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For a kingdom full of insects, Hollow Knight has a surprisingly large space for players to explore. As players progress, they will uncover more areas of Hallownest that contain increasing levels of challenge. Hollow Knight players will also encounter a number of NPCs along their journey whom they can interact with.
Among these characters is a vendor named Cornifer, one of the first friendly faces that the player can meet after jumping down the well in Dirtmouth. He is a cartographer and can be found in each main area of Hallownest where players can buy a map from him. Cornifer’s location is signaled to players by his humming and, as they get closer to him, a literal paper trail leading to the mapmaker.
If players find Cornifer but don’t purchase a map before moving on to the next area, the NPC will leave behind a card to direct players back to Dirtmouth where they can buy his maps, alongside other markers, from Iselda. To save time traveling back and forth, here is where players can find Cornifer in each area of Hallownest.
Ancient Basin
There are two ways to enter the Ancient Basin: either by taking the southernmost Tram between Deepnest and Kingdom’s Edge, or traveling down through the Royal Waterways. In either case, players should make their way to the Tram platform to progress.
From the Tram platform, there is a passage to the left that players can drop into. This will lead to the main chamber of the Ancient Basin and has numerous Shadow Creepers crawling around and scaling walls. To the far right, players will find a few paths branching off including a fountain that provides a Vessel Fragment after depositing 3000 Geo. Directly below the fountain, players will run into the friendly humming mapmaker.
City Of Tears
It is likely that the first time that players enter the City of Tears will be when they travel to the outskirts to use the City Crest, restoring the bridge between the city and the Fungal Wastes. The short route from this entrance to Cornifer’s location is locked, and so players must travel south until they reach the city proper.
After reaching the bottom, the path going left will lead players towards the Nailsmith who can upgrade the Knight’s nail. Heading to the right, before meeting Hornet at the fountain, players can take an elevator up to find Relic Seeker Lemm, who will buy relics from the player that they have collected along their journey.
Continuing up from Lemm, the player will need to fight through various enemies as they ascend, many of which are guarding items, Geo, and other collectibles. Using the elevators and the Mantis Claw to travel, players will eventually come across a familiar stray sheet of paper. When following this trail, the Knight will be trapped in a small arena with a Heavy, Lance, and Winged Sentry who must be defeated to open the gates. Cornifer is in the room above, alongside a bench that will run the player 150 Geo to unlock.
Crystal Peak
Players can first enter the Crystal Peak through the Forgotten Crossroads, directly east of the Black Egg Temple, but they will need the Lumafly Lantern to see through the dark passage and to interact with a toll machine. Players will then need to pay 50 Geo to open the way into the next area.
Once inside the Crystal Peak, players need to follow the path to the right across the conveyor belts and over the large gap. Here there will be Husk Miners that throw their tools at the Knight when they approach or use their picks as a slashing weapon. Before heading up this room, players can find a bench to the room on the right.
Using the Mantis Claw to climb up, players can ride the vertical belt up to where a patrolling Glimback is before continuing to ascend. At the top, players will find a Grub but it’s trapped behind a gate for now. The next room has several Crystal Crawlers that intermittently shoot deadly lasers that must be avoided as the player continues their ascent. Once through, there is an exit to the left that players can take to find Cornifer happily humming.
Deepnest
There are two places in Deepnest where the Knight can encounter Cornifer depending on which entrance they use, but he will not be humming out of fear of giving away his location to the creepy crawlies that inhabit the area. It’s recommended to have the Lumafly Lantern to make navigating around the darkness easier.
If players enter Deepnest after defeating the Mantis Lords in the Fungal Wastes, he can be found cowering behind a ledge as the player continues to the left and up from the entrance. However, if players come from the Queen’s Gardens to the north, they will need to proceed south and head left to find Cornifer, near the Failed Tramway.
Fog Canyon
Although it is possible to enter part of the Fog Canyon earlier in the game, players will not be able to explore it to its full extent until much later. There are two ways to reach Cornifer, and the player will need to have unlocked either the Shade Cloak or Isma’s Tear to get to him.
When approaching Cornifer’s position from the left, players can find the room either by traveling down through Greenpath or up from the Queen’s Station. A path branching off to the right in the central column-like area of the Fog Canyon will lead out to a room filled with an acid pool, platforms, and Uomas. As the player progresses through this room, they will be able to hear Cornifer, but the way is blocked by a Shade Gate. Using the Shade Cloak, players can dash through the Shade Gate and find the path leading to Cornifer.
The other path requires Isma’s Tear to swim through a small pool of acid directly opposite Leg Eater’s location in the Fungal Wastes. This will take players directly into the Fog Canyon where they can continue to the left until reaching the room where Cornifer has holed up.
Forgotten Crossroads
This will be the first place where players can encounter Cornifer and one of the easiest places to find him.
