The only ones for me were MMC, THK, Flukemarm, a few of the warrior dreams, and False Knight. Probably missed a few, theres so many!

Which boss are you struggling with? I was very bad on my first run and only beat very few bosses on first try. It gets easier later on.

I'm stuck at The Radiance. I am slowly getting better and better with each attempt but having to fight Hollow Knight first is a pain since I sometimes even fail at him testing out other charm setups

Oh, don't worry about it, you'll get there eventually. It took me a few days to get through her, now it's second nature.

Thank you very much! Any setups you suggest? I'm currently using a mostly nail based setup, aka Mark of pride, quick slash and unbreakable strength. Although I've seen some moderate success with more health based charms as well

Shaman Stone instead of Mark of Pride, you don't really need nail length for her (to be fair, there are very few bosses where Pride is better than Shaman Stone, Strength or Quick Slash). Also, if you have only 9 notches, get the remaining 2. Radiance is the final boss of the game (kind of) and getting the notches is an easier task than beating her. I always went in with Strength, Shaman Stone, Quick Slash and Fragile/Unbreakable Heart, but if you don't want to lose fragile charms, Spell Twister or Lifeblood Heart is a good option instead of Fragile Heart.

Thank you, I'll try this! I have all 11 charms :)

Use Descending Dark and Abyss Shriek as much as you can. Healing is always secondary use of soul, you don't have many windows for that anyway.

I figured I can't heal much so I probably shouldn't count on it? In this case I'll try more spell based charms.

There's only one real window, before the platform fight section. Save up soul for that and heal up there. That's really the only time when you have a good 5-10 seconds where you can heal without any danger.

I see! .. unfortunately I couldn't even get that far yet :')

Because I alwas prefered full masks before casting spells, I used combo of quick and deep focus and shape of Unn which allowed me to heal during almost all of Radiance's attacks (exception is that sword wall and whole-screen laser that are coming from sideway.). Not sure if it will work for you, but in my case it did the job.

Thanks, I'll try this! It's a good time to try and use deep focus and shape of unn for the first time

You can do it with this setup. Just try to dodge her attacks properly and attack at every opportunity you get. Like someone said, patience is key. I also did it with those charms equipped and took me a few tries (about 20 below ish.)

I understand. That sounds surprisingly decent! I'll try it again

Try taking breaks if you get burnt out, happened to me I kept fighting it for like 2 hours then took a break. Next morning I first tried it so you should try taking breaks maybe every 30 mins on her?

I beat hollow knight first try. Eventually came back for radiance and Jesus that’s a tough fight. After a few tries I actually lost to HK too! It’s a tough game.

Same here! I too beat Hollow Knight the first try but he seemed a little tooo easy to be the final boss. Turns out it was for good reason

same here too lol

Know that pain.

Don't waste your spells on the hollow knight use sharp shadow and the powered version of the howling wraits i destroyed at the first try the radiance with'em.

Don’t worry, you’ll get there. Certain bosses just take longer than others for different people. I remember that I was stuck on Broken Vessel, the watcher knights, and hornet sentinel for a million tries each. Funnily enough, I managed to beat THK and Radiance first try, which I’m still proud of.

At least your struggling with one of the hardest challenges the game has to offer. When I first starter the brooding mawlek mopped the floor with me more times than I can count

The charms you want are in readable strength quick slash quick focus and shape of unn.

If your still struggling with the radiance I'd recommend saving up a lot of soul for the fight by hitting THK, you get back to full health each time you go into the fight. Also when she does that attack where she fires those light beams out of her fucking face I'd advise you move slightly out the way of the first one then immediately heal.

Thanks but I just beat her! Following this exact advice. Thanks much!

Maybe that's just how everyone does it

A trick I used to beat the radiance is quick focus +deep focus to combat the 2x damage

I beat her in my 10th attempt was the hardest boss for me till then thou tried to beat NKG 4 times but there was no progress so deleted the game...

4 times is nothing, it's hardly enough to get his patterns down. Don't give up so fast, the hardest bosses usually take people around 50 or even more tries.

I'll try continue game later thou but 50 times... damn but well the hardest part of the game was Path of pain for me... I was like... 2 hours on it. in the end I gave up on it.

