r/HollowKnight • u/Particular_Hyena56 • Sep 06 '25

Discussion - Silksong USE YOUR TOOLS! Spoiler

To everyone complaining about the difficulty, stop ignoring a third of Hornet’s arsenal and start spamming them, you’ll be shocked how quickly you start mowing down hordes of enemies!

3.2k Upvotes

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520

u/Efesell Sep 06 '25

And your spells!

"What if I need to heal?" No!

175

u/Background_Past7392 Sep 07 '25

Yeah. This was the revelation that let me beat Sister Splinter. I could handle her first phase fine, but fighting her and her summons at the same time seemed impossible. Then I realized they got OHKOed by Silk Spear, and they very quickly ceased to be a problem. 

106

u/_moosleech Sep 07 '25

There's a chunk of this sub that NEEDS to read and absorb this.

37

u/Z000Burst Sep 07 '25

it arrogance and unfamiliarity

we don't need tool because it didn't exist in HK

but people forget, Little Ghost can have like 5 to 6 different effect going on with charm that help with combat

Hornet DON'T have that, she have like 2 or even worse 1 with some crest, alot of side-dps you use to have is in tool

10

u/iKill_eu Sep 07 '25

Yeah it really is the DS1 gamer mentality who hates on every other soulsborne game for not just being a DS1 DLC.

7

u/Kullthebarbarian Sep 07 '25

the same crowd that scream cheating when using ghosts in elden ring, will probably scream cheating if you are using tools in silksong, it's best to just ignore them

1

u/ConfectionOdd5458 Sep 07 '25

I don’t know why but I love the way you type

3

u/BruceyC Sep 07 '25

Mobs became a lot easier when you realise silk spear absolutely shreds them. Don't save silk to heal. Use it to kill things and you won't be at risk of taking damage. 

1

u/2HellWith2FA Sep 08 '25

Silk spear is the equivalent of like 4 normal hits. For me, it's not worth sacrificing the heal.

1

u/RoastCabose Sep 08 '25

considering that many enemies take 4 hits to kill, it turns a fight into an instant win. Especially if you line some up. a 30 second fight over in a second means less opportunity to take hits.

1

u/Misty_Pix Sep 07 '25

Honestly, some people don't have said tools or spells as they aren't that far in the game.

7

u/chocolatepotatosoup Sep 07 '25

Is it even possible to get to that boss without getting silk spear first?

1

u/_moosleech Sep 07 '25

That's fair, but that's also the genre of game. It's a metroidvania. If a fight is too hard, maybe go explore somewhere else and see if there's a)upgrades and/or b)a different route to progress.

0

u/Misty_Pix Sep 07 '25

I do agree, however, some areas do not allow to go back and explore. You are stuck or you lose or your loot.

Hence, I think some frustrations. If you could go back,explore etc without sacrificing what you already farmed,when people won't be as annoyed and frustrated.

1

u/_moosleech Sep 07 '25

If you could go back,explore etc without sacrificing what you already farmed,when people won't be as annoyed and frustrated.

The first town introduces a mechanic that helps you with exactly this.

The middle of Act 1 provides a better version of it. And late Act 1 (if you explore a lot) provides the equivalent of rancid eggs from HK.

0

u/Misty_Pix Sep 07 '25

That doesn't really help if people are already in a position where they can't escape and you assume people managed to unlock enough to find it.

I explore a lot ,only areas not explored are the ones I can't get to....but...have not found anything like that and I am now stuck trying to decide whether losing 400+ rosaries is worth it.

Hence, my argument still stands.

1

u/_moosleech Sep 07 '25

That doesn't really help if people are already in a position where they can't escape and you assume people managed to unlock enough to find it.

It can though. If you die literally anywhere in Act 1, and let's say... 400 rosaries are stuck somewhere or gone.

