Steel Soul Full Guide & Walkthrough

So you’ve just finished up Hollow Knight: Silksong, after relentlessly bashing your head against some of the trickiest bosses in Metroidvania history. But, after all that toil, it was all so worth it upon seeing those credits roll.

But what is this? A new mode? Could it be? Steel Soul. If you played the original Hollow Knight, you’ll be very aware of what this mode is and what it represents. This is truly the ultimate challenge that Silksong has to offer, for those made only of pure tempered steel.

One Life. No more, no less.

While this really wasn’t too difficult in the original Hollow Knight, Silksong is a whole different matter. Of course, you’re here for a reason. So let’s get down to it. No more stalling. If I can do it, then you can too.

Advice To Live By

Before you even begin your Steel Soul run, there are a few things you’re going to want to have as soon as possible.

Firstly, masks. Surprise, surprise, health is super important, especially when so many things deal multiple masks of damage. You want to collect as many mask shards as quickly as you can. That extra mask will often be the difference between life and spending another 5 hours getting back to where you were.

In terms of tools, there are only 2 which I would call absolutely essential:

The rest of the tools are up to your own choice. However, I would advise tools that allow you to live for longer, rather than things that emphasise aggressiveness. Great tools include: Multibinder, Longclaw, Warding Bell, Ascendant’s Grip, Magnetite Dice, Flintslate & Cogfly.

In terms of Crests, I used to be a massive fan of the Wanderer’s Crest, until I realised it made me far too aggressive and foolish. Now I only recommend Hunter’s Crest, upgraded by Eva. Yes, fights take longer, but you learn to play more tactically, avoiding damage instead of spamming your attacks. It makes you a better player over the long term.

Starting Out

At this point, you will have completed Silksong at least once, so you will have encountered most of everything this game has to offer. You should know the basic route through the game, so I won’t go into excruciating detail here.

You’re extremely frail at the beginning of the game, but also, getting to Widow shouldn’t take you more than 2–3 hours tops. So if you die here, it’s really not a big deal getting back to where you once were. As soon as you beat Widow, you should really start taking this mode more seriously.

Begin the game as normal, heading out from Moss Grotto, through the Marrow, collecting Silkspear and taking on the Bellbeast. We want to get all of our movement abilities as soon as possible.

From here, head on to the Deep Docks and pick up your Swift Step and take down Lace. These fights are really easy once you’ve done them before, and shouldn’t cause you much trouble. I would also recommend grabbing the Magma bell while you’re here.

Head on through to Far Fields and pick up the Warding Bell from the bottom of the main vertical chamber. If you want to pick up the Craftmetal nearby, by all means, go for it, but it’s a dangerous spot. Continue and complete the Flexile Spines Wish. At the top of this area, you can grab your first Mask Shard with the Drifter’s Cloak.

At this point in the run, you have two choices: Continue as normal through Greymoor, or hunt down the 5 Fleas if you don’t feel confident beating Moorwing. The 5 fleas are located on the map below:

Continue through Bellhart and to Shellwood. Here, you can grab another Mask Piece and skip Sister Splinter with a Taunt Skip. This involves taunting a flying flower enemy and pogoing off of it to skip the fight. This isn’t essential, but it’s so easy to do, you might as well. Now, you can grab Cling Grip, and the world opens up.

At this point, you should grab 2 more Mask Shards before Widow. One from just below the Simple Key Door in Wormways, and the other from Pebb in Bone Bottom. Now you’ll have 6 masks, which is more than enough for Widow.

The Trek To The Top

OK, now you have the Needolin. Congratulations. This is where the run really begins.

First off, head back to Bone Bottom and down to Weavenest Atla, through the Needolin door. You can upgrade your Hunter Crest with Eva, which gives you a massive 20% DPS increase.

It might not sound like a lot, but when you learn to dodge more effectively, you’ll basically have this buff on all the time. The extra power is ridiculously good, especially when paired with the Flintslate. Make sure you grab the Spool Fragment and Mask Shard while you’re here.

At this point, you have the power to get through the Hunter’s March. Head back to the Marrow and rest in the room below. I would recommend picking up the Sting Shards from the Deep Docks, too, and the crafting Kit for some serious punch.

Take down the powerful Ant enemy, and proceed to the Arena Room. This can be a little scary, but stay calm and focus on dodging rather than striking. Once you’re through, you can pick up the Fractured Mask from Mottled Skarr. Now you’re pretty much invincible… well, sort of. Anytime you hear that mask crack, you quit out, no questions asked. I’m no pro, I have no shame.

