Shovel Knight is the titular protagonist of the Shovel Knight series. This chivalrous adventurer is trying to stop The Enchantress from taking over the Valley and find his beloved Shield Knight, lost to the Tower of Fate.
Always honest and helpful, Shovel Knight aids people he meets along his journey. He constantly dreams of his long lost partner Shield Knight, fighting away imaginary enemies while attempting to catch her.
He solves many physically and mentally challenging puzzles throughout the lairs of the Order of No Quarter, proving his great intelligence and strength. Shovel Knight is a shining example of the Code of Shovelry: Slash Mercilessly and Dig Tirelessly!
This dropdown contains the synopsis of Shovel Knight's story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!
Long before Treasure Trove, Shovel Knight trained in the ways of Shovelry along with his comrades in arms and rivals Black Knight and Polar Knight. He eventually went on his own adventures with his close partner Shield Knight, finding treasures and fighting evil where can be. The pair soon became the most accomplished adventurers in the Valley.
One such adventure led the two knights to the mysterious Tower of Fate in the far ends of the Valley where they sought to destroy a dangerous and evil amulet. Unfortunately, he lagged behind her and once he caught up to her, witnessed her falling down a platform. The catching up Shovel Knight was then caught up in a terrible magic, passed out and, while unconscious, was somehow expelled from the Tower. Awakening, he found the structure sealed and impenetrable, and Shield Knight nowhere to be seen.
Assuming the worst, the grieving Shovel Knight retired to a solitary farming life beyond the Valley's Plains, exacerbating his rivalry with Black Knight, who came to see him as a coward who was unable to protect their common friend Shield Knight. Eventually, as the rise of the Enchantress and her villainous Order of No Quarter was in full swing, the Blue Borrower heard rumors of the Tower unsealing itself. After an epiphany (revealed in Showdown), Shovel Knight decided to journey back to the Tower of Fate, to discover what really happened to his partner.
Shortly before Specter Knight's confrontation with the Enchantress in Specter of Torment, Shovel Knight was sleeping by his campfire when he was trapped by the malicious Mirror of Fate. Confused about suddenly finding himself at the Colosseum, Shovel Knight assumed to be still dreaming, before steeling himself for an upcoming attack from shadowy foes.
While proceeding, Shovel Knight has a chance encounter at the Campsite with Shield Knight, who was separated from her evil half by the Mirror's influence. The warrior maiden claims to be the genuine article and warns her former partner of an evil force behind the entrapment of their friends and foes. The Blue Borrower however, completely crushed by his constant nightmares about her apparent demise, assumes for the whole situation to be yet another restless dream. He attacks her in an attempt to vanquish the supposed vile apparition, and forces the warrior maiden to defend herself in a match and retreat. He meets with Polar Knight later on at the Grinding Glaciers, who ferociously attacks him to clear his incredulity regarding the world they are trapped in.
Reaching the Mirror Chamber after a series of battles with the illusions of the Mirror, Shovel Knight meets again with Polar Knight. Horrified by how his old friend had resolved to blindly follow evil and unable to reach him, he was curbstomped once again by the giant. Shortly after, Shield Knight shows up; after witnessing the way she fought and his encounters with Polar Knight, Shovel Knight finally understands the reality of their situation. Apologizing to each other, the two of them vowed to find a way to exit and reunite. Unfortunately, Shield Knight informs her former adventuring partner that during her battles, she has come to learn that the two of them must battle to attract the Mirror of Fate and eventually shatter it. Although Shovel Knight expresses deep concern about the possibility of not emerging out of the Mirror's world together, Shield Knight reassures him that, should that being the case, they both knew where to start looking. With her heartfelt encouragement the two battles, with Shovel Knight emerging victorious. He then confronts the Mirror of Fate and shatters it, freeing himself from its endless world of battles.
Shovel Knight wakes up at his campsite. As he feared, Shield Knight was not with him. Still, now certain that she was still alive, he picks up his Shovel Blade once again and begins his journey to reach the Tower of Fate.
In Shovel of Hope, with the power of the Enchantress having already engulfed the Valley, Shovel Knight comes out of his retirement and takes his weapon once more to discover what happened to his partner and along the way bring peace to the lands, beginning his journey towards the Tower of Fate. He has to defy each of the Order's villainous knights, who even managed to sway his old friend Polar Knight in joining their cause, in order to travel through the locked gates they set to defend their mistress.
