The wall-cling and wall-jump ability. Found in the west part of Mantis Village in Fungal Wastes; no Mantis Lord fight required, Mothwing Cloak recommended.
The Mantis Claw is the single most pivotal pickup in Hollow Knight. Per the wiki, the bone-carved claw lets the Knight cling to vertical walls and jump off them infinitely, opening Crystal Peak, the City of Tears, Royal Waterways, Deepnest, and dozens of charm chambers locked behind vertical traversal.
According to the wiki, the pickup sits on a small altar in the west part of Mantis Village, a sub-area inside Fungal Wastes. The chamber is reachable without defeating the Mantis Lords; their arena sits in the south of the village, while the Claw chamber sits west and is gated only by basic platforming.
The wiki notes the Mothwing Cloak is recommended but not strictly required. The cloak speeds the approach by clearing the Greenpath thorn maze and the Fungal Wastes spore corridors; pure-jump traversal works but doubles the run time. Most players grab Mothwing Cloak first, then route directly to Mantis Village.
This guide covers the no-Mantis-Lord pickup route, the Mothwing Cloak prereq, the wall-cling mechanic (including the hidden left-right-both fast-fall trick), the regions Mantis Claw unlocks, and the danger sections that players miss between Dirtmouth and the Claw altar.
Wall cling and wall jump; infinite use, no stamina, no cooldown.
West Mantis Village; inside the Fungal Wastes sub-area.
None required; the Mantis Lord arena is separate.
Mothwing Cloak speeds the Greenpath and Wastes route.While in mid-air near a vertical wall, press LEFT or RIGHT into the wall to cling and slide down. Press JUMP while clinging to launch diagonally away from the wall. Per the wiki, the cling-jump-cling loop has no stamina cost and no cooldown; the Knight can climb indefinitely on any straight vertical surface.
According to the wiki, only completely vertical walls accept the cling. Diagonal surfaces, slopes, and tilted floor tiles do not register the wall-cling input and the Knight slides off as if no ability were equipped. The wiki flags this in Mistakes as the first thing players try that fails.
The wiki specifies a hidden mechanic: pressing LEFT and RIGHT simultaneously while sliding down a wall drops the Knight at normal falling speed, ignoring the wall-slide friction. The trick is useful for fast descents in tight wall corridors (Crystal Peak shafts, Deepnest pit chambers) where the standard slow slide wastes seconds per fall.
Pair Mantis Claw with Sharp Shadow after the Shade Cloak pickup. The charm turns the wall-jump into a 5-damage hit on any enemy clinging to the same wall (Shardmites, Garpedes), which speeds Crystal Peak and Deepnest traversal considerably.
The fastest route from Dirtmouth to the Mantis Claw altar takes 20-30 minutes with Mothwing Cloak in hand. Per the wiki, the path is linear once the Greenpath connector unlocks.
According to the wiki, the cloak sits in a small chamber near the Hornet boss arena. Defeating Hornet Protector triggers the pickup; the cloak unlocks the dash that crosses the Wastes spore gaps.
The wiki notes the Wastes connect from Greenpath in the south, the Forgotten Crossroads in the north, and Queen’s Station in the west. Any of the three entries works; the Crossroads route is shortest from Dirtmouth. The wiki specifies the Claw altar sits on the west side, NOT the south. The south leads to the Mantis Lord arena; the west leads to a small chamber with the Claw on a raised pedestal. The two paths split at the village center. Per the wiki, walking onto the altar triggers the pickup cinematic. The wall-cling input becomes available immediately; every vertical surface in the save is accessible from that frame forward. The biggest misconception about the Mantis Claw is that the Mantis Lords fight gates the pickup. Per the wiki, it does not. The Lord arena sits in the south of Mantis Village; the Claw altar sits in the west. The two are independent.
According to the wiki, fighting the Mantis Lords does unlock separate rewards: Mark of Pride (a charm) drops from a chest in the southeast after the fight, and a passage to Deepnest opens on the south side. Both rewards are independent of the Claw and can be claimed later.
The wiki notes that the pacifist route (Claw without Lord fight) is the standard speedrun approach. Players who want pure traversal grab the Claw and leave the village without challenging the Lords; the boss fight is optional content for charm collectors and Hall of Gods completion.
If you do fight the Mantis Lords on the same run, the wiki recommends grabbing the Claw FIRST. The wall-cling makes the arena re-entry easier when you die on the attempt and need to climb back up. Heading to the Lord arena without the Claw commits you to ground-only attacks until first kill.
Mantis Claw is the single highest-impact ability pickup because it gates so much of the map. Per the wiki, the wall-cling unlocks four major regions and dozens of charm-room chambers.
| Region | Mantis Claw Use | Soft Reward |
|---|---|---|
| Crystal Peak | Mid-shaft climbs | Crystal Heart pickup |
| City of Tears | Side-passage entries | Soul Sanctum boss |
| Deepnest | Pit traversal | Nosk + Sharp Shadow charm |
| Royal Waterways | Wall-jump shortcuts | Dung Defender boss |
| Ancestral Mound | Snail Shaman chamber wall | Shaman Stone + Soul Catcher |
| Soul Sanctum (top) | Up-slash + wall chain | Spell Twister charm |
According to the wiki, the Mantis Claw is also the prerequisite for several other ability pickups. Crystal Heart requires wall-cling to reach Crystal Guardian in Crystal Peak; Isma’s Tear requires wall-cling to clear the Royal Waterways descent. The Claw is a soft prerequisite for every late-game pickup.
The wiki specifies that opening the map sections behind Mantis Claw is the biggest progression jump in the game. Players go from ~30% map visibility before the Claw to ~70% within an hour after, depending on how aggressively they explore the new vertical paths.
Beyond standard wall-cling, the Mantis Claw has three quirks the wiki documents but most players never discover.
Per the wiki, pressing LEFT and RIGHT simultaneously while sliding down a wall drops the Knight at normal falling speed. The trick bypasses the slow wall-slide friction and is useful in Crystal Peak shafts and Deepnest pit chambers where every second of fall time matters.
According to the wiki, the wall-jump animation grants ~3 frames of invulnerability on launch. The window is too short to dodge sustained attacks but cancels single-hit projectiles like Husk Hornhead horns and Hornet thread darts.
The wiki notes that wall-cling refreshes the Monarch Wings double-jump charge. Players who plan a long traversal sequence can wall-cling to reset wings, jump off, hit wings, then cling again on the far wall for a refresh chain. The trick is the canonical Path of Pain traversal technique.
The Mantis Claw ties to the abilities directory, the optional Mantis Lord boss, the Fungal Wastes region map, the Deepnest gate it unlocks, and the charm directory players run next. 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.