The Mantis Lords is the first tough boss fight in Hollow Knight. It is however not impossible to beat once you get the hang of their attack rhythm.

Here is my step by step on how to deal with the Mantis Lords’s every move.

The fight is separated into 2 parts – in the first part you fight only one Mantis Lord:

[In-game screen capture from Hollow Knight – The Mantis Lords boss fight]

When she teleports above you, walk away, turn around and hit her twice.

[In-game screen capture from Hollow Knight – The Mantis Lords boss fight]

When Mantis Lord dashes towards you, jump up, follow her motion, hit her in the back twice.

Always position yourself at the centre after her every move, or else you may get contact damage when she appears at the side before a dash.

[In-game screen capture from Hollow Knight – The Mantis Lords boss fight]

The Mantis Lord has two very similar moves throwing a boomerang. If you don’t pay attention to differentiate them you will be hit a lot. Look at her lower foot when she clings to the wall. If it is near the third protruding thing, the boomerang is going to fly above you. Don’t jump, instead, walk towards her and slash her as many times as you can before the boomerang flies back. Then you must jump to dodge it.

[In-game screen capture from Hollow Knight – The Mantis Lords boss fight]

If her lower foot is near the bottom of the wall, her boomerang will fly low. You must jump to avoid it. If you can, dash towards her while in the air and whack her a few times before she disappears.

Those are the four moves the single Mantis Lord will pull.

Once the first Mantis Lord is beaten, the remaining 2 will jump on you. And the second part of the boss fight begins.

[In-game screen capture from Hollow Knight – The Mantis Lords boss fight]

Their first two moves are the same as the first Mantis Lord’s. The only difference is that they will do it together. While you are attacking one Mantis Lord you must be vigilant on where the other Mantis Lord is. Instead of slashing her twice after dodging one Mantis Lord, I found it safer to slash only once and move back to the centre.

[In-game screen capture from Hollow Knight – The Mantis Lords boss fight]

Their boomerangs are very confusing this time. Their position on the wall no longer indicate where the boomerangs are going. First, make sure to stand in the middle whenever they are on the wall. Then you have to watch the boomerangs paths closely. If they cross paths early, they will swing to the side and then fly back and join in the middle. Jump while they almost reach you.

[In-game screen capture from Hollow Knight – The Mantis Lords boss fight]

If the boomerangs do not cross paths but stick together and slowly lower, walk to the side, jump and dash back to the centre.

[In-game screen capture from Hollow Knight – The Mantis Lords boss fight]

Finally, they will bow to you.

The full video on how I beat the Mantis Lords hitless: