Hollow Knight Pale Ore Locations: Where to Find Every Shard and Upgrade Your Nail

I still remember the first time I stumbled into the City of Tears and found the Nailsmith. My poor little Knight was swinging a rusted piece of junk, and I was getting absolutely bodied by the Great Husk Sentries. Upgrading my weapon wasn’t just a luxury; it was a survival requirement. In my hundreds of hours exploring Hallownest, I’ve realized that finding Pale Ore is the single most important thing you can do to turn the tide of combat.

There are exactly six pieces of Pale Ore hidden across the map. You’ll need them to reach the ultimate weapon tier, the Pure Nail, which deals a massive 21 damage per swing compared to the measly 5 damage you start with. Hunting these down will definitely add a few hours to your clock.

Why you should care about the Pale Ore economy

Before we go hunting, I want to share a bit of math that I wish I knew during my first playthrough. Your damage progression isn’t just about hitting harder; it’s about hitting specific breakpoints.

• The Sharpened Nail (your first upgrade) gives you a huge 80 percent damage boost for just 250 Geo and zero Pale Ore. This is the best value in the game.
• A Primal Aspid has 35 health. With your starting nail, I had to hit those annoying flies 7 times. With a Sharpened Nail, it drops to 4 hits. By the time you get the Pure Nail, you’re looking at just 2 hits.
• Your Nail Arts, like the Great Slash, scale at 2.5 times your nail damage. A Pure Nail Great Slash deals 52 damage, which can one-shot almost any common mob in the game.

However, there’s a hidden catch I found: some bosses, specifically the Warrior Dreams like Markoth and Gorb, actually gain health as you upgrade your nail to keep the fight challenging. For example, Markoth has 250 HP when you have no upgrades but jumps up to 650 HP if you’re rocking the Pure Nail. This means your spells, which deal fixed damage, actually become less efficient against these specific bosses the more you upgrade your weapon.

Finding the ore in the Ancient Basin

The first piece I usually grab is in the Ancient Basin. It’s tucked away in a hole west of the Tram Station. I recommend coming here once you’ve already explored enough of Deepnest to get the Tram Pass.

• Head west from the tram and look for a drop-off into a lower hall.
• You’ll be jumped by two Lesser Mawleks. These guys spit acid in arcs, so I found it’s best to dash in close, land a few hits, and then dash out before they can swipe at you.
• Once they’re dead, the Pale Ore is sitting right there in the corner.

Scaling Hallownests Crown in Crystal Peak

This one is a bit of a hike. You have to climb all the way to the top of Crystal Peak to a sub-area called Hallownests Crown. I found that you absolutely need the Mantis Claw and Crystal Heart to make it up there, and having the Monarch Wings makes the platforming way less stressful.

• You’re looking for a massive statue of the Radiance at the very summit.
• The ore is actually embedded right in the statue itself.
• From a lore perspective, it’s super interesting that the ore, a material associated with Pale Beings like the Pale King, is found on a statue of his greatest rival. Some players think Pale Ore might be a manifestation of ancient light or even Wyrm ambergris.

The creepy secret wall in Deepnest

If you know whether Hollow Knight is hard, you probably already know Deepnest is the stuff of nightmares. This Pale Ore is guarded by Nosk, a boss that literally mimics your own face to lure you into its lair.

• Go to the room directly left of the Hot Spring in Deepnest.
• Look for a breakable wall on the lower-left side. Behind it, you’ll find a Grub jar.
• The real secret is that there is another breakable wall right behind where that Grub was.
• Follow your mimic through the tunnels until you reach the arena.
• My pro tip for Nosk: hug the left wall of the middle platform. Most of its charge and leap attacks will sail right over your head, giving you a perfect spot to heal or land up-slashes.

Testing your mettle in the Colosseum of Fools

You’ll find the next shard in Kingdom’s Edge at the Colosseum of Fools. To get it, you have to complete the Trial of the Conqueror, which is the second of the three trials.

• It costs 450 Geo to enter, but you get about 2,000 Geo back along with the ore, so it’s a great way to fund your next upgrade.
• This trial has 17 waves of enemies. I found that Wave 13 is the real run-killer because the floor turns into spikes and you have to fight while wall-sliding.
• If you can beat the two Oblobbles at the end, the ore is yours.

Essence hunting for the Seer

The Seer in the Resting Grounds will just give you a Pale Ore if you bring her 300 Essence. I found this is actually one of the easiest ones to get early on.

• The fastest way I earned essence was by bullying Xero, a Warrior Dream located right there in the Resting Grounds. He’s worth 100 essence on his own.
• Clear out a few Whispering Roots or find another easy Warrior Dream like Gorb, and you’ll hit 300 in no time.
• If you’re already farming essence in the White Palace, you’ll likely hit this milestone without even trying.

Saving the Grubs for the Grubfather

Finally, the Grubfather in the Forgotten Crossroads will reward your kindness with a Pale Ore once you’ve rescued 31 of his children.

• There are 46 Grubs total in the game, so you don’t need all of them for the ore.
• I highly recommend finding the Collector in the City of Tears first. Beating him gives you the Collector’s Map, which marks every uncollected Grub on your map. It makes this hunt ten times faster.

How to pay for those pricey upgrades

Finding the ore is only half the battle; the Nailsmith is a greedy bug. The final upgrade to the Pure Nail costs 4,000 Geo. When I was short on cash, I used a specific farming loop west of King’s Station in the City of Tears.

• Equip the Fragile Greed and Gathering Swarm charms.
• Head into the room with the Great Husk Sentries. These guys drop a ton of Geo.
• With the right setup, I was making about 500 Geo per minute. Just be careful, if you die with Fragile Greed equipped, the charm breaks and you’ll have to pay Leg Eater to fix it!

Hopefully, this helps you sharpen your blade and conquer the challenges of Hallownest. You should finish it and see if any other boss gave you trouble on the way to finishing the game.