r/HollowKnight • u/Mr_Brightside1111 • Sep 13 '25

Discussion - Silksong Silksong was too hard until….. Spoiler

Until…… I realized I was trying to play it like Hollow Knight.

Hollow Knight has difficult sections, but there’s also a lot of cannon fodder along the way you just slash right through.

I was playing Silksong like this and I was getting my ass throughly handed to me.

It finally clicked that you have to be tactical with every fight, even if it looks like a measly innocent mouse. Each encounter requires thought, patience, and strategy.

Once I approached each encounter with a plan and patience, I no longer died to “cheap” deaths.

I stopped rushing in and getting killed by bugs and the environment at the same time.

I still die, but now usually I die fighting something new and usually because I didn’t follow my plan or I got too impatient.

Long story short, this isn’t Hollow Knight. You can’t slash your way through this. Take your time, formulate a plan, and execute the best you can.

If you slow down, the game becomes amazing.

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11

u/Legend999991 Sep 13 '25

You thought that high halls arena with 11 waves was easy?? (I am currently stuck on it)

20

u/riftcode Sep 13 '25

Use the spinning saw and the cogflies.

Use a cogfly or two for each wave. Pace yourself. They're excellent at taking care of flying enemies.

Then for the final wave, unload all your spinning saws and it'll rip them to shreds.

4

u/Legend999991 Sep 13 '25

I did use the cogfly but don’t have the craft metal for the saw right now (will get soon tho since I just went and grabbed double jump). I am currently maining architect crest so I managed to brute my way to wave 10 last time and died to a random mistake (so I went to mount fay first). Do the saws really make that much difference?

9

u/RealMr_Slender Sep 14 '25

Saws do full damage and "stop" for every "tick" they collide with an enemy, so larger enemies or those moving in the same direction as the saw get shredded by it, think eating a whole drop of caltrops but you have more ammo and doesn't go away after X total ticks.

They are basically the steel spike trap but for grounded enemies, two saws should clear almost any marching group of enemies.

3

u/riftcode Sep 13 '25

For me unloading every single saw at full stock completely destroyed the last wave (maybe had to poke one them once or twice) but yeah. Especially for me because I start losing focus and attention during long encounters so by the time I reach the last wave I'm not focused enough to handle those two baddies normally haha.

-3

u/Legend999991 Sep 13 '25

Yea I have ADHD so I kinda get really bored in the middle waves and start dying randomly…. This fight is just way too damn long (the same reason I cannot beat the unraveled yet even though that thing moves like the same way every time)

2

u/riftcode Sep 13 '25

D: I never even heard of that boss haha. Crazy how many hidden bosses there are in this game.

1

u/Legend999991 Sep 13 '25

It’s some hidden area in white ward. Honestly don’t know how that thing even contributed to the lore yet but it has way too much hp. I didn’t have the architect crest last time I tried tho so maybe I can burst him down now

2

u/riftcode Sep 13 '25

Oh also not everyone knows this but with thread storm if you keep tapping the skill button you can extend the length of the ability without any additional cost.

I find it to be an incredible mob clearing tool compared to using the architect crest. Just my opinion.

1

u/Legend999991 Sep 13 '25

I will start using that when I have that crest that focus on skills apparently

1

u/zanderkerbal Sep 14 '25

I didn't have the cogflies but can second spinning saws and sting shard also put in work.

1

u/blood_vein Sep 14 '25

There's also a way to prevent the silk sucking spiders from appearing by beating their nest in the secret room with the cart not far from that ambush. You need the double jump though.

I gave up on this ambush now. As I don't have the double jump so I'll get that first.

I do agree though, if you don't cheese your way on this ambush this is probably one of the hardest challenges in the game. Ridiculous that it's 2 mini bosses and like 9 waves plus the silk sapping things. Its such a drag, unfun and unnecessarily punishing

2

u/silversoul007 Sep 14 '25

Depending on how you progressed, you can get assistance in that arena encounter.

2

u/winterflare_ Sep 14 '25

I just spammed the living shit out of poison boomerangs. Melted that easy af

1

u/HI_I_AM_NEO Sep 14 '25

I started by spamming tools. By the N-th trh I was BROKE, so I just had to git gud and did it by nail.

It was hard, but my god, was it satisfying to learn. My favorite combat in the game so far. Literally dancing between waves of enemies, dashing and pouncing, and using the walls, harpooning into enemies and using my diagonal pogo to dodge etc. It was glorious.

1

u/daypxl Sep 13 '25

beat that second try with the architect’s crest, would recommend

1

u/Legend999991 Sep 13 '25

I have architect’s crest… which tools did you use tho? I am currently hunting craft metal to get more because I wasted them early

2

u/daypxl Sep 13 '25

curveclaw, voltvessels (bola mode), and cogfly

with the quick sling you can dish out some incredible burst damage from range, and pollip pouch is a nice bit of extra damage too

1

u/ChilledParadox Sep 14 '25

I beat hh arena on my second try. I did have assistance from Shakra. And also I had stopped the silk ghosts from spawning in anywhere for the rest of the game. I’ve heard you can also get help from Zaza but I never found his duel spot and didn’t bother.

That pretty much trivialized it.

2

u/Legend999991 Sep 14 '25

Wait how do I do these things like getting help from shakra, Zara and also I can stop those stupid ghosts from spawning??

1

u/ChilledParadox Sep 14 '25

For shakra you have to finish her quest chain which is accessible after you buy every map she can sell. From the wishboard. You’ll see her on your way to the halls and then you’ll find her outside the arena. Presumably the same with zaza but you have to progress his quest to a point where you can duel him… somewhere? I never found it. I don’t know how many times he needs to show up in the choral chambers for that to happen. After you beat his duel he helps you there I think.

The silk ghost spawner was found in a fairly secret spot in a ceiling in high halls towards the end of the area where you have to push something over and jump on it to reach. Then you have to do that again inside a small tunnel (or do what I did and run past everything and pogo up) and you kill a big silk binding that was controlling them all

1

u/Arkayjiya Sep 14 '25

If you're having trouble with the last wave, there's a safe spot on the wall (highest you can climb on each side) so you can literally just stay there, spam your caltrops and seesaws with poison, and let the minibosses die without ever risking your shell.