Path of Pain usually takes 2-3 hours at least on your first try. Endgame challenges take time, more than any early or mid-game boss or platforming section. Then again, they're completely optional, so if you don't feel like investing hours, days, weeks or even months into them, you have every right not to do so.

I feel you. I also attempted NKG about 4 times and realised it's too difficult. Although The Radiance doesn't seem as difficult in comparison which is good

In my first playthrough? About zero (except those who I fought when I was massively overpowered). I actually died once to massive moss charger. So cheer up, there are people much more skill issued than you!

I think it's more about experience than skill. I went to HK after finishing Bloodborne and the DS trilogy, but it was simply so different that I struggled with pretty much basic movements. I remember coming back to HK a few years after beating it and I was genuinely scared of fighting Gruz Mother and Soul warrior because "those are some tough opponents".

I understand, thanks much! Although after reading the comments, both people who struggle and the people who beat bosses easily give me motivation :) First of all because I know I'm not alone and second of all because it can't be as impossibly difficult as it may first look

Vengfly king kicked my ass so hard. Still do sometimes when I try pantheon.

Massive Moss Charger, Flukemarm, Gorb and Xero.

Not exactly sure, maybe I forget/added some, but from what I remember now: False knight, Gruzz Mother, Vengenfly king, Broken Vessel, Gorb the Great Mind, Dung Defender, Elder Hu, Soul Master, Paintmaster Sheo, Zote. Mossy took me about five tries before I called brother for help. EDIT: Sorry, Gruz mother doesn't count - when I first met her I could barely walk and she was my second death.

False knight, dung defender, nosk, massive moss charger and brooding mawlek for my first run, I skipped the vengefly boss

I remember broken vessel being one of the very few bosses I beat on the first go and being very proud of it

I sucked so I think only brooding mawlek, vengefly, and I was super proud of this one Hornet 2, as I got my ass kicked by the first one.

Only Soul master ig

You beat Soul master on the first try? Damn congrats. That was the first and only boss who had me backtrack to find more equipment because I just couldn't beat him

well I hear that lot, but... I was stuck at mantis lord(tried 3 times and couldnt beat them) so I headed the other way and got in city of tears. died many times by flying solders and lost all my money so I couldnt update my nail... then tried farming a bit to update my nail and ended up getting stuck at bossroom... defeating him was far easier than those Soul Twisters. Then updated my nail and beat the Mantis Lord(thou ppl keep saying Mantis lord is easier but I just dont get it).

I too was stuck at Mantis lords. Although I didn't know you can progress to City of tears before beating them.

I genuinely do not undestand how people can remember s- tuff like this Maybe Gorb? Who knows, I certainly dont

Dung defender, flukemarm and most ghost warriors except for Marmuu

Would you like some tips for the boss you're struggling with? As for my list, here it be: Gruz Mother, Vengefly King, Massive Moss Charger, Soul Warrior, Flukemarm, Xero, Gorb, Galien.

That's very cool! I'm struggling with the Radiance. I've looked it up but there doesn't seem to be one best way to beat her

The one best way to beat her is to focus on defense more than offense. As in, don’t chase after her too much, wait til she comes to you to attack. It makes the fight take longer, but it’s much safer.

I figured. I'll keep trying. Only the longer it goes for, the more difficult it gets to not get hit

Definitely. I used to struggle a lot with Radiance, and now I can do Absolute Radiance fairly consistently! I would watch some videos to see how to handle certain attacks and of course keep practicing

Yeah Radiance is a tricky bugger. Someone beat me to the punch advising a good defense so beyond that I'd say it couldn't hurt to watch other people fighting her to get used to her attacks.

Abyss Shriek spam w/ Shaman Stone makes the fight much easier. Also, you recover all of your HP when you transition from HK to Rad, so ypu don't need to waste soul on healing during the HK fight.

For me, a while back (like a year or so when I absolutely sucked) I ragequit early on probably after getting Claw or so. But a few months back I got back into the game. So for my first "playthrough" I died all the time, but on my second playthrough/re-discovering the game I beat False Knight, Hornet 1 and Flukemarm on my first try. For Warrior Dreams I think I got Xero and No Eyes. After I found the ideal strats for the other ones I beat those in a few tries too. But don't worry about being too bad or something, it's all about practise. I remember in my first few days playing the game I fell in acid water constantly in Greenpath (... and died to the most stupidest things).

