Which is Better?... but explained in insults. 

if you break your screen everything dies on screen it’s kinda op ngl

I feel like one of the reasons people are reluctent to use spells early on is that they want to save their soul guage for being able to focus and heal. When it comes to choosing between focusing or dealing extra damage (especialy when you have no idea about the damage numbers) saving it for focus seems like the safer option to new players.

I personally like the nail more because it doesn’t lock your movement. I can be deftly nimble and precise, reacting quickly to unexpected movements, where using a spell might make me sit there for the half-second that makes a difference.

Treating the Hollow Knight community with the respect they deserve 🙏

Well, at the end, the best damage dealer are the friends we got along the way

Or use both in concert like a magic-knight is supposed to. Of course, learning a whopping two combat methods is **way** too hard

I'm surprised you didn't mention Nail Arts! I used a hybrid build of sorts to clear Trial of the Fool on my run, but the cornerstone for me was the Great Slash. It does require a good deal of investment to get Nailmaster's Glory, but it does let you double up with other build aspects (like, for instance, Shaman Stone to make your spells powerful). Indeed, I basically beat Radiance through a combination of Nail Arts and spells (a couple Abyss Shrieks made the second phase last, like, ten seconds).

Something that maybe should have been put in the nail argument was the Nail Arts gifted to you by the three Nail Masters. After all they do a load of damage, are fairly easy to get, and once all 3 are unlocked you can get a free single slot charm that nukes the windup time for using them. Seriously, fireb0rn knows his stuff with these 3 arts.

Personally I prefer using the best form of damage, minions

This really isn't nail vs spells in most cases, its nail+spells vs nail+healing. Spells require knowledge of the enemy you are fighting (often not much knowledge). New players are too scared to use spells because they are not used to the cast times or attack patterns. End game nail charms still win in dps but that doesn't mean experienced players stop using spells.

Thanks windette! Your video’s are fluent and hilarious not to mention helpful and this one was no exception

The main issue with the people abstaining from spells is that the nail can only hit twice on average doing 60 damage being a third of a single spells

I thought for such a long time that there is no competition between them because i thought spells get buffed when you upgrade your nail. Apparently i either believed a rumour or just made it up

Actually, four ways to kill stuff. Nail, Spell, Nature, Charms. Charms such as Defenders Crest and Minion Charms

4:12 *Three* brain cells? You're getting too generous.

I just clicked on this video, not knowing what it was, but it explained SO many things that I didn't even know needed explaining. This is amazing!

"There are 3 ways to kill stuff: Nail, Spells and Nature" Pets: "Am I a joke to you?"

Hollow Knight community: Nail or spell? Me: *How about both.*

You just got a new subscriber, sir. Quality content! 👍❤️

Dude. This was hilarious and amazing to watch. Thank you RU-vid algorithm for recommending. And thank you creator for making it.

The best form of damage is obviously wayward compass.

You can either a: Wack the enemy with a metal rod or You can either b: AAAAAAA at their face in magical form.

Great video, it was funny and really interesting!

This has helped me a lot, thank you for explaining it to me, ya smart fool

We begin the game with a nail, we end the game with the nail.

You've done Radiant bosses right? I would like to see something like "The most insulting guide to Radiant Absolute Radiance that you will find on the internet" or something. Obviously no pressure to do exactly what I told you and even if you don't do this, whatever Hollow Knight content you upload will probably be great (and insulting).

Your first line got me. Hahaha I love this video

This really helped a lot, I was having that same lingering question on my mind when I first started off. :)

I was stuck at the mantis claw for 2 weeks (yes im an idiot but ive never played a game like this before) and this series gave me the motivation to keep going. Not because of the guide. Just because you made me realise how fun the game could be. Much love

4:59 *laughs in Gruberfly's elegy*

got this in my recommended and straight up got called a idiot, that's fair you got my sub

Some how you make all of this damage and numbers really easy to understand even if i had no clue what this game was i also find it funny the fact you used insulating people into a funny way to explain stuff while also warning people of they dont like being looked down upon and insulated to leave (:

Nails because using and dominating with it is SOOOOOO satisfying

I actually really like this way of explaining things. Theres humor and insults but it's not breakneck paced or too overly bloated with jokes or tangents, not too dry but not trying too hard, 10/10

I learned more from this one video than I ever did in any math class, I don't know if it's because I was laughing everytime I was insulted but It was basically more fun to learn this way

Having just picked up the game for free and trying to learn as much spoiler-free info as I can, this was a fantastic video to watch. Having actual damage numbers is huge.

