All Needle Upgrades in Hollow Knight Silksong and how to get them

Needle Upgrades in Hollow Knight Silksong are crucial for Hornet to make her way to the Citadel. These upgrades to her primary weapon help her dish out more damage, giving you more breathing room, especially during exploration. The number of hits required to take down normal mobs can increase rapidly as you progress through the various regions. Therefore, Hornet must get her hands on the upgraded version of her needle as soon as possible.

This article will mention all available Needle Upgrades in Hollow Knight Silksong, as well as shed light on how to acquire them.

Location of Needle Upgrades in Hollow Knight Silksong

Making your way to Bellhart

To acquire Needle Upgrades in Hollow Knight Silksong, you will need the walljump ability, which can be unlocked once you reach Shellwood. After acquiring it, you must return to Bellhart from the eastern resting bench on the Shellwood map, as marked below.

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Head back to Bellhart from Shellwood (Image via SK Gaming | Team Cherry)

Here is how you can head to Bellhart from Shellwood:

From the Shellwood resting bench marked below, step onto the pedestal on the right side of the bench to activate a lift.
Once you reach the top, keep heading east until you cross a waterlogged section with platforms leading you to the top of Bellhard on its right side.
Make your way up and use the wall jump to reach the platform on the right side of this vertical climb.
Once you reach the dark bell caverns with fluffy enemies going up through the vertical lanes, wait for them to pass, and then slowly make your way down.
Make sure you are grabbing onto the walls while sliding down to avoid messing up and hitting spikes.
Make your way down until you find a pathway on the left of these vertical ducts.
Head down from the first gap you encounter on the floor to reach the bottom of this section, which should have a straight corridor heading east.
The next gap you find on the floor will introduce you to the Widow boss, who can be found weaving threads in the room.

Resting bench in Shellwood beside the lift (Image via SK Gaming | Team Cherry)

Take down the Widow boss

After you beat the Widow boss in Hollow Knight Silksong, you will encounter a small sequence where you will learn to play music. After that, you will be back on a resting bench in the middle of the Widow boss fight arena. From here, head through the right corridor and take the lift down to access the Bellhart area that you previously came across. The only difference is that the characters in this area will now have been liberated.

The Widow boss in Hollow Knight Silksong (Image via SK Gaming | Team Cherry)

Finding Pinmaster Plinney

After you head down from the lift and reach Bellhart, you will find that the NPCs have been liberated from the tyranny of the boss in Silksong. Head left to find small pedestals in this area that take you to the upper platform.

Reach this section and then jump towards the smaller platforms on the right and find the second room with the interact button. In this room, you will find the Needlesmith, who will grant you access to Needle Upgrades in Hollow Knight Silksong.

Location of Pinmaster Plinney (Image via SK Gaming | Team Cherry)

How to get Needle Upgrades in Hollow Knight Silksong

First free upgrade to Sharpened Needle

The first of the Needle Upgrades in Hollow Knight Silksong can be acquired for free once you talk to Pinmaster Plinney after liberating Bellhart. This upgrade will transform your weapon into a Sharpened Needle, which is described to be honed to a fine edge.

Acquiring Needle Upgrades in Hollow Knight Silksong (Image via SK Gaming | Team Cherry)

Second Needle Upgrade

The next Needle Upgrade requires you to complete a quest titled Pinmaster’s Oil. You need to gather a resource called Pale Oil from The Great Citadel. This can take some time as Hornet must make her way through various regions to finally reach that area.

This article will be updated with the exact location of the Pale Oil found in The Great Citadel. After it is acquired, you can head back to Pinmaster Plinney and then upgrade Hornet’s Needle for a second time.

Third Needle Upgrade

The third Needle Upgrade requires you to acquire another Pale Oil resource found during exploration. You must take Hornet to the Great Citadel once more, but this time, head straight towards the Whispering Vaults. Here, the second Pale Oil can be acquired for the third Needle Upgrade.

Note: As more needle upgrades are discovered, this article will be updated with the exact location(s) of the Pale Oil resources.

This concludes our coverage of Needle Upgrades in Hollow Knight Silksong. For more content on the latest title by Team Cherry, check out our other guides at Sportskeeda:

About the author

Sankalpa is a gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who specializes in role-playing games (RPGs) and first-person shooters (FPS). A trained IT engineer, he switched his career to combine his passion for computer hardware and video games. Having done early build testing for Redstorm Entertainment, Sankalpa brings a wealth of insight into his role at Sportskeeda. He actively plays the games he is tasked to cover and then writes unbiased, thoughtful, and accurate features.

Delta Force 1 was the first title Sankalpa played, and it ignited in him a lifelong love for the FPS genre. Currently, he prefers to play multiplayer games on his PC. That said, he would love to explore the majestic landscapes of Far Cry 4's Kyrat in person if he ever finds himself in a Jumanji-type scenario.

Sankalpa follows the esports scene of Rainbow Six quite closely, with he himself playing with and against T2 and T3 teams in R6 tournaments at one point. He enjoys watching the tactics employed by professional players, especially Pengu, a former G2 member and 2x Winner of Rainbow 6 Siege invitationals.

In his spare time, Sankalpa can be found listening to lossless music or editing YouTube videos. He also loves binge-watching anime.

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Edited by Abu Amjad Khan