The Tool Desk
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How Mask Shards upgrade Hornet’s health
Collect four Mask Shards to complete an Ancient Mask and increase Hornet’s permanent maximum health by one mask. Completing a mask also restores health. The 20-shard total therefore yields five upgrades. The route list below follows the act-sorted inventory in the Hollow Knight Wiki; Nintendo Life’s September 14, 2025 guide supplies additional route details.
Act 1 Mask Shards (6)
- Bone Bottom: Buy a shard from Pebb for 300 Rosaries.
- Wormways: Enter through Mosshome and look in the lower Wormways, behind a breakable wall near a Simple Key door.
- The Marrow–Deep Docks passage: Take the passage from The Marrow. Cling Grip is recommended. A locked combat room contains four enemy waves before the shard.
- Far Fields, above the Seamstress’s home: Requires Drifter’s Cloak. Glide to the upper area, solve the room puzzle, and use the hot coal to expose the shard.
- Shellwood: In the central area, find a breakable wall at the end of a platforming challenge. The route is in the tall room where Shakra and a Flea can be found.
- East Weavenest Atla: Requires Needolin. Break through the wall and follow the lava-platforming route, using downward slashes to pogo across obstacles.
Act 2 Mask Shards (10)
- Songclave: Buy a shard from Jubilana for 750 Rosaries after completing The Wandering Merchant Wish.
- West Cogwork Core: Defeat the Cogwork Dancers, then push past the enemy gauntlet.
- Central Whispering Vaults: Solve the moving-block puzzle. The shard is reached through a hidden-block route.
- Savage Beastfly Wish: Complete the Wish. Its listed requirements are defeating Fourth Chorus in Far Fields, defeating Savage Beastfly in Hunter’s March, and entering Songclave.
- Skull Cave, east Far Fields: Requires Clawline and Drifter’s Cloak.
- Southwest Mount Fay: Find it west of the bench. Requires Faydown Cloak.
- Northeast The Slab: Requires Key of Apostate and Faydown Cloak; Silk Soar can bypass the challenge. The route uses saw-blade platforming.
- East Bilewater: At the end of a hallway filled with Slubberlugs. Expect a hazardous water and fish passage.
- East Wisp Thicket: Requires Faydown Cloak. Proceed east through the fire-enemy area; Magma Bell is recommended for this route, but is not listed as a shard prerequisite.
- West Blasted Steps: Requires Clawline and Faydown Cloak. Silk Soar can bypass the challenge.
Act 3 Mask Shards (4)
- Brightvein, Mount Fay: Requires Silk Soar.
- Far Fields: Complete the Fastest in Pharloom Wish, a race across three courses.
- Dark Hearts Wish: Complete the Wish, which lists SEEK: Awaiting the End as a prerequisite. The route involves defeating 12 Void Masses.
- The Hidden Hunter Wish: Complete the Wish after meeting Skarrsinger Karmelita in Far Fields. The described task is to obtain the Grass Doll after defeating Gurr the Outcast and return it to Bellhart.
Where to look if you’re missing the last shard
First check your act progression: the standard checklist has six shards in Act 1, 10 in Act 2, and four that require Act 3. If you have finished Act 2, you can still be four short without having missed an earlier collectible. Then compare your map against the named locations above, especially the Wish rewards and merchants, which are easy to overlook if you are searching only for hidden rooms.
There is a discrepancy in the Hollow Knight Wiki inventory: alongside its 20-shard, 6+10+4 list, the page also shows Grindle selling a shard in Blasted Steps for 320 Rosaries in Act 3, requiring Faydown Cloak. That would suggest an extra collectible, but Nintendo Life’s independently reported guide and the wiki’s own main list support 20 total, with Act 3 consisting of Brightvein and the three Wishes. The Grindle entry should not be counted as a confirmed twenty-first shard.
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![Hollow Knight: Silksong Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51mOgOC8xEL._SL160_.jpg)
- Discover the fallen insect kingdom of Pharloom! Explore mossy grottos, gilded cities and misted moors as you ascend to the shining citadel at the top of the world.
- Engage in lethal acrobatic action! Wield a huge suite of deadly moves as you dance between foes in swift, beautiful combat.
- Craft powerful tools! Master an ever-expanding arsenal of weapons, traps, and mechanisms to vanquish your enemies and explore new heights.
- Solve shocking quests! Hunt down rare beasts and solve ancient mysteries to grant the wishes of the downtrodden and restore the kingdom’s hope.
- Face over 200 ferocious foes! Beasts and hunters, monsters and knights. Defeat them all with bravery and skill!
These totals and routes are from community and editorial guides rather than official Team Cherry documentation. If an update changes the collectible list, the game itself takes precedence.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
![Hollow Knight - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51nXCF+sf5L._SL160_.jpg)
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!
- Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favorites and make your journey unique!
- An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation.
Rank #3
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
- Tightly tuned 2D controls. Dodge, dash and slash your way through even the most deadly adversaries.
- Explore a vast interconnected world of forgotten highways, overgrown wilds and ruined cities.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!.Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favourites and make your journey unique!.An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation..
Rank #2
- Hollow Knight: Silksong is the epic sequel to Hollow Knight, the award winning action-adventure.
- Journey to all-new lands, discover new powers, battle vast hordes of bugs and beasts and uncover secrets tied to your nature and your past.
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