Hollow Knight: All Charm Notch Locations

The Knight itself is already quite a handy warrior, with several spells and a powerful nail that can deal a good amount of damage. Yet, Charms are essential for adding more diversity to Hollow Knight’s gameplay, allowing players to create different builds while exploring Hallownest.

These equippable items can make certain spells or abilities more potent, give offensive and defensive buffs, add extra mechanics, or special enhancements – their possibilities are almost endless. For instance, one combination can help in a platforming-hell area that has been driving you insane, while another can turn the Mantis Lords boss fight into a walk in the park.

It’s all about being creative. However, there is no Charm without Charm Notches, which are required to equip them (with some requiring as many as three to four slots). That means that you’ll need to collect every notch that is scattered around – luckily for you, I’m here to help with a complete guide.

There are 11 Charms Notches in total, and you start the game with only 3, meaning that we need to find 8. Grab your needle and let’s go.

Buying from Salubra (in Forgotten Crossroads)

You probably weren’t expecting this, but it is actually possible to obtain four of the eight Charm Notches at once! All you have to do is progress in the main story until you find the merchant Salubra, who has a shop located at the far end of the Forgotten Crossroads.

You can reach her as early as a few hours, after beating Hornet for the first time in Greenpath (unlocking the Mothwing Cloak) and the mini-boss Gruz Mother in Forgotten Crossroads. Then, head to the south-eastern area until you find a gap to cross with a dash to reach a shortcut and keep walking to eventually find Salubra’s shop.

She will be selling four Charm Notches – no wonder she is also known as the “Charm Lover”. However, each one has this little annoying requirement (besides being expensive, be aware) of possessing a certain number of Charms to be purchased.

Here they are:

Hidden Area in Fog Canyon

The first Charm Notch that can be found while freely roaming in Hallownest is in a hidden area in Fog Canyon, just underneath the Stone Sanctuary.

To reach it, you need to have Isma’s Tear ability – which is unlocked after defeating the Dung Defender boss in Royal Waterways and finding a place called Isma’s Grove on the eastern side of the biome.

With the ability in hand, head to the northeast section of Fog Canyon (see the exact location in the image above) to reach the small opening on the left wall, which leads to the notch area.

Be careful, though, since it is a maze-like room filled with multiple Oomas (those annoying jellyfish that explode once they are hit), straight corridors, and many acid pools. Fortunately, with Isma’s Tear, you can swim through them.

Be aware of the Oomas and keep progressing until you find the Charm Notch at the end of this secret place, sitting right above another pool of acid.

Arena in the Fungal Wastes

Another Charm Notch is waiting for you in the Fungal Wastes, in a small arena just underneath the entrance to Fog Canyon (and near the topmost Bench of the biome).

All you have to do is go there (well, obviously) and face a mini-boss fight: two huge, beastly fungal creatures called Shrumal Ogres.

They attack by spitting corrosive venom and slamming their bodies into the Knight, so just be careful to jump and dash at the right moments to counterattack with the needle’s basic attacks. That should be enough, but you can also try the Desolate Dive or Descending Dark spells in case you are struggling with the fight.

After defeating them, the Shrumal Ogres will drop a nice Charm Notch for you!

Trial in The Colosseum of Fools

The Colosseum of Fools, which is located at the top of Kingdom’s Edge (see image above), is a great way to test your skills, since it offers three different trials with sequential battles – and you can get a Charm Notch there.

Its very first challenge is the Trial of the Warrior (you need to pay 100 Geo to enter), and it rewards you with a notch when completed.

Prepare to face several waves of enemies for this one, such as Vengefly Kings, Sturdy Fools, Primal Aspids, Sharp Baldurs, and Winged Fools. They are not too complicated, and this is actually the easiest trial of all three. Still, don’t underestimate it – give your best!

After clearing it, it is time to feel the crowd’s love, since they will throw some Geo and a lovely Charm Notch for you to grab.

Grimm Troupe DLC

Last but not least, there is a Charm Notch to be acquired in the Grimm Troupe DLC, which can be accessed at any point in the main story – although I highly recommend that you tackle its content after completing the game.

In any case, you need to “unlock” the expansion to make Grimm’s troupe arrive (their tent is going to be in Dirtmouth), and here’s an awesome guide on how to access every Hollow Knight DLC.

After unlocking it, talk to Grimm inside his tent to start his questline, which consists of equipping a special charm to collect a bunch of weird red flames (don’t ask) throughout Hallownest (they will be marked on your map).

When you finally collect them all, you will discover that all have been preparations for a mysterious ritual, so you will be given the option of facing the Troupe Master Grimm in a very challenging boss battle. That’s why I recommend you explore this content after beating the game.

Defeat him (he is a very skillful warrior, so good luck!) to obtain the final Charm Notch of Hollow Knight right after.