Hollow Knight, a Metroidvania action-adventure game developed by Team Cherry, recounts the adventures of a nameless warrior known as the Knight as they traverse over Hallownest, which a dreadful disease has decimated.

The Knight will be able to earn new items, abilities, spells, and charms as the Knight travels around Hallownest, allowing the Knight to explore new places and battle opponents.

An example of this item is Mask Shards. These Mask Shards are needed to improve the Knight’s health Masks.

The Knight must acquire four Mask Shards to construct one Ancient Mask. After completing one Ancient Mask, the Knight’s health will be increased by one Mask.

Because the game has 16 Mask Shards, the Knight can have four more Masks of health for a total of nine Masks (excluding Charm effects and Lifeblood Masks).

Only one Mask Shard can be found in the Hive, and in this guide, we will learn how to obtain the Mask Shard in the Hive area!

The Hive Mask Shard

The Mask Shard in the Hive can be found behind a breakable wall near the middle of the map of the Hive.

In the Hive, the Knight will fight a variety of enemies. Still, on the way to the Mask Shard, the Knight will particularly encounter the following enemies: Hivelings, Husk Hives, Hive Soldiers, and Hive Guardians.

Before the Knight can find the Mask Shard, the Knight must first have the Mantis Claw ability, which allows the Knight to cling to walls and jump off of them; the Mothwing Cloak ability, which enables the Knight to perform a horizontal dash forward, the Monarch Wings ability, which allows the Knight to perform a secondary jump in mid-air, and the Vengeful Spirit spell or the Shade Soul spell (the upgrade to the Vengeful Spirit spell), which allows the Knight to conjure a spirit (or shadow in the case of the Shade Soul spell) that flies forwards and deals damage to enemies. Finding the Mask Shard in the Hive will be a breeze with this spell and these abilities.

To find the Mask Shard in the Hive, this is what the Knight must do (assuming that this is the Knight’s first time in the area):

1. Starting from the Bench inside the Tram in the southwesternmost part of Kingdom’s Edge, exit the Tram, head to the right, head inside a narrow path, then jump and a dash or perform a secondary jump over the spike pit and land on a platform below on the right.
2. Then, continue heading to the right, where the Knight will encounter two Hivelings above a spike pit, kill the Hivelings, then, with the Soul gained from defeating them, cast the Vengeful Spirit spell or the Shade Soul Spell on the wall on the right to break it and reveal a path.
3. After that, jump towards the newly-opened path, head to the right, and take the exit.
4. Next, the Knight has now arrived in the Hive! Head to the right, where the Knight will run into two more Hivelings, then a Husk Hive; jump up the slightly elevated platform; in the middle of this platform, jump up, then perform another jump with the help of the Monarch Wings ability, and head up the wall above on the right with the help of the Mantis Claw ability where the Knight will find another Hiveling, at the top head to the right, and take the exit.
5. Then, head to the right, where the Knight will find another Hiveling; jump down to the platform below on the wall on the right, jump to the small platform slightly below on the left, where the Knight will run into two more Hivelings, jump down to the ledge below on the wall on the left, jump down to the small platform slightly below on the right where the Knight will find three more Hivelings, drop down the smaller platform below on the right where the Knight will run into two more Hivelings, and drop down to the bottom of the room. It is important to mention that there is a Bench inside the exit on the left to heal and save your progress, but the Knight will also find a Hive Soldier inside.
6. After that, head to the right, jump up the slightly elevated platform where the Knight will find another Husk Hive, jump up towards the platform on the right, drop down the gap on the right, climb up the tall platform on the right with the help of the Mantis Claw ability where the Knight will find a Husk Hive, jump towards the platform above on the left, jump and dash or perform a secondary jump towards the small platform on the right, jump then climb up the platform above on the right using the Mantis Claw ability where the Knight will run into a Hiveling and a Hive Soldier, jump up twice with the help of the Monarch Wings ability to the platform above on the left, jump up the platform above with the help of the Mantis Claw ability or the Monarch Wings ability where the Knight will run into another Hive Soldier, jump and climb up the platform above on the left using the Mantis Claw ability where the Knight will find another Hive Soldier, and jump then head towards the platform above on the left where the Knight will find three more Hivelings.
7. Next, continue to the left, jump up the platform where the Knight will run into another Hiveling and another Husk Hive, continue to the left, jump up the platform, continue to the left, and take the exit.
8. Then, head to the right, where the Knight will run into two Hivelings, pass through a narrow passageway, head up the wall on the right using the Mantis Claw ability and where the Knight will find a Hive Guardian, jump to the small platform above on the left, jump twice using the Monarch Wings ability towards the platform above on the left where the Knight will find a Hiveling, jump, and dash or perform a secondary jump towards the platform on the left where the Knight will run into another Hive Guardian and a Hive Soldier, jump to the platform slightly above on the left where the Knight will encounter a Hiveling then jump up the exit above.
9. After that, head to the right, where the Knight will find a Hive Soldier and another Hiveling, jump towards the small platform, jump, and climb up the platform above, where the Knight will run into a Hive Guardian and a Hiveling, jump to the platform above on the left using the Monarch Wings ability or the Mantis Claw ability, jump and head up on the path above also using the Monarch Wings ability or the Mantis Claw ability, head to the right where the Knight will find a HIveling, and take the exit at the end of the path.
10. Next, head to the right, drop down the platforms on the right two times, jump across the gap towards the platform below on the right, drop down the ledge below on the right, drop down another platform on the right, head to the right where the Knight will find a Hive Soldier, drop down the gap on the right to land on a small platform, and drop down the gap on the left to land on the bottom of the room where the Knight will find a Hiveling and a Hive Soldier.
11. Behind the wall on the left, the Knight will find a Mask Shard, but the wall cannot be broken by striking it with the Knight’s Nail. To break the wall, head to the right to find a Hive Guardian, lure it back to the wall with the Mask Shard, and let it hit the wall on the left to break it.
12. Finally, jump up the newly-opened path on the left and towards the Mask Shard to obtain it!

Now that the Knight has acquired the Mask Shard in the Hive, the Knight now only needs three more Mask Shards to add one more Mask to the Knight’s health!