I could see this working better as part of a challenge run, or perhaps instead of just going to Gorb you could have the goal to get dreamgate (probably already a thing). In this case you would only need three dream bosses in Lost Kin, Soul Tyrant and Galien, or just cut the all skills run in half.

An update:

I've made discord a mainstay for communications, see the NMG random channel

To Mods here: Feel free to move this thread to the HK category extensions subforum, I think that would be the optimal place for this thread.

It's looking like livesplit will soon include autosplits for benches according to devs in the discord, I'm looking forward to this.

I've written a first draft of splits for the category, message me if you'd like them. It is a rather long list and since splits are not currently implemented for benches I can't really include a file just yet.

After some testing I've found the waterways bench is accessible without desolate dive, you can access the bench from below, granted it's not very fast. Moot point however, dive is needed for Gray Mourner. I wonder if it's worth it to gather some of the geo on the way there...

It may be worth devising different paths utilizing different skips, I am rather terrible at dark rooms atm though I have done most of them before.

I would intend on getting lantern before crystal heart if nothing else for ease of deepnest.

Thanks for the intel, more possibilities to consider and I'm impressed at the amount of nuance this game has in the community between categories.

I've been honing some skill with randomizer runs in 1.4.3.2 since before considering speedrunning, I'll have to incorporate some of the research here into those.

I'm not familiar with a means of gettting dream nail before mantis claw, beyond perhaps getting lumafly lantern which would be quite the amount of geo grinding early on.

I think possibly following the any% route until getting crystal heart might be good with one or two tweaks such as paying for the stags at crossroads/greenpath and using the grounds stag to open dirtmouth station before going for crystal heart.

I might just be unfamiliar with the path to dreamgate, I'll have to look at some 100+% runs to see how the steps are and how they might compare to utilizing the stag network more. I can see the method mentioned flowing nicely, I for one haven't practiced enough to get through any of the spirit champions at low equipment except maybe Elder Hu and Gorb. Also if you're adding Desolate Dive then Soul Tyrant might work here as an option instead of Galien and Gorb. Soul Tyrant would certainly be more difficult.

Once the route is set the splits will be here so you can put it in livesplit, then it's just a matter of playing on normal mode. You can see the guide to set up the splits on the forum here: https://www.speedrun.com/hollowknight/guide/cg9vl

I've started to get to know any% and All Skill NMG, a few interesting bits in those might creep in to a decent start of this category in getting Mothwing Cloak, Mantis Claw and Crystal Heart using quit skips to get the early mobility upgrades before the longer bits of bench hunting.

I'm not familiar with a way to get to hidden station without wings, might I inquire as to the strat? I agree wings will make the camp bench much easier, no need for aspids there.

I definitely think dashmaster will be worth it, the question is which way to approach the bretta bench, either after the mantis lords or swinging by after getting the waterway bench. It may also be worth thinking about sprintmaster as the shopkeeper's key is pretty close to the crystal guardian bench.

Different versions of the game will certainly create different routes, I'm going to focus on making the category friendly to current version players to reach more of the community. It will be fun to see how 1.2.2.1 will change things up however.

Speaking of version, I've seen some runners posting using the Chinese(?) localization, any specific reason an english or other language might not be preferable?

Yeah, I'm showing my Magic the Gathering past there, the tournament types were referred to as formats so that was my go-to nomenclature.

My current thoughts are on which simple keys to get, the relevance of either spore shroom or defender's crest, and if it's worth getting Isma's Tear

As for the keys, I think the one in the city is a no-brainer as it's on the way to/from the storage room stag bench and either the basin one on the way to monarch wings or white lurker as it's close to the pleasure house.

Also, what are your thoughts on skips in Kingdom's Edge using primal aspids? I think they're either on par or more difficult than the QGA acid skip myself.

Hello all,

I'm relatively new to the concept of speedrunning and looking at the formats/categories here I'm curious if running benches on the main map is viable. I'm going to call the run category Benchwarmer, it'll be longer than any% and shorter than 100+%. With some refinement it may be only slightly longer than all skill. Here's the details that I've come up with so far:

• completion goal is sitting on all benches on the main map, not including the white palace and godhome
• Last bench is the Black Egg Temple
• Skills/items needed: Vengeful Spirit, Mothwing Cloak, Mantis Claw, Lumafly Lantern, Tram Pass, Simple Key x2, Crystal Heart

Possible advantageous charms/upgrades:

• Soul Catcher (near Vengeful Spirit)
• Dashmaster (near Bretta)
• Sprintmaster (req. Shopkeeper's Key, 400 Geo)
• Gathering Swarm (300 Geo)
• Dreamgate (Dreamnail, 900 Essence)
• Nail upgrade x2 (1050 Geo, Pale Ore x1)
• Monarch Wings

With this you will at least need to go through the mantis lords fight, go to the nailmasters, and get the three dreamers. Once I'm a little more versed in routes here I'll be attempting to work one out for this, get splits, and see what run times I can get. Any thoughts on this will be welcomed, let's flesh this idea out.

Here's the full list of the Benches needed (in benchwarp order): Howling Cliffs

• Dirtmouth, Mato Crossroads
• hot springs, stag, salubra, ancestral mound, black egg temple Greenpath
• waterfall, sanctuary, toll, stag, lake of unn, sheo Fog Canyon
• archives Fungal Wastes
• Queens Station, Leg Eater, Bretta, Mantis Village City of Tears
• Overlook (Quirrel), Toll, City Storeroom, Watcher’s Spire,
• King’s Station, Pleasure House Royal Waterways
• Waterways Deepnest
• Hotsprings, Failed Tramway, Beast’s Den Ancient Basin
• Toll, Hidden Station Kingdom’s Edge
• Oro, Camp, Colosseum, Hive Crystal Peak
• Dark Room, Crystal Guardian Resting Grounds
• Stag, Gray Mourner Queen’s Gardens
• Cornifer, Toll, Stag Trams
• Upper, Lower

Here is the list of bosses to get through

• Hornet 1
• Mantis Lords
• Soul Master
• Crystal Guardian 1
• Uumuu
• Watcher Knights
• Broken Vessel (Optional)