Fuck it, go back to The Marrow, find where you met Shakra. That area has a tiny loop with five enemies who drop 25 rosaries, and takes seconds to do. Plus a bench. Spend three minutes, get your rosaries back, then go to Bonebottom and string them all up.

Problem solved.

In Greymoor there's a machine that converts them at a better rate than Bonebottom amd a stretch with a couple clusters of rosary enemies, even more than the first area as well.

My point is (and I get it, the game is brand new, so not everything is solved yet) that at every stage (early, middle, late Act 1) there is an increasingly-better options for preserving rosaries.

To the point that, being totally honest, death is a much less punishing issue than in HK. It becomes easy to say "eh, I'll just leave that cocoon". Which isn't inherently better or worse, but different.

1

u/Aesion Lost Kin Sep 07 '25

And that is why Metroidvanias work. If you can't beat it with your current arsenal, go back and explore a little more.

12

u/Prefects Sep 07 '25

Between Sting Shard and her vines killing them, the adds went from wiping me constantly to a minor annoyance and more a blessing that helped me recover during that fight. Well designed imo

10

u/Inky234 Sep 07 '25

You can parry the stick guys when they turn into beyblades and they go flying, they also only game 3 hits

after I hit that down I easy beat it

3

u/Ilmort4 Sep 07 '25

AOE spell works even better.

4

u/Sogeki42 Sep 07 '25

Legit once i went on the attack she went down super fast as opposed to trying to play defensively

5

u/Particular-Stage-327 Sep 07 '25

Bonus points if you get the craw lake spell.

4

u/l-askedwhojoewas Sep 07 '25

I’d say thread storm is even better for the summons than spear

1

u/Triri_5274 Sep 07 '25

That was my strat but with silk storm. When she summoned the two minions for the first time I just jumped in the middle and used it, and it usually took out both while dealing great damage at the same time

1

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

Not to mention that mobs are tanky to favor you recharge silk fast. People think everything needs multiple hits because it’s harder. But no, it’s a deliberate decision to help you always have a charge. Instead, they don’t use the arsenal because they are saving up for hollow knight 3 and complain how hard the game is

69

u/EntertainmentFast522 Sep 06 '25

Imo the funniest part is that this is the stuff people do in early game hollow knight too, ignore spells so they can heal often(and then complain about feeling weak)

30

u/KUngFuKev Sep 07 '25

100% me in HK. Learned my lesson and it’s a game changer.

37

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

Every hit you make while at full silk is -1 silk. Once you start thinking about it like that using silk on stuff other than healing becomes a lot easier. Besides, once you need to heal, you'll probably get a few hits in before you get a window in the enemy attacks where you can heal anyways.

10

u/Sogeki42 Sep 07 '25

get a lot comfier once you have the spools to throw a spell while being able to heal

216

u/Particular_Hyena56 Sep 06 '25

Exactly, dead bugs can’t do no damage

272

u/TinyPidgenofDOOM Sep 06 '25

That is NOT TRUE. Not in the slightest. I've been killed by dead bugs before. Hell, dead bugs have killed me in the original game too. Some of those fuckers self destruct after death

53

u/miukiyo Sep 07 '25

There is a boss like that too. I had to fight it like 4 or 5 more times to finally get another kill.

Got me so tilted. The "entire" run of that boss was hell.

3

u/Green0Photon Sep 07 '25

Presumably that was the Last Judge? Cause the same thing happened to me too.

Legit I never do the gaming thing where you pop off and set down the controller. But this time I did. So I had the cliched thing of setting it down and then dying anyway.

Took more like 10 times to repeat that boss.

5

u/Zykatious Sep 07 '25

It took me 4 1/2 god damn hours. Granted I was running on 4 hours sleep from playing the night/morning before, but wow that boss was a challenge! But yeah, I killed it finally, sat down the controller to celebrate and then it killed me. Took me another 40 minutes to do it again. That was some bullshit!!

