How to Upgrade Your Needle in Hollow Knight: Silksong – The Ultimate Weapon Enhancement Guide

At Gaming News, we understand the burning desire to optimize your combat capabilities in the treacherous world of Hollow Knight: Silksong. A crucial element of this optimization lies in the upgrading of Hornet’s Needle, the primary instrument of your devastating attacks. This guide will meticulously detail the precise steps required to unlock the Needle upgrade, ensuring you are equipped with the most potent offensive capabilities available at this stage of your perilous journey. Prepare yourself, for the path to a sharper Needle is fraught with challenges, demanding skill, perseverance, and an astute understanding of the environment and its formidable guardians.

The Prerequisite: Progressing Through Greymoor and Encountering Moorwing

Before we delve into the specific location and acquisition of the Needle upgrade, it is imperative to establish the necessary prerequisites. The journey towards a more formidable Needle is not an early-game endeavor; it requires significant progression through the game’s narrative and overcoming challenging boss encounters. The key milestone you must achieve is the defeat of Moorwing, a formidable boss encountered within the desolate expanse of Greymoor.

Greymoor itself is a perilous region, and Moorwing stands as a significant gatekeeper within its confines. This boss is situated as the fifth major boss in your progression, following the demanding confrontation with Fourth Chorus. If your current adventure has not yet led you to this pivotal victory, then you are not yet ready to pursue the Needle upgrade. Rest assured, the challenges you face prior to this point are designed to hone your skills, preparing you for the trials that lie ahead. Focus on mastering the mechanics of combat, understanding Hornet’s movement, and learning the attack patterns of the enemies you encounter. Upon achieving victory over Moorwing, a new path will open, leading you towards the haunted city of Bellhart.

Navigating to Bellhart: The Haunted City

Following your hard-won triumph over Moorwing in Greymoor, you will find yourself at the precipice of a new and unsettling locale: Bellhart. This haunted city serves as the immediate gateway to the Needle upgrade. However, its spectral nature and the lingering presence of hostile forces make it a challenging environment to traverse. Bellhart is not a straightforward destination; it is intricately linked to other areas, and your entry point will likely be from the west, following the path from Greymoor.

As you enter Bellhart, you will immediately perceive its somber and dilapidated atmosphere. The whispers of the past and the remnants of a once-thriving settlement now stand as testaments to its haunted state. While the city itself holds the key to your objective, the immediate task is not to find the Needle upgrade but to first purify the city by overcoming its guardian. This purification is essential for restoring Bellhart to a state where its inhabitants, including the crucial NPC you seek, can operate freely.

The Gauntlet of Shellwood: Unlocking the Cling Grip Ability

The direct path to purifying Bellhart and proceeding with the Needle upgrade requires venturing into an adjacent, yet critical, area: Shellwood. To access Shellwood, you must proceed all the way to the left from your initial entry point into Haunted Bellhart. This westward trajectory will lead you into the verdant, yet treacherous, expanse of Shellwood.

Shellwood is characterized by its intricate verticality and its sprawling layout, extending both westward and upwards. Navigating this region demands exceptional platforming prowess. You will be required to engage in a series of precise jumps, utilizing Hornet’s agility to ascend and traverse the environment. Your primary objective within Shellwood is not merely exploration, but the defeat of a specific boss: Sister Splinter.

Sister Splinter is a formidable adversary, and her defeat is of paramount importance as it grants you a vital traversal ability: the Wall Jump, also known colloquially as Cling Grip. This ability is absolutely indispensable for progressing through the upper echelons of Bellhart and reaching your ultimate goal. Without the Cling Grip, the ascent required to find Pinmaster Plinney will be insurmountable. Once you have vanquished Sister Splinter and acquired the Cling Grip, your next step is to retrace your path, but with a specific destination in mind. Head all the way to the upper right of Shellwood. This exit will lead you back into the upper section of Bellhart, the area you are truly aiming for.

Before you proceed into this newly accessible part of Bellhart, it is highly advisable to locate and utilize a bench. Benches in Hollow Knight: Silksong serve as crucial save points and respite areas. Finding one near the entrance to upper Bellhart will provide you with a safe haven should your subsequent endeavors prove challenging.

Descending into Upper Bellhart: A Perilous Passage

Upon entering the upper reaches of Bellhart, you will notice a distinct shift in the environment and the presence of new, dangerous obstacles. The path forward requires you to head down carefully and east. The word “carefully” is not used lightly here. The upper sections of Bellhart are populated with a unique and hazardous type of enemy: small, mobile bugs adorned with large, resonant bells on their heads.

These “bell bugs” pose a significant threat. If Hornet makes contact with them, she will sustain damage. Their movement patterns can be unpredictable, and their bells emit a jarring sound that can disorient players. Navigating through these hazards demands precise timing and skillful application of your newfound Cling Grip ability. You will need to use your wall-jumping capabilities to weave between these bell bugs, employing dashes to maintain momentum and avoid contact. The journey eastward and downward is a testament to your growing mastery of Hornet’s movement set.

