash Slash's range increase. Synergizes with Grubberfly's Elegy.

Grubsong — 3.5/5

Gain soul after taking damage. Useful in Ascended, and relatively cheap notch cost can be used to finish off builds. Synergizes with Grubberfly's Elegy.

Grubberfly's Elegy — 3/5

Adds a range attack to the nail when the Knight is at full health. This attack deals half damage and does not give soul. Useful in radiant, but has terrible synergy with spell builds because the attack gives no soul. Does not work with Nail Arts.

Shape of Unn — 3/5

Allows reduced movement during focus. Allows you to focus during the Nail Barrage phase. Useful if running a heal/tank build.

Heavy Blow — 2.5/5

Increases nail knock-back. One of the only bosses where this charm is effective :(. Still not great. Does not stack with Nail Arts. Synergizes with Grubberfly's Elegy.

Quickfocus — 2/5

Focus/Heal faster. Useful if running a heal/tank build, but overall less effective than using soul on spells. Synergizes well with Shape of Unn.

Quickslash — 2/5

Increases attack speed. Not as useful against Markoff due to high knockback, does not synergize with Nail Arts.

Fragile/Unbreakable Heart or Lifeblood Charms — 2/5

Gives extra health. Extra tanking is useful, but in general you should avoid taking damage altogether. Soul should be used for spells, not healing.

Charm Builds

Ascended — Strength, Mark of Pride, Shaman Stone, Spell Twister

Radiant — Nailmaster's Glory, Shaman Stone, Strength, Mark of Pride, Soul Eater

Strategy

Save up soul during the first stage and use spells to damage Markoff during the second phase. You can reliably and safely get two Dash Slash hits during the Shield Cyclone phase. Use Monarch Wings to avoid falling off the map following the Dash Slashes. Note that pogoing resets both the Monarch Wings and the Shade Cloak, and that both Markoff and his Shields are pogoable.

In general, try not to move too much during this fight. One way to dodge the nail barrage is to stay on a single platform the entire fight, using dashes and double-jumps to dodge the nails. Descending Dark is another way to dodge attacks, but be careful to Descending Dark only above platforms. Use Spells only when there is little risk of being hit i.e. between nail attacks. Try to stay away from Markoff during this stage; the nails are hard enough to deal with.

During the Shield Cyclone stage, commit to either healing or dealing damage. Use this stage to deal as much nail damage as possible; spell damage is easier to get during the Nail Barrage phase.

Final Tips

• Nails can spawn offscreen. This is especially an issue if you are using mantis claw to cling to the walls on either side.
• Generally, be careful around walls. Wall jumping makes you lose control of the knight for a few frames, which is enough to get hit by an offscreen nail.
• Nails spawn in a regular rhythym and follow a predictable trajectory. You can use this to your advantage by anticipating where the nails will be.
• The nails are not pogoable. Not the best thing to find out halfway into your radiant run...
• If attempting the Attuned mode, you can basically damage tank using a nail build.

Overall, Markoff is one of the hardest bosses in the game. Taking him on in Ascended or Radiant difficulty is definitely a late-game challenge, but it's a rewarding one to have finally complete.