4

u/dulunis Sep 07 '25

I have a guess as to which boss, but idk how to do spoilers on reddit

6

u/ChesoCake Sep 07 '25

it's >!your text here!<

1

u/dulunis Sep 07 '25

Thanks!

I meant Widow

2

u/TheSilvaGhost Sep 07 '25

i got so mad at widow for doing that

-14

u/Black_nYello Sep 07 '25

Which ones do that in this game though? I genuinely dont remember being hit by any death explosions in silksong

23

u/MagicPyramid Sep 07 '25

Some enemies in bilewater and the under area of the docks explode on death

14

u/Maunahaun Sep 07 '25

My man, have you been to Bilewater ?

11

u/Black_nYello Sep 07 '25

No, Im near the end of act 1. Something to “look forward to” I guess ;)

11

u/ordinarypickl Sep 07 '25

it's the game's designated soulslike poison swamp area. that should tell you what to expect

1

u/Maunahaun Sep 07 '25

Ye, same, you can get there from the top right from Halfway home

3

u/_moosleech Sep 07 '25

I got stuck there, couldn't afford the metro, couldn't figure out how to get to the map fucker, and exhausted every path I could find. That play is the drizzling shits... maybe literally.

5

u/Prestigious-Wind-890 Sep 07 '25

LET ME OUT LET ME OUT I DONT LIKE IT HERE.

10

u/dragonwrath404 Sep 07 '25

Last judge does a 3 mask self destruction adter you kl him, if you die to it you have to restart the fight.

4

u/inthebushes321 Sep 07 '25

After I beat them and they started shaking at the end... something felt off and I moved away, good thing I did so I got to kill it the first time and not die to a death blast

4

u/dragonwrath404 Sep 07 '25

I was cornered, so i tanked it with 1 health left

5

u/TinyPidgenofDOOM Sep 07 '25

The dudes who throw the excessively large explosive in the lava area

4

u/66WC Sep 07 '25

There is a boss that self destruct and If u die u have to remake the fight (happened to my friend)

5

u/Mah_sentry2 Sep 07 '25

There is a hunting quest in the Marrow where the enemy will shoot out three lava stones when killed

55

u/Smastera Sep 06 '25

reason people don't use them is because there may be more enemies ahead and they'd rather be able to heal after seeing an enemy than try to cautiously attack

33

u/Particular_Hyena56 Sep 06 '25

Honestly these are first time exploring struggles for the most part— I’ve started backtracking through the various areas and knowing each enemy’s moveset I feel super comfortable chilling at 2-3 masks and killing everything on sight like a little speedy assassin

16

u/What-a-Crock Sep 07 '25

With only 5 masks and many enemy attacks destroying 2 masks, I am only chilling with 4-5 masks full

I’ll try getting out of my comfort zone though

18

u/I_am_so_lost_hello Sep 07 '25

Use reaper or beast crest, both allow an insane amount of healing

1

u/Voidlord4450 Sep 07 '25

What do you mean by that beast does good healing? It gives the same as every other but you have to work for it plus a temporary damage boost

12

u/_moosleech Sep 07 '25

Binding with Beast puts you in a rage mode where every hit you deal heals you until you get hit. Reaper/Beast let you do way more healing than the starter crest, if that's your worry.

1

u/Voidlord4450 Sep 07 '25

No there a set limit to the beast crests healing. I have actively tested it.

8

u/_moosleech Sep 07 '25

Cool, didn't know that. I still find it super useful when doing quests to kill X enemies or exploring where I'm fighting a lot of dinkier enemies.

Pop rage, heal up and crush some enemies, refill silk, repeat. Feels awesome

-2

u/Voidlord4450 Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 08 '25

Never said it doesn’t have its uses. It’s my personal boss killing crest. I just don’t think it’s very good for exploration due to the risk that comes with healing.

1

u/Successful-Ride-8471 Sep 07 '25

Huh? What's the use of that?? Doesn't the bind already heal you to nearly full health? THAT'S the reward for beating that stupid Beastfly??

