All 45 charms across the base game and four DLC, with notch costs, locations, and the buried mechanics most guides skip.
Hollow Knight ships with 45 charms once every DLC is counted, but the inventory only shows 40 slots because 5 charms upgrade in place over the same icon. Per the wiki, the upgrades are Grimmchild to Carefree Melody, Kingsoul to Void Heart, and the three Fragile charms to their Unbreakable forms, all delivered by Divine in Dirtmouth for 12,000 Geo each (post-Pale Lurker patch).
According to the wiki, charms are the customisation spine of the game. Every build is a notch-budget puzzle: the Knight starts with 3 notches, expands to 11 across four sources, and pays 1 to 5 notches per charm. Overcharming (passing capacity by exactly one charm) is allowed and yellow-tints every slot at the cost of taking double damage until the next bench.
The wiki specifies the DLC split. Base game accounts for 36 charms, Hidden Dreams adds 1 (Dream Wielder), Lifeblood adds 1 (Lifeblood Heart was already in base; no new charm), the Grimm Troupe adds 6 (Grimmchild, Carefree Melody, Dreamshield, Weaversong, Nightmare's Heart variant, and the Charm of Pure Vessel for completionists), and Godmaster adds 0 new charms but gates the Pantheon-only achievement-unlocked endings.
This guide covers the full 45-charm directory split by DLC source, the notch economy, the 5 in-place upgrade chains, the overcharming rule, and the charm picks most players overlook. Build-specific deep dives live in the dedicated spoke pages linked below.
45 charms across base game, Hidden Dreams, and the Grimm Troupe (40 inventory slots after upgrade overwrites).
11 notches from a starting 3, expanded via Salubra, Grubfather, Colosseum, and Pale Lurker pickups.
Quick Slash, Mark of Pride, Unbreakable Strength for general combat once the notch budget allows.
Stalwart Shell and Steady Body outscale themselves once the Knight has Quick Focus or Dashmaster online.Charms are equippable items that grant passive effects, and they can only be swapped at a bench. Per the wiki, every charm has a notch cost between 1 and 5; the Knight equips charms by spending notches against a notch limit that grows from 3 to 11 over the course of the game. Swapping mid-fight is impossible, so the pre-bench loadout decides the next fight or traversal segment.
According to the wiki, charms split by function. Combat charms (Quick Slash, Fury of the Fallen, Unbreakable Strength, Mark of Pride) boost nail damage or reach. Spell charms (Shaman Stone, Spell Twister, Flukenest) tune the three spells. Sustain charms (Quick Focus, Grubsong, Soul Catcher, Hiveblood) fix the heal economy. Traversal charms (Dashmaster, Sharp Shadow, Sprintmaster) accelerate platforming. Utility charms (Wayward Compass, Gathering Swarm) handle quality-of-life.
The wiki specifies five upgrade chains. Grimmchild (2 notches) upgrades through four flame phases before the Banishment branch converts it to Carefree Melody (3 notches). Kingsoul becomes Void Heart (0 notches and unequipped automatically) after the Abyss cinematic. The three Fragile charms (Heart, Greed, Strength) become Unbreakable via Divine in Dirtmouth for 12,000 Geo each.
The Knight starts with 3 notches and ends at 11, an expansion of 8 notches across four sources. Per the wiki, Salubra in Forgotten Crossroads sells 4 notches across her shop (120, 500, 900, 1,800 Geo) plus the Charm requirement gate for the last three; Grubfather awards 1 notch at 23 grubs rescued; the Colosseum of Fools awards 1 notch after the Trial of the Warrior; and the Pale Lurker fight in Junk Pit awards the final 1 notch (post-Godmaster patch).
According to the wiki, the notch puzzle is the core build constraint. A 5-notch combat charm like Quick Slash plus Mark of Pride (3 notches) plus Unbreakable Strength (3 notches) takes 11 notches exactly, leaving zero room for sustain or utility. Most fight loadouts trim one or two combat charms in favor of Quick Focus (3 notches) or Grubsong (1 notch) so the heal economy survives mid-fight.
The wiki notes the five-charm soft cap. Even at 11 notches, four 3-notch charms fit cleanly and a fifth 1-notch charm rounds out the build. Five-charm loadouts dominate Pantheon runs because the buffer absorbs Salubra-style 4-notch picks without forcing overcharm.
A common notch pickup mistake is buying Salubra's 1,800 Geo notch before her Charm requirement clears. Per the wiki, the gate unlocks at 5 charms equipped; if you walk in with only 4 charms, the notch is not for sale yet and the prompt shows a lock icon. Spending the Geo on the 900 notch first is the standard ordering.
The base game ships with 36 charms split across combat, spell, sustain, traversal, and utility roles. Per the wiki, the standout picks are Quick Slash (3 notches, faster nail strikes), Mark of Pride (3 notches, longer nail reach), Unbreakable Strength (3 notches, +50% nail damage), Soul Catcher and Soul Eater (2 and 4 notches, more SOUL per hit and per kill), Quick Focus (3 notches, faster heals), and Shaman Stone (3 notches, +33% spell damage).
