Brothers Oro and Mato are the first real combination of two bosses that you’ll face in Hollow Knight Godmaster. It’s a new dynamic that you won’t be used to. Sure, you’ve faced multiple bosses, fighting each enemy individually, but you’ve never faced two at once before. This is your chance. In this Hollow Knight Brothers Oro and Mato boss guide, we’ll cover how to kill the bosses. We’ll also throw in some information that you won’t have found before.
What are the Hollow Knight Brothers Oro and Mato Bosses?
These bosses were added with Hollow Knight Godmaster, an expansion after the main game released. They sit at the top of the Pantheon of the Master in Godhome. These guys are nailmasters, skilled with the art of the nail. They’re a great addition to the game with this expansion, and they give it a decent feeling as an expansion. We’ll explore them more in the lore section, for now, let’s get into their phases.
Attacks and Strategies
These guys have two phases to fight through. We’re going to cover each of those phases and the attacks you’ll face in them.
Phase 1
This phase is all about Nailmaster Oro. The following are the attacks you’ll face.
Double Slash
Oro is going to swing his nail twice at you. The first of these is a backhand swipe, and the second is an overhead swipe. This is similar to the Watcher Knight’s attacks, but it has more range. He’ll move a full body’s width forward with that first attack, and half a body with the second. To dodge it, you need to move back and get away from the enemy. Dodging is definitely your best bet here.
Jump Slash
Oro is going to leap towards your location with this attack. He’ll stop in midair briefly, but then fall directly down and land on you with his nail. He’ll target you before he leaves the ground. This can cause him to end up jumping backwards, so watch out. His leading foot and nail always extend further than your location, so if you move back away from the attack, you’ll get hit. Move forward and avoid getting hit from this one. You can hit the boss once it’s landed.
Dash Slash
This is the signature Nail Art from Oro. It’s an attack that covers about 75% of the arena. It’s a powerful move that will absolutely destroy you if you’re caught in it. The boss is fast, and pretty much guaranteed to hit you. This move is telegraphed by Oro briefly jumping up and out of the arena for a second. Then, he’ll reappear at one end, ready to perform the attack If he’s already at one end of the arena, he’s going to just perform the attack, there won’t be any sort of telegraphing. Oro will take roughly 1.5 seconds to charge this move up, so you have time to get up and out of the way.
Roll Back
This isn’t an attack. The boss is going to roll backwards in order to reposition itself before another attack. Get ready if you see it.
Jump Back
This move is the same as the aboe. It’s a preamble to another attack, except the boss will jump back instead of rolling.
Phase 2
In this phase, Nailmaster Mato is going to join Oro in the fight. The attacks you’re going to face are as follows.
Alternating Strikes
When you’re positioned on either side of the arena, the brothers will alternate between their Double Slash and Jump Slash attacks. One brother will perform an attack, then the second brother will move in to perform one. As one attacks, the other will back off. They’ll do this in quick succession, so it’s pretty damn relentless. If you get between the two brothers, they’ll stop this barrage of hits. They’ll then start to perform some other attacks. If the attack continues, after between four and six times, one brother will pull out his Nail Art.
Twin Combo Attack
This is an attack that the bosses will perform when you’re between them. They’ll use Double Slashes and Jump Slashes to get close to you. Then they’ll use them both on you to try and kill you. It means that you’ve got two attacks on two fronts. Get out as fast as you can. That’s all there is to it.
Barricade
One of the brothers will hold up his nail in a protective position. This happens when the other brother uses his Nail Art. If you try to attack the defending brother, your hits won’t do anything. The brother will retaliate with his own attack though.
Nailmaster Nato’s Nail Art – Cyclone Slash
This attack carries Mato into the air. He’ll spin up there for a while, then fall right down and slash with his nail. Mato is going to move towards you as he spins, so that attack is pretty much guaranteed to hit. He’ll determine the direction he’s moving in as he leaves the ground, so you can get away from him if you move under him. At least, to a degree. Mato is going to spin for around 1.5 seconds. This attack is going to be telegraphed by Mato leaping up and out of view for a moment. Then, he’ll appear in the center of the arena. If he’s already there, he’ll just perform the attack.
Best Strategy
These guys require all your skill because they’re the final bosses of the area. It takes 500 damage to beat Oro and get Mato into the fight. If you kill one brother, the other will keep fighting in a sort of third phase.
Your best bet is to attack the brother that is standing idle whilst the other is attacking. This is a strategy you can carry forward through the fight and beat a single brother with before killing the second.
You need the Shadow Dash ability to get through this easily. It allows you to heal a little every now and then, and that’s massively important. If you want to get some good healing done though, the Shape of Unn and Quick Focus charms are good ones to combine.
Ultimately, you need to use Charm combinations that you’re comfortable with so that you can dodge and move through attacks. Keep the enemies at bay, hit when you can, and you’ll get through the fight okay. Make sure that you don’t try to lean on Charms that don’t work.
Hollow Knight Brothers Oro and Mato Lore
These guys were turned by the Great Nailsage. It’s quite sad really, though they do have each other at the very least.