I watch these videos even after I have every achievement and have beaten hall of gods radiant. It’s just funny to send my friends these videos.

Hi there! Hollow Knight speedrunner here! This explanation is very accurate in terms of the different toolsets and their effectivity! I do want to note that even in the endgame, spells still are useful to use as a sort of secondary combo, and that no one who is attempting to play optimally should ever ever ever unequip shaman stone. Also DDark has mad s which makes it very powerful despite being less strong when it comes to potential damage output. Really good video though! Good thing to have some accurate guides out there

The moron that I am might be slightly masochist because I thoroughly enjoyed the way you thrashed my brain cells. I'm gonna watch some of your other content, because I weirdly want more of this

I really loved that video even tho I stopped playing hk long ago but keep up man

this channel just appeared out of nowhere and started being awesome About the video though, IMO the best choice is to use both spells and your nail depending on the situation, the nair has a better dps but ddark has s, shriek has better burst damage and shade soul is literally your only long-range option (unless you're using summon charms)

trick question its your dash, have shadow dash, equip sharp shadow and dash master, your dash now does 1.5x your nail damage and you have better movement and i-frames, and it just works damage into evasive movements you would do anyway

Thanks for the video, I'll consider it the next time I play.

Honestly, I had no idea the spells were so good, but as someone with crappy reflexes and not the best ability to read enemy moves, that full soul container could be the difference between surviving or not, so it never feels safe to 'waste' it with spells. And also honestly, that wouldn't matter so much if it wasn't often such a pain to just get back to the thing I was trying to fight from a bench. I will give credit where credit is due, however, this series has helped me to realize that the fights aren't necessarily as chaotic or hard as I thought they were, and opening my eyes to the fact that I was making them that way. Having concise, easy to understand breakdowns of some of the patterns has sort of evened the playing field a bit. Made it feel less like a fight for my life and more about a series of steps and objectives. The type of video is also just hilarious and I love it, so that's also fanastic lmao

You’re insults actually helped me learn more about how the damage works in the game then you think

realistically i hate using spells because... i wanna heal :(

I always found spells useful for bosses. That is if I’m not suffering and needing to heal for 2 minutes straight. The nail is more consistent for traveling or exploring. But I do love the endgame when it becomes super strong

idk why I love this so much

The production value on these videos is insane! I’m genuinely surprised you don’t have more subs. Definitely recommending you to some of my friends

Just started playing the game, your tutorials really helps, having them by my side as i go through this game makes it a blast, and the critique i get only gets me more motivated, even though it's basically considered bullying, i find it funny though, canNOT wait for more of your content, it helps me lots

i love this the insults are amazing

This video was very fun, you made me want to finally beat the fucking radiance

honestly hybrid builds rule supreme throughout the entire game but it also takes a lot of skill to learn

wait, youre telling me i had 2 other attack options other than nature

Already in the first insult and you have earned a sub

This channel is acually epic

An emotional rollercoaster coupled with a therapy session for windette. i definitely had signed up for this.....

As someone who only plays very casually when not suffering from brain rot, I use spells more while whittling away at bosses. Knowing the numbers actually is pretty useful, thanks.

I just started playing the game and it's pretty dope, I didn't understand how the damage worked so, thanks!

for enemies with lots of projectiles i like to spam descending dark for the invincibility frames because I suck at dodging but overall both nail and spells are good for different parts of enemy fights (example when hornet does her little silk circle whip type thingy where she floats)

I have literally won a county wide algebra competition and I still feel stupid watching these videos. I LOVE IT.