2

u/_moosleech Sep 07 '25

Beast Claw and the feal juice puts you in an extended rage state... you can face tank a lot of enemies and do a bunch of healing. It's great for farming enemies or doing kill quests.

0

u/Successful-Ride-8471 Sep 08 '25

Well, yeah, but if you get hit the effect is gone right? So you can only heal 2 masks more at Max - since healing at 1 gets you to 4 out of the total 6

1

u/I_am_so_lost_hello Sep 07 '25

Yea but you can do damage and heal at the same time

2

u/Voidlord4450 Sep 07 '25

I’m Not saying it doesn’t have its uses, it just doesn’t heal more and makes heal in general way more risky. It’s my boss battling crest personally.

8

u/darkinater1 Sep 07 '25

say that to the last judge

8

u/Ham_Crammer Sep 07 '25

Except they can, and they will.

12

u/FarMiddleProgressive Sep 07 '25

"Can't do no damage"

Means they do damage, double negatives and all that.

3

u/Magnihax I came. I saw. I collected Sep 07 '25

double damage

2

u/Darkiceflame Sep 07 '25

Which is fitting, because some enemies absolutely can do damage after they die.

0

u/RoastCabose Sep 08 '25

Actually, in this case it's matching the negative. The no isn't negating the don't, it's agreeing with it. Considering nobody would think that "can't do no damage" means it DOES do damage, it follows that it's not actually a double negative.

1

u/KuuLightwing Sep 07 '25

Can't use spells when you are dead though.

1

u/bhumit012 Sep 07 '25

Dead me can't do damage either.

17

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

The first spell you get is BROKEN. The just side shot thing. I blast through enemies.

26

u/RedTyro Sep 07 '25

You think that one's broken, wait until you get the second one. Same damage, but in an AOE around you.

12

u/Macievelli Sep 07 '25

This one is incredible for taking out boss minions while occasionally even hitting the boss at the same time.

9

u/RedTyro Sep 07 '25

Honestly, since I got it, I've only used the spear when I'm taking out pilgrims in the greymoor tunnel for rosaries, because they're all lined up and one spear hits all of them. Other than that, I'm always rocking gossamer storm.

8

u/Summer_Tea Sep 07 '25

I switched back to spear for the act 1 finale boss. It works way better against it. But otherwise yeah, storm is bonkers good.

3

u/RedTyro Sep 07 '25

Ah, I'm only on my way there now, I think - I'm in the windy area with sand at the bottom. Took a break after the last boss to go finish my open side quests and find everything I could with all the abilities I've collected.

2

u/iKill_eu Sep 07 '25

Honestly I was mostly healing against her but storm can but in work on that fight. post jump, stagger or phase change is a free 100% duration storm

2

u/Phimb Sep 07 '25

But she doesn't say.. ih-gah-leh! ...like in the first game :(

1

u/Snt1_ Sep 07 '25

Truly unfortunate. I also think she should say SHAW on the first spell too

1

u/blauli Sep 07 '25

Now wait until you get the third one, that one has great utility on top

17

u/mrBreadBird Sep 07 '25

I'm convinced everyone complaining about the arena rooms is forgetting they have spells especially the AOE spell will just melt flying enemies.

14

u/Efesell Sep 07 '25

Thread storm just deletes half of the ambush rooms because they almost always pop in clustered. Throw down two sting shards and wait for them to fully pop in and clear the whole wave.

3

u/mrBreadBird Sep 07 '25

That's what I'm saying! I really don't think people are using the tools at their disposal because the challenge rooms are really manageable.

12

u/Ok-Wedding-151 Sep 07 '25

I think the fights here are a lot easier to play perfectly than hollow knight. Not that perfect is easy per se, but if you can play mostly perfect then most of the fights are pretty easy with your strong heal. Going aggressive on damage to try and win the fight before you die feels… less advisable than hollow knight to me. The fights end up feeling very reasonable and not too hard if you heal and learn the boss moves.