In his sleep, Shovel Knight is haunted by Shield Knight's tragedy, seeing her falling from the sky while countless foes try to stop him from catching her. He is occasionally defied by his eternal rival Black Knight, who has resolved to defend the Enchantress from anyone and refuses to let him near the Tower of Fate out of spite. After beating the Order and making his way to the Tower's entrance, having figured out the true identity of the sorceress, Shovel Knight makes clear his goal, despite how hopeless returning Shield Knight to normal would seem to be.
Shovel Knight defeats the Order of No Quarter once again in a massive Battle Royale at the end of his ascension of the Tower. He then confronts the Enchantress herself in her inner sanctum, who mocks his hopeless quest. Shovel Knight succeeds in beating the sorceress, saving Shield Knight and then fighting alongside her the last shreds of power of the dark witch, the horrible Remnant of Fate. Shovel Knight is however wounded and rendered unconscious by their foe's last attacks while Shield Knight holds back the magical being's relentless assault and the tower starts to crumble around them. Black Knight, who appeared to help them, listens reluctantly to the warrior maiden and carries Shovel Knight to safety outside the tower. Against all odds Shield Knight, makes it out alive and joins her still unconscious friend to rest beside him, the pair being finally reunited.
In Plague of Shadows, a parallel adventure to his own, Shovel Knight appears in the background of the Village and the Armor Outpost, on his quest to defeat the Order of No Quarter. He invades the Explodatorium by the time Plague Knight returns to it, and the two fight out in the alchemist's furthest chamber. According to Plague Knight's biased and unreliable retelling of the events, the alchemist had seemingly defeated him and extracted his Essence, but Shovel Knight discreetly got back up and sucker punched him before he could collect it, unlike Shovel Knight's version where he won squarely. Which either way the events actually happened, later the alchemist followed the adventurer to a campsite and collected his essence while he was asleep.
With Plague Knight tracking down and trading Relics, useless to him, with Chester the merchant, it can be gathered that in most stages, save for a few exceptions, Shovel knight was just slightly behind the alchemist in their parallel journeys across the Valley.
Shovel Knight reappears in the dining hall of the Tower of Fate and, once again according to Plague Knight's account, he barged in just after Plague Knight only to fall unconscious and waking up only after the alchemist had already finished off his former colleagues, instead of Shovel Knight single-handedly dispatching the never-do-wells. After another battle where Plague Knight had emerged victorious once more, Shovel Knight supposedly sucker punched him again and left, leaving the Order to hang outside the room helplessly.
Plague Knight's fight with The Enchantress happened seemingly shortly before Shovel Knight's own struggle with the dark witch, and when the alchemist decided to detonate his Ultimate Potion, the Tower began to crumble, as seen during the final throes of Shovel Knight's battle with the Remnant of Fate.
In the credits, Shovel Knight is shown defeating the Liquid Samurais ambushing the Wandering Travellers, joining them for another battle.
In the prequel King of Cards, Shovel Knight makes only a brief appearance in the ending, shortly after King Knight had just finished remodeling and claiming Pridemoor Keep as his own, just in time to dethrone the gilded usurper (as seen in Shovel of Hope.
In Shovel Knight Dig, an unsuspecting Shovel Knight is attacked and knocked away by Drill Knight while he was resting at a campsite. The villainous knight proceeds to steal the Blue Borrower's treasures before making his escape underground. Shovel Knight jumps down the hole left by the thief in pursuit, and must proceed deeper and deeper and confront each of the Hexcavators before he can reclaim his belongings.
One day Shovel Knight was blissfully sleeping by his campsite, when suddenly a wrapped gift magically appeared before him. Intrigued, the adventurer checked its contents, finding inside a mysterious puzzle box, the Pocket Dungeon which instantly sucks him inside the artifact. Immediately meeting with Chester and Puzzle Knight, Shovel Knight discovers that others like him had fallen prey to the mysterious object and were trapped within its shifting copies of the Valley's lands. He then sets out to explore its depths while trying to recruit the other trapped Knights to his cause.
During the credits, he is shown in two pictures. In the first of them, he runs alongside Shield Knight with his Shovel Blade prepared for attack. In the second picture, he stands next to Shield Knight and behind Polar Knight, trying on a red scarf. At the end of the credits, in the final picture, he rests with Shield Knight on a log at the front of campfire.
In the true ending, he and everyone else in the camp escape the collapsing Pocket Dungeon through a portal that appeared after the defeat of the Master Mind.
Alignment:Lawful Good (Shovel Knight believes in the code of Shovelry, and often helps out others in need. He prefers to make peace with others instead of fighting to resolve conflict)
Durability:Large Building level (Can take strikes from Black Knight, Tinker Knight, and is comparable to Shield Knight. Can survive being catapultedfrom along distance) | Multi-City Block level (Survived the meteors shot by Black Knight)
Sacrifice some protection for a higher magic limit, and harvest magic from defeated foes!
