Every charm pickup location in Hallownest mapped to its region, with merchant prices, gating abilities, and the missable picks most first-clears walk past.
Charm locations in Hollow Knight split across 15 regions, but the pickups concentrate in 5 hot spots: Forgotten Crossroads (Salubra plus Ancestral Mound), Dirtmouth (Sly's shop plus Iselda's map shop), Fungal Wastes (Leg Eater Fragiles plus Mantis Lords reward), Resting Grounds (Seer's three Essence unlocks), and the Abyss (Kingsoul plus Lifeblood Core).
Per the wiki, the missable pickups concentrate in three spots: Marmu's memorial chamber in Queen's Gardens (gated by the Mask Maker passage), the Fungal Wastes acid pool notch room (gated by Isma's Tear), and the Dirtmouth Grimm Troupe chest (gated by the 6-Flame collection plus the second Grimm fight). The remaining 42 charms drop along the main exploration paths.
According to the wiki, three charms come from multi-region quests rather than single pickups. Kingsoul splits across the White Lady chamber in Queen's Gardens and the Pale King's corpse in White Palace; Grimmchild requires picking up the Troupe Master's offer in Dirtmouth then collecting flames across 5 regions; Carefree Melody is the Banishment-branch reward from Brumm in Distant Village after the Howling Cliffs Lantern path.
This guide maps every charm to its region, lists the merchants and their gates, calls out the missable picks by location, and gives the optimal pickup order across a first-time playthrough.
Forgotten Crossroads has 7 charms (Salubra shop plus Ancestral Mound plus Grubfather).
The Fungal Wastes acid pool notch needs Isma's Tear; many players skip it.
Kingsoul in the Abyss Birthplace needs both halves first, then the descent.
Wayward Compass from Iselda for 220 Geo, the very first charm most players buy.The starting region delivers 7 charms across two shops and the tutorial cliff. Per the wiki, Fury of the Fallen sits on a corpse in King's Pass during the opening sequence; the remaining 6 come from Sly's shop (post-Crystal-Peak return), Iselda's map shop (opens after Cornifer first encounter), Sheo's retirement, and the Grimm Troupe chest spawn.
| Charm | Source | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Fury of the Fallen | King's Pass corpse | Free |
| Wayward Compass | Iselda (map shop) | 220 Geo |
| Gathering Swarm | Sly (shop) | 300 Geo |
| Stalwart Shell | Sly (shop) | 200 Geo |
| Heavy Blow | Sly (shop) | 350 Geo (post-rescue) |
| Sprintmaster | Sly (shop) | 400 Geo (post-rescue) |
| Nailmaster's Glory | Sheo or Mato (retirement) | Free after learning all 3 Nail Arts |
The Crossroads hosts the most charm pickups of any region. Per the wiki, the spread covers Salubra's shop (4 charms), the Ancestral Mound shrine (2 charms), Grubfather's milestone rewards (2 charms), and 1 hidden chamber.
| Charm | Source | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Lifeblood Heart | Salubra | 250 Geo |
| Longnail | Salubra | 300 Geo |
| Steady Body | Salubra | 120 Geo |
| Quick Focus | Salubra | 800 Geo |
| Soul Catcher | Ancestral Mound | Free (post-Vengeful Spirit) |
| Shaman Stone | Ancestral Mound (breakable wall) | Free |
| Grubsong | Grubfather (10 Grubs) | Quest reward |
| Grubberfly's Elegy | Grubfather (all 46 Grubs) | Quest reward |
| Glowing Womb | Crossroads (Hidden tunnels) | Free |
Greenpath's 2 charms reward exploration around Hornet's arena and the Lake of Unn. Per the wiki, Thorns of Agony sits in the central Greenpath chamber gated by a breakable wall; Shape of Unn is the reward for speaking with Unn at the lake bottom (requires Mothwing Cloak).
| Charm | Source | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Thorns of Agony | Greenpath chamber (breakable wall) | Free |
| Shape of Unn | Lake of Unn (Unn dialogue) | Free |
The Wastes deliver 6 charms across the Leg Eater shop, Mantis Village reward, Spore Shroom pickup, Mushroom shrine, and Dashmaster chamber. Per the wiki, the 3 Fragile charms from Leg Eater are critical for the Divine Unbreakable upgrades.