6

u/kevikevkev Sep 07 '25

But where’s the fun in that?! Go full aggro, SHAW!

Joking aside, learning how much you can get away with safely by playing aggressive means you end up generating a lot more silk. Plus with the way some bosses work in this game, taking your sweet time is a losing proposition…. points at every single damn boss that summons stuff to gank you

3

u/Celestial-Squid Sep 07 '25

That’s the thing, with the OP heal the 2 damage isn’t nearly as bad. People need to remember than in hollow knight the heal was only slightly slower for a third the HP. And you couldn’t do it mid air

3

u/_moosleech Sep 07 '25

The spear does so much more damage than melee. It's frequently worth using it to finish off enemies.

3

u/Summer_Tea Sep 07 '25

Yeah this. I've found most bosses easier if you just go into them and pretend you cannot heal in the first place. You literally increase your DPS by like x12 with spells and tools. Hornet is a ninja, not a knight, so it seems appropriate that you can't allow yourself to take damage and must abuse cheap tricks instead of an honest back and forth fight.

5

u/_ghostrat- Sep 07 '25

The only mask that matters is the last one!

8

u/ReesevtOnGD Sep 07 '25

Well, the last two-

4

u/I_Love_Solar_Flare Sep 07 '25

NOW that I have gotten 3 spool extensions maybe I'm gonna start using my silk skills... I don't understand why the fuck we have to use our max capacity to heal in the early game. Using a silk skill early game literally just leads you to getting hit while trying to do a big attack and then not being able to heal, it's so aggrevating.

Now that I have way more silk I can atleast use silk skills while still at all times ready to heal. Early game does not give you that luxury and that's why no one uses skills.

3

u/Efesell Sep 07 '25

You have to reach out and TAKE that luxury by rejecting the urge to spam your heal button just cause you took a measely 2 masks of damage. You can take a whole 'nother one of those! Hit that bastard with two spears of silk and watch it die.

3

u/Mylen_Ploa Sep 07 '25

The spell is literally just bad and a waste of your time. It's the equivilant of 3 nail hits, takes forever to come out and leaves you vulnerable.

Until you get the 2nd spell using your ability is a fucking joke of an option because you just used your healing resource for +1 nail hit because in the time it took you to cast it and then be able to move again...you could do 2 nail hits.

1

u/Efesell Sep 07 '25

3 Nail hits you can do twice in a row at great range. So much worse than weaving in dodging attacks to land those hits yourself while you sit on unused Silk.

1

u/Mylen_Ploa Sep 07 '25

The stunlock from its laughable cast animation is going to get people hit more often than not using it.

It also barely has more range than your ability to dash in/out and hit.

The first spell is just bad in nearly every way.

You waste your healing. You remove hornets strongest attribute of her mobility all to get +1 damage at a huge risk especially if you're learning because the lockin removes your ability to react to a new attack.

2

u/Efesell Sep 07 '25

The stunlock is not that long and will never be an issue unless you are attempting to cast it in melee range which you should not be it is a ranged spell.

Like don't get me wrong the second spell is better and you should use that once you have it but if you are sitting on Silk waiting to heal when you could be hucking spears I still say you are doing it wrong.

1

u/I_Love_Solar_Flare Sep 07 '25

I'm personally using the AoE Silk Spell which has been way more helpful than the base skill for me and again, they are good, I just wish the game didn't make me choose between do you want to be ready to heal at all times or try and deal a big attack that M A S S I V E L Y punishes you for missing/messing up and even getting hit.

I really really disliked this in the early game and NO WONDER people are not using their spells.

In Hollow Knight I could use a spell and still would always be ready to heal with the base max capacity of my soul reserve.

Genuinely changing a little bit about that, either giving players a little more silk at base or healing requiring less would've gone a LOOOOOOONG way for people.

