The Tool Desk
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What to know before choosing a Silk Skill
Hollow Knight: Silksong has six Silk Skills. You can equip only one at a time, and changing your choice requires resting at a Bench, according to Nintendo Life’s guide. That makes versatility useful: a skill that works across different rooms may be a more practical default than one that depends on a narrow opportunity.
Silk is also used for Bind, Hornet’s healing move. The Hollow Knight Wiki lists the normal cost of a Silk Skill as four Silk, while Bind costs nine by default. Striking enemies with the Needle is the main way to replenish Silk, according to the wiki’s combat reference. Spending Silk on an attack therefore means weighing its potential against the resource you may need to recover health.
The wiki notes two relevant cost and damage modifiers: an Egg of Flealia reduces a skill’s cost to three Silk when Hornet is at full health, and Needle upgrades increase skill damage. It also says Volt Filament and the Shaman Crest can further increase damage. These mechanics don’t make any one skill the best for every encounter; range, enemy placement and the chance to activate the move safely still matter. See the Hollow Knight Wiki’s Silk Skills reference for its descriptions and mechanics.
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#1 Best Overall
![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!
Every Silk Skill ranked
6. Rune Rage — powerful when you can charge safely
Rune Rage is a charged area attack that sends out exploding light balls. Its broad coverage gives it a useful role when several enemies are in range, but charging creates a window in which Hornet needs enough safety to complete the move. Nintendo Life describes it as powerful “if you can get it off,” a succinct account of its central trade-off.
That setup burden makes Rune Rage the least dependable pick for routine use in this ranking, not a weak attack in every situation. It becomes more attractive when you have a safe opening and clustered targets. You obtain it after defeating the First Sinner in The Slab, so it is not an early-game option.
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.
5. Cross Stitch — a counter that asks for precise timing
Cross Stitch wraps Silk around Hornet’s Needle. Used at the right moment, it deflects an incoming attack and counters. That defensive payoff can be valuable against attacks you can read, but it depends on timing: activating it does not provide automatic protection or dependable ranged damage.
It ranks below the more flexible attacks because its value depends on the enemy’s move and your ability to respond. Cross Stitch is earned by defeating the Phantom in the Mist.
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..
4. Thread Storm — the answer to nearby crowds
Thread Storm whips Silk around Hornet to hit nearby enemies. When opponents surround her or gather close together, that coverage is a clear advantage. Its short radius is the drawback: it offers little flexibility when targets are farther away.
The Hollow Knight Wiki’s damage table describes multiple hits, but that alone does not establish how much damage the move will deal in every encounter; enemy position and whether the attack connects affect its practical value. Thread Storm is found in Greymoor.
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.
3. Pale Nail — flexible homing, but a late unlock
Pale Nail summons three nails that track nearby foes. Their homing behavior makes it easier to threaten multiple targets without lining Hornet up for a straight shot, which gives the skill useful targeting flexibility.
Its placement is held back by timing in the game’s progression. Nintendo Life puts the skill in Act 3 and says reaching it requires Silk Soar. It is therefore a late-game choice, not an option available through most of a first playthrough.
2. Silkspear — dependable reach with a straight-line limit
Silkspear throws Hornet’s Needle forward to pierce foes in a line. Its range lets you attack without closing in, and the straightforward attack makes it a dependable option once it is available. The Hollow Knight Wiki reproduces its in-game description as: “Attack by throwing the needle forward. Silk will be expended.”
The line of attack is also its main limitation: a target outside that lane is harder to hit. Silkspear is mandatory progression in Mosshome, making it an early skill rather than a late-game specialist.
1. Sharpdart — the strongest all-purpose pick here
Sharpdart sends Hornet dashing through enemies in a blur. Nintendo Life’s guide says the move deals damage and passes through attacks, giving it a valuable mix of offense, repositioning and defensive traversal. Those combined uses make it the most broadly helpful skill in this ranking.
It is not risk-free: Sharpdart still spends Silk and commits Hornet to a directional dash, so the direction and timing matter. It is found at Weavenest Kahn in the Wormways. The Hollow Knight Wiki reproduces its in-game description as: “Pierce through enemies in a blur of blade and Silk.”
Pick by the problem you need to solve
The ranking is a general-purpose comparison, not a rule that one move should stay equipped in every fight. Use the enemy layout and the opening you have to choose between them:
Quick Recap
- Need reach against a target in front of you? Choose Silkspear if you can align Hornet with the enemy.
- Surrounded or facing clustered nearby foes? Thread Storm is built for close-range coverage.
- Can read an incoming attack? Cross Stitch may reward a well-timed counter.
- Want to dash through an enemy or an attack? Sharpdart offers that combination, provided you can commit to a safe direction.
- Several nearby targets, without a straight-line aim? Pale Nail’s homing nails can help, if you have reached its Act 3 unlock.
- Have a safe opening to charge an area attack? Rune Rage can suit that moment better than it does a hurried exchange.
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