Ever wondered where to find all those elusive crests in Hollow Knight Silksong? These powerful items, hidden within Pharloom’s ancient temples, are your key to customizing Hornet’s combat style. While you can’t build a moveset from scratch, crests provide distinct upgrade paths and tool slots, letting you fine-tune your approach for challenging bosses or simply to match your preferred playstyle.
Our journey through Pharloom has uncovered every hidden Hollow Knight Silksong crest. With this guide, you can unlock your ideal combat style sooner than you might expect! Keep in mind that some crests require progressing further into the game. We also have guides on defeating formidable bosses like the Silksong Widow or mastering essential abilities like the Silksong Dash, which might be helpful on your quest.
Every Hollow Knight Silksong Crest Uncovered
Ready to empower Hornet? Here’s a complete list of all the Silksong crests you can collect throughout Pharloom:
- Hunter crest
- Wanderer crest
- Reaper crest
- Beast crest
- Shaman crest
- Witch crest
- Architect crest
The Hunter Crest
The Hunter Crest is Hornet’s default combat style, available from the very beginning of your adventure. It offers a balanced array of quick, wide, and long-range attacks, making it the go-to choice for many players navigating Pharloom.
Hunter Crest Moveset:
- Standard strike: Hornet slashes forward quickly
- Upward strike: Hornet slashes in an arc above her
- Downward strike: Hornet diagonally dives down
- Dash strike: Hornet lunges forward
- Bind: Hornet channels, healing three masks
The Wanderer Crest
To acquire the Wanderer Crest, journey to the Chapel of the Wanderer, located within the Bonegrave area, west of Bone Bottom. You’ll need a simple key to navigate through the Wormways. Once past, descend further until you discover the chapel. Be prepared, as claiming this crest requires you to overcome several waves of enemies.
Alternatively, if you possess the Cling Grip ability, you can take a different route down the main funnel in Bone Bottom. Start at the Shellwood bench for a safe respawn point. Descend, hugging the left-hand wall, and just before entering Bone Bottom village, take a sharp left turn. This path loops you beneath the Wormways. Continue westward from there until you reach the Wanderer’s Chapel. While a video demonstration was originally provided for this route, following these steps should guide you to the location.
The Wanderer Crest offers a combat style reminiscent of the first Hollow Knight protagonist. It’s perfect if you find Hornet’s default moveset challenging to adapt to.
Wanderer Crest Moveset:
- Standard strike: Hornet does a short forward slash
- Upward strike: Hornet swipes upward
- Downward strike: Hornet does a quick down slash
- Dash strike: Hornet slashes in front of her without stopping
- Bind: Hornet channels, healing three masks
The Reaper Crest
The Reaper Crest is located within the Chapel of the Reaper. To reach it, journey to the Greymoor area, continuing west from Halfway Home until you discover the chapel.
This crest is designed for devastating, heavy-hitting attacks, complemented by a few swift strikes for crucial, reactive moments. If you favor patience and precision, waiting for the perfect opening, the Reaper Crest will allow you to unleash immense damage with every swing.
Reaper Crest Moveset:
- Standard strike: Hornet does a heavy forward slash
- Upward strike: Hornet does a quick upslash
- Downward strike: Hornet slashes in a downward arc
- Dash strike: Hornet does an uppercut slash
- Bind: Hornet channels, healing three masks and increasing silk regeneration from hitting foes for a short time
The Beast Crest
Prepare for a challenge: the Beast Crest is hidden in Hunter’s March, one of Pharloom’s most demanding regions.
To claim this crest from the Chapel of the Beast, you must first overcome the formidable Savage Beastfly, a challenging Silksong boss. Your reward for this difficult feat is an agile combat style, complete with a powerful mode switch perfect for exploiting enemy vulnerabilities.
Beast Crest Moveset:
- Standard strike: Hornet claws forward
- Upward strike: Hornet claws upward
- Downward strike: Hornet does a rolling slash
- Dash strike: Hornet jumps up before clawing downwards
- Bind: Hornet enters berserk state, increasing damage dealt and restoring masks from enemies hit
Choosing the Best Hollow Knight Silksong Crest
For many players, the Reaper Crest stands out as the best Hollow Knight Silksong crest. Its early accessibility is a major plus, and it grants Hornet a useful downward pogo attack, much like the original Hollow Knight. The larger hitbox minimizes enemy contact, and its passive ability for regenerating silk after Binding is incredibly powerful. While it might feel slower than other crests, its defensive advantages make it an excellent choice for cautious players, whether tackling bosses or exploring Pharloom.
However, as you progress into Silksong Act 3, consider swapping to the Architect Crest, especially for boss encounters. Red tools are exceptionally potent in Silksong, particularly when paired with the Pollip Pouch, and this crest provides three of them. This, combined with its formidable charge attack, arguably gives the Architect Crest the highest damage output potential in the entire game.
How to Equip Silksong Crests
Swapping or equipping your crests is straightforward: simply rest at any bench and access the inventory menu. The specific button varies by platform – it’s typically X on Nintendo Switch or Xbox controllers, and Square on PlayStation controllers.
Upgrading Silksong Crests
To upgrade your Hunter Crest, seek out an NPC named Eva in Weavenest Atla. This area is hidden behind a locked door in Moss Grotto, only becoming accessible after you rescue Bellhart by defeating the Widow boss. Once Bellhart is saved, you’ll acquire an item called Needolin. Use it outside the Moss Grotto’s locked door to enter Weavenest Atla, then navigate this challenging but compact area to find Eva.
Currently, information on upgrading other crests remains scarce, but it’s highly anticipated that more upgrade options will be discovered.
We’ll continue to update this guide with more details on Silksong crests as we uncover them. If, even after experimenting with these combat style adjustments, you find Hornet’s reaction-heavy combat isn’t quite your fit, perhaps explore some of the fantastic Metroidvania games on PC until you discover one that truly resonates with your playstyle.