Next up, you should pick up the Plasmium Phial from the Wormways. This is going to further increase your survivability. If you run out, just come back. It sounds like a pain, but it’s worth the alternative.

Right. Deep Breath. Now you have another choice. Ring the 5 bells and take on the Judge, or go through the Mist and fight Phantom.

For me, this isn’t even close. The Last Judge is so much easier than The Mist and Phantom, it’s not even funny. Equip the Magma Bell for the Judge fight, and it’s like you’re playing on easy mode. No more 2 mask attacks!

It’s so easy to die when you’re in the Mist, especially with 6 masks, and you’ll end up frustrating yourself. In addition, Phantom has no cheese methods, so you’re going to have to rely on pure skill. This isn’t a speed run, so focus on whatever is easier.

Journey Through The Citadel

Welcome to The Citadel. Once more, just like Act 1, the first thing we want to do before taking on the big challenges here is to upgrade our movement. Beeline for Songclave and then take out the Cogwork Dancers. This fight is best taken slowly, but you can use Flea Juice as they are so predictable.

Now you can return to Songclave, pick up the White Key, east of the bell and then head to Whiteward. Head down through Whiteward, into the Underworks and go straight for Clawline. If you have the rosaries, you can grab a Crafting Kit upgrade here, too.

While we’re speaking about movement mechanics, no point stopping here. Next stop is Mount Fay. Head back to the Dancers arena, and head down and west for the Mask Shard, before continuing towards the exit that leads to The Slab. This is so much easier now, seeing as how you have all of your gear. Activate the Bellway Station and go west through the icy cold.

Continue through Mount Fay as normal, and grab the Faydown Cloak from the top. Pick up the Mask Shard from the southwest inside the hollow tower and take a rest.

The Race To The Cradle

Upgrading Your Arsenal

Alright, now the entire world is open to us as we have every single movement ability. Here, I’m going to provide a little checklist of things that are going to massively help you. Seeing as though the world is completely open, you can run around upgrading everything you have until you feel totally overprepared to take on every task ahead. For example:

• Upgrade your needle. Take out Trobbio, and grab the Pale Oil from the Whispering Vaults. Then complete the Taste of Pharloom Wish for the next Oil.
• Visit Grindle in the Blasted Steps and purchase the Thief’s Mark tool. Pick up every relic you can find and farm the enemies in the Citadel to build up as many rosaries as possible.
• Head east of Memorium to the Putrified Ducts to pick up usefulitems like Longclaw and the Key of the Apostate.
• Use your rosaries to buy every single Mask Shard, Tool and Memory Locket you can get your hands on.
• Hunt down the rest of the Mask Shards, Memory Lockets, and Crests and upgrade your gear with Eva.
• Grab every single Tool Pouch and Crafting Kit upgrade that you can. It never hurts to be prepared.
• Purchase the Steel-Silver Paint job for your Bellhome, because you deserve to stand out.

You don’t have to do everything on this list, unless you’re also going for the 100% achievement (which I was). Just enough that you feel confident when heading into the tough challenges like the High Halls Forum fight.

You should have 9 Masks of Health by this point, as the other 4 are locked to Act 3, which we’re not worrying about right now.

The Boss Rush

Now you’re totally locked and loaded, grab the sacred cylinder from the Vaults, and play it to unlock the first melody. Head up the Cogwork Tower and solve the puzzle to unlock the second melody.

And then take a breath. Now it’s time to go through High Halls and take on the Forum fight. Honestly, this was way easier than I thought it would be. Somehow, I did it on the first try, as I was ridiculously overprepared.

With 9 Masks, a +3 Needle, and Flintslate, this should be a breeze. Just don’t choke when the double mini-boss comes out. Use your silk wisely. Silkspear is your friend here. Try to have both gauges of your Hunter’s Crest active at all times. 12 clean hits without taking damage will get you there, and you will see how much more damage you deal.

Once that’s out of the way, you’re in the clear. Return to the elevator and head up to take on Lace again. Even with all your upgrades, she can be a little tough. Just focus on getting 1 hit at a time, and don’t rush it. You’re so close here. This took me a few attempts, as I was playing too aggressively.

And one that’s done, you just have to take out Grand Mother Silk, which at this point is ridiculously easy. Honestly, probably easier than Lace and the High Halls arena combined. And hey, with that, you will complete the game and earn the Steel Soul achievement!

That wasn’t so bad after all, right? Now, the question is, do you have the guts to face Act 3?

Released

September 4, 2025

ESRB

Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood

Developer(s)

Team Cherry

Publisher(s)

Team Cherry