The Flukemarm is possibly one of the most disgusting bosses in Hollow Knight. It’s described as an insatiable breeder, which should give you some sort of an idea as to what its role in this world is. She’s also a very distinct boss because the fight against her is far from normal. It’s almost something completely different to a boss fight, but it’s very much a boss fight. In this Hollow Knight Flukemarm boss guide, we’ll explain how to defeat her and why you should do it our way. We’ll also throw in some information about her that you probably didn’t know before.
What is the Hollow Knight Flukemarm?
The Flukemarm is, as we’ve already mentioned, an insatiable breeder. You’ll come across her in a hidden cave below the pipes of the royal Waterways. She’s the mother of all Flukes, smaller foes you’ll face in the game, so get ready in that context if you know how to combat them. Initially, she’ll be dormant. She won’t attack you. However, she’ll become hostile as soon as you hit her once, so don’t try to start the fight until you’re absolutely sure and ready. Her only defense is throwing Flukefeys at you. Once you’ve killed her, she’ll explode with the infection inside her. After the explosion has cleared, you can claim the Flukenest Charm.
Attacks and Strategies
The Flukemarm has only one attack. We’re going to cover that here and suggest a way for you to cope with it to make this fight a little easier.
Spawn
Flukemarm will spit out a Flukefey from any one of her two orifices. You’ll see this attack before it comes because the boss spits out bile from the orifice before an enemy emerges. There can only be a maximum of six Flukefeys in the arena at once. The more you kill, the more the boss can spawn to distract you.
The key to this attack is that it draws you away from hurting the boss. You’re going to be pulled back and have to attack all the smaller enemies that are swarming you. Use the arena to your advantage and take out a few of these enemies when they get close. However, you should also remember that you’re a lot more agile than they are. Move around to avoid them and attack the boss more over them. Don’t get distracted or the fight will go on for much longer than it needs to.
Best Strategy
Since there’s only one attack to worry about, we’re moving onto this section a bit sooner than expected. As you can imagine, there are a few things that will help you beat this boss as fast as possible. For the most part, though, she’s an absolute pushover. As long as you don’t allow yourself to get distracted.
Water is bad
There’s one thing that you desperately need to avoid in this fight, and that’s the water at the bottom of the arena. If you fall into it, you can’t attack the boss. This means that you’ll get hit and overwhelmed quickly before dying. Don’t get caught in this situation. Avoid the water like the plague and jump up on the platforms around the area to keep on the offensive. Even if you’re being defensive.
Offensive
The best offensive tactic is to take this boss on with an upgraded Nail. Ideally, you need the Channelled Nail, or at least enough damage to kill the Flukefeys in a single hit. You can also use Fragile Strength or Unbreakable Strength to push the Nail to this point with the Sharpened Nail. Once you’re at this point, kill the Flukefeys as quickly as you can and then move onto hurting the Flukemarm. The boss will spawn enemies on a regular basis, so get your damage in at those points and you’ll be able to deal with the smaller enemies when they come.
Alternatively, you can use the Flukefeys to gain SOUL and then use Vengeful Spirit or Shade Soul Spell against the boss. This deals continuous damage and avoids too much jumping around to get into the correct position. It’s a great move for anyone looking to go down the spell path over the melee offensive path.
Defensive
If you prefer a boss fight that you’re in control of most of the time, a defensive approach is best. Combining the Stalwart Shell and Quick Focus Charms buys you some time, and then you can use Grubsong and Soul Catcher to generate SOUL for healing. Finally, throw in Thorns of Agony to deal damage. This kills all the enemies and eventually deals damage to the boss, so you’ll take it down after a while. This is a much slower approach though, so be ready for a slog if you’re doing this.
Using Abyss Shriek combined with Shaman Stone is a good move. You can combine this with the above and kill the Flukemarm in just three hits if you’re skilled enough. This is a very defensive tactic though, so be ready to be on the run for most of the fight.
Escape
If the fight proves to be too much, or you don’t want to finish it right now, you can leave. The boss is optional, and you can leave in the middle of the fight. This won’t kill the boss, so you’ll need to come back and do that later if you want her dead. However, it does add some flexibility to the fight. If you’re struggling to kill her, for example, you can leave and come back with a stronger loadout to finish her off. This isn’t an option for many bosses in this game, so use it wisely. Remember the Charm you get for the kill and that might make you want to fight a little more.
Flukemarm Lore
The Flukemarm is the mother of all Flukes that infest the Royal Waterways. Her body is actually just a nest for the Flukefeys. She’s been infected like every Fluke in the area, but because she’s a breeder she can’t leave like the other Flukes can. It means that she’s stuck in one place, but is also lethal.