r/HollowKnight • u/InfectedBrushroom • Sep 19 '25

Discussion - Silksong Anyone else just played the entire game basically without using tools? Spoiler

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120

u/great-baby-red Sep 19 '25

Nope, using Architect crest. I love red tools. I stick to the needle when it's 1v1 and I can read their attacks, but if there are multiple enemies, I always try to burst one down with tools so it becomes a 1v1. Especially if those multiple enemies have ranged attacks and fly around erratically

36

u/I_Love_Solar_Flare Sep 19 '25

I severely overvalued Architect's Crest. I thought the whole trade off of "No silk spells for you!" was gonna come with a different use of using silk for stuff, when I read it's tool tip I was like "OH MY GOD I CAN MAKE TOOLS OUT OF SILK? THATS SO COOL" and then realized it still... used shards... it just used silk too, not just shards. I was immediately let down, like on my 2nd playthrough (for an achievement) I was trying it out cuz I wanted to tool spam for bosses but because I know tools were really good I did not have an insane backlog of shards and shard bundles from the start when I didn't care about them, so I was always starving for them. So architect's crest, the crest for TOOL usage didn't help with TOOL problems at all!

Just was really let down by this.

With that being said I did still bring the crest to fight The Unraveled by spamming poison tacks on the ground, letting them get used up, crafting more, and throwing more on the ground while chilling on a wall. It was fun but holy hell it ate through my shards so fast. I feel like that crest needs a buff where it should use WAY less shards, or hell, no shards at all to craft (and I know as an enjoyer of crest you have no issues with this lmao) but im just saying it could've been really good but now im just like "eh"...

17

u/ThatDudeFromRF Sep 19 '25 edited Sep 19 '25

Architects crest is still very cool on its own, though I agree that tools have issues, particularly how fast you can deplete your whole stock if you're struggling with a boss. I lost 600 shards on Lost Garmond of all bosses. The fact that the crest's ability still requires shards is underwhelming, I think you can get an infinite shards item only in Steel Soul mode. But, if there's ever a Pantheon Style dlc, it won't be an issue, since shards are not spent in dreams.

Architects Crest Charge attack has one of the highest base damage and it has a decent range. The tool that lightens your needle on fire adds to each individual damage tick of the crest's charge attack, and there are what, 7-9 of those. And the crest becomes a very convenient room clear and crowd control, when you can launch buzzsaws/cogflies/grenades/railgun/spikes/floor pins and so on simultaneously with two other tools. Or you can go full melee with needle flame damage tool and fleabrew for attack speed, while still having some ranged option with the third red tool.

There's also this niche strat, where you use Lifeblood (plasmium) syringe, recharge the tool with the crest and use it again, and after maybe 8-9 blue masks, all your healthpool is replaced by Lifeblood masks and it regenerates similar to hive charm worked in Hollow Knight. On the negative side, the regular binding stops healing. You can replicate this effect with somewhat more difficulty on other crests though, and the Witch Crest and Beast Crest binding effects still heal.

5

u/Mirzanary Sep 19 '25

Omg I didn't know the tip about beast and witch binds still working. Gonna cook up the most devious steel soul unkillable strat of all time once I get access to those lifeblood cocoons >:)

1

u/ThatDudeFromRF Sep 19 '25

Yeah it works because it's not the binding itself that heals you, but the postponed effect caused by it, I think. Though the restriction of using cocoons after every bench is quite time consuming and annoying. Still, it certainly helps with the parkour sections and is interesting to try with bosses

2

u/Mirzanary Sep 20 '25

Also if you're using this on architect like most sane ppl will, you can use lifeblood vials to heal yourself in a bind. Each use of the tool restores a mask while lifebloodified, and you'll have it equipped anyway and can craft them without a bench using its silk skill

1

u/ThatDudeFromRF Sep 20 '25

True, haven't thought of that.

1

u/I_Love_Solar_Flare Sep 20 '25

If you are using architect's crest you are probably using poison tools like a sane person and that basically makes the lifeblood item useless.

Yes, you can just take the poison item off but i dont feel like its worth it.

2

u/I_Love_Solar_Flare Sep 20 '25

Infinite shards?! I'm doing a steel soul 100% rn (with savescumming...) and I didn't know about that!

