Hollow Knight has no quest markers and no map until you buy one. The route below keeps that intact while making sure you find Cornifer before you need him rather than after.
Dirtmouth to Forgotten Crossroads
Drop into the well. The Crossroads are the tutorial and the hub the rest of the map hangs from.
Find Cornifer here, buy the map, and buy the Quill from Iselda in Dirtmouth so your map fills in as you explore. Playing without the Quill is a choice a few people enjoy and most regret.
False Knight is the first boss and is beatable with the starting nail.
Greenpath and the first real choice
Greenpath introduces acid and Hornet, who is the game's actual difficulty check. If you can beat Hornet, you can finish the game.
Pick up Mothwing Cloak here. It is the dash, and it opens most of the map.
Fungal Wastes and the Mantis Village
Mantis Lords are optional, hard, and drop the Mantis Claw, which is the wall jump. The Claw more than doubles where you can go.
Get it before anything else. Almost every "I am stuck" moment in this game is solved by the Claw.
City of Tears
The central area, and the point where the game opens up completely. Soul Sanctum, the Watcher Knights, and several charms live here.
Crystal Peak nearby holds the Crystal Heart, which is the horizontal dash and the second major traversal upgrade.
Deepnest, and the part people quit at
Deepnest is deliberately unpleasant. It is dark, the enemies are fast, and the map is confusing even with the Quill.
Bring a lantern. Take it slowly. There is a shortcut back to the City once you find it, and the area rewards patience with the Hive and several charms.
Ancient Basin and the Abyss
The Abyss holds the Void Heart and the Shade Cloak. This is where the story turns, and where the endings diverge.
Endgame and the optional content
The Path of Pain, the Godhome pantheons and the dream bosses are all optional and all considerably harder than the main game.
If the credits felt easy, that content is what the game was saving.
Nail upgrades and where the Pale Ore is
Your nail upgrades at the Nailsmith in Dirtmouth, and each tier needs geo plus Pale Ore. There are six ore in the game and they are all hidden.
Two come from combat challenges, one from the Crystal Peak mining area, one from a Grubfather reward, one from the Seer, and one from a Colosseum trial. Getting the nail to its third tier before the City of Tears makes the mid-game noticeably smoother.
Do not neglect it in favour of charms. A weak nail makes every fight longer, which means more chances to be hit.
Grubs, and why to bother
Forty-six grubs are hidden across the map in glass jars. Freeing them pays out from the Grubfather, and the rewards include geo, a charm, mask shards and Pale Ore.
They are also the best excuse to explore thoroughly, which is what this game wants from you anyway. Collect them as you go rather than sweeping at the end.
Mask shards and vessel fragments
Four mask shards make a mask, which is one more hit you can take. Three vessel fragments make a soul vessel.
Both are scattered widely and both are worth detouring for. Going from five masks to seven changes which bosses are reasonable, more than any charm does.
The Hollow Knight builds guide covers charm loadouts, which matter more here than nail upgrades.