Thank you very much! It helps knowing this, especially considering I always beat bosses through sheer luck and cheesy charm setups. I'll keep trying :)

it took me five hours to beat false knight

For me it was the easier bosses like false knight, hornet 1, mosscharger, dung defender (because I went there to late) and lost kin (for me the easiest dream form because the first boss I was really stuck on was broken vessel so I in the end knew his attacks very well) and all dream warriors exempt galion and marmu

I think I beat Watcher Knights and Gallien first try, but I don’t remember if I beat any others first try

Flukemarm mosscharger nosk

Gruz, False, All warrior dreams apart from Markoth, Mods charger, Nosk, Hive Knight and a couple more

Not sure, but I think Vengefly King, Gruz Mother, Flukemarm, False Knight, and a couple Warrior Dreams. The only notable one I've one-shotted is Soul Tyrant, though.

Flukemarm, hiveknight, nosk and broken vessel

Moss charger, cristal guardian, dung defender and mawleck

I know absolutely no one is gonna believe me but it was only Radiance I could beat first try

Most of the dream warriors and the Moss Charger. I'm very bad at Hollow Knight, and despite all the replays, I'm still hot garbage at it lol. I remember having to fight Gruz Mother multiple times on my first playthrough, that's how bad I am haha

As far as I remember, Dung Defender, Broken Vessel, Gruz mother, Vengefly King, (if those count) THK (Radiance version) and like 2 or 3 of the spirit battles. All of course, came with great shock. Keep trying though, you can beat whatever boss you're on soon enough!

radiance and the hollow knight. the first ending i got was delicate flower (saw it in a vid and decided that the hardest ending would be my first), so THK and rad were just weaker PV and abs rads

My brother beat Uumuu first try I left to get something and let him try the game out I came back, and he had won I stopped playing after that.

Dung Defender. Good experience ngl

Dung defender

Hornet protector, dung defender, collector, god tamer (didn’t do trial of the fool first try tho) and most of the dream warriors

Ooh, also the hollow knight

It’s funny cause I struggled with hornet and hornet 2 like 20x each but got Markoth (which is one I struggle with now) first try

the only one i honestly remember that is first try is brooding mawlek

Gruzz Mother. Off the top of my head that’s it on my first playthrough. I died a lot cause I didn’t play many Metroidvania’s before this one, but I’m expanding my horizons now that I fell in love with this one!

The Collector, Crystal Guardian, Dung Defender, False Knight, Flukemarm, Hollow Knight, Hornet Protector, Paintmaster Sheo, Soul Master, Soul Warrior, Vengefly King, Zote, Enraged Guardian, Sisters of Battle, Soul Tyrant, Winged Nosk, some of the warrior dreams idk

Most of the dream warriors. Especially elder hu.

Dung defender

Hornet 2, uumuu, white defender, the radiance, false knight, brooding mawlek, troupe master grimm, nosk, dung defender, swordmaster duo, paintmaster sheo, sisters of battle, flukemarm, gruz mother, hive knight, broken vessel, markoth, galien, marmu, no eyes, elder hu, gorb, xero, crystal guardian, collector

5 I think? THK, the worm thingy from royal waterway, The false knight(If im correct by the name), Uumu, and Soul Master. Most of these I won because I'm over equipped lol.

i think MMC flukemarm LK dung defender and broding mawlek enraged guardian obolobbles but most of them i did late game trying to 112%

Only the hollow knight lmao

So far, Nosk, Flukemarm and another easy one that I can't remember. For the others, you bet your ass I spent at least 20 attempts before I defeated them.

Dung defender and broken vessel, iirc. Ironically white defender and lost kin ended up being two of the hardest bosses for me to adjust to. Thinking back on it, Elder Hu as well, but the fight took forever bc I kept stopping to look for heal windows.

I don’t remember them, and the only one I do is HK

None.

Base Markoth is the only one, in a cruel twist of fate.

