How to beat Grey Prince Zote?

Learning how to beat Grey Prince Zote requires patience, preparation, and understanding his unpredictable attack patterns in this challenging dream boss fight.

Prerequisites for the Fight

Before facing Grey Prince Zote, you must have saved Zote in both Greenpath and the Colosseum of Fools, then defeated him in Dirtmouth. The Grey Prince becomes available in Bretta's house basement after she creates a statue of Zote.

Essential Equipment and Charms

Equip defensive charms like Quick Focus, Shape of Unn, and Hiveblood for survivability. Fragile/Unbreakable Strength boosts damage output significantly. Consider Mark of Pride for extended nail range, as staying at medium distance is crucial.

Attack Pattern Strategy

Phase Recognition

Grey Prince Zote cycles through various attacks randomly, making him unpredictable. Key attacks include:

- Charge Attack: Jump over him when he glows and rushes forward

- Shock Wave: Double-jump to avoid the ground-based energy waves

- Falling Attack: Watch his shadow and dash away from the impact zone

- Minion Summon: Focus on dodging rather than killing the volatile Zotelings

Combat Tips

Positioning is everything—maintain medium distance to react to his telegraphed moves. Nail bouncing off his head deals damage while keeping you mobile. Never stay directly below him, as his unpredictable falling attacks can catch you off-guard.

Healing opportunities occur after his charge attacks when he briefly staggers. Use Quick Focus to maximize these windows.

Difficulty Scaling

Grey Prince Zote becomes progressively harder with each victory, gaining more health and new attack variations up to 10 defeats total. Each victory also advances Bretta's storyline.

Mastering this eccentric boss fight requires multiple attempts to memorize his patterns. Want to tackle more of Hallownest's toughest challenges or explore other dream bosses?