How to Upgrade Your Needle in Silksong

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Gaming expert Jose Rivera shares tips for upgrading your weapon

Co-authored by Eric McClure

Last Updated: December 11, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Overview
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• In-Depth Guide
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• Other Ways to Upgrade Your Nail
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• Wanderer’s Crest
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• Video

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"In Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hornet’s needle is more than just a weapon, it’s her lifeline," shares gaming expert Jose Rivera. "Upgrading its damage is essential to survive late-game bosses, navigate tougher regions, and master the fluid, fast-paced combat system that defines the sequel. This is exactly how to boost your needle damage step-by-step—and how the Wanderer’s Crest can turn your combat and movement into a smoother, more familiar experience."

How to Upgrade Your Needle Damage

Gaming expert Jose Rivera says this is how to upgrade Hornet’s needle:

• Defeat The Widow to remove the curse on the town of Bellhart.
• Visit Pinmaster Plinney, who will provide your first upgrade for free.
• Collect Pale Oil to upgrade the needle’s power further.
• Use tools like Weighted Belt or Vicious Bracelet to enhance the needle’s damage.

Steps

Section 1 of 4:

Needle Upgrade Locations

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1. 
   The only way to upgrade your nail is in Bellhart. “You can’t upgrade your needle right away,” says Rivera. “The first opportunity unlocks after reaching Bellhart, a key mid-game town suffering from a silk-based curse. To access it, you’ll need to defeat early bosses like Moorwing in Greymoor and later The Widow, whose defeat purifies Bellhart and opens up new NPC services.”

   • Only Pinmaster Plinney can upgrade your nail damage for you. He’s located in the bell tower on the top right of the town of Bellhart. To access his shop, you have to complete the “Threadspun Town” quest. We’ll explain how below if you want more guidance on doing that.
   • If you haven’t reached the Bellhart quest yet, we recommend bookmarking this page and coming back later. You’re going to be gated from getting the nail upgrades until that quest.

   Meet the wikiHow Expert

   Jose Rivera is a social media strategist and content creator with over 200 million views across his social media channels. He specializes in topics like anime, gaming, movies, and TV.
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Section 2 of 4:

Unlocking Needle Upgrade: An In-Depth Tutorial

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1. 1
   Go to Shellwood and beat Sister Splinter. You won’t be able to free Bellhart and get the nail upgrade until you beat Widow, and you won’t be able to beat Widow until you get the wall jump. To get the wall jump, you need to beat Sister Splinter first. Navigate to the middle of the map in Shellwood (it’s a large, horizontal room) and you’ll find Sister Splinter. Beat her to proceed.

   • Strategy for Sister Splinter: This is one of the easier bosses in the game. You just have to jump, hit her, and dash immediately away before she swipes. Keep whittling her down and kill her minions as they appear. Also, pro tip, you can break the vines she shoots down!
2. 2
   Go left and jump down. Once you beat Sister Splinter, the passage on the left will open. Go there. Climb up the vertical chamber until you find the spikey area with two white flowers. Jump on them, going left, and enter the next area. Keep going left and break the hidden vine wall. From there, go up and to the right until you find the three white flowers. The wall cling is in the shrine in the next room.

   • If you somehow missed it, you can downslash on the white flowers to jump off them.
3. 3
   Head to the right to enter Bellhart from Shellwood. Once you pick up the Wall Cling ability, go back to the area where you beat Sister Splinter. Continue going right until you access the upper portion of Bellhart. If you haven’t been to this part of the map yet, you’re in the right place.

   • You cannot reach this area from the bottom of Shellwood—you have to enter from the top and work your way down.
4. 4
   Complete the platforming challenge until you reach Widow. Destroy every bell wall you come across that blocks your path. Keep going right until you find the vertical chamber with the giant flea wearing a bell for a helmet. The path is pretty linear through here, so just go down the hallways until you reach the exit in the bottom left of the map where you fall down for a boss fight with Widow.

   • There are spikes at the bottom of almost every vertical chamber in this area, so use your Wall Cling to prevent falling too fast.
   • You can bunny hop on top of the flea helmets if you accidentally get trapped on top of one of them.
5. 5
   Defeat Widow. Widow is one of the more frustrating bosses in the game, but you should be able to dispatch her handily after a few tries. There isn’t a good bench to rest at ahead of time, so right before the entrance to the Widow fight, break the wall on your left. It’ll make the run back a lot quicker from the bench in Shellwood.

   • Strategy for Widow: The trick is to get hits in whenever she summons bells. The rest of the time, just dodge her. It’s not a good fight to get too aggressive, as Widow’s movements are pretty abrupt and hard to dodge if you get too close.
6. 6
   Return to Bellhart to find the town magically cured. You can either drop down from the upper area after beating Widow or you can continue to pursue other quests and explore other areas at your leisure. Whenever you return to Bellhart, you’ll find the people of the town are no longer in a trance. Talk to the mayor of the town to end the quest.

   • The mayor of the town is the skinny bug with the terrible hat and an annoying voice in the middle of the town.
   • Check out every booth/building in Bellhart! There’s an interesting and important NPC in every single one of them.
7. 7
   Jump up to Pinmaster Plinney’s shop. “Once the curse is lifted, head to the upper-right district of Bellhart and find a workshop marked by needle icons,” says Rivera. “Inside, you’ll meet Pinmaster Plinney, the Silksong equivalent of the original Nailsmith.”

