The discourse surrounding Hollow Knight: Silksong has shifted from being delighted that the game is out to frustration over how incredibly difficult it is. Whether or not it’s “too difficult” or more challenging than its predecessor is a story for another day, but what is true is that it is a tough game. It’s meant to be; Team Cherry did not design Silksong to be a walk in the park. Regardless, that has been troublesome so far for players, but the developers did include a few genuine methods to make this game a little easier for players who’ve struggled to make progress.
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1. You Can Skip Some Bosses
The bosses in Silksong are no joke. Running into one without realizing it is a surefire way to die, and then you have to repeat the process a lot before finally getting the best of the creature. There are also a lot of bosses, which makes for a challenging time all around. Fortunately, there are ways to avoid some of the bosses. They’re not all mandatory, and they mostly don’t yield incredible rewards anyway.
The best example is Moorwing, a particularly difficult boss in Greymoore. There’s also a “cheese” method, but if you want to skip it altogether, you can just complete the Lost Fleas quest instead. That’s not easy, but it’s definitely easier than fighting this bird, and whenever it’s possible, it might be wise to avoid bosses or find the simplest way to attack.
2. Farm Rosary Beads with Benches
The economy of Silksong only adds to the level of difficulty. Everything costs rosary beads, including some benches. You have to spend beads on every item, every map upgrade, some benches, and some fast-travel portals. It adds up really quickly, especially without getting beads from half the enemies or any of the bosses.
That has led to the necessity of bead farming, which can be incredibly repetitive and boring. Fortunately, there’s a very easy one right near the beginning of the game. Between Bone Bottom and Mosshome, there is a bench. To the left of that bench one screen are two enemies that drop beads. Simply kill them, collect the beads, head back a screen, sit down, and repeat. It gives Hornet 10 beads in about 30 seconds. It might not be the fastest method, but it is easy, accessible, and most importantly, safe.
3. Change the Pogo Attack if You Are Struggling
One of the biggest mechanical changes in Hollow Knight: Silksong, as it relates to its predecessor, is the downward strike. In the original, the Knight’s downward strike was straight down, while Hornet’s is angled. This can be advantageous in some fights, but it’s a trickier one to master, and it’s really important for some platforming sections of the game.
Fortunately, you can change it with the Wanderer’s Crest. With a Simple Key in hand (as well as the sprint ability), head over to Wormways, which is to the west of Mosshome. There, you can unlock a door and get the crest that will allow a downward pogo instead of diagonal.
4. Heal in Mid-Air
The double damage that almost every single enemy deals to Hornet is troublesome, to say the least. The healing mechanic, while imperfect, has also been tweaked from Hollow Knight to potentially offset that issue. Whether or not it does that effectively is a debate for another day, but the healing in Silksong does have a helpful feature.
You can heal anywhere, and that includes in mid-air, which is often the best place to do it. Perhaps this is most useful against a boss like Fourth Chorus, where a swipe across the bottom of the screen can be perfectly avoided by jumping and healing. Hornet will be in suspended animation above the attack. If an enemy is attacking low, heal up high.
5. Upgrade Tools by Buying Crafting Kits
The tools in Silksong are supposed to be helpful ways of varying your attacks and dealing more damage. They do come at a cost, but they’re not supposed to be entirely ignored in favor of the basic slash. Unfortunately, some of them aren’t that powerful at first, and they’re not worth the silk it costs to use them.
They can be upgraded, though. If you come across a Crafting Kit, whether by purchase from a Forge Daughter or another method, this is extremely valuable. They can be used to make “fine, sharper, and deadlier tools,” according to the in-game description. This is an excellent chance to upgrade those abilities to keep up with the difficulty in Silksong.
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