I used the hk wiki to figure out how many hits/spells I needed for each stage of abs rad and it works. BTW PV needs I think 10 hits for each stagger and staggers 4 times after that he needs one more hit to die

You're like the nicest mean guy i've ever seen, i dont feel insulted i feel enlightened 10/10 would sub again

Yayy u got rid of my depression just cuz u swore and it just made me laugh

I consider Nail Arts to be the nail-equivalent of spells. They have similar usefulness in my opinion and using both in concert works like a "charm". However, I do only have one collective brain cell and thus am most likely wrong.

3:05 1 liek = 1 prayer that Quirrel is alive

This intro is what got me hooked

All these insults have awakened something in me my good sir

At the end of the day, if you're using both of them at the correct times you're good. The nail is super consistent and free to use, but vengeful spirit has some good opportunities in boss fights to sub in for nail hits, such as casting it between hits, or using it as the final hit of a window where you can only get 2-3 hits in. Shriek is great for floating enemies and dive has useful s.

I never read opposing theories on damage types but I had assumed that the argument was over spells vs healing. Many people want a safety net so casting a spell feels like sacrificing part of your health bar.

love it man

I was expecting you to say use both then pelt me with insults about how I didn’t think of that

Nice video! :D Also, what about grubberfly’s elegy? That helps boost your damage by 50% if you hit both the nail swing and the beam, right? My math is probably wrong tho lol

I usually refrain from casting spells because I could either cast a spell or save the soul for heals and perform chip damage with the nail. Using a mix between a healing build and a nail arts build saved me in the trial of the fool

Trying to beat the Radiance, not doing so hot, this is helpful advice. Thank you!

i came in expecting the game to be insulted but just ended up being attacked LMAO great video!

No one gonna talk about 6:10 ?

You will be the reason I get hollow knight. Thank you

These are my favorite hk videos no cap.

this channel gets my ego down to a reasonable amount

0:37 actually more than these three ways... you have minions like Weaverlings and Grimmchild, and damaging enemies when getting attacked with Thorns of Agony

Is it bad that I’m getting used to him yelling at me for things I already know?

I'm subscribing. I know nothing about this game and he makes it funny to learn.

Can we all take a moment to love and appreciate this man for what he does WHILE making it fun at the same time? 😂😂👏👏

Can confirm, just finished getting all achievements the other day only using nail. The time it would take to get used to using the spells at the right times just seemed long when you could have fun slashing every boss and dodging everything

spells deal much more damage than the nail, BUT spells cost soul. how do you get soul? *YOU USE YOUR NAIL TO STRIKE ENEMYS*

I love how this explains more than a looking at forums.

So, pretty much what I thought from experience. Nice.

I used Soul Eater + Shaman Stone in my steel soul run the other day, it was amazing. Just dive and everything worked out.

Can you make a tutorial on how to properly treat Zote? I try my best to pet him gently with my nail (which is nicer for "skin" than spells as you could learn from this video) but he doesn't seem to appreciate my effort and love I put into every swing :/

That was fucking awesome

I was stuck on colo 2 for weeks trying to get a pale ore to help me against the Watcher Knights. After watching this video, I decided to try a spell build instead. I beat it in 2 tries. Upgraded to coiled nail and went on to WK, actually utilizing spells this time, and got it in one. I can’t believe I was sleeping on spells.

The reason dive is worse than the other spells on paper is because the aoe damage is calculated separately, with it hitting multiple times per cast. It far outclasses shriek in practice.

Now I've always been mostly a nail player, but you neglected to mention that I'm pretty sure dark descent gives you like a full second of ACTIONABLE invincibility. you get a full second where you can do whatever you want without having to worry about getting hit.

i was stuck on the guy ho throw shitballs at you untill this thanks for helping me beat him

I can see why I got directed here after binging Rusty's Hollow Knight videos. Very entertaining. XD

spells, I love them. the combos you can do is just beautiful

0:56 lies he has infinite

It is so nice being insulted for once. Keep up the good work.

bro forgot about spore shroom, thorns, glowing womb, grimmchild, weaversong, sharp shadow, dreamshield, defender's crest, and nail arts