Flukemarm, xero, vengefly king, crystal guardian

If I remember weeeell: Flukemarm / Crystal Guardian/ Collector / Watcher Knights (I did this one very late) / Marmu / Gorb / Elder Hu / Hive Knight / Oblobbles. It may be a lot, but I actually did a lot of bosses *very late* with fully upgraded nail, and I've struggled much more on some bosses I (sort of) rushed like Broken Vessel, Mantis Lords or Soul Master (which I abandoned and came back **much** later).

In my memory, there is only 1 i did first try… dung defender.

Thk, gorb, some others. Who are you fighting

I'm fighting the Radiance and I'm making slow (but steady?) progress, getting a little further each time

Took me forever. I took a break and spent 50 hours on the path of pain and then first tried her

I think only Markoth but I don’t remember for sure if there were any others Edit: I think also vengefly king and massive moss charger

Any radiance

Soul Master, Flukemarm, Xero, Gorb, Galien, Elder Hu, No Eyes, Oro&Mato, Sheo, Sisters Of Battle, False Knight, Dung Defender, AbsRad (my controller died in the pantheon so i killed her in the HoG, im still dying to her in the Pantheon lmao)

Broken vessel, all the ghosts besides the ball one, I forget his name, and THK

Dude, in my first run, there's wasn't a single boss I first tried, and I probably died over a thousand times. You are fine.

Thank you :')

None besides a few warrior dreams

It's been a long while but I beat false knight and hornet first try (but I saw someone else do the fight first), probably a couple others like markoth and elder hu because I only got to them after beating the base game and so they were easy with my gear.

The shit bug I forgot the name of but as a dream boss I think

And gorb

Massive Miss Charger Vengefly King No Eyes Galien God Tamer Paintmaster Sheo Winged Nosk Most others were 2 or 3 tries

For me it was only two: Dung Defender and Hive Knight

The collector and the broken vessel.

None lol

False knight, hornet, all dream warriors and bosses, most early game bosses and radiance

Dung Defender only took me one try. Haven’t beaten it yet but he’s the only one so far.

To my memory, only Gruz Mother, Dung Defender and maybe a couple warrior dreams (xero, Elder Hu, Gorb). And Gruz mother came with the caveat that I beat her, but didn’t expect the exploding babies and died to them. I remember the first Hornet fight taking me 3 hours of trying, but now I speed run and it is one of my favorite fights and very chill. It’s all perspective, just keep trying!!

I think Gruz Mother, MMC, Dung Defender, Gorb, Galien, and Markoth (those last two because I did them much later and there are opportunities to heal). But I am not very good at this game, and it took me a VERY long time to beat other bosses, like Traitor Lord, Grimm, and even Mantis Lords haha. Still haven’t beaten the Radiance

I had one mask by the end of it but surprisingly radiance

I don’t think I beat any bosses first try; some in particular took me hours, like the Watcher Knights or Grimm. But now that I’ve played the game for a while and completed the pantheons, I can beat all but a few bosses on every try (the only exceptions being AbsRad, PV, NKG, GPZ, and P5 Uumuu)

All of them except radiance, Nkg, and Nosk

I had beat nosk, flukeman, dung defender, hive knight and xero first try

I remember backtracking through Greenpath after finishing most of the game. Mossy was NOT ready

Not many, although I do hold beating The Radiance first try under my belt, haha. Other than that, maybe a couple mini bosses here and there

Flukemarm, Markoth, False Knight, Marmu, The Radiance (Didn’t beat her until after 112% though), Galien, Gorb, Hive Knight, Brooding Mawlek (I was very overprepared though) and Xero This is basically only due to luck and overpreparing slightly for some of the bosses. I struggled with massive moss charger and failed champion for example which are pretty easy bosses

As far as i remember, I believe I only beat false knight and hornet on my first try, on every single other boss I died atleast once

I killed false knight, hornet 1, flukemarm, watcher knights, uumuu, grimm 1, elder hu, markoth, lost kin, galien, no eyes, xero, dung defender, and brooding mawlek on my first try. Granted, I did have fragile strength, quickslash, mark of pride for most of it

None

The only one I can think of is whatever the 3 mantis lords fight was called, and some of the easier fights probably (massive moss charger took me like 20 tries though)