Dynamo Mail
6000
Perform two consecutive shovel drops to unleash a powerful charge slash!
Mail of Momentum
6000
Heavily plated. Keep your footing when struck by enemies, but stopping may be a problem!
Ornate Plate
8000
Flashy! Acrobatic! Useless!
Armor of Chaos
N/A
A plate of fiery fury. Collect orbs to fuel your rage!
Toad Gear
N/A
Brawl and use smash hits! Double tap [left] or [right] to run!
Pocket Dungeon Items:
Name
Description
Potion
Restores 2 HP.
Bomb
Explodes, damaging everything in its radius. Effects and looks are slightly changed by Plague Knight's abilities and the Too Big Bomb Relic.
Fire Bomb
Explodes, leaving damaging flames in its radius.
Ice Bomb
Explodes, freezing everything in its radius.
Crystal Clear
Explodes, damaging everything.
Wood Blade
+1 damage to base attacks.
Steel Blade
+2 damage to base attacks.
Hero Blade
+3 damage to base attacks.
Flame Axe
Ignite foes on hit!
Ice Axe
Freezes foes on hit!
War Horn
Blasts an area around you!
Shield
Blocks 1 damage.
Chronos Coin
Stops time for a while.
Bomb Cannon
Vs. Mode item. Drops Bombs on your opponent.
Spear
Long reach, pierces shields.
Wildcard
Destroy all matching foes.
Monster Potion
Vs. Mode item. Temporarily transform your opponent into a monster.
Zap Wand
Blast a line with electricity.
Flood Fish
Vs. Mode item. Flood the opponent's board.
Turkey
Restores 10 HP.
Smoke Bomb
Avoid harm in the smoke.
Troupple Chalice
+5 max HP until end of level.
Troupple Chalice
Restores 1 HP every 5 turns until end of level.
Shuffle Top
Shuffle the opponent's board.
Pocket Dungeon Relics:
Name
Base Cost
Description
Swift Dagger
10000
First strikes do +1 damage.
Fenix Feather
10000
This feather will destroy everything and restore your Health if you fall in battle. But only once!
Nimbus Balloon
8000
Don't float away... Just kiddin'. With this balloon, you'll hover just high enough to avoid floor hazards.
Mentor Manual
8000
If you know the way, you can get out of the Dungeon faster!
Fury Horns
10000
After you score a fatal blow with a Chain, your next hit will pack a furious wallop!
Meal Ticket
6000
+2 Health.
Premium Meal Ticket
8000
+3 Health.
Fizzle Wand
6000
This broken Flare Wand leaves a damaging trail wherever you walk.
Snoutin' Charm
6000
Find Gems in Blocks.
Divine Liquid
8000
+1 damage to Undead. 10+ Chains recover all health.
Potion Napkin
8000
Does not Chain Potions, letting them being drink singularly.
Single Glove
8000
+1 damage to single foes.
Diamond Dust
8000
+1 Item damage and their Durability.
Third Amulet
8000
+1 damage every 3rd hit on the same foe.
Gem Beet
6000
Slows down Gem Meter depletion and slain foes grants more Gem Meter.
Dynamallet
6000
Your next Chain explodes. Recharges when opening chests.
Desperation Talon
6000
Fatal blows recover 2HP at low health.
Power Pail
10000
+1 damage at max Gem Meter.
Five String
10000
+1 damage every fifth hit.
Too Big Bomb
10000
Bigger Bomb explosions.
Gem Chain
8000
More Gems from Chains.
Shockproof Socks
6000
Resist electric damage. +1 damage every 10 steps.
Obsidian Drill
6000
Deal extra damage to all blocks.
Chronos Glass
6000
Freezes time on room enter or when board is nearly full.
Gold Leaf Clover
8000
Find rarer Items.
Bomb Seed Bag
6000
Find more Bombs + bomb resistance (this includes Ratsploders blast.
Toad Totem
10000
Attacks poison foes.
Notable Techniques
Drop Spark: Makes Dig Slashes generate rolling sparks while Shovel Knight is on full health.
Trench Blade: Lets the Shovel Blade dig up Dig Piles with just one Dig Slash instead of five.
Charge Handle: Lets Shovel Knight charge up the Shovel Blade to perform stronger and wider Dig Slashes.
Other
Standard Tactics: Shovel Knight will typically use his Shovel Blade and various relics to attack. He also sometimes preforms sneak attacks by playing dead.
Weaknesses: Has a limited supply of magic and only fights when forced to.