The wait is finally over. Hollow Knight: Silksong has consumed the lives of the hardcore indie gaming community, and the sheer scale of Pharloom is proving to be incredibly punishing.
Unlike Hallownest, the kingdom of Pharloom is designed vertically, requiring players to master Hornet’s incredibly fast, acrobatic moveset. If you are struggling to find mask fragments or keep getting wiped by early-game bosses, you need to optimize your exploration.
Here is our complete guide to tracking boss locations and utilizing third-party interactive maps to achieve 100% completion in Silksong.
Mastering the Interactive Map
⚠️ SPOILER WARNING
Using community-driven interactive maps will reveal late-game biomes and secret NPC questlines. If you care about a blind playthrough, only use these tools to backtrack for missed Rosaries and Silk Spools.
The in-game mapping system in Silksong requires you to purchase map pins and heavily relies on your own memory to track unreachable areas. To bypass this, the community has already built highly detailed Interactive Web Maps.
By loading up a third-party interactive map on your second monitor, you can completely isolate specific item layers. If you are exactly one shard away from upgrading Hornet’s health pool, simply toggle on the “Mask Fragments” filter. The map will instantly highlight the exact coordinates of every fragment in the Moss Grotto and Deep Docks, saving you hours of frustrating backtracking.
Early Game Boss Locations & Cheese Strategies
Silksong does not hold your hand. The first major skill-check boss is located at the very top of the Boneforest vertical shaft.
The Boss Strategy: Do not try to out-heal this boss. Hornet’s healing mechanic (Bind) is incredibly fast, but it leaves you suspended in the air. Instead, you need to “cheese” the encounter by aggressively utilizing your Pimpillo bombs. The boss has a massive blind spot directly above its head; by using your aerial dash to stay airborne and dropping bombs directly downward, you can completely bypass its horizontal spear attacks.
🚨 Metroidvania Discussion
Is Silksong Too Hard?
Do you think the combat in Silksong is much harder than the original Hollow Knight? Drop your best boss strategies and tips in the comments below!