After descending into the well from Dirtmouth, players should head to the left and enter the large room with the suspended platforms and several Gruzzers, Crawlids, and Tiktiks. Players will need to reach the bottom of this area, carefully avoiding hazards as they descend, and go through the opening at the very bottom. Cornifer will be found in the next room to the right.
Fungal Wastes
As with many areas in Hallownest, players can enter the Fungal Wastes from a few different directions. After defeating the False Knight and Hornet, players may naturally make their way towards the Fungal Wastes as a means to find the City of Tears.
Heading towards the southeast of Greenpath, players must proceed through a small portion of Fog Canyon to discover the Queen’s Station. To the top right of the station, players can continue to the right to find the Fungal Wastes and Cornifer can be found along the path down and to the left.
If players instead drop into the Fungal Wastes from the Forgotten Crossroads, they will need to continue down the path south and to the left. In this room, they must fight two Shrumal Ogres to open the gates ahead. Players will then need to continue down, past the projectile-spitting Sporgs, and head left while avoiding acid, following the familiar sounds of Cornifer’s humming as they approach him.
Greenpath
Players will be able to enter Greenpath after they have acquired the first spell from the Snail Shaman in the Ancestral Mound. The entrance to Greenpath can be found south of the Grubfather’s location in the Forgotten Crossroads, through another path that branches off to the left.
Using the Vengeful Spirit, players can defeat the Elder Baldur that blocks the way and continue left to enter Greenpath. The road through Greenpath is quite linear in comparison to other areas of Hallownest, and players will run into Hornet along the way, who is unfortunately not quite leading players to Cornifer.
After following the path as far left as they can go, players should then proceed down and start heading right. Cornifer can be found in a small area of Greenpath that has Volatile Mosskin and Squits patrolling the space, with platforms that can be cut down to make for easier navigation in the future.
Howling Cliffs
Players will need the Mantis Claw to reach the Howling Cliffs, which can be found by scaling back up the wall to the far left of Dirtmouth and back through the King’s Pass. Return to the first room that the Knight lands in after the opening cutscene and go left to find a hidden passage that leads up to the Howling Cliffs. Although this area can also be accessed through Greenpath, players will still require the Mantis Claw to proceed.
Around halfway down the cliffs, alongside meeting one of the Nailmaster brothers, Cornifer can also be found scribbling away in one of the paths leading to the right.
Kingdom's Edge
Although there are several ways into Kingdom’s Edge, the quickest way to reach Cornifer is through the City of Tears, specifically the King’s Station. In the room directly below the Stag Station platform that the Knight can use, players will find a decrepit platform with a broken bench and two Vengeflies to the far right.
If players jump into the small pool of water and continue to the right, they will find a shortcut to a hidden area of the city. Avoid the Belfies as they dive towards the Knight and continue traveling to the right. Players can also free a trapped Grub here along the way.
There is a path that players can take up, which leads to the Tower of Love, but it requires the Love Key to open the way, and its exit into Kingdom’s Edge will take players further away from Cornifer.
After players make their way into Kingdom’s Edge, Cornifer will be directly below them in a hidden area along the wall on the left. Using the Mantis Claw, players can slide down the wall safely until reaching the first of two platforms, between which is the hidden entrance where the mapmaker can be found.
Queen's Gardens
The easiest route to the Queen’s Gardens is through the Fog Canyon and players will require Isma’s Tear to get there. From the Queen’s Station, players can reach the Fog Canyon and continue ascending through the area with the floating Uomas and Oomas until coming to the first path that branches to the left. There will be a large acid pit and spikes but, with Isma’s Tear, players will be able to swim through the acid to reach Queen’s Gardens.
Continue heading left until encountering the first Mantis Petra. Above here is the way to the Stag Station, but the route is blocked until players can hit the switch, so they must continue around for now. Players will need to drop down to the area with the temporary platforms until reaching the very bottom and going right. In this next area, players will enter a short battle encounter with more Mantis Petras where the way out is sealed until defeating them all.
Once players have emerged victorious, continue to the right where there will be a single sheet of paper and a sign with a bench. Follow these to find the humming cartographer.
Royal Waterways
From the City of Tears, players can find a locked hatch below Relic Seeker Lemm’s location. The hatch requires a Simple Key to unlock it, opening a path to the Royal Waterways. It is recommended that players have the Lumafly Lantern before heading into the Royal Waterways to make travel easier.
After descending into the hatch, players should take a left and continue down the lower path, past the two Pilflips. Instead of following the path down to the bench, players will need to take a left and make their way across the room with the Hwurmps. At the top left, there is a small opening where players will spot one of Cornifer’s papers, leading into an area with Flukemons.
Follow the path around and continue traveling left, but players should note that there is a Mask Shard at the bottom left of the pool of the larger room. In the next room, players will be locked in and must defeat the enemies that appear to unlock the gates. To the far left, players can use the Mantis Claw to climb up and reach Cornifer, who will be sitting on the top platform in the area.
Hollow Knight is available on PC, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.