Hollow Knight: Silksong has a ton of tools, whether they’re replacing charms from the original Hollow Knight or acting as supplementary weapons. I happen to love this tool system and have messed around with every tool in the game now.
Therefore, I see it fit to rank every tool in the game from worst to best. This is entirely based on my own experience playing the game, how useful I found the tool, how well they synergize with other tools, and how worthwhile they are compared to others in their category.
Several tools in this game have upgraded versions or other supplementary non-tool items that either directly or indirectly buff the tool. For the sake of being less redundant, I’ll only be ranking the upgraded version of every tool, at its absolute best.
Of course, because of tool colors and categories, a great Yellow tool will likely outshine a great Blue tool, since there are far fewer Yellow tools that are worth using. That said, let’s dive into what is easily the absolute worst tool in the game.
56
Needle Phial
Mad Science
There really isn’t much to be said about the Needle Phial. It’s an intentionally bad tool, with the only boon being unlimited uses. It’s incredibly short range, you can only kill like two types of enemies with it, and it’s taken from you right after.
It’s just for two quests where the entire point is that the Needle Phial sucks to use, and the reward for those quests is far higher on this list. But a tool that sucks on purpose is still a tool that sucks, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it’s at the bottom.
55
Spider Strings
Extended Mix
If you’re one of the zero people who really asked for a Needolin range increase, I’m sorry to say that this is next to useless. There was a single time in my entire playthrough where Spider Strings could have come in handy, and that was in The Mist.
Unfortunately, The Mist is an area that’s accessible in Act 1, and this item is only available in mid-game Act 2, so by the time you get it, you probably can’t use it anymore. It doesn’t even matter that it’s a yellow tool; this actually feels entirely terrible.
54
Sawtooth Circlet
Prickly Pear
How many times in your Silksong playthrough have you personally opened up your floating cloak while standing within striking distance of an enemy? If you’re a sane individual, that number is in the single digits or is zero.
I genuinely don’t really know how to make the Sawtooth Circlet better, in all honesty. It’s just a get-off-me tool that barely works whenever you actually want it, can mess up platforming sequences, and generally makes almost no positive difference whatsoever.
53
Snare Setter
Trade-In
The Snare Setter, used as a tool, isn’t the absolute worst. It has a low max quantity and does a fine amount of damage when it explodes. The main issue is that you won’t really get to use it for most of the game.
Most people I’ve seen play this game get informed of the Snare Setter’s existence, grab it, then immediately trade it in to the Caretaker without even knowing it was a usable tool. It’s not good enough to be sad about, just a little bit disappointing.
52
Weighted Belt
Trapped in Place
While Steady Body in the first game might have worked well for some people, the Weighted Belt in Silksong is far worse. Attacks in this game expect you to back up, play patiently, and not just stand there and mash, which the Weighted Belt actively makes more difficult.
On top of that, the reduced knockback in combination with Hornet’s pitiful i-frames makes for a deadly combination. Maybe on a select few enemies with Wanderer’s crest, this could increase your DPS, but it’s hardly worth the negative impact.
51
Dead Bug’s Purse
Geck Too!
I don’t mean to be one of those people who says “Just don’t die, lol” and offers zero other helpful advice, but you do not need the Dead Bug’s Purse. You can get an endless number of Silkworms, or just lock in enough to get your cocoon back.
This item is only somewhat useful for keeping a few rosaries when you die, and only if you have it equipped when you die. If you don’t die, or if you always get your cocoon back, that’s an entire equipment slot wasted on nothing.
50
Spool Extender
Silky Smooth
One thing about Silksong that I find pretty meh is the addition of Silk Spool upgrades. Sure, it’s nice to heal twice or get off a few spells, but it’s not something I would go out of my way to have all the time, which is why the Spool Extender confuses me.
It’s not terrible on its own, by any means. Three strands of extra silk are most of the way to getting off another silk skill, but it just doesn’t feel worth a blue slot. It feels immensely underwhelming, and most of your other options are better.
49
Egg of Flealia
15 Years Too Late
The Egg of Flealia is this game’s equivalent of Grubberfly’s Elegy, and just like that charm, it’s pretty bad for the point in the game where you get it. It lets you use silk skills at three strands of silk when your health is full, rather than four, which is somewhat nice.
Namely, once you have all three Silk Hearts, you can now passively use silk skills without having to hit anything. The thing is, another blue tool does this exact thing better, doesn’t make you be at full health, and makes this thing completely worthless in comparison.
48
Silkshot (Twelfth Architect)
Gun-Powered Automaton
When you acquire the Broken Tool from the depths of Bilewater, you have three ways to repair it, with the Twelfth Architect easily being the worst of the three. This Silkshot not only uses Shell Shards, but also uses a strand of silk when you fire.
While that’s true for every variation, this one only shoots out three weak shots at a quick rate, with the damage decreasing with each shot. It’s not great, and certainly far worse in comparison to the other two versions of this tool.
47
Memory Crystal
I Love Taking Damage
I thought Thorns of Agony was already pretty mid in Hollow Knight, but somehow, they took the same concept and made it worse. With the Memory Crystal, you take damage, a crystallized Hornet appears where you got hit, and it will explode when enemies walk into it.
I don’t know the exact damage numbers on this; I just know it sucks. Unlike thorns, you don’t instantly get an AoE circle to knock enemies back. Instead, you just hope they walk in, take a single hit, and continue like nothing happened. Not great.
