Hollow Knight: Silksong Beginner's Guide | Gameplay Tips & Tricks

Here's a beginner's guide on some tips & tricks to get you started in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Game Guide by TauxicPandA on Sep 05, 2025

This guide has all the information you need about Hollow Knight: Silksong. This guide will help you get ready for your journey in this new world, whether you already know how to play Hollow Knight: Silksong or are just starting to learn.

Healing: The Binding System

Binding is Silksong's new healing technique. Instead of traditional healing, you cover yourself in Silk generated by Silk Gauge. It unites healing, damage inflicting, and power building.

Silk is earned by damaging enemies and spent on Binding healing. This method uses more Silk than expected, but heals better.

Hollow Knight: Silksong, Beginner's Guide, Gameplay, Tips,Tricks, Comabt, Healing

Instead of one-by-one healing in Hollow Knight, each bind restores three or four life points. Timing your Binding is crucial—if interrupted, you'll waste Silk and not heal in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Skills and Silk Usage

Silk is used for more than healing. Charge Stabs, Dashes, Storm Area of Effect attacks with Silk around you, and tossing your Needle and pulling yourself to the target are examples. You get Silk by damaging enemies; thus, fighting is necessary to unlock your toolset.

Tools and Shell Shards

Tools are distinct from Silk skills. If you have numerous offensive tools, you need directional inputs and a button push to activate them. Shell Shards are scarce for toolmaking.

Based on past demonstrations, this resource was capped at 400; however, further progress may increase this limit in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

You must create items to restore your supply, making resource management crucial throughout exploration and fighting.

The Crest System

Crest System replaces Hollow Knight's charm system and affects tools. Your Needle displays your Crest symbols and images throughout the game.

The Wanderer Crest, with one red, blue, and yellow slot, is the default. Red slots hold attacking instruments, while blue and yellow offer passive utility. Each slot can initially hold one tool of each type in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

The Reaper's Crest, which doubles slot amounts and has a centre slot that changes abilities, modifies Hornet's abilities later in the game. The Harp Crest reduces healing costs and adds visual effects to basic attacks, focusing on defense and offense.

Tool Examples

Your path will include several tools. Basic options, such as Knife Throw, are available early in the game. Trip Pins are triple knife throws. While rolling, the Rolling Spike Barrel hits the ground and enemies many times in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

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Sting Shards erupt in stabbing spikes when enemies approach; you can bounce off them to move. Pimpillo Grenades and Caltrops add offence and trapping. Tools run without Silk, using their own resources.

Skills System

The Skills System displays white symbols with circles on the UI that light up when sufficient Silk is available. Activating most skills costs Silk.

According to current knowledge, your Crest and its talent unlock skills. Gameplay footage shows you can only use one skill at a time, but this may change eventually in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Movement and Mobility

Hornet's movement system surpasses that of Hollow Knight. Acrobatic tumbles in the air after attacks give her extra hang time, which appears to be part of her basic kit.

Mantling System

A new Mantling system lets you grip platform edges instead of falling. Hornet grabs the platform's edge and climbs when you hit it.

This patch adds movement choices to Hollow Knight, which will affect platforming, especially early on, before acquiring other powers in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Wall Climbing and Advanced Movement

You'll learn modified double leaping with wings and wall climbing. Hornet can hang, slide, climb, and navigate around walls with the right claw ability.

Bouncing off Sting Shards or employing Needle Tossing to drag yourself to targets are mobility skills. Hornets can target objects, airborne rings, and other environmental phenomena. You can hang from moving rings. Needle throwing is an attack that regenerates some Silk but costs a little.

Hornet will swim and conduct diagonal or upward assaults that pull her into the air, possibly unique moves depending on your Crest in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

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Map System & Fast Travel

The map system recalls Hollow Knight's. Explore named and color-graded areas for further detail. Expect a similar character or system where you wander in darkness before unveiling maps, even if Conifer won't appear.

Silksong features several settlements scattered across various landscapes, unlike Hollow Knight. You'll go across different cultures.

Quest boards propose bounties and tasks for visiting and aiding villages. The Bell Beast Fast Travel system replaces Hollow Knight's Stag System.

Trading and Currency

Like Geo in Hollow Knight, opponents worldwide will give you Rosaries, the main money. Rosaries buy Needle upgrades and exchange products in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Traders sell Sting Shards, Magma Bell, and Crafting Kit. Due to its lack of Crest slot requirements, the Crafting Kit may be a good early purchase.

Health Upgrades

Health upgrades follow Hollow Knight's Mask Shard method. Mask Shards are found in visible and concealed locations. Later health enhancements require five or more Mask Shards, while early ones require three or four.

Exploration and Backtracking

You'll need to move to new areas unless you earn new powers or movement skills. Save inaccessible spots for later when you're stronger in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Needle Upgrades

Like Hollow Knight's nails, Needles can be upgraded. Find a hidden Blacksmith and bring rare materials and money. Damage output increases with upgrades, making them worthwhile. Early enhancements require cash, but later upgrades require materials like Pale Ore.

Hollow Knight: Silksong, Beginner's Guide, Gameplay, Tips,Tricks

Additional Progression

You'll unlock Crests with more power and options, which you can switch and upgrade. Finding and unlocking new Tools lets you explore new places and build Crest-limited builds. New general-use skills and Crest-specific skills are frequently encountered.

Silksong has almost 40 bosses; therefore, strengthening your skills is the most crucial upgrade. Adaptability, maximizing abilities, and adjusting the Crest configuration and playstyle dependent on encounters are essential to success in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Also, check our Hollow Knight: Silksong Review and other guides below: