Are you looking for Hollow Knight: Silksong tips? The sequel to Team Cherry’s hit Metroidvania title puts you in the shoes of Hornet, who’s now found herself trapped in the Kingdom of Pharloom. Our guide discusses various facets to help you as you get started on your journey.
Hollow Knight: Silksong beginner’s guide – 10 tips you need to know before you play
Our guide is divided into multiple sections. We start off by looking at core gameplay mechanics that you should definitely check out early in the campaign. We then delve into other concepts related to traversal, exploration, and combat.
Use your Bind Heal when the coast is clear
Perhaps the most important Hollow Knight: Silksong tip to remember is that your healing ability can get interrupted when you least expect it. Here’s the gist:
- Your Bind-related abilities require the Silk resource, which is shown as a bar in the upper-left corner of the screen. Attacking enemies adds pips to this bar.
- Once full, you can cast skills, including your healing spell.
- That said, the Bind Heal has a two-second casting animation. If you get hit, Hornet will still take damage and the resource will be expended.
- If you’re in combat against ground-based enemies, we recommend jumping up and healing in mid-air. As long as you can avoid getting hit while casting, you should be able to replenish your health successfully.
Collect Mask Fragments to increase your health
In relation to the above, it’s also a good idea to find Mask Fragments throughout the course of your adventure:
- Hornet’s health is represented by the four mask icons at the top-left portion of your screen. Enemy attacks can deplete more than one of these pips.
- You need to find Mask Fragments, since four of these increases your maximum health.
- Some Mask Fragments are in well-hidden areas, but others can be purchased from vendors.
Purchase maps as soon as you can
Another key Hollow Knight: Silksong tip to keep in mind is that the areas you explore won’t be revealed unless you have a map:
- Maps can be purchased from an NPC named Shakra. Her location changes depending on how far you’ve progressed into the campaign.
- Area maps–i.e. Mosslands, The Marrow, and others–only show a rough outline of the zone.
- You also need to buy a Quill to fill in the areas that you’ve visited with more solid lines. Once you rest on a bench, you should have a clear idea as to the layouts of the rooms.
- You may also purchase a Compass from Shakra. This tool can be equipped while you’re sitting on a bench. It shows Hornet’s icon on the map so you won’t feel lost.
Related guide: All Shakra map locations
Rest on benches to recover health and save your game
There are dozens of benches scattered all over Pharloom:
- Some benches are available automatically, while others require a payment of Rosaries just to be activated.
- Resting on a bench fully recovers your health.
- You may also change your equipment/loadout via the Crest menu. You can equip different crests, tools, throwables, skills, and more.
- Benches also create a hard save, which is useful if you want to avoid backtracking. For instance, let’s say a bench is located on a higher section of an area. Then, you accidentally fell down a chasm. Instead of making your way back to the top, you can just reload your save.
Amass Rosaries and spend them on goodies
Rosaries are the main currency in Hollow Knight: Silksong. You can spend these on vendor wares and fixtures like unlockable benches and fast travel points. Rosary Beads tend to drop from most enemies and you may pick them up when striking objects that they adorn.
However, Rosaries also get scattered and roll all over the place; some might even fall down lava pits and spike traps. To save you the trouble, you could purchase the Magnetite Brooch from a vendor in Bone Bottom. The Magnetite Brooch pulls in nearby Rosary Beads so you don’t have to run around just to grab them.
Unlock more fast travel points to help with exploration
After beating a boss known as the Bell Beast, you’ll unlock the fast travel mechanic. Initially, there are only two locations: The Marrows and Bone Bottom.
Later, though, you might stumble upon other fast travel points which are denoted by a triple-arrow sign. Follow these to a chamber and interact with the device. You might be asked to offer Rosaries to unlock the location permanently, but it’s well worth it just to speed up exploration.
Acquire new abilities and traversal methods
As you continue the campaign, you’ll obtain even more abilities that empower Hornet. Swift Step, for instance, lets you dash while on the ground and while in mid-air. It’s useful for reaching distant ledges. The Drifter’s Cloak, meanwhile, allows you to ascend via wind currents. So, don’t fret if you see landmarks or objects that might seem too far. You’ll eventually find a means of reaching those places.
Master the art of pogo
While we’re on the subject of hard-to-reach places, we certainly need to discuss the pogo mechanic. No, pogo is not an off-shore gambling company in the Philippines. Rather, it’s a returning mechanic from the original Hollow Knight, one that allows you to climb higher using objects in the game world. Here’s the gist:
- The pogo maneuver requires that you do a downward attack with your weapon. You must then hit a relevant object, such as red crystals, balloons, spike traps, enemies, and even the weapons held by enemies. This lets you avoid damage and deal damage in return.
- Hitting the object causes Hornet to bounce up in the air, and you can follow this up with another pogo maneuver.
- By default, “pogoing” is a diagonal downward strike. This can be a bit iffy, especially when you’re lining up your next target.
- Later, once you acquire the Crest of the Reaper, you can equip it to change to a purely downward strike, reminiscent of the mechanic from the previous game.
Look for hidden paths and shortcuts
One Hollow Knight: Silksong tip that’s a given in all Metroidvania and action-adventure games is that you should always look for potential shortcuts and hidden paths.
- There are mechanisms that you can hit to unlock doors and metal gates.
- Many nooks and crannies might have breakable walls and barriers.
- Hit a lava rock and avoid the explosion. It might reveal a pathway beyond.
- If a chamber is unusually large, there might be additional ledges at higher sections.
Complete wishes to save denizens
There are a lot of side quests that you can complete while going through the campaign. Some are acquired via the bulletin board in settlements like Bone Bottom. Others come from NPCs that you meet. These side quests are called “wishes,” such as those that task you with learning where to find mossberries and where to find spine cores, and completing them leads to a more rewarding experience.
That does it for our Hollow Knight: Silksong beginner’s guide. We hope these tips aid you as you venture into more dangerous areas in Pharloom.
