Hollow Knight Abyss Shriek Guide

Spell / Hollow Knight (Patch v1.4.3)

The Howling Wraiths upgrade. 80 damage across 4 upward bursts (120 with Shaman Stone), claimed at the western altar in The Abyss after King’s Brand.

SOUL cost: 33Damage: 80 (120 with Shaman Stone)Gate: King’s Brand

Abyss Shriek is the second strongest unmodified attack in Hollow Knight. Per the wiki, the upgraded spell fires four bursts of SOUL and Shadow above and around the Knight for 20 damage each, totalling 80 damage in a single cast at the same 33 SOUL cost as Howling Wraiths.

According to the wiki, only the three-Nail-Art Cyclone Slash with the Channelled, Coiled, and Pure Nails competes on raw damage. Abyss Shriek reaches 120 damage with Shaman Stone equipped, since the charm grants spells in the Howling line a +50% boost rather than the standard +33% applied to Vengeful Spirit and Shade Soul.

The wiki notes the pickup is an unusual ritual rather than a boss fight. The Knight stands on a pedestal on the far west side of The Abyss, surrounded by screaming Vessel faces, then casts Howling Wraiths. The Void emerges, the spell overwrites permanently, and the pre-upgrade output is gone for the rest of the save.

This guide covers the 80-damage 4-burst output, the Shaman Stone +50% outlier, the western altar pickup route, the King’s Brand gate for Abyss access, the spell-economy charm stack, and the overhead-arc use case against ring-slam bosses like Markoth and the Soul Tyrant Dream phase.

• What it is Howling Wraiths upgrade; 80 dmg across 4 upward bursts, +50% with Shaman Stone.
• How to get Western altar in The Abyss; stand on the pedestal, cast Howling Wraiths.
• Best charm pair Shaman Stone (+50%) lifts each burst from 20 to 30 (120 total).
• Skip when Fast horizontal targets; the upward arc misses ground-line dashers.

How Abyss Shriek Works

Hold UP and press FOCUS or CAST to release four waves of SOUL and Shadow in an arc above and around the Knight. Per the wiki, each burst deals 20 damage on hit, the four bursts arrive in quick succession, and the spell costs the same 33 SOUL as Howling Wraiths.

According to the wiki, the four-burst structure means a single cast can theoretically deal anywhere from 20 to 80 damage against one target. Stationary or pinned enemies eat all four bursts (full 80); fast movers often catch only one or two as the arc cycles, since the bursts spawn at staggered positions in the arc.

The wiki specifies the spell reaches above and around the Knight rather than purely upward. The arc covers roughly 270 degrees from the ground line up over the head and back down on the opposite side, which lets the cast clear enemies on platforms directly above and on shelves to either side of the Knight in a single trigger.

Damage and Stats

According to the wiki, the 80-damage 4-burst output is 16 times an Old Nail swing. Only triple-charm Cyclone Slash (Channelled, Coiled, and Pure Nails) competes on a single input, and that requires multi-second charging plus four Pale Ore upgrades the Knight usually does not hold this late in the run.

Western Altar Route

Abyss Shriek lives on a pedestal in the far western chamber of The Abyss, surrounded by screaming Vessel faces. Per the wiki, the pickup is not a boss fight; the Knight stands on the altar and casts Howling Wraiths, the Void emerges, and the upgrade applies permanently.

1. Earn King’s Brand from Hornet. According to the wiki, the brand drops after the second Hornet fight in Kingdom’s Edge. It unlocks the Birthplace elevator and grants access to The Abyss for the first time.
2. Descend to The Abyss. The wiki notes the descent requires Monarch Wings to traverse the middle shafts and Crystal Heart to reach the lighthouse alcove on the east side; the western altar route only needs the wings and basic movement once inside.
3. Pick up Howling Wraiths first. Per the wiki, the base spell sits in the Overgrown Mound inside Fog Canyon, next to the Queen’s Gardens entry. Without Howling Wraiths in the spell loadout, the Abyss altar will not trigger; the cast input is the activation key.
4. Stand and cast at the altar. The wiki specifies the altar sits in the south-west room past the central chasm. Stand on the pedestal, hold UP, press CAST. The Void emerges, the spell flashes through the Knight, and Abyss Shriek replaces Howling Wraiths permanently in the spell menu.

According to the wiki, the same descent through The Abyss is the route that unlocks Shade Cloak on the eastern side past the lighthouse. Players usually sequence both pickups in one trip since the King’s Brand gate opens them simultaneously.

Shaman Stone +50% Outlier

Shaman Stone scales Abyss Shriek by +50% instead of the standard +33%. Per the wiki, the boost lifts each burst from 20 damage to 30, raising the full 4-burst cast from 80 to 120 damage at the same 33 SOUL cost.

