Hollow Knight: Silksong — 10 Best Tips for Beginners

Hornet is much faster and more agile than the Knight. And thus, it can take a bit of time for even veterans of Hollow Knight to master her speed. Moreover, while you still have the same standard slashes as in the first game, you now need to master a host of new movement and abilities, too.  

Grabbing onto ledges to hoist yourself up, healing more quickly, albeit needing more energy to heal, and performing dashes, flips, and aerial dives in diagonal angles rather than simply left, right, downward, or upward. All of these, combined, drastically change the best times to heal, attack, and dodge incoming attacks in ways that even pros of Hollow Knight will have to learn and master all over again. 

To quickly get up to speed, so you can actually enjoy the game, and make the most of every enemy encounter, boss battle, and challenging platforming section, we’ve compiled Hollow Knight: Silksong — best tips for beginners you ought to know down below.

10. Benches Are Your Checkpoints

Benches are like checkpoints in Hollow Knight: Silksong, and are decently spaced between one another. Be sure to make the most of any you come across, saving your progress to minimize unnecessary backtracking. Benches are also the place to visit your Crest menu, assessing the tools and abilities you might want to change. 

It’s where you reassess the efficiency of your loadout. Further, benches are where you allow Hornet to rest and recover her health. One last useful feature you can take advantage of is resting at a bench to allow enemies to respawn so you can kill and loot from them again.

9. Master the New Diagonal Pogo Jump

Pogo is a returning attack from Hollow Knight. However, while it previously was a downward slash that let you bounce off an enemy or object to reach higher platforms or perform aerial attacks, now, it’s a diagonal downward strike. 

This can be tough to time perfectly. Once mastered, though, you’ll realize Hornet jumps even higher. And feel free to pogo on multiple enemies and objects, including spike traps and projectiles, chaining your bounces to climb even higher.

8. Enemy Types Matter a Ton

Firstly, you’ll want to fight the enemy types who actually have something to give after death. Those who don’t drop any rewards aren’t worth fighting. Some enemies have a slight pushback whenever you hit them, which can be enough to knock you off platforms when too close to the edge.

There are enemies who inflict double damage. Others have weaknesses you can exploit. Still, some may be close to dying, depending on how much damage they take. So, pogo jumping on them isn’t a very good idea.

7. Cash Up on Rosaries

Your main currency in Hollow Knight: Silksong is rosaries. These are your means to buy and upgrade tools and abilities. Some NPCs need payment in rosaries in exchange for the secrets they share. Still, some benches need a rosary payment to activate.

As such, it’s pretty prime to cash up on rosaries by exploring the world, killing enemies, or destroying rosary strings. However, you might want to store rosary strings as is to avoid losing them after death.

6. Wishes Are Quite Important

Side quests in Hollow Knight: Silksong are like wishes, which you won’t want to ignore. You get them from NPCs or bulletin boards, and often come with rewards, like rosaries, after completion.

5. Buy Maps from Shakra NPC

Hollow Knight: Silksong is a Metroidvania whose locked areas are revealed through maps you buy from Shakra. You can, thus, imagine how important maps are among Hollow Knight: Silksong – best tips for beginners. It’s the only way you’ll actually explore the world.

While at it, be sure to buy a quill to mark areas you’ve already covered. A compass is also useful, showing you your current position on the map, while bench markers, well, identify the checkpoints.

4. Chat to NPCs Whenever You Can

Besides the Shakra NPC, others are also important to talk to. They often divulge secrets and vital information for your exploration and leveling up. Some can be sly and require multiple visits to reveal all of the secrets they hold.

3. Healing is Made Easier with Silk

Healing is made much easier in Hollow Knight: Silksong, allowing you to simply tap a button to gain three health points, provided you have enough silk. To fill the silk meter, you must kill enemies. 

Meanwhile, keep in mind that the bind healing mechanic locks you into a two-second cast, where taking hits will deplete health and resources. So, always make sure the coast is clear. Or, you can dodge, stagger enemies, or leap into the air to heal, a feature lacking in the first game.

2. Be Aggressive

Beating Hollow Knight: Silksong relies heavily on taking the fight to enemies and bosses. You cannot run away and expect to stockpile resources or stagger enemies enough to take them down. Fortunately, you have plenty of tools and abilities to consistently be aggressive. 

And when enemies and bosses attack, you can always parry them whenever applicable, swinging your sword at the perfect time. You can also parry incoming projectiles, which can be pretty pesky sources of frustration. And if you’re lucky, you might just launch the projectile back to sender.

1. Break Suspicious Walls to Reveal Hidden Paths

One way Metroidvanias maintain their pique of curiosity and intrigue is by hiding secrets and shortcuts in your exploration. So, the next Hollow Knight: Silksong – best tips for beginners is to keep a lookout for hidden paths. Primarily, consistently smashing through breakable walls. You just might discover a hidden route full of goodies like rosaries, benches, and enemies who drop loot. 

While some hidden walls aren’t always easily obvious to the naked eye, you can keep an eye out for suspicious-looking walls. Perhaps they’re just there, seemingly serving no purpose at all. You can then try to hit the wall with your nail, and it’ll make a unique sound, suggesting it’s breakable.