| Charm | Notches | Location | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Slash | 3 | Kingdom's Edge | Faster nail strikes |
| Mark of Pride | 3 | Mantis Village (Mantis Lords reward) | +25% nail reach |
| Fragile / Unbreakable Strength | 3 | Leg Eater (Fungal Wastes) | +50% nail damage |
| Fury of the Fallen | 2 | King's Pass corpse | +75% nail damage at 1 mask |
| Soul Catcher | 2 | Forgotten Crossroads (Ancestral Mound) | +33% SOUL per hit |
| Soul Eater | 4 | Resting Grounds (Grey Mourner room) | +200% SOUL per hit |
| Quick Focus | 3 | Salubra (1,500 Geo) | Faster Focus heals |
| Shaman Stone | 3 | Forgotten Crossroads (Ancestral Mound) | +33% spell damage |
| Deep Focus | 4 | Crystal Peak (breakable wall) | Heals 2 masks but slower |
| Dashmaster | 2 | Royal Waterways | Faster, downward dash |
According to the wiki, this 10-charm sample covers roughly the 80/20 of what most players equip. The remaining 26 base-game charms (Wayward Compass, Gathering Swarm, Stalwart Shell, Heavy Blow, Stalwart Shell, Steady Body, Longnail, Glowing Womb, Joni's Blessing, Lifeblood Heart, Lifeblood Core, Hiveblood, Defender's Crest, Dream Wielder, Spell Twister, Flukenest, Sharp Shadow, Spore Shroom, Sprintmaster, Baldur Shell, Shape of Unn, Grubsong, Grubberfly's Elegy, Thorns of Agony, the three Fragile charms, Kingsoul) round out the inventory.
The Free Content updates added 9 charms across three packs. Per the wiki, Hidden Dreams added Dream Wielder (1 notch, faster Dream Nail charge and 50% more Essence per hit) and the Awoken Dream Nail mechanic itself. Lifeblood added Lifeblood Core (3 notches, 4 Lifeblood masks at a bench) alongside the Hive area rework.
The Grimm Troupe shipped the largest charm bundle. According to the wiki, six new charms landed: 
Grimmchild (2 notches, summoned flame child that upgrades across four phases through the Flame collection ritual), Carefree Melody (3 notches, replaces Grimmchild on the Banishment branch and grants a 25% damage-block chance), 
Weaversong (4 notches, summons three Weaverling allies), Dreamshield (3 notches, conjures a rotating shield), Grimm's Heart (cut content per dataminers but never shipped), and the Nightmare's Heart cinematic that powers the Ritual ending.
The wiki states Godmaster added zero new charms but gated the Embrace the Void ending, the Pantheons, and the Hall of Gods boss-rush rooms behind a charm-build difficulty curve. Pantheon runs typically rotate between an overcharmed combat loadout and a defensive Joni's Blessing or Lifeblood Core loadout depending on the boss chain.
Five charms upgrade in place, which is why the inventory shows 40 slots for 45 total charms. Per the wiki, the five chains are: Grimmchild to Carefree Melody (Banishment ritual via Brumm in Distant Village), Kingsoul to Void Heart (Abyss return after collecting both halves), Fragile Heart to Unbreakable Heart, Fragile Greed to Unbreakable Greed, and Fragile Strength to Unbreakable Strength.
According to the wiki, the three Unbreakable upgrades each cost 12,000 Geo from Divine in Dirtmouth during the Grimm Troupe quest. Pre-patch, the cost was 15,000 Geo and the Unbreakable variants were lost when Banishment closed the Troupe quest. Post-patch, Divine's shop persists through the Banishment branch, so all three Unbreakable upgrades survive the Carefree Melody swap.
The wiki specifies that the Fragile charms shatter on death and require Leg Eater repairs (60 Geo each with Defender's Crest discount) until the Knight pays Divine. Unbreakable versions never shatter, so the 12,000 Geo investment is the canonical fix for frequent-death runs and Steel Soul mode.
Per the wiki, the Void Heart upgrade is the only charm in the game that cannot be unequipped. Once the Knight collects both Kingsoul halves and returns to the Abyss for the void cinematic, the charm slot is permanently filled by Void Heart and costs 0 notches. The trade-off is locking the slot, but the unlock opens the true ending Dream No More and Embrace the Void paths.
Overcharming is the buffer rule that lets the Knight exceed the notch limit by exactly one charm. Per the wiki, when the next charm would push total notch cost over the limit, the game equips it anyway and yellow-tints every charm in the slot bar. The penalty is taking double damage until the next bench rest clears the overcharm state.
According to the wiki, overcharming is the only way to fit five-charm combat loadouts at 11 notches. Quick Slash plus Mark of Pride plus Unbreakable Strength plus Soul Catcher plus Quick Focus is 14 notches; equipping in the right order (the 3-notch pieces first, the 1-notch Soul Catcher last) puts the overcharm only on the final charm, which keeps the build legal.
The wiki effects block notes that overcharming is always optional. Players who never want the double-damage penalty can run four-charm loadouts at 11 notches and stay under the cap; players chasing Pantheon clears use overcharming as the standard state because the +50% damage payoff from Unbreakable Strength plus the +25% reach from Mark of Pride outpaces the double-damage downside in practice.
A general-purpose Hollow Knight build needs three combat charms, one sustain charm, and one situational slot. The 11-notch budget is tight, so most loadouts commit to a single playstyle (nail, spell, or sustain) rather than spreading thin.
Quick Slash (faster nail strikes; 3 notches)
Mark of Pride (+25% reach; 3 notches) Unbreakable Strength (+50% nail damage; 3 notches)
Grubsong (SOUL on damage taken; 1 notch)
Shaman Stone (+33% spell damage; 3 notches)
Soul Catcher (more SOUL per hit; 2 notches)According to the wiki, this loadout overcharms by 4 notches when fully equipped (14 vs. 11). Players who want a clean 11-notch loadout drop Shaman Stone and run nail-only; players chasing Pantheon Hard Mode overcharm intentionally for the +50% Unbreakable Strength damage. Build deep dives live on the best charms spoke linked below.
Charms tie into the notch economy, the Pantheon runs, the Grimm Troupe questline, and the true ending. 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.