According to the wiki, Howling Wraiths and Abyss Shriek are the only two spells in the game that get the +50% Shaman Stone bonus. Vengeful Spirit and Shade Soul sit at +33%, Desolate Dive at +51%, and Descending Dark at +47%; the effective bonus per equipped notch is highest on the Howling line.

The wiki notes that with all four bursts landing, Shaman Stone Abyss Shriek puts out 120 damage per cast against single targets and even more against grouped enemies that catch multiple burst hitboxes. Spell-build pantheon runs sometimes count this as the highest single-cast damage in the game, ahead of the 80-damage Flukenest-Shade Soul variant.

Versus Other Spells

Abyss Shriek wins the raw-burst category but loses on direction flexibility. Per the wiki, the spell fires up and around the Knight with no horizontal forward option, which separates it from Shade Soul (forward only) and Descending Dark (downward only).

According to the wiki, the optimal spell build slots Abyss Shriek and Shade Soul together: Shade Soul handles forward and wall-pierced targets, Abyss Shriek handles overhead and grouped enemies. Desolate Dive and its Descending Dark upgrade get used for breakable-floor traversal more often than damage; the two upward and forward spells are the spell-build damage spine.

The wiki specifies that ring-slam bosses (Markoth, the Soul Tyrant Dream variant, Pure Vessel’s cross-slash) sit in the Abyss Shriek arc by design; the spell was effectively built for those encounters. Spell-build Pantheon runs lean on this matchup over the forward Shade Soul approach.

Spell-Build Charm Stack

The spell-build spine for Abyss Shriek is 4 charms across 11 notches. Per the wiki, the configuration delivers 120-damage casts at 24 SOUL and refills the SOUL pool nearly per nail hit.

Charm 1 Shaman Stone (+50% spell damage; 3 notches)

Charm 2 Spell Twister (33 SOUL to 24 SOUL per cast; 2 notches)

Charm 3 Soul Catcher (+3 SOUL per nail hit; 2 notches)

Charm 4 Soul Eater (+8 SOUL per nail hit; 4 notches)

According to the wiki, this loadout leaves room for nothing else in the 11-notch cap. Overcharming for a 5th charm (Quick Slash, Mark of Pride, or Fragile Strength for the nail phase) costs an instant 2-Mask hit on the next damage taken; the spell-build gain rarely outpaces the risk.

The wiki notes that pairing Joni’s Blessing with this stack costs the Focus heal entirely (Lifeblood Masks do not heal), forcing all SOUL into spell casts. The trade is the highest survivable HP pool plus the 120-damage cast; viable for Hall of Gods Radiant attempts against bosses where the spell build is faster than the nail approach.

Common Mistakes

1. Expecting all four bursts to land on moving targets. Per the wiki, the bursts spawn at staggered positions in the arc and arrive over fractions of a second. Horizontal dashers (Mantis Lord forward dive, Markoth dash phase) often eat only 1-2 bursts; players who plan for 80 damage every cast over-commit SOUL.
2. Casting on the ground line against fast horizontal enemies. The wiki specifies the arc reaches up and around; the lowest sweep barely clears the Knight’s feet. Targets that pass through the ground line at high speed often clear the cast untouched. Forward spells like Shade Soul fit those matchups better.
3. Trying to pick up the spell before learning Howling Wraiths. Per the wiki, the altar will not trigger without Howling Wraiths in the spell loadout. The Knight has to grab Howling Wraiths in the Overgrown Mound first; the altar only acts as an upgrade station, not a fresh pickup.
4. Skipping the King’s Brand fight to grind Pale Ore instead. The wiki notes The Abyss only opens after the second Hornet fight in Kingdom’s Edge. Speedrun routes that bank on Pale Ore-fed Pure Nail to skip Abyss Shriek lose the 120-damage cast option for the rest of the run; the detour is shorter than the trade implies.
5. Casting during a Mantis ring slam or Pure Vessel teleport windup. Per the wiki, the ~0.5-second cast lock cannot be cancelled. Players who fire Abyss Shriek mid-windup eat the attack while the Knight stands still; plan casts around the enemy telegraph like every other spell in the game.

Abyss Shriek FAQ

More Hollow Knight Guides

Abyss Shriek ties to the spells directory, The Abyss pickup region, the King’s Brand gate, the Howling Wraiths prerequisite, and the Pure Vessel Pantheon matchup. These spokes pick up the threads.

All 6 SpellsSpells directory and SOUL economy

The AbyssPickup region and the Void Heart route

King’s BrandHornet drop that opens The Abyss

Howling WraithsBase spell pickup in Overgrown Mound

Pure VesselBest Abyss Shriek matchup in Godhome

Best Roguelike GamesAdjacent genre coverage