A Warrior Dream spirit in the Resting Grounds, the warrior executed for turning his nails on the Pale King.
Xero is the first Warrior Dream most players meet, sitting right next to the Seer who gives the Dream Nail. Per the wiki, "Xero is a Warrior Dream boss in Hollow Knight" found "in the west part of the Resting Grounds." His statue is one screen from the Seer's shrine.
According to the wiki, the lore is the King-betrayal arc. "Xero was a warrior of Hallownest who believed that strength would always allow him a bright future. When his mind was infected, he hoped to fight against the plague with violence. Fueled by the same hope, he turned against the Pale King, for which he was executed."
The wiki specifies the moveset: one attack, Nail Cast. Xero "only uses one attack" per the wiki, throwing six floating nails that orbit and return. The fight is a pattern-reading puzzle rather than a reflex test. Per the wiki, "the Knight can heal safely by running off the platform and going to the far left of the area, where Xero's attacks do not reach." That zone-out trick turns Resting Grounds Xero into a free Essence drop.
This guide covers the Resting Grounds location next to the Seer, the Nail Cast pattern, the far-left heal pocket (and why it disappears in Godhome), the 100 Essence drop, and the post-fight "do not call me a traitor, call me a fool" spirit acknowledgement.
A Warrior Dream spirit, the warrior executed for turning his nails against the Pale King.
Resting Grounds, west of the Seer, one screen from where the Dream Nail is gifted.
Dream Nail, struck on his statue to summon the spirit and start the fight.
100 Essence, the lowest Warrior Dream yield and an easy first-Dream entry.Xero is the dream of a Hallownest warrior who thought violence could solve the Infection. Per the wiki, he "believed that strength would always allow him a bright future. When his mind was infected, he hoped to fight against the plague with violence. Fueled by the same hope, he turned against the Pale King, for which he was executed."
According to the wiki, his tomb in Resting Grounds doubles as a warning. "Xero was buried in the Resting Grounds, his tomb a reminder to any who would betray the King." The Knight reads the tomb text: "Cursed are those who turn against the King." The fight starts because the spirit mistakes the Knight for another betrayer.
The wiki specifies the dream's self-deception. "When his spirit awoke, he still could not see the wrongness of his actions and instead believed his demise was the result of a doomed fate." His pre-fight speech reads: "Hope and freedom. I thought that strength alone could grant me these things. In my dreams I would cut that plague with my nails, and then I turned my weapons upon the King... Those who hope are already doomed."
According to the wiki, the post-fight spirit finally reads the situation correctly. "Ah... I can see now. Those who turn against the King are doomed as soon as they raise their weapon. Do not call me a traitor. Simply call me a fool. I know you will not flee. Wherever you go... I will be watching." His Hall of Gods tag confirms the arc: "Dreamborn god of faith and betrayal."
Xero's statue sits in the west of the Resting Grounds. Per the wiki, he can be found "in the west part of the Resting Grounds" close to the Seer's shrine. Most players hit him as their first Warrior Dream because the Seer is the one who gives the Dream Nail.
According to the wiki, the prerequisites are minimal. The Knight needs the Dream Nail and enough Geo or progression to reach the Resting Grounds via the City of Tears - Resting Grounds stag station route or the Crystal Peak descent. No charm or ability gates the actual statue.
The wiki notes a Pantheon-specific arena change. "The ground is replaced by three distanced platforms: small, big and medium on Ascended difficulty or above." The base-game Resting Grounds arena is a flat floor; the Pantheon Ascended version forces platform-only positioning, which removes the standard far-left heal pocket.
Xero has exactly one attack. Per the wiki, he "only uses one attack" and the wiki describes it as Nail Cast. Six floating nails orbit him at increasing range, then return to his position. The orbit speed scales with phase.
According to the wiki, dashes are the safest dodge. "Dashing, especially Shadow Dashing, is a very helpful tactic for dodging Xero's attacks." Shade Cloak phases through the nails; Mothwing Cloak just-times under the return arc.
The wiki specifies the spell pick. "The Spell Vengeful Spirit / Shade Soul is very useful against Xero because it has near infinite range and it can hit more than once in a single cast, especially when fired in the same direction Xero himself moves." Same-direction Vengeful Spirit often scores 2-hit casts.
Per the wiki, the highest-impact heal trick is the far-left escape. "The Knight can heal safely by running off the platform and going to the far left of the area, where Xero's attacks do not reach, or by running under the platform." In actual play, this turns the base-game Xero fight into an Essence farm; just note it does not work in Godhome.
The dominant Xero route pairs Shade Cloak dashes with Vengeful Spirit chip-damage. Per the wiki, Nail Arts also work: "Great Slash and Dash Slash are useful." Howling Wraiths / Abyss Shriek is flagged as high-damage but inconsistent: "Xero bounces around and may not take all the hits."
Shade Cloak (ability: phases through Nail Cast orbit)
Quick Focus (faster heals in the far-left pocket or Phase 2 windows)According to the wiki, the no-Charm heal route works for fresh Dream Nail attempts. "Healing without Charms is safest when the Knight dodges a nail and puts themself on the opposite side of Xero's path, often causing the returning nail to miss." Cross-arena positioning beats Charm stacking on this fight.
The wiki specifies the Pantheon caveat. The far-left escape only works in the Resting Grounds arena. In Pantheon Ascended, "the ground is replaced by three distanced platforms: small, big and medium." The no-Charm heal route collapses; Pantheon attempts need Quick Focus or Shape of Unn for cooked-window heals between orbits.
Xero drops 100 Essence on defeat. Per the wiki, "the spirit confides to the Knight its faith in their bravery, before shattering into 100 Essence to be collected by the Dream Nail." That is the lowest Warrior Dream Essence yield, alongside Gorb; the Awoken Dream Nail upgrade through the Seer in Resting Grounds counts every Warrior Dream regardless of yield.
According to the wiki, Xero returns in the Pantheon of the Artist as the opening boss. "Pantheon of the Artist, 1st boss. Health: Attuned difficulty 650. Ascended difficulty 900." Same single Nail Cast attack, faster orbit speed, and the platforms-only arena on Ascended.
The wiki specifies the Hall of Gods statue text. "I lie dreaming amongst peaceful graves. Dreamborn god of faith and betrayal." The faith-and-betrayal framing matches the lore: he had faith strength would carry him, and his betrayal of the King was the consequence of that faith.
Xero is the entry-tier Warrior Dream on the Awoken Dream Nail upgrade path. These spokes pick up the threads.
Game data and screenshots adapted from hollowknight.fandom.com, used under CC BY-SA 3.0. Original content remains the property of the wiki contributors and Team Cherry.