| Charm | Source | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Fragile Heart | Leg Eater | 350 Geo |
| Fragile Greed | Leg Eater | 250 Geo |
| Fragile Strength | Leg Eater | 600 Geo |
| Dashmaster | Fungal Wastes (south) | Free (digger statue) |
| Spore Shroom | Fungal Wastes (Deepnest border) | Free |
| Mark of Pride | Mantis Village (Lords reward) | Free |
The City and Soul Sanctum together drop 3 charms. Per the wiki, Spell Twister sits inside Soul Sanctum past the Soul Master fight; Defender's Crest comes from the Royal Waterways chamber after defeating Dung Defender; Flukenest drops from the Flukemarm boss fight in the Waterways.
| Charm | Source | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Spell Twister | Soul Sanctum (post-Soul Master) | Free |
| Defender's Crest | Royal Waterways (post-Dung Defender) | Free |
| Flukenest | Royal Waterways (Flukemarm drop) | Boss reward |
The Cliffs and Grounds drop 6 charms between them. Per the wiki, Howling Cliffs has Baldur Shell, Joni's Blessing, and the initial Grimmchild pickup spot (after the Troupe Master Lantern arrives); Resting Grounds has the 3 Seer rewards plus Dreamshield.
| Charm | Source | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Baldur Shell | Howling Cliffs (Baldurs chamber) | Howling Cliffs |
| Joni's Blessing | Joni's Repose (Howling Cliffs) | Howling Cliffs |
| Grimmchild | Grimm Troupe tent (Dirtmouth, Lantern-summoned) | Howling Cliffs gate |
| Dream Wielder | Seer (Resting Grounds, 500 Essence) | Resting Grounds |
| Soul Eater | Resting Grounds (Grey Mourner room) | Resting Grounds |
| Dreamshield | Resting Grounds (chamber south of Seer) | Resting Grounds |
Crystal Peak delivers 1 charm (Deep Focus, gated by a breakable wall). Per the wiki, the Royal Waterways overlap with City of Tears for Defender's Crest and Flukenest; the unique Waterways pickup is the Hiveblood path via Kingdom's Edge.
| Charm | Source | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Deep Focus | Crystal Peak (breakable wall west of bench) | Crystal Peak |
| Isma's Tear | Royal Waterways (Isma's Grove, not a charm but the gate) | Royal Waterways |
According to the wiki, Isma's Tear is the acid-swim ability, not a charm itself. It opens access to the Fungal Wastes charm-notch room and the Queen's Gardens-to-Abyss shortcut, which is why it sits in this section.
Kingdom's Edge drops 2 charms (Quick Slash in the main path, Hiveblood inside the Hive sub-area). Per the wiki, Deepnest adds 2 more (Weaversong from the Weavers' Den, Sharp Shadow from the Nosk encounter path).
| Charm | Source | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Quick Slash | Kingdom's Edge (breakable floor near King's Station) | Kingdom's Edge |
| Hiveblood | The Hive (sub-area off Kingdom's Edge) | Kingdom's Edge |
| Weaversong | Weavers' Den (Deepnest) | Deepnest |
| Sharp Shadow | Deepnest (south of Distant Village) | Deepnest |
The Basin and Abyss drop 2 charms. Per the wiki, Lifeblood Core sits in the Abyss east of the Shade Cloak chamber; Kingsoul splits across two regions but the conversion to Void Heart happens at the Birthplace at the bottom of the Abyss.
| Charm | Source | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Lifeblood Core | Abyss (east of Shade Cloak chamber) | The Abyss |
| Kingsoul / Void Heart | White Lady chamber + Pale King corpse, converted at Birthplace | The Abyss |
Per the wiki, the Lifeblood Core pickup requires Shade Cloak for the dash through the Abyss east corridor. Players who go to the Abyss for the first Kingsoul descent before getting Shade Cloak skip Lifeblood Core; the canonical order is Shade Cloak first, Lifeblood Core second, then Kingsoul descent.
Queen's Gardens drops 1 mostly-missed charm. Per the wiki, Marmu's memorial chamber sits behind the Mask Maker passage in the upper Gardens; the Warrior Dream fight rewards the Knight with the Awoken-Dream-Nail interaction needed for Galien's memorial later. Carefree Melody is also Gardens-linked via the Brumm-Banishment branch from Distant Village.
| Charm | Source | Region |
|---|---|---|
| White Fragment (Kingsoul left half) | White Lady chamber (post-Traitor Lord) | Queen's Gardens |
| Carefree Melody | Brumm in Distant Village (Banishment branch) | Deepnest gate / Howling Cliffs Lantern |
Charm locations connect to the broader charm system, the Pantheon difficulty curve, and the region-by-region exploration map. 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.