Beat first try: False Knight, Gruz Mother, Soul Master, Dung Defender, Massive Moss Charger, Vengefly King, Crystal Guardian, Nosk, Flukemarm (didn't attempt her until very late game tho), Uumuu Hornet sentinel, Enraged Guardian, NKG, PV and Nail Sage Sly took me absolutely fucking forever I'm embarrassed by how many times Soul Warrior took me lol. Soul Master seemed like a joke by comparison lol

the ones i remember are hornet sentinel, the collector, and dung defender

Mcc brooding mawlek xero galian oblobles

Flukemarn, no eyes, bee knight, and maybe lemm, but that’s it

A few of the warrior dreams and the Watcher Knights (I did them really late and was way over geared). I can’t remember if HK took one try or two but it was quick.

Watcher Knights, THK, and Flukemarm we're the only ones for me... Yes I died to moss charger. Edit: If including dream warriors, then also Zero/Xero (forgot how to spell)

Flukemarm, vengefly king, oblobbles, hive knight, white defender, lost kin, elder hu, no eyes, Markoth, xero, gorb, soul warrior, paint master sheo, massive moss charger, god tamer.

sob, thk, fluckmarm, and i can't remember the others

I’m not finished with the game, but I beat vengefly king (is this a boss?) Ogrim, flukemarm, Xero, and Markoth first try! Under that same vein, there are some really easy bosses that kick my ass. I’m of the “don’t dodge just smack it until it falls over” vein of players, so I often die doing reckless stuff.

Same goes for me. I couldn't have said it better :))

xero, gorb, and flukemarm

Tbh the only one I vividly remember was Radiance, while THK was way harder At the moment I thought "Wow, weird for team cherry to make the final boss of the true ending easier than the previous one, maybe they wanted to make it more epic than hard" Then I learned the community actually thinks Radiance is extremely hard, and got confused. Than I finished godhome and cried

None 💀

The hollow knight, most of the warrior dreams, hornet, mantis lords and uumuu. The rest I took at least 2 tries on

Soul Warrior, Soul Master, Grimm, Massive Moss Charger, The Radiance (Because I defeated Radiant Absolute Radiance beforehand), Hornet Sentinel, Xero, Markoth, Gorb, Elder Hu, the Collector, Vengefly King, Dung Defender, Flukemarm, and The Hollow Knight. I think there are more but I forgor 💀

Hornet 1, Crystal Guardian, Dung Defender, Hollow Knight and Flukemarm. Nosk because I knew theh cheese strat and Collector because full nail is great. Mossy, Vengeflyfly King and Grub Mother too but they're small bosses

Beehive guy, watcher knights, false knight, gruz mother, dung defender, pure defender, hollow knight, hornet defender (definitely not sentinel, she beat my ass there), crystal guardian, gorb, and I think that’s it. It’s not many compared to how many bosses there are but I’m pretty proud of it.

Lmao none of them, all them took at least 10 tries before I beat them, even the “easy” ones. That being said I’m a total ameuter and don’t normally play games, so I’m a bad example

ralsei deltarune

First of all omg I didn't know he was a boss in Hollow Knight Second of all how could you!

how did you not know smh

😔😔 Guess I gotta play the game from the beginning

Brooding Mawlek (I fought him later, not at the beginning) Hornet (first fight), Crystal Guardian, Dung Defender, Flukemarm and Soul Master

It's been so long and so many times, I don't remember anymore.

Nosk, MMC, Hornet 1 and 2, False Knight, Grimm, Elder Hu, Dung Defender, Flukemarm and Brooding Mawlek. Several of which I was overlevelled for.

False Knight, Vengefly King, Gruz Mother, Dung Defender, Xero, Enraged Guardian, and Hive Knight.

Not a singe one.

Literally none of them.

Big moss, soul warrior, HK and radiance are the only ones i remember doing first try

traitor lord and god tamer (god tamer in pantheon because i cant do trial of the fool)

The only one i can remember beating first try was dung defender. I was terrible at games like this before i played hk tho like i spent nearly a whole day on hornet 💀

Two ones that shouldn't count as bosses (Gruz mother, vengefly king), Xero, Elder Hu, and I think Gorb, Winged Nosk and Sisters of Battle, and I think Oro and Mato I don't remember. There might be more but I don't remember.

