Essential Pro Tips Before Playing Hollow Knight Silksong September 9, 2025

Remember wandering around aimlessly in the original Hollow Knight because you forgot to grab Cornifer’s map? Well, Hollow Knight Silksong takes that frustration and amplifies it. You absolutely need to prioritize buying maps from Shakra the merchant as soon as you encounter her.

But wait! There’s more! Just buying the map isn’t enough anymore. You’ll need to shell out additional Rosaries for the Quill (to actually fill in areas you’ve explored) and the Compass (so you aren’t playing blindfolded). Yes, it’s annoying to spend your precious currency on what should arguably be basic features. But Hornet is a traveler, and now, we get to see her scribble down her progress as we all navigate Pharloom together.

Master the Art of Not Dying Spectacularly

The healing system in Hollow Knight Silksong has gotten a complete overhaul, and IT IS both better and more frustrating at the same time. Instead of Focus healing one mask at a time, you now use Bind to heal multiple masks in one go – but it consumes your entire Silk meter regardless of how much health you actually need.

Good news, though! You can heal in mid-air right from the start, which is absolutely clutch when you’re surrounded by enemies who apparently never learned about personal space. The bad news…If you get interrupted during that two-second casting animation, you lose the Silk and still take damage. Here’s a tip: Jump up and heal while airborne when fighting ground enemies. It’s not foolproof, but it beats getting smacked in the face while trying to recover.

Pogo Like Your Life Depends On It (Because It Does)

If you played the original Hollow Knight, you know pogo-jumping is essential for both combat and traversal. Hollow Knight Silksong brings this mechanic back but with a twist – Hornet’s downward strike is diagonal by default, not straight down. This makes lining up your bounces trickier than threading a needle while blindfolded.

The silver lining? Once you get the Crest of the Reaper later in the game, you can switch back to the straight-down pogo style we all know and love. Until then, practice positioning yourself above and slightly to the left of whatever you’re trying to bounce off of. Your future self will thank you when you’re not plummeting into spike pits for the hundredth time (speaks the Ghost of 100 Deaths Past).

Every Wall Is Suspicious Until Proven Otherwise

Hollow Knight Silksong is absolutely packed with secret areas, and Team Cherry seems to take sadistic pleasure in hiding them behind the most innocent-looking walls. From the very first screen, the game practically screams “HIT EVERYTHING” at you. If you come to a space, wire your brain to automatically start smashing the first wall you see (and take no prisoners).

Some walls will crumble with a simple slash, others might require you to detonate nearby explosive rocks (while carefully avoiding the blast yourself), and some are just visual tricks that you can walk right through. Make it a habit to smack any wall that looks even slightly suspicious, especially in rooms that seem oddly empty or purposeless.

Currency Management for the Financially Challenged

Rosary Beads are your lifeline in Hollow Knight Silksong, but they’re also incredibly easy to lose. Die twice without retrieving your dropped currency? Poof, gone forever. It’s enough to make anyone develop trust issues with video game economies. Thus, Team Cherry introduced a single object that will hopefully undo that anxiety: the Rosary Strings.

For 80 beads, you can convert your loose currency into strings of 60 beads that won’t disappear when you inevitably meet your doom. Of course, you can’t get something completely death-proof. Upon your death, you lose 20 beads in the conversion, sometimes forcing you to break the string to spend them. But compared to previous tragedies, it beats losing everything when that one enemy decides to ruin your day. Remember, you can always return to the place of your previous death to recover your items. Just don’t die along the way.

Also, do yourself a favor and buy the Magnetite Brooch from the vendor in Bone Bottom as soon as possible. Watching Rosary Beads scatter and roll into lava pits is soul-crushing, and this little accessory will save you from that particular brand of suffering. It’s like a superhero swooping in to save the citizen at the last second.

Combat Tips That Actually Work

Hollow Knight Silksong wants you to be aggressive, but smart about it. Here are some hard-learned lessons:

• Count your hits: Every enemy has a specific number of hits needed to kill it. Knowing this prevents you from overcommitting and leaving yourself open to counterattacks.
• Use your environment: Hornet can attack through objects, so don’t be afraid to hide behind cover while still dealing damage. It’s not cheating if the game allows it.
• Don’t fight everything: Some enemies don’t drop currency and only exist to make your life harder. If there’s no reward, sometimes it’s better to just run past them and preserve your sanity.

Hollow Knight Silksong Boss Battles: Patience Is Actually a Virtue

When facing bosses in Hollow Knight Silksong, resist the urge to go full berserker mode (and no button mashing!). Instead, spend the first few attempts just watching and learning their patterns. Figure out when it’s safe to attack, when you should heal, and when you need to focus purely on survival. Yes, this means fights will take longer, and yes, you might die a few more times while learning. You won’t get anything if you keep rushing in without a plan. Think of it as an investment in your future mental health.

Tools and Equipment Actually Matter Now

The charm system from the original game has been replaced with Tools, and they’re organized into specific categories with different colored slots. It ain’t just a cosmetic reason – you’ll need to think strategically about your loadouts for different situations. Memory Lockets expand your tool capacity, so always keep an eye out for them. And don’t forget that you can swap between different Crest configurations at any bench, so experiment with different combinations to find what works for your playstyle.

Final Thoughts: Embrace the Chaos

Hollow Knight Silksong is simultaneously one of the most rewarding and frustrating games you’ll play this year. Demanding precision, patience, and the willingness to learn from your mistakes, but nonetheless a fantastic fantasy experience. When you finally nail that perfect sequence of pogos, defeat that boss, or discover a hidden secret, it feels absolutely incredible.

The game respects your intelligence while simultaneously trying to crush your spirit. And, honestly, that’s exactly what we wanted from a Hollow Knight sequel. So grab your controller, prepare for some truly spectacular failures, and remember – every death is just another learning opportunity. Now get out there and show Pharloom what you’re made of. And maybe invest in a stress ball while you’re at it.