A 2-notch Grimm Troupe summon charm that upgrades across 4 levels by collecting Grimmkin flames. The most charismatic minion in Hallownest.
Grimmchild is the only charm in Hollow Knight that levels up. Per the wiki, the 2-notch summon starts at Level 1 dealing 1 damage per hit and climbs through 4 tiers as the Knight collects Grimmkin flames across Hallownest; Level 4 Grimmchild deals 8 damage per hit and fires rapidly enough to compete with Quick Slash on DPS against medium-HP enemies.
According to the wiki, the upgrade quest fires when the Knight summons the Grimm Troupe via the Nightmare Lantern in Howling Cliffs. Speaking with Troupe Master Grimm in the Dirtmouth tent delivers the Level 1 Grimmchild; the quest then sends the Knight to collect 2 Novice flames, then 2 Master flames (after a Grimm fight), then 2 Nightmare flames (after a tougher Grimmkin Nightmare fight).
The wiki specifies the Ritual vs Banishment branch is the canonical Grimm Troupe choice. Finishing all 6 flames and the second Grimm fight completes the Ritual ending (Grimmchild stays at Level 4); choosing Brumm's Banishment route in Distant Village instead replaces Grimmchild with Carefree Melody (3 notches, 25% damage block chance) and removes the Grimm Troupe from Dirtmouth.
This guide covers the 4-tier upgrade math, the Howling Cliffs Lantern summon, the 6-flame quest chain, the Banishment vs Ritual ending choice, and the build picks that turn Grimmchild from a low-DPS early summon into a Level 4 main damage source.
2-notch summon charm that upgrades through 4 levels via Grimmkin flames.
Light the Nightmare Lantern in Howling Cliffs to summon the Grimm Troupe.
Level 4 deals 8 damage per hit with large flame projectiles.
Banishment via Brumm replaces Grimmchild with Carefree Melody (3 notches).Grimmchild summons a small flame-child that follows the Knight and fires fireball projectiles at nearby enemies. Per the wiki, the projectile damage and fire rate both scale with the charm's current level; the Grimmchild persists between rooms, respawns after falling out of bounds, and always orbits within a fixed radius of the Knight.
According to the wiki, the Grimmchild attacks automatically with no input from the player. The targeting prioritises the nearest visible enemy within range; line-of-sight matters, so enemies behind walls or platforms are skipped. The fire rate caps at roughly 1-2 hits per second at Level 4, which is enough to chip through trash mobs between nail strikes.
The wiki specifies the projectile damage matches the nail-tier scaling. At Level 4 with Pure Nail equipped, each fireball deals 8 damage; against trash mobs (Husks, Wandering Husks, Volatile Mosskins) this is enough to one-shot or two-shot most enemies. Boss damage uses the standard projectile-versus-boss-HP math; the Grimmchild does not crit and is not affected by Strength or Quick Slash.
| Level | Damage | Unlocked by |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 1 per hit | Speaking with Troupe Master Grimm (Dirtmouth tent) |
| Level 2 | 2 per hit, faster fire rate | Collecting 2 Novice Grimmkin flames |
| Level 3 | 8 per hit | Defeating Troupe Master Grimm (first fight) |
| Level 4 | 8 per hit, larger projectiles | Defeating Nightmare King Grimm (Ritual completion) |
Per the wiki, the biggest damage jump is from Level 2 to Level 3, where the per-hit damage climbs from 2 to 8 (a 4x increase). The Level 3 unlock requires defeating the first Grimm fight, which is a mid-tier difficulty boss; players who stall at Grimm cap their Grimmchild damage at Level 2 indefinitely.
According to the wiki, Level 4 unlocks only after the Knight collects all 6 flames AND defeats Nightmare King Grimm in the second fight. The Level 4 upgrade adds larger projectiles and finalises the charm; this is the maximum Grimmchild state on the Ritual ending branch.
The Grimm Troupe quest fires by lighting the Nightmare Lantern in Howling Cliffs. Per the wiki, the Lantern sits in the upper Cliffs area accessible after the Knight gains Mantis Claw and progresses past Forgotten Crossroads; the Lantern lights automatically when the Knight stands near it and presses interact.
According to the wiki, lighting the Lantern spawns the Grimm Troupe tent in Dirtmouth. Walking into the tent triggers a cinematic with Troupe Master Grimm who introduces the Grimmchild charm; the Knight equips the Level 1 Grimmchild immediately and the flame quest begins.