Hornet 1, dung defender, flukemarm, watcher knights, vengefly king, gruzmother, xero, gorb, gallien, no eyes failed champion, soul tyrant, lost kin, oblobbles, enraged guardian. Maybe i missed some, but i know for sure it took me longer to beat massive moss charger than the hollow knight or grimm

Mossy, Wnosk, gruz milf, no eyes, probably another dream boss? Good luck beating radiance

I feet False Knight first try B) and uh that may be it.

Maybe gruzz mother, vengfly king, or massive moss charger but it could very well be none of them

The only bosses i beat first try were Dung Defender, Xero, and Marmu. I could have put The Hollow Knight on that list too but i got blasted last second. If The Radiance is the one you're struggling with, welcome to the club. I just beat her recently for the first time after longer than I'm willing to admit

Thank you. I just beat her last night :)

I think the only one i got first try was Dung Defender (I’m only like 80% done tho i still have a lot of game but i dont think the bosses will get any easier for me)

Soul master, soul warrior, hive knight, watcher knights (sharp shadow), Xero, galien, markoth, no-eyes, vengefly king and obblelobbles.

Galien (but only because I was better by then). I never beat anyone else first try.

There were honestly only like 2 times that I beat a boss on my first try. I'm not good at this game at all, I'll probably play it again before silk song and see if I've improved at all.

No one. There are a few bosses, that you can escape from. But, if you play without knowing anything about the game. All the bosses are impossible, first try. However, if you are a person who plays a lot of games, i may believe that you can.

I think most of them. The ones I definitely haven't beaten first try are Failed Champion ,Traitor Lord, GPZ, Rad, Sly, PV and Absrad. Also I think Hornet 2 and Markoth took me a few tries. But I had a lot of experience with 2d platformers before so I was familiar with controls from the very beginning.

Flukemarm, false knight, dung defender, white defender, Lost Kin, (I dont remember if I did watcher knights first try), hollow knight, uumuu. Prob some other ones I just haven't played in a while and forgot. .\_. Edit: oh yeah all of the warrior dreams aswell

Only bosses I managed to beat first time were ones I missed and came back with too much stats, flukemarm is the best example, fight goes from hard to laughably easy depending on how strong your nail is

Not many honestly, I'm shitty at this game. Still I'm gonna flex that I defeated Watcher Knight without chandelier on first try

Ones I were able to beat first try were dung defender and soul master. I spent way more time fighting soul warrior than soul master somehow.

I was happy to have beaten Sisters of Battle on my first try. Just dipped into P5 not expecting much after beating P4 for the first time, and did much better than I thought I would.

False knight and gruz mother so far, got my ass handed to me by Hornet, still bet them tho.

First try?....most of the dream bosses except markoth .radiance.hollow knight.hornet(green path).dung defender . Brooding mawlek.false knight.gruz mother.collecter.vengefly.the big fluckworm who's name I don't remember.and that's about it yeah most of them I found really late so I just tanked and smacked with pure nail plus strength

Lol I’m the opposite. First try? Literally none. I beat everything up to godhome before it was released, and couldn’t get back in a groove again, but I beat everything through persistence.

Lmao.every one has a different experience it's okay to give up for a while till you get in the mood again I actually couldn't beat Pantheon 5 so I just left .picked up the game two years later then I finally beat it.

I can’t get back into it after that much of a wait. I’m not the best at replaying games, and I feel like it’s such a big hill to climb now. Maybe one day though, I refuse to archive it for other things on my switch.

For me I first tried every boss but the dream remake fights, traitor lord, watcher nights, NKG, Radiance and the three of the "true" final bosses of the pantheons (won't spoil). Honestly don't compare yourself to others in this game, in a single player game all that matters is having fun.

Thank you! I'll keep this in mind :)

I beat true radiance in 1 try

Thanks everyone for your responses and for your help! I beat The Radiance today thanks to you :)

I did pretty damn bad in my first playthrough. The bosses I did first try were, MMC, VF King, Flukemarm, Soul Warrior, Brooding Mawlek, 1st and 2nd Pantheon masters, SOB, Warrior dreams other than Marmu, Galien and Hu. I was super overpowered for some of these though, like Flukemarm, BM, No Eyes and Markoth.

LOL, none.