Hollow Knight: Silksong Tips Guide – Must-Know Tricks for Your Adventure

Hollow Knight: Silksong is a demanding action-adventure where precise needle work, smart resource use, and careful exploration carry you through Pharloom. This Silksong key tips focus on the fundamentals, combat rhythm, upgrade priorities, routing, and boss preparation, so you can settle in and make steady progress.

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Optimize the Skill Generation for Combat

In Hollow Knight: Silksong, it still acts as your lifeline as it brings healing and abilities. So, continually mastering is the key to success. This can be done in three ways:

• Chain Attacks with No Pause: Continuous attacks from enemies can fill the silk spool in a short time. You must practice more hits as well as run more combos, and it maintains a movement pattern without taking damage. This will result in resetting the spool's buildup.

• Lost Cost Tools: There are early tools like Knife Throw, which can deal a small amount of damage. Still, they can generate silk after a hit, so make sure to use them and chip away at enemies. You can do this, Boneflies, while building your spool for a Bind heal or stronger attacks like Storm AoE

• Focus on Weak Points: Some of the enemies have glowing weak spots, and those can yield extra skill upon being struck. So, make sure to target them so you can maximize your resources.

In Hollow Knight: Silksong, some skills won’t be available right from the start. You’ll need to explore and collect them, as they act like keys to unlock the next phase. If you find yourself stuck, it might be because you’re missing a crucial skill, so try backtracking and exploring earlier areas to uncover the Hollow Knight: Silksong skills and extras you need.

Engaging with NPCs and Quests

Hornet's journey in the total Hollow Knight Silksong gameplay is heavily tied to NPCs and quests. Hornet speaks, and her dialogue helps shape the story as you move forward.

Talk to every NPC you meet. Many of them offer quests, lore, or even valuable items like Mask Fragments. Make sure to speak to them more than once, since their dialogue can change after major events.

Quests are another big part of your adventure. You'll pick them up from notice boards or directly from NPCs. Tasks like Berry Picking or The Lost Fleas not only guide your exploration but also reward you with Rosaries or Shards. Tracking these quests keeps you focused and prevents you from wandering aimlessly.

Pharloom's world is mysterious, and its story can feel cryptic at times. Talking to NPCs adds context to Hornet's pilgrimage and can reveal hidden objectives you might otherwise miss. Paying attention to dialogue ensures you don't overlook important details.

Use the Crest System and Tools for Your Advantage

In Hollow Knight Silksong, the Crest system directly affects your Tools. Understanding how these work together makes a big difference in how you handle battles and exploration.

Crests are equipped at benches and adjust the way your Tools behave. For example, one Crest might extend the range of your Knife Throws, while another adds extra effects to your Needle attacks. Try mixing different Crests to find combinations that fit the way you like to play.

Tools themselves are crafted at benches using Shell Shards. Early on, you'll have access to options like Knife Throws and Traps. Each Tool has a limited number of uses, so make sure to restock them whenever you stop at a bench. In the Hollow Knight Silksong early game, it's smart to focus on Knife Throws since they give you safe ranged damage.

Because Shell Shards are capped at around 400 early in the game, you'll want to craft carefully. Avoid wasting them on things you don't immediately need. Save them up so you can afford important upgrades when the difficulty increases. Make visiting benches a regular habit to both craft and adjust your loadout.

Use Red Tools for Bosses

Almost any of the bosses you meet in the Hollow Knight Silksong gameplay can be beaten with red tools. The suits don't matter here, and only the red weapons matter most. Once you have your red tools or the red weapons, just wait until you see a movement of the boss, your deal, and once he moves, just attack. This way, you will be able to cause great damage.

The recommended weapons here are the red tools with Pollip Pouch. First, make your moves against the bosses without the weapons and tools, and then, for the latter part, use them. Since Pollip Pouch is something that you can use to hit multiple hits, this strategy is going to be a real deal in the end.

Maximize Rosary and Shell Shard Farming

If you want steady upgrades and faster progress, learning how to farm Rosaries and Shell Shards efficiently is the way to go. With a few smart habits, you'll always have enough resources for crafting and trading.

Start by farming Rosaries in areas with lots of weaker enemies. The lower swamps of the Mosslands are perfect for this, since they're filled with Spritespawn that go down quickly to Needle combos once you've gathered a good amount. Head to a bench and convert your loose Rosaries into Rosary Strings to keep them safe.

Don't overlook the environment. Many destructible objects, such as bone piles in Bone Bottom, hide extra Rosaries or Shell Shards. Breaking everything you see pays off. If you want to stay safe from hazards, use a Trap Tool or your Needle to smash them from a distance.

To make your farming even more efficient, stack quests from notice boards. For example, taking on both Gather and Hunt quests in The Marrow at the same time lets you finish multiple objectives in one trip. This not only saves time but also increases the Rosary and Shell Shard rewards you bring back.

Upgrade Smartly at Benches

Benches are more than just rest stops in Silksong, as they're your main hub for crafting and adjusting your loadout. Using them wisely makes a big difference as you move through tougher areas.

When setting up your loadout, try to keep things balanced. Carry a ranged Tool like Knife Throw for distance fights, a defensive option like Traps to control enemy groups, and a utility Tool such as the Crafting Kit for extra flexibility. Adjust this mix depending on where you are. For example, if you know an area is packed with enemies, leaning on more Traps can give you extra breathing room.

Be careful with how you spend your Shell Shards. Early on, it's tempting to craft everything, but that drains your resources fast. Focus on upgrades that give lasting value; these scale better as you push into the mid-game.

Finally, make it a habit to fully restock before stepping into a new region. Moving from the Mosslands into Bone Bottom, for instance, can throw unexpected challenges your way. Having all your Tools replenished at a bench ensures you're ready for whatever comes next.

Conclusion

With these tips, you’re ready to explore Pharloom, master Hornet’s combat, and push deeper into the challenges that Hollow Knight: Silksong has to offer. And if you’d like the freedom to keep playing comfortably beyond your desk, OSLink lets you stream the game from your PC to your phone,  giving you the flexibility to continue your journey anywhere.