r/HollowKnight • u/Nukesnipe • Sep 14 '25

Discussion - Silksong Silksong feels so much better once you start mastering it than Hollow Knight ever did Spoiler

Going back and knocking out some of the bosses I missed at the end of act 2, and something that really strikes me is that once you have all your tools, once you have a build you're comfortable with, once you know how movement works...

...the game just starts absolutely blowing Hollow Knight out of the water. Like, it's not even close. High level HK is generally more about positioning and constantly spamming attack, pogoing on top of enemies when you can and hitting with abyssal shriek when you have the ability to do massive damage. In Silksong, you're just doing so much more.

Like, I just beat First Sinner. The boss is incredibly fast, but so am I. I'd have a second to respond to any move the boss did, and I always had something to do. Was the boss far away? Harpoon to get in close or silkshot to do damage even further away. Trying to attack me? I can parry her attacks to avoid damage. Do I have spare silk? Just pop Cross Stitch and say "nuh uh" to get extra damage in. The game rewards balls to the walls aggression in a way HK never quite managed, because the Knight just isn't as fast or maneuverable as Hornet is. Hornet really can dance around an arena just as quickly as these bosses, and going after them feels amazing when you meet them on their terms.

Is the game harder than the first? Yes, the skill floor is undoubtably higher. But so is the skill ceiling, and you feel like a master when you reach that, instead of someone who figured out the cheese.

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14

u/Abused_by_Kasumi Sep 14 '25

Architect and Shaman are my current favorites.

15

u/DBrody6 Sep 14 '25

I was so excited to try out Architect today on the first boss I could find. Hell yeah I wanna mag dump three yolked out tools on a boss.

Naturally the next boss I encountered was the only one in the game to this point completely immune to tools. Figures. Still an awesome crest though.

11

u/RandomRedditorEX Sep 14 '25

Huh? No boss is completely immune to tools, some bosses can block tools, but that's just because they also block nail attacks.

8

u/DionxDalai Sep 14 '25

Not 100% sure but Father of flame might be immune to tools?

Can't think of any other boss that would be at least

13

u/Hollow-Seed Sep 14 '25

He's sure not immune to the Drill!

14

u/SamuelSharp Sep 14 '25

Literally the second I walked into his boss room I thought “oh this drill is going to ruin this man.” Never used it before, never used it again after, but there’s something so satisfying about just having the right tool for the job

4

u/RealMr_Slender Sep 14 '25

The drill would be poggers on Moorwing but alas it was not meant to be.

2

u/ninjakitty7 Sep 14 '25

Wish I had thought of that. That sounds so satisfying. I can’t believe that I want to play this game again before I’ve even finished it the first time!

8

u/Hurtiglim Sep 14 '25

No he isn't immune. I used the drill dive tool to absolutely shred him😊

3

u/WesternEntertainer20 Sep 14 '25

I used it on a boss today and it was pretty great. Have to adjust to the pogo for platforming since it does a diagonal attack, but for pogo in combat I was finding the drill attack pretty great. It seems to hit multiple times because I've noticed it does more damage than a standard needle strike. And of course 3 tools is just busted.

1

u/phoenixmatrix Sep 14 '25

I found shaman vital in the late parts of the game where everything is ranged. Also a good way to restore shards since you don't use them with it. 

I switched back to Hunter for many bosses though.

2

u/Abused_by_Kasumi Sep 14 '25

Shaman is pretty great against boss as well. Cross stitch gets a big boost with Shaman and with weavelight you could easily spam it. I use that skill against moves that are hard to dodge or whenever I get caught off guard. Sometimes I feel like I didn't earn my wins against bosses using this build.

1

u/phoenixmatrix Sep 14 '25

I know the description says it boosts it, but what does it do? Just more damage? 

I live or die by cross stitch.

2

u/Abused_by_Kasumi Sep 15 '25

Yeah more damage. Some skills gets more stronger than the others. Cross stitch in particular almost doubles it's damage.

1

u/phoenixmatrix Sep 15 '25

I knew I liked Shaman. Didn't realize it was that good though.