Monarch Wings — How to Get the Double Jump
The Monarch Wings are Hollow Knight's double jump, and for a lot of players they are the moment the game stops feeling like a fight and starts feeling like flight. One extra mid-air jump sounds small, but it changes nearly everything: ledges you struggled to reach become trivial, escapes from bad fights become possible, and the game's vertical maze opens up in a way that makes backtracking fun instead of tedious. This guide walks you through the exact route to the wings, the fight standing in your way, and how to get the most out of them once you have them on your back.
What the Monarch Wings Do
Press jump once in the air after collecting the wings and a pair of ghostly white wings snap open behind the Knight, lifting you higher. A few practical notes:
- One extra jump per air time. Touch the ground, a wall, or an enemy and it resets — you can chain a wing jump after a wall-jump or a dash without any conflict.
- It stacks with everything. Wing jump + Mothwing Cloak dash + Mantis Claw wall-jump + Crystal Heart super dash is the full four-piece movement kit, and the wings are the piece that glues the other three together.
- It saves masks. A surprising number of late-game deaths are "I needed one more jump." That category of death disappears after this pickup.
Getting to the Ancient Basin
The wings live at the bottom of the Ancient Basin, the ruined, pipe-lined caverns directly beneath the City of Tears. The easiest way down runs through the City itself:
- Reach the City of Tears (most players enter from the Fungal Wastes after grabbing the Mantis Claw in Mantis Village).
- Work your way to the bottom of the City and find the descent leading down into the Basin. It's a long drop, so watch the ledges on the way — falling damage is real.
- Rest at the bench near the top of the Basin. There is one early and it matters: Ancient Basin is one of the darker, meaner areas in the game, and dying far from a bench with a pile of Geo is how runs get miserable.
- Descend toward the lower-left of the Basin. On the way you can spot Nailmaster Oro's hut — a safe, lit rest stop and a chance to learn the Dash Slash nail art if you have the Geo for it.
You can physically reach the Basin earlier than Crystal Peak, but most players arrive with the Crystal Heart in hand, which makes the trip down and the fight ahead noticeably calmer. If you're following our beginner progression route, this pickup is the step that comes right after Resting Grounds.
Beating the Broken Vessel
At the bottom-left of the Basin waits the Broken Vessel — a cracked, infected shell of a bug very much like the Knight, twitching and jerking through its moves like a puppet with cut strings. It hits hard, moves fast, and the arena adds its own problems. Here's the whole fight in one table:
| Attack | What it looks like | How to answer it |
|---|---|---|
| Leaping slash | It bounds across the arena and swipes on landing | Jump as it leaps, then dash over or away from the swipe |
| Ground slam | It rears up and slams down, sending orange shockwaves along the floor | Jump the first wave, then double jump (or dash) through the follow-up |
| Infection blobs | Orange blobs arc out and burst where they land | Keep moving sideways — standing still is the only way they hit you |
| Infected balloons | Sacs drift down from above and pop into damage | Nail them from range with Vengeful Spirit or pop them between the Vessel's attacks |
| Rage phase (half health) | It speeds up, leaps more often, and spawns balloons faster | Nothing new — just stay calm and keep your distance between landings |
Clear the balloons early
The orange infection balloons are what turn a fair fight into chaos. Every time the arena starts filling up, spend your Soul on a couple of Vengeful Spirits to pop them. A clean arena means every dodge is a real dodge.
Punish the landings
The Broken Vessel telegraphs every leap clearly. It lands, swipes, and pauses — that pause is your window for one or two hits. Never chase it mid-leap; that's how you eat a swipe to the face.
Heal on its recovery, not mid-swing
After the rage phase begins, the only safe heal is the moment after a slam, while the shockwaves pass overhead. If the arena's clear and you're two masks down, take the heal. If not, keep dancing.
Claiming the Wings
When the Broken Vessel collapses, don't turn back. Push onward past the arena into the chamber beyond, where a crumbling statue holds the Monarch Wings. Walk up, take them, and the double jump is yours permanently. It's a quiet moment — no fanfare, no dramatic music — just one more empty vessel's legacy handed over to the Knight. Enjoy it. The next several hours of Hollow Knight are significantly more fun because of what that statue was holding.
Making the Most of Your Double Jump
Before you sprint out of the Basin, a few things are worth doing with your new toy:
- Re-explore the City of Tears. Half the buildings you passed had a ledge just out of reach. The wings unlock a stack of Geo caches, charm notches, and shortcuts on the way back up.
- Revisit the Forgotten Crossroads. With double jump, wall-jump, dash, and super dash, almost every sealed door and "come back later" ledge is now fair game — and some of them hide major surprises.
- Push toward Isma's Tear. The acid-swimming tear in the Royal Waterways is the natural next ability, and the wings make that whole detour easier to survive.
- Re-bind your charms. A common setup at this point is Quick Focus plus your damage charms of choice — the double jump gives you enough escape power that you can afford to trade a defensive slot for damage.
Monarch Wings FAQs
Where are the Monarch Wings in Hollow Knight?
The Monarch Wings are in the Ancient Basin, one of the deepest areas under the City of Tears. After you defeat the Broken Vessel at the bottom of the Basin, keep moving past the boss arena — the wings rest on a broken statue in the chamber beyond, and touching them teaches you the double jump.
When should I get the double jump in Hollow Knight?
Most players collect the Monarch Wings after Crystal Peak, once they have the Mantis Claw, the Mothwing Cloak, Desolate Dive, and the Crystal Heart. That order lines up with the natural route: dash into the Basin, survive Broken Vessel, and leave with the double jump. Nothing stops you from going earlier if you can survive the trip.
Are the Monarch Wings required to beat Hollow Knight?
No boss or ending strictly requires them — determined players have finished the game without the double jump. In practice they are one of the best quality-of-life abilities in the game: they make backtracking fast, open up comfortable routes through later areas, and save you from painful falls in places like Deepnest and the White Palace.
Can I miss the Monarch Wings or lock myself out of them?
No. The wings sit on their statue until you pick them up, and the Broken Vessel respawns for a rematch if you somehow reach the chamber without claiming them. There is no choice, event, or quest that permanently removes the double jump from your save file.
What ability comes right after the Monarch Wings?
Isma's Tear is the usual next goal. It lets you swim through acid pools and opens up areas like the Royal Waterways and the Grove of Isma. Combined with the double jump, it finishes off the core movement kit most players build across the mid-game.