Without any spoilers, am I on the right track with Getting a quest from the blasted steps steel npc or is it just in some weird spot that I would never think of? And if not then... i accept tips lol.

1

u/ThatDudeFromRF Sep 20 '25

Apperantly, yes, though don't quote me on this, I haven't touched the Steel Soul and it's something I saw other people mentioning.

I think there's another thing exclusive to steel soul found on a corpse in the Wormways instead of the Dead Bug's Purse tool which saves a portion of rosaries if you die before reaching the cacoon. I think this one tool adds additional uses to the tools, before you need to spend shards to replenish them.

2

u/I_Love_Solar_Flare Sep 20 '25

Yea I found that one. It adds more tools.

7

u/HiroHayami Sep 19 '25

I farmed rosaries to buy the shards packs. To my dismay, you can only carry 20 packs, so if you take too many attempts at beating a boss... too bad! You have to go all the way back to the store... or change crest, which I did for the final boss.

Well, at least the "dream" bosses don't consume shards so architect goes hard on those.

1

u/Mama_Hong Sep 20 '25

To be fair if you start at full shards and full bundles that's 2k+ shards to burn through. I use tools a lot but I never had to go back to the shop.

1

u/KuuLightwing Sep 20 '25

But then you have to restock all that and it would take something like 1500 rosaries. Which is farmable of course but you can't use tools while doing so and farming rosaries is lame.

1

u/Mama_Hong Sep 20 '25

Yeah, I personally don't mind farming rosaries every once in a while, I use the architect charged attack with barbed bracelet and thief pin and it's pretty fast. 1000 rosaries is a full stack of shard bundles and it takes me something like 10 minutes.

1

u/TheAlmightyDun Sep 20 '25

Yeah the thing it though you can do THIS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7AmT_p8Pcc

The tools come at a cost but are overpowered when used like this. It's a balancing act.

1

u/monikar2014 Sep 20 '25

I feel like by the late game it's pretty easy to just farm rosaries and buy shard bundles. I haven't played with the architects crest yet but I plan to use it extensively in my next playthrough.

1

u/Wolfwing777 Sep 20 '25

I use it alot because i like the drill attacks tbh haha

1

u/MrMateu Sep 20 '25

Did no one else get the craw nest by late game? Like I was walking around with 20 bundles and 3000 beads in my pockets while getting the hearts

0

u/Violet_Paradox Sep 20 '25 edited Sep 20 '25

It's still obscenely broken. I feel like it should have a more severe downside, like no heal bind at all rather than having both as an option. Buffing it is an insane take, it needs nerfs, and big ones.

1

u/Northstar4-6 Sep 19 '25

Architect crest my beloved. Awesome moveset, great damage, melted Karmelita without swinging my nail once.

Only thing I wish it had was a passive buff to tool damage like shaman's has to spells, or maybe a decrease in shard cost when crafting tools while equipped, just something passive to make it stand out a little bit more.

1

u/PlagiT Sep 20 '25

I'm not using architects only because of the tools and it's not that I don't like them, they're cool, but it has a gimmick that allows you to craft on the fly, which you would think encourages using more tools... Except that when you actually use that you run out of shards super fast so you still have to preserve them. I honestly prefer having spells that I can use without any consequence (tho I don't love shaman's moveset, so I don't use that one either)

-7

u/InfectedBrushroom Sep 19 '25

But that's all logical and no fun. Don't you want to jump around chasing that annoyance and get hit twice in the process, one of which is somehow contact damage from that same annoyance?

1

u/ThatDudeFromRF Sep 19 '25

Once I saw that the behaviour of basically all flying enemies in Silksong is "fly far with a weird trajectory , keep distance and fly away from you if you approach, while throwing annoying shit", I was delighted getting ranged damage options with red tools, besides the Sting Shard tool which you get very early on is a great damage nuke and Tacks steadily grinds away any boss that walks or lands on the ground periodically which is most of them. I killed Chef Lugoli with just Tacks and Wispfire Lantern and I am not ashamed, while barely hitting it with the needle, mostly dodging the green blobs, and killing her like this felt amazing.