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Free Bellhart, then visit Pinmaster Plinney for Hornet’s first, free Needle upgrade. To upgrade it further, accept his Pinmaster’s Oil Wish before turning in Pale Oil. You can find Pale Oil through the Whispering Vaults, the Great Taste of Pharloom Wish, and the Act 3 Ecstasy of the End flea festival.
How to get the first Needle upgrade
- Travel through Shellwood and defeat Widow to free Bellhart.
- Go to Plinney’s workshop on the upper-right side of town and speak to him. He gives Hornet the first upgrade, Sharpened Needle, for free.
- Speak to Plinney again and accept the Pinmaster’s Oil Wish before handing him any Pale Oil. The Wish can be missed if you turn in Pale Oil before accepting it.
Where to find all three Pale Oils
Each Pale Oil enables one later Needle upgrade. The first two sources are available in Act 2; the flea festival reward is an Act 3 objective.
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| Source | What to do | Progression |
|---|---|---|
| Whispering Vaults | Reach the Whispering Vaults through Cogwork Core. In the large descending chamber, take the left route into the puzzle room, solve the movable-block puzzle, then follow the adjoining route through the Choral Chambers to the Pale Oil. | Citadel route; platforming and a block puzzle. |
| Great Taste of Pharloom | Complete Loyal Mergwin’s Wish by collecting five ingredients. Mergwin rewards you with Pale Oil. | Act 2 Wish and ingredient collection. |
| Ecstasy of the End | In Act 3, find the flea caravan in the Putrified Ducts after rescuing the fleas. Beat the high scores in the Festival of the Flea minigames to earn Pale Oil. | Act 3 flea-rescue progress and minigames. Plinney must also be rescued in Shellwood in Act 3 to perform further upgrades. |
Return to Plinney for each upgrade
Bring each Pale Oil to Plinney in Bellhart. The upgrade sequence and damage values listed by the community-maintained Hollow Knight Wiki are:
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| Needle stage | Damage listed by the wiki | Requirement | Rosary cost listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharpened Needle | 9 | First upgrade; free | Free |
| Shining Needle | 13 | Pale Oil | Not stated |
| Hivesteel Needle | 17 | Pale Oil | 450 Rosaries listed by the Hollow Knight Wiki |
| Pale Steel Needle | 21 | Pale Oil | 680 Rosaries listed by the Hollow Knight Wiki |
The cost reporting is inconsistent. PC Gamer describes the third upgrade as around 500 Rosaries and later costs as roughly 500; Nintendo Life lists 500 for the third upgrade and 900 for the fourth. The Hollow Knight Wiki lists 450 and 680 for the third and fourth upgrades. These sources do not establish whether the differences come from a patch, guide error, or another condition, so check the current in-game price with Plinney rather than relying on an exact total.
#1 Best Overall
![Hollow Knight: Silksong Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51mOgOC8xEL._SL160_.jpg)
Hollow Knight: Silksong Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]
- 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!
Which Pale Oil route should you do first?
- Want a Citadel exploration route? Follow the Whispering Vaults path through Cogwork Core; it involves a platforming route and block puzzle.
- Already working on Wish ingredients? Complete Great Taste of Pharloom by gathering its five ingredients.
- In Act 3 and rescuing fleas? Continue to the flea caravan in the Putrified Ducts and take on the festival minigames. This reward comes later than the other two sources.
Plinney’s in-game reaction to receiving the Citadel Pale Oil is: “Welly, ho! That oil! You have it! That rare substance, hoarded close by the Citadel. Few are the pinmasters of our age that ever chanced to work its wonders.” The line is transcribed on the community-maintained Hollow Knight Wiki.
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- The Infect Edition includes the full game, an exclusive sleeve and 3 character cards
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Sources
- PC Gamer’s Needle upgrade walkthrough, last updated October 1, 2025.
- Nintendo Life’s Needle upgrade guide, dated September 13, 2025.
- Hollow Knight Wiki: Needle, a community-maintained reference.
- Hollow Knight Wiki: Pinmaster’s Oil, a community-maintained Wish reference.
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