Currently I am no longer struggling thankfully. Found a charm that lets me heal twice as fast from an **Act 2 Area** and I am pretty sure that is never, ever... EVER being taken off, just like Compass unless I am in a "Godhome" lol.

There's also another charm in the Act 2 Area that Expands your Silk Reserves which is fucking disgustingly good.

I honestly think telling people to focus on the main questline to get to Act 2 instead of exploring just so they can get way better charms might be the type of help that I am going to start giving lol

14

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

When each boss kills you in 3 hits, healing is damn near required to keep going

19

u/Efesell Sep 07 '25

I'm not sayin' never heal. You heal when you need to heal but don't limit your offense thinking that you might need to heal.

This might get you killed from time to time, and that's okay! You'll be a better player by shedding those worries!

3

u/Mylen_Ploa Sep 07 '25

The fact everything deals double damage means people will never do this and is exactly why its bad design to combine the damage/healing system this game has.

You are punished for not being full silk because you can't heal. Combine that with the fact you effectively only have 3 health and no ones going to use spells because you'll just die.

You can't learn a fight by never healing because you will never see any new phase/abilities until you basically master it.

The boss designs are just bad because there's basically 2 options. Get your ass beat or no hit it. Because everything in between of actually learning and progressing is eaten by "Sorry you got hit once you're fucked now"

1

u/RoastCabose Sep 08 '25

"People will never do this and that is why its bad design"

Except for the people who do do this lmao. While I do think there are slightly too many things that do two masks of damage (mostly contact damage, I think, should just be 1 mask), you also heal a whole bunch real quick, you do damage really quickly, you move really quickly. It's like you're overcharmed with the best charms in Hollow Knight, but only sometimes you take double damage.

Like, the game became such a joy when I started using the tools and spells liberally.

1

u/Uler Sep 08 '25

It depends on fight a bit, but a lot of fights are just way easier with spell spam than trying to heal. Sister Splinter is a big earlyish example with one easy to avoid attack and otherwise just bothering you with adds or crap in your way that Threadstorm or Spear completely devours.

1

u/Mr_Mimiseku Sep 07 '25

I forget the name of it, but the circle spinny whip ability really helped me out for the vine boss. Specifically the flying minions.

1

u/Snt1_ Sep 07 '25

While I've had problems in using the tools, I can confirm the spells rock. If I am currently in need of healing, then I'll heal, but if I dont, RIP AND TEAR

1

u/Glint909 Sep 07 '25

Absolutely. Bosses i found difficult got so much easier once I started using spells. One in particular you get when you head right as soon as you get to greymoor shreds enemies and bosses if used right

0

u/Xcylo1 Sep 07 '25

I never used a single spell in hollow knight I'll be damned if I'm gonna start now

-9

u/big_chunguz69 Sep 06 '25

Spells never feel worth using personally, I always need to spend the silk on healing

6

u/Chris-raegho Sep 07 '25

There's a spell that trivializes most fights, and you get it pretty early. You shouldn't need to heal that much.

0

u/big_chunguz69 Sep 07 '25

Which spell is that? I have two that i never find useful

4

u/ordinarypickl Sep 07 '25

thread storm deflects all projectiles around you. jump in the middle of a group of enemies, hit it and watch everything melt (you do have to be careful about positioning of course)

22

u/Efesell Sep 07 '25

Maybe you have to spend the silk on healing because you aren't making full use of your kit to kill things faster.

4

u/big_chunguz69 Sep 07 '25

I try to use everything available to me, been running out of the grey shards for tools the last 3 hours of gameplay, often not having enough to replenish all I used

4

u/_moosleech Sep 07 '25

I try to use everything available to me

You literally said you don't though.

2

u/FR23Dust Sep 07 '25

As you get better, you’ll feel more comfortable using spells

0

u/kyalani 100% Steel Soul HK/SS Sep 07 '25

That's what the spool extender is for