Team Cherry kept players waiting years for this sequel, and now that it is here, Pharloom does not do hand-holding. This Silksong beginner guide covers the ten things that matter most in your first hours: how healing works, what to buy first, how Tools and Crests fit together, and the habits that keep Hornet alive when the game stops pulling punches. Silksong launched on September 4, 2025 for PC, Mac, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, with day-one Xbox Game Pass access. You do not need to finish the original Hollow Knight first, though it adds lore context. What you do need is patience, because this is one of the most demanding games of the year, and the opening hours are the steepest part of the climb.
1. Bind: the healing system every Silksong beginner guide starts with
Hornet does not heal like the Knight did. Instead of focusing soul to restore one mask at a time, Hornet uses Bind: build up your Silk meter by attacking enemies, then spend the full meter to heal up to three masks at once. Two details catch new players out. First, Bind always consumes your entire Silk meter, even if you only need one mask back, so do not heal the moment you take a scratch. Second, if an enemy interrupts the Bind animation, you lose all the Silk and heal nothing. The trick the game never spells out is that you can Bind in mid-air, which is often safer than healing on the ground with enemies closing in. Build Silk aggressively, spend it deliberately, and never Bind in the middle of a crowd.
2. Buy the map kit first
Silksong does not hand you a working map. You buy it piece by piece from Shakra, the cartographer you meet early on, and the three pieces cost 210 Rosaries in total: the area Map for 90, the Quill for 50, and the Compass for 70. The Quill auto-updates your map as you explore, and the Compass shows your position on it. Without them you are wandering blind through a kingdom built like a maze. Make these your first purchases before any weapon or Tool upgrade. Mark spots you cannot reach yet with map markers and come back later with new abilities.
3. Tools replace Charms, and benches control them
Veterans of the original game should forget Charms. Silksong uses Tools, and they come in three colors: red Tools for offense, blue Tools for defense, and yellow Tools for utility. You slot them into Crests, which are effectively loadouts, and you can only change your equipped Tools at a bench. That last rule shapes every run: your loadout is locked in until you find a bench, so think before you leave one. The Crafting Kit, which costs 140 Rosaries, unlocks the crafting system and is worth buying early so you can replenish Tools between fights.
4. Know your two currencies
Silksong runs on two currencies that do very different jobs. Rosaries are the red beads you spend on maps, Tools, and upgrades. Shell Shards are crafting materials you spend on making and restocking Tools. The split matters because the game is generous with one and tight with the other, and beginners routinely burn Rosaries on the wrong things. Farm Rosaries in Mosshome, the early area where weak enemies drop them steadily, whenever a big purchase is in sight. Save Shell Shards for the Tools you actually use rather than crafting everything once to try it.
5. Pogo diagonally, not straight down
Hornet's downward strike hits at a 45-degree angle, not straight down like the Knight's pogo. Hold down and attack while jumping to bounce off enemies and hazards at an angle, and use the momentum to cross gaps or reposition mid-fight. Spend fifteen minutes in the opening area just moving around: jump between platforms, attack from different angles, and get a feel for Hornet's momentum before you push deeper. The game rewards movement skill more than raw damage, and the pogo is the single most important technique to drill early. If you try to play Hornet like the Knight, with slow, flat positioning, Pharloom will punish you for it.
6. Stay aggressive in boss fights
Silksong's bosses reward aggression. Hanging back and waiting for perfect openings gives bosses time to fill the screen with attacks, while pressing the attack builds Silk, which feeds your healing. Learn an enemy's pattern first, then commit: dodge through the attack, land two or three hits, and back out. Bosses have clear tells before their big moves, and the fight is usually about recognizing the tell rather than reacting to the hit. If a boss is beating you down, leave and explore somewhere else. New abilities and Tools turn brick walls into manageable fights, and there is no shame in coming back stronger.
7. Check every wall and ceiling
Pharloom hides rooms behind breakable walls, false ceilings, and floors that look solid until you strike them. Treat every dead end as suspicious, and tap your needle against walls in rooms that feel too small for the map. The kingdom is packed with shortcuts, hidden Rosary caches, and secret areas that only open to curious players. This habit also pays off with the map: a room you cannot enter yet is a reason to place a marker and return once you have the right ability, rather than a reason to move on forever.
8. Talk to everyone, then follow their hints
The NPCs scattered through Pharloom are your strategy guide. Shopkeepers hint at what to buy next, wanderers point toward areas worth exploring, and quest givers mark objectives that lead to the best rewards in the early game. Silksong never puts a quest marker over your head, so these conversations are the closest thing to a to-do list the game offers. If an NPC mentions a place, go there. If they warn you about something, believe them.
9. Expect to die, and plan for it
Silksong is hard, and the first boss that walls you for an hour is a rite of passage, not a sign you are playing wrong. Dying costs you Rosaries, which drop where you fell, so the real cost of a death is the trip back to recover them. Before a boss attempt, spend your Rosaries or accept the risk. Keep your route back to a boss short by unlocking the nearest bench and learning the fastest path. The game is built around this loop: explore, die, learn the pattern, and come back with a better plan. Players who treat each death as information instead of failure get through Pharloom far faster than players who tilt and rush back in.
10. Explore sideways before pushing up
The road to the citadel runs upward, but the best early upgrades sit off the main path. Side areas hold new Tools, Crests, and the Mask Shards that extend your health, and the game is generous to players who wander. When you hit a wall, the answer is almost never to grind the same fight fifty times. It is to explore somewhere new, find an upgrade, and return. More than 150 new foes stand between Hornet and the citadel, and every one of them teaches you something about how Pharloom wants to be played. Read our Well Dweller review for another modern metroidvania worth your time, and our Castlevania: Belmont's Curse review if you want a classic-style hunt after Pharloom. For the game itself, the Steam store page has the full platform list and system requirements.
