The humid central mushroom region. Hosts Mantis Village and the Mantis Lords fight, Mantis Claw pickup, Spore Shroom and Dashmaster charms, plus the City Crest gate south.
The Fungal Wastes is the humid central region of Hallownest. Per the wiki, the area is "covered in mushrooms of all kinds" and "caustic pools of acid abundant throughout"; the Mushroom Clan and the Mantis Tribe split the territory between them.
According to the wiki, the region holds two essential progression rewards. The Mantis Claw drops in west Mantis Village (wall-cling unlock); the Mark of Pride sits in a chest after the Mantis Lords boss fight (range-boost charm). The City Crest gate in the south is the canonical entry to the City of Tears.
The wiki notes the Pilgrim’s Way runs through the region. Most Hallownest NPCs cross through here at some point: Quirrel appears at Queen’s Station and Mantis Village, Willoh eats fungus in the Stagway tunnels, Bretta hides in a southwest cave pre-rescue, and Cloth shelters in the northeast before her Resting Grounds arrival.
This guide covers the Forgotten Crossroads and Fog Canyon access routes, the Mantis Village layout and Mantis Lords fight, the Mark of Pride chest reward, the Mantis Claw west-village pickup, the Spore Shroom and Dashmaster charm locations, the Bretta rescue chain, the Mr Mushroom lore-tablet gibberish dialogue, the Fungal Core sub-area and Deepnest passage, and the Elder Hu Warrior Dream in the northeast.
Central mushroom region; splits between Mushroom Clan and Mantis Tribe.
Mantis Lords; unlocks Deepnest passage and respect of the Tribe.
Mantis Claw + Mark of Pride across west Mantis Village.
Pre-Mothwing Cloak; both entries gate behind the dash unlock.Per the wiki, the Fungal Wastes is "a humid area in the middle of Hallownest." Three sub-areas split the region: Queen’s Station (northwest stagway), Mantis Village (east), and Fungal Core (lower south).
According to the wiki, the Mushroom Clan and the Mantis Tribe inhabit the region in an uneasy truce. The Mushroom Clan shares "a shared mind"; the Mantis Tribe holds the Mantis Village to "keep the beasts at bay" from Deepnest. The split is geographically observable; the central Stagway sits between them as neutral ground.
The wiki specifies the region as one of the most NPC-dense in the game. Quirrel, Willoh, Mr Mushroom, Bretta, Cloth, and Leg Eater all live or pass through here; the Pilgrim’s Way passes through the central corridor on the route to the City of Tears.
Per the wiki, both entries gate behind the Mothwing Cloak dash. The northwest Forgotten Crossroads entry sits near the Hot Spring; the southwest Fog Canyon entry drops in from the Queen’s Station tunnels.
According to the wiki, Cornifer sells the Fungal Wastes map for roughly 100 Geo from a chamber in the central Stag corridor. The map is essential since the region has 3 sub-areas plus multiple acid corridors.
Per the wiki, the Mantis Lords are the canonical Hallownest "honour" boss fight. Three Mantis Lords rule the Mantis Tribe; the wiki frames them as one of the few groups in the game who "retain their intellect and their honour" despite the Infection.
According to the wiki, the fight is two phases. Phase one fights a single Mantis Lord (530 HP); phase two stacks the remaining two simultaneously (530 HP each, fought as the pair). Movesets rotate lance throws, lance sweeps, jump-down slams, and dash strikes; Sharp Shadow plus Quick Slash is the cleanest clear.
The wiki specifies the kill unlocks two beats. The Mantis Tribe stops attacking the Knight across the village (the Mantis Petras and Mantis Youths bow on sight); and the southern gate to Deepnest opens. The Deepnest descent is one of the four canonical mid-game progression routes.
Bring Quick Focus into the Mantis Lords fight. Per the wiki, the post-attack recovery windows are long enough for a Quick Focus heal in phase one; phase two halves those windows, so any heal must happen in phase one and the Knight should enter phase two at full Masks.