Confronting the Widow: A Boss of Silk and Shadows

As you continue your careful descent and eastward progress through upper Bellhart, you will eventually hear a distinct sound: the groaning of a creature beneath you. This is the unmistakable cue that you are approaching another significant boss encounter. This formidable foe is known as Widow.

The fight against Widow is a test of your observational skills and your ability to react swiftly to environmental cues. The key to survival and victory in this battle lies in paying absolute attention to where Widow’s silk strings are pointing at all times. These silken strands are not merely aesthetic; they serve as explicit indicators of incoming attacks. Widow will utilize her silk to ensnare you, launch projectiles, or manipulate the environment. By constantly tracking the direction of these strings, you can anticipate her assaults and position yourself to evade them.

We understand that visualizing a boss fight can be challenging through text alone. For a more in-depth understanding of Widow’s attack patterns and strategies to overcome her, we highly recommend consulting the provided video demonstration. This visual aid offers invaluable insights into the nuances of the encounter, allowing you to prepare more effectively for this critical fight.

The Ephemeral Platforms: A Test of Agility and Speed

Upon achieving victory over Widow, the path forward will not immediately present itself in the form of a traditional exit. Instead, you will be presented with a short cutscene that transitions into a unique jumping puzzle. This puzzle is designed to further test your mastery of Hornet’s movement, particularly her Cling Grip ability.

The core mechanic of this puzzle revolves around ephemeral platforms. These platforms are designed to disappear shortly after you step on them. To succeed, you must move with alarming speed and precision. Each platform will vanish approximately two seconds after you make contact with it, and will take a few additional seconds to reappear. This creates a dynamic and challenging environment where hesitation can lead to a fatal fall.

Your strategy here should be to utilize your Cling Grip extensively. Wall jump from one disappearing platform to the next, using dashes without immediately jumping to clear the gaps between adjacent walls. The goal is to maintain a continuous flow of movement, always anticipating the next platform’s appearance and ensuring you are positioned to leap to it before it vanishes. The swift and fluid execution of this puzzle is paramount. Upon successfully reaching the end of this challenging sequence, you will find yourself transported back to Bellhart, a Bellhart that has been liberated from its haunted state.

Locating Pinmaster Plinney: The Architect of Your Upgrade

With Bellhart now purified and its spectral inhabitants subdued, the time has finally come to locate Pinmaster Plinney, the craftsman responsible for upgrading your Needle. Pinmaster Plinney’s shop is situated in the top right corner of the city. To reach him, you will need to navigate back through Bellhart, this time with a clearer objective and a less oppressive atmosphere.

Begin by heading all the way to the left of Bellhart, ensuring you remain within the city’s confines. You will then need to ascend using the metal platforms that are strategically placed throughout the area. As you move rightward, you will pass a notable shop. This first shop you encounter belongs to Relic Seeker Scrounge. While this NPC and their services are important at other junctures, you should ignore it for now. Your focus remains solely on finding Pinmaster Plinney.

Continue by jumping to the platforms situated to the right of Relic Seeker Scrounge’s establishment. It is here that you will spot a distinctive building adorned with a bell house design and a prominent sign featuring painted needles. This is the unmistakable location of Pinmaster Plinney’s hut.

The Needle Upgrade: A Free and Transformative Enhancement

Upon locating Pinmaster Plinney’s hut, enter and engage in conversation with him. He is the gatekeeper to your desired weapon enhancement. After a brief, yet visually impressive, cutscene, Pinmaster Plinney will upgrade your Needle for free. This is a crucial point: no in-game currency or resources are required for this particular upgrade, emphasizing its importance in your progression.

Once the upgrade is complete and the cutscene concludes, you will notice a textual confirmation at the bottom left of your screen. This message, typically reading “Needle Sharpened” or a similar declaration, signifies that your weapon has been successfully enhanced.

The Impact of the Enhanced Needle: Unleashing Greater Power

With your Needle now sharpened, Hornet’s offensive capabilities are significantly amplified. This upgrade is not merely a cosmetic change; it directly translates to more effective combat. Enemies that previously required a substantial number of hits to defeat will now fall more swiftly. This reduction in combat duration can be the difference between victory and defeat, especially when facing overwhelming odds or challenging boss encounters.

The enhanced Needle allows for a more efficient and fluid combat experience. You can output more damage in a shorter period, opening up opportunities for more strategic engagements and reducing the amount of time you are exposed to enemy attacks. This early-game weapon enhancement provides a substantial boost to your overall combat effectiveness, making future challenges more manageable and enjoyable.

At Gaming News, we are dedicated to providing our readers with the most comprehensive and up-to-date information to enhance their gaming experiences. By following these detailed steps, you will undoubtedly achieve the Needle upgrade and empower Hornet to face the trials of Silksong with renewed vigor and devastating effectiveness. Continue to explore, adapt, and conquer, and may your Needle strike true.