   • “Unlike the Nailsmith upgrades in Hollow Knight, Silksong introduces a more layered system of NPC interactions, rare materials, and exploration-based progression,” Rivera adds.
8. 8
   Get your first needle upgrade and talk to Plinney again. Rivera says that the first time you talk to Plinney, he’ll offer to upgrade it for free as a reward for helping to free the town, “increasing your base melee damage and giving you a major combat advantage.” Rivera adds that “after your first upgrade, Plinney will mention an 'oil wish' side quest that sends you hunting for three bottles of Pale Oil across the kingdom. Each bottle unlocks a new tier of needle power.”

   • According to Rivera, Pale Oil is “a rare resource hidden in advanced zones like the Citadel and the Moss Grotto.”
   • Rivera says that each upgrade will “noticeably reduce the number of hits required per enemy.” Upgrades will also “make Silk regeneration more efficient.”
   • You won’t be able to get Pale Oil for some time, so remember to come back here whenever you eventually find some!
9. 9
   Return to Pinmaster Plinney each time you find Pale Oil. After the free upgrade, you can return to Plinney with Pale Oil to upgrade your weapon again. You can do this three times over the course of the game. You won’t be able to find the remaining Oils for a while, but the locations are:

   • Inside a locked room in the Choral Chambers, just to the bottom right of the large wheel junction. You can access this area from the room above the stage in the Whispering Vaults as well.
   • Complete the “Great Taste of Pharloom” quest in the Choral Chambers by returning the ingredients to Loyal Mergwin.
   • In Act 3, if you’ve upgraded the needle twice, read the note on Plinney’s door in Bellhart where he explains he’s gone on an expedition. Then, go rescue him from a mob of enemies on the bottom level of Shellwood and he’ll reward you with the last needle upgrade.
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Section 3 of 4:

Other Ways to Upgrade Nail Damage

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1. 
   1
   Visit the Pinstress in the Blasted Steps for a Needle attack upgrade. It’s technically a completely different ability, not a pure damage upgrade, but there is a key attack upgrade you can unlock in the Blasted Steps. She is located in a floating house in the far northwestern corner of the Blasted Steps in the room with the vertical entrance to the Sands of Karak. Talk to her and she’ll offer to train you. Accept that offer and you’ll upgrade your attack moves.

   • You can also fight Pinstress as a boss by finding her at the top of Mount Fay after this interaction.
2. 2
   Use tools for extra damage. Rivera explains, “Beyond direct upgrades, Silksong introduces Tools—equippable items similar to charms. Some, like the Weighted Belt or Vicious Bracelet, enhance Hornet’s needle damage but may increase the amount of damage she takes.”

   • “Experiment with loadouts to balance offense and survivability depending on your combat style,” advises Rivera.
3. 3
   Take advantage of aerial combat. “Needle upgrades aren’t just about power; they affect rhythm,” says Rivera. “A stronger needle means faster enemy takedowns, better Silk buildup for healing, and smoother combo chaining. For aggressive players, mastering aerial combat and Silk management is key to turning damage upgrades into true dominance.”
4. 
   4
   Mod the game. If you’re looking up the nail upgrades because you’re struggling to make progress and you’re no longer having fun, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with modding the game to buff your nail’s damage. Here’s how to do it for PC (you cannot mod the console version of the game):

   • Download BepInEx 5 from Nexus Mods. This is the base tool necessary to mod Silksong. Follow the download instructions on the page.
   • Install Stebars’ nail damage mod. Stebars’ nail damage mod is the most highly downloaded damage mod for the game. By default, it will double your nail damage, but you can follow the instructions on the page to make a custom adjustment if you prefer. We tested it out and the double damage feels like a pretty comfortable level for players who want some competition but are struggling with the intense difficulty of the game.
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Section 4 of 4:

Bonus: The Wanderer’s Crest

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1. 1
   The Wanderer’s Crest can help improve speed and precision. Rivera says, “The Wanderer’s Crest is a rare Tool that changes Hornet’s downward slash into a vertical stab, mimicking the pogo-style attack from the original Hollow Knight game. It slightly shortens her attack range but offers faster animations and improved precision, especially in midair.” Here’s why it’s a game-changer:

   • Easier combos: “The vertical stab allows you to bounce directly off enemies and hazards,” Rivera says, “restoring that beloved pogo mechanic for chaining attacks and staying mobile during boss fights.”
   • Improved traversal: “Many Silksong regions use vertical design and aerial hazards,” explains Rivera. “With the Crest, you can climb ‘enemy ladders’ or bounce across spikes with greater control.”
   • Adaptable combat: “You can freely switch between Hornet’s default diagonal slash and the vertical Crest slash at benches—ideal for alternating between exploration and intense combat runs,” says Rivera.
2. 2
   Obtain the Wanderer’s Crest at the Chapel of the Wanderer. To get the Wanderer’s Crest, Rivera says to defeat the Bell Beast and unlock Bellhart. Then, buy a Simple Key from Pebb in Bone Bottom, which costs about 500 Rosaries. From there, Rivera says to:

   • Travel west of Mosshome and unlock the gated path using the key.
   • Navigate the Wormways to reach the Chapel Wanderer.
   • Complete the platforming challenge and defeat the chapel’s guardian to earn the Crest.
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