How to Upgrade Needle in Hollow Knight Silksong: The Smart Player’s Guide

You’ve conquered the original Hollow Knight, mastered every nail upgrade, and now you’re ready to optimize Hornet’s journey. Good news – Silksong’s needle upgrade system ditches the tedious currency grind for something way more strategic.

Here’s your blueprint for maximizing needle damage without wasting time on detours.

The New System: What Actually Changed

Unlike the nail upgrades you remember, Silksong’s approach is refreshingly straightforward. No more hoarding Geo for overpriced smithing – Team Cherry streamlined the whole experience.

The needle integrates directly with the crest system, meaning each upgrade amplifies not just your basic attacks but every needle-based ability in your arsenal. Think Silkspear with actual bite.

First Upgrade: Your Free Power Spike

This one’s a no-brainer. Once you’ve taken down Moorwing in Greymoor and reached Bellhart, you’re golden. The process couldn’t be simpler:

1. Complete “The Threadspun Town” quest by defeating the Widow boss
2. Find Pinmaster Plinney in Bellhart’s upper area (look for the building with three white pins)
3. Request the free sharpening – zero materials, zero currency

The damage boost is immediately noticeable. Enemies that took 4-5 hits suddenly drop in 2-3. It’s the kind of power spike that makes backtracking through earlier areas feel like a victory lap.

Pale Oil Locations: The Real Challenge

Here’s where things get interesting. The second upgrade tier requires Pale Oil, and there are three locations worth your attention.

Whispering Vaults Route

Access this through the Cogwork Core after defeating the Cogwork Dancers. The platforming here isn’t for casual players – you’ll need precise buzz saw pogo mechanics and spatial reasoning for the block puzzles.

Pro tip: Master the movement patterns before attempting the puzzle sections. The time investment pays off when you’re not repeating challenging sequences.

Choral Chambers Method

This route ties into “The Great Taste of Pharloom” wish from Loyal Mergwin. The catch? It’s a time-sensitive delivery mission across multiple areas, and you’ll need rare food items scattered throughout Pharloom.

Only tackle this in Act 3 when you’ve got the traversal abilities to handle the pressure.

Putrified Ducts Strategy

The third location connects to the Flea Festival minigames. You’ll need to complete “Lost Fleas” and “Ecstasy of the End” wishes, then dominate all three festival games. The piñata breaking finale seals the deal.

Optimization Timeline: When to Upgrade

Phase	Action	Priority	Benefit
Early Game	Free Sharpened Needle	Immediate	40% damage boost
Mid Game	First Pale Oil (Vaults)	High	Boss fight efficiency
Late Game	Festival Route	Medium	Complete optimization

The smart play? Grab that free upgrade the moment you reach Bellhart. Everything else becomes more manageable with that damage foundation in place.

Combat Integration: Beyond Basic Attacks

Here’s what separates good players from great ones – understanding how needle upgrades scale with your entire kit. Each upgrade affects:

• All needle-based abilities (not just swings)
• Crest combinations for additional combat bonuses
• Resource farming efficiency for late-game materials

The damage scaling is flat and permanent, meaning you’re not dealing with complicated percentage calculations. Higher damage equals faster kills, period.

Resource Management: The Shell Shard Conflict

Smart players know that Shell Shards compete between tool crafting and upgrade priorities. The needle upgrades don’t cost Shards directly, but the quests leading to Pale Oil often do.

Budget your resources early. That fancy tool might look tempting, but permanent damage beats temporary convenience every time.

Advanced Strategies: Making Every Hit Count

Once you’ve got your upgrades locked in, the real optimization begins. Enemy scaling in Silksong doesn’t match your damage growth, meaning upgraded players can handle late-game encounters with significantly fewer hits per phase.

This opens up aggressive strategies that weren’t viable with base damage. Boss patterns that felt impossible suddenly become manageable when you’re dealing 60% more damage per exchange.

The Bottom Line

How to upgrade needle in Hollow Knight Silksong comes down to smart sequencing and mechanical execution. Grab the free upgrade immediately, plan your Pale Oil routes around your playstyle, and watch as Pharloom’s toughest encounters become significantly more manageable.

The upgrade system rewards exploration and skill over grinding – exactly what veteran players have been asking for. Now get out there and make Hornet’s needle sing.

Also Read: Hollow Knight Silksong Gameplay Guides: Everything You Need to Know