The wiki notes the Howling Cliffs Lantern is a one-way trigger. Once the Troupe is summoned, the questline cannot be cancelled mid-flame-collection without choosing the Banishment branch via Brumm. Players who want to skip the Grimm Troupe entirely should simply not light the Lantern; the rest of the game proceeds normally without the quest.
Per the wiki, the Grimm Troupe DLC is optional content but the Charm Notch reward (8th notch in the 11-notch cap) is locked behind the second Grimm fight. Steel Soul and 112% completion runs that skip the Troupe permanently cap notch count at 10. Light the Lantern unless the run plan explicitly excludes Grimm.
The flame quest splits into three phases. Per the wiki, each phase requires defeating Grimmkin enemies in specific Hallownest regions and absorbing their flames; the Knight returns to Grimm's tent between phases for the upgrade cinematic and the next phase's instructions.
Phase 1: 2 Novice FlamesAccording to the wiki, the 2 Novice Grimmkin spawn in Greenpath (near the Hornet bench area) and Forgotten Crossroads (south of the entrance corridor). Both are easy fights; the flames absorb automatically on Grimmkin defeat. Returning to Grimm with both flames upgrades Grimmchild to Level 2.
Phase 2: 2 Master FlamesPer the wiki, the 2 Master Grimmkin spawn in Fungal Wastes and City of Tears after the Level 2 unlock. The Masters are tougher than Novices, with longer attack patterns and more HP; the Knight defeats both, returns to Grimm, and triggers the first Troupe Master Grimm boss fight inside the tent. Winning the fight upgrades Grimmchild to Level 3.
Phase 3: 2 Nightmare FlamesThe wiki specifies the 2 Nightmare Grimmkin spawn in Deepnest and Kingdom's Edge. These are mini-boss-tier fights with significantly more HP and tighter attack patterns; both have a chance to drop the Knight to 1-2 masks remaining. After collecting both flames, returning to Grimm triggers the Nightmare King Grimm dream-fight, which is the second Grimm fight and the Ritual ending.
The branch choice happens after collecting all 6 flames. Per the wiki, the Knight has two paths: complete the Ritual by fighting Nightmare King Grimm and keeping Grimmchild at Level 4; or Banish the Troupe via Brumm in Distant Village, which replaces Grimmchild with Carefree Melody.
Ritual endingAccording to the wiki, the Ritual ending is the default Grimm quest completion. The Knight returns to the tent after 6 flames, fights Nightmare King Grimm, and wins to lock Grimmchild at Level 4. The Troupe stays in Hallownest (the tent persists in Dirtmouth) and Divine remains available for Unbreakable charm conversions.
Banishment endingPer the wiki, the Banishment branch is triggered by speaking with Brumm in Distant Village instead of returning to Grimm for the second fight. Brumm sends the Knight to extinguish the Howling Cliffs Lantern; doing so banishes the entire Grimm Troupe from Hallownest, permanently removes the tent and Divine from Dirtmouth, and replaces Grimmchild with Carefree Melody (3 notches, 25% damage block chance).
The wiki effects block notes the Banishment trade-off. Carefree Melody is a strong defensive charm, but losing Divine means the Knight cannot access the Unbreakable upgrades for the three Fragile charms. Most completionists choose Ritual and grab Unbreakable Strength + Heart + Greed first, then start a separate save for the Banishment ending if they want both.
The summon-stack build pairs Grimmchild with other autonomous-damage charms. Per the wiki, the canonical loadout slots Grimmchild + Glowing Womb + Weaversong for a 5-minion swarm build that shines against high-HP stationary boss targets.
Grimmchild Level 4 (2 notches; 8 damage per hit)
Glowing Womb (2 notches; spawns Hatchlings) Weaversong (4 notches; spawns 3 Weaverlings) Grubsong (1 notch; SOUL on damage taken)
Quick Slash (3 notches; faster nail strikes)According to the wiki, this 12-notch loadout overcharms by 1 on the cheapest charm. The damage profile is roughly 25 DPS from minions + nail DPS from Quick Slash; in actual play, the build dominates Pantheon-of-Hallownest mid-stage trash clears and high-HP boss windows. The trade is no spell-damage support, so SOUL flows to Focus heals only.
Grimmchild ties to the Grimm Troupe DLC quest, the Ritual vs Banishment ending choice, and the summon-stack charm cluster. 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.