Hollow Knight: Where To Find Rancid Eggs & What They Do

With the many collectibles that can be hoarded in Hollow Knight, players can get a little overwhelmed when trying to remember where things are and what they are used for in this challenging sidescrolling adventure. While sounding absolutely disgusting, these putrid eggs can be of great use to the Knight, especially if they have died recently.

Rancid Eggs grant the player the ability to summon their Shade, the hostile void creature that emerges from the player's shell when it is opened upon death. This spectral foe usually resides where one last died and lingers there while in possession of the player's precious Geo currency.

However, to face this ghost without traveling to the site of one's demise, the Knight will need to first acquire Rancid Eggs and then bring them to Confessor Jiji in order for her to summon one's Shade. This can be extremely handy if the player lost a lot of Geo and died in a place that's very difficult to reach.

Updated on August 8, 2021, by Reyadh Rahaman: There are times in Hollow Knight when it is best to risk death in order to obtain a specific item, which are sometimes referred to sinisterly as "suicide runs". If players don't have a chance to spend their Geo before attempting such a dangerous maneuver for loot, things can understandably go wrong and result in losing more than one's life at the hands of some hideous threat.

The inclusion of the Rancid Eggs and Confessor Jiji into this complex realm of personified insects seems intended to give players a break when it comes to dealing with the consequences of bold actions, incentivizing gamers to act bravely, regardless of the consequences, which feels very appropriate for Hollow Knight's story and general tone.

After being found and spoken to in the Forgotten Crossroads, Sly will head to Dirtmouth and set up a small shop. He will sell the Knight a large number of various goods, including some keys, though he will also possess a single Rancid Egg. The player can buy this early-found Rancid Egg for 60 Geo at Sly's shop in Dirtmouth and potentially bring it to Confessor Jiji, who also resides in Dirtmouth, for a quick and easy Shade-summoning.

The purpose of having a Rancid Egg so early in the game is to give players a single simple manner to recover from a particularly tragic death with the help of Confessor Jiji. Since all other Rancid Eggs are more difficult to obtain, this one should be bought early and held onto for emergency shade-summonings.

While Rancid Eggs can be harvested from the remains of specific foes, these hideous organisms are one of the very few kinds that do not respawn. The brown and bloated Bluggsacs are the enemies that the Knight should seek out, as they drop Rancid Eggs upon death.

Since there is a finite amount of them, it could be worth scouring a few select areas during one's adventures in order to pick up a few of these precious collectibles. Thankfully, Bluggsacs are completely non-hostile and don't even do contact damage to the player, so defeating them will be easy once they are found.

3 in the Royal Waterways
2 at the Crystal Peak
2 in the Deepnest
1 at the Kingdom's Edge
1 in the Queen's Gardens
1 in the Blue Lake

"Placid but putrid creature. Holds rancid eggs within its gut. Easily tracked down if you have a sense of smell. I strongly suggest you do not eat its eggs."

Bluggsacs have 20 max HP
Bluggsacs can be farmed for infinite SOUL by attacking them with the Dream Nail
Bluggsacs are immune to natural hazards in the area

Easily the best, albeit most expensive, way to acquire Rancid Eggs is to buy them for 80 to 100 Geo each from Tuk in the upper right part of the Royal Waterways. She can be found scavenging peacefully just beyond a breakable wall and will even give the player a free Rancid Egg if they are wearing the Defender's Crest Charm.

She will not, however, sell the player any more Rancid Eggs if they possess 80 or more, so don't get greedy! With that said, it is interesting to note that only 101 Rancid Eggs can be held at once if the player buys the maximum number from Tuk and acquires the remaining available ones from previously mentioned sources and minor other methods.

1 can be picked up from Tuk's corpse, though only in Steel Soul mode
1 can be acquired from the Grubfather in the Forgotten Crossroads after freeing 16 grubs

First meeting: Mmmnnnnnnngghhh... Don't take something if it isn't yours. That's the law. Everything you see... it belongs to me. Don't be angry. I'll share my food with you... if you give me Geo.
Talking with Tuk again: I'll share my food with you... if you give me Geo.
When talking with Tuk after returning from a different area: Mmmnnnnnnngghhh... The water brings me everything I wish for... I just need to find it. It brought you here, too. Are you hungry? I'll share my food with you... if you give me Geo.
Talking with Tuk with the Defender's Crest equipped: Mmnnnnggghhh...? Your smell... Are you a friend, too? If you're a friend, I'll share my food with you. When you see him again, our friend... tell him thank you. For helping me.
When backing out of a trade: Mngh? If you don't want it, I'll keep it.
When trying to trade without enough Geo: Why don't you have enough Geo?! Mnnghh! I won't share my food if you can't give me Geo.
When successfully trading: Mnngh... this Geo is mine now. Don't try to take it back. Here, take your food with you when you leave.
Talking with Tuk while one has the max amount of Rancid Eggs: You have a lot of food, don't you? Mnngh... I can smell it on you. You're greedy... I won't share with you.
When hit by the Dream Nail: Mmmnnnnnnngghhh... I'll find you again. The water will bring you to me. I just need to keep searching... and praying. When we meet again... I want you to say... that you're sorry.

In Dirtmouth, players can find Confessor Jiji hanging out in her candlelit cavern just beyond a locked door which can be opened with a Simple Key. Despite being pretty expensive at 950 Geo, players can buy a Simple Key from Sly at his shop, which is conveniently also located in Dirtmouth.

After meeting her, there are no other requirements to attain her summoning services, and players can now freely use Rancid Eggs for summoning the player's Shade left behind after dying. Confessor Jiji will take the Rancid Egg as payment before she brings the dark spirit into her cavern, so be ready for an ethereal duel once the ritual is complete.

Interestingly, the spirit caller will have something slightly different to say depending on where the player has died, and these unique lines of dialogue can help one glean some lore from the deep and rich setting that the Shade is being summoned from.

City of Tears: A dark stain in the heart of the kingdom's capital. Rain can not wash it away
Colosseum of Fools: A dark stain surrounded by warriors and fools
Crystal Peak: A dark stain almost hidden by the glow of shimmering crystals around it
Deepnest: A dark stain, barely visible in the tunnels of a nest deep below this kingdom
Fog Canyon: A dark stain lost in the fog of a strange land
Forgotten Crossroads: A dark stain just below us, lost amongst the kingdom's twisting roads and highways
Fungal Wastes: A dark stain nestled amongst strange fungus and bubbling lakes
Greenpath: A dark stain in a lush, green land
The Hive: A dark stain surrounded by golden light, in a hive far away from here
Howling Cliffs: A dark stain high above us, surrounded by howling winds
Kingdom's Edge: A dark stain far away at the very edge of the world
King's Pass: A dark stain nearby, right at the entrance to this kingdom
Queen's Gardens: A dark stain, marring a garden's beauty
Queen's Station: A dark stain sitting alone in the Queen's Station
Resting Grounds: A dark stain in a holy place of repose
Royal Waterways: A dark stain surrounded by pipes and running water. It cannot be washed away, though...

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