Per the wiki, the Mantis Claw is the wall-cling ability. The pickup sits on an altar in the west Mantis Village; the altar is independent of the Mantis Lords arena in the south, so the Claw is technically available without the boss fight.
According to the wiki, wall-cling unlocks 6 major regions: Crystal Peak (vertical shafts), City of Tears (shortcut climbs), Deepnest (corridor traversal), Royal Waterways (elevator access), Ancestral Mound (full descent), and Soul Sanctum top floor. Without the Claw, progression halts at the Mark of Pride chest.
The wiki notes the Mantis Petras and other Tribe enemies remain hostile in the west village even after the Lords kill. The peace applies only to the south side; the Claw altar route stays a combat corridor for the whole playthrough.
Per the wiki, the Fungal Wastes holds two charm pickups beyond the Mark of Pride. Dashmaster sits in the southeast; Spore Shroom sits in the southwest near a breakable wall.
Dashmaster (2 notches; +25% dash speed plus downward dash)
Spore Shroom (1 notch; spore cloud on Focus that damages and reveals Mr Mushroom lore)
Mark of Pride (3 notches; +25% nail range, chest reward after Mantis Lords)
+1 Charm Notch (Shrumal Ogre pair kill in the northeast)According to the wiki, Dashmaster is the highest-value pickup of the three for movement builds. The downward dash unlocks Path of Pain platforming tricks; the +25% dash speed stacks with Sharp Shadow for the dash-cancel rotation.
Per the wiki, Bretta is trapped in a small cave in the southwest of the Fungal Wastes. The cave sits behind a Mothwing Cloak gap; freeing her returns her to her house in Dirtmouth, where she opens her diary for Dream Nail readings.
According to the wiki, the rescue chain is mostly lore. Bretta has no item drops on rescue; her arc unlocks the Grey Prince Zote Dream Boss in her Dirtmouth house once she has rescued Zote in parallel. The Zote fight is one of the eight Warrior Dreams available for Hall of Gods rematch.
The wiki notes the rescue is one of two "hidden bug" pickups in the region. The other is Cloth in the northeast cave; both shelter from the Infection-affected Mantis enemies and speak with the Knight briefly before returning to Dirtmouth.
Per the wiki, the Fungal Core is the lower-south sub-area. It unlocks after the Knight has Monarch Wings; the small chamber holds a giant mushroom corpse (Dream Nail interaction), one lore tablet (readable with Spore Shroom equipped), and a hidden passage downward to Deepnest.
According to the wiki, the Deepnest passage is one of the four canonical Deepnest entries. The other three are the Mantis Village south gate (post-Lords kill), the Moss Chapel one-way drop, and the Queen’s Garden bench-adjacent descent. The Fungal Core route is the cleanest for movement-build runs.
The wiki specifies the giant mushroom corpse Dream Nail dialogue reveals the Mushroom Clan’s cosmology. The Clan sees itself as a single mind across many bodies; the corpse is the mind-host that connected the smaller Shrumelings before the Infection took most of them.
Per the wiki, Mr Mushroom is a small NPC that appears at fixed lore tablets across Hallownest. His default dialogue is gibberish; equipping Spore Shroom translates the gibberish into coherent Mushroom Clan lore at each tablet.
According to the wiki, Mr Mushroom appears at seven locations: Fungal Wastes (twice), Fungal Core, Howling Cliffs, Royal Waterways, Queen’s Garden, and Kingdom’s Edge. Reading all seven translated dialogues unlocks the "Friend of the Mushrooms" achievement and a single lore reward dialog from him.
The wiki notes the Fungal Wastes tablets reveal the Mushroom Clan’s view of the Pale King. The Clan accepted his rule for protection but consider him "lesser mind"; the Mosskin Tribe’s parallel sentiment in Greenpath echoes the framing from a different angle.
The Fungal Wastes ties to the Mantis Lords boss fight, the Mantis Claw pickup, the Dashmaster charm, the Mr Mushroom lore chain, and the Bretta rescue. 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.