The best Tools in Hollow Knight Silksong
The best Red, Blue, and Yellow Tools in Silksong
Looking for the best Tools to equip in Hollow Knight Silksong? There are 53 of these handy items to find in the game, so you're never spoiled for choice. The best of them turn Hornet into an even deadlier warrior than she'd ever be without them, and many Tools provide interesting synergies when equipped. Find as many Tools as you can, and you can unlock buildcrafting opportunities that crack the balance of Silksong open like so many eggs.
In this guide, we'll list the best Tools in Hollow Knight Silksong, dividing them up by each of the three colors: red, blue, and yellow. This way, you'll know what to prioritise as you explore the depths of haunted Pharloom.
In this guide:Be sure to hit the links contained within our description of each Tool to be taken to the corresponding section in our giant Silksong walkthrough, letting you know where you can pick these valuable items up.
The best Red Tools
Red Tools are active and offensive-minded, each costing their particular usage bar to activate. When you deplete the bar completely, that particular tool becomes unusable and can only be refreshed by spending Shell Shards at a resting bench. If you have the Architect Crest, you can make a specific input to refresh a Tool's bar on the go.
Sting Shard
The Sting Shard is as simple as it is effective. Use it to place a small spike trap in the air. When enemies touch it, the spikes will extend and deal solid damage to any hostile creature that hits it. It's a bit more expensive to use than some other damaging Tools, but its availability in the early game, via the merchant Forge Daughter, makes it a strong candidate for one of the best Tools in Silksong.
Flea Brew
Another straightforward Tool, the Flea Brew increases your movement and attack speed for a short duration. It has no other effects, but one Flea Brew is enough to vastly bump up your damage potential. That's especially true if you're using a Crest like the Beast or Wanderer, which have inherently high default attack speeds. The increase to your movement speed can be a little jarring at first, but once you're used to it, it can make getting around in a fight much less of a hassle.
Delver's Drill
As long as you're above the enemy, the Delver's Drill is one of the best burst damage weapons in Silksong. Even more so when you've upgraded your Tool pouch. When used, the Delver's Drill shoots Hornet down at high speed and drills into enemies up to five times when it makes contact. It's more than capable of defeating most trash mobs in a single use, and can make tanky bosses a bit less laborious to defeat.
Silkshot
The Silkshot you get by visiting the shop near the top of Mount Fay is a literal railgun. It fires a laser beam that instantly reaches its maximum range, ignores enemy armour, and pierces through multiple foes. You will also briefly hang in the air when firing, meaning you can use it as a platforming tool in addition to its high damage capabilities. It's also on this list thanks to its incredible cool factor, as there's nothing else like it in Silksong.
Flintslate
Simple Tools are often the best, and the Flintslate is another excellent example of that concept. Using it "superheats" your Needle, increasing its damage output by a full 50% for a brief duration. Like Binding and the Silkshot, you'll hang if you use the Flintslate midair, which can be useful if you would have otherwise collided with an enemy on your descent.
The best Blue Tools
Blue Tools provide passive buffs and bonuses when equipped, and can also change or improve how you use Silk, particularly the damage and effects of your Silk Skills. There are no drawbacks to speak of. The only downside is that there are no Crests in the game that have more than three Blue slots, so you can never equip all the best Blue Tools at the same time.
Injector Band
Speed is almost as important as precision in Silksong, and the Injector Band'seffect is as simple as it is useful. With the Injector Band equipped, Binding to heal takes less time. This increased speed can and will save you from wasting Silk by getting hit while Binding, which is bound to happen at least a few times during a playthrough.
Multibinder
Multibinder is more complex than some of the other Tools on this list, as its effects take a bit more time to occur. The item splits your Binding heal animation into two parts, each Bind healing two Masks of health. That makes four health restored in total. Binding does, however, take almost twice as long to compete. You can mitigate the increased use time by pairing Multibinder with the Injector Band, as their effects complement each other.
Volt Filament
Lightning is always a fun way to increase your damage output, and the Volt Filament adds a pink lightning effect that drastically improves the damage of all Silk Skills. It also applies a brief damage-over-time effect that deals minor damage, but every bit is valuable, especially as you reach the later game and enemies boast larger and larger health pools.
Claw Mirrors
The Claw Mirror, and the dual Claw Mirrors, are another Binding-centric Tool. When you Bind to heal, both versions of the Tool cause a sparkling explosion around Hornet that damages nearby enemies. This damaging burst works together with the Multibinder. When equipped together, the Mirror causes two explosions in quick succession. If you have the Warding Bell equipped, that Tool's damage mitigation effect causes the Mirror explosion to be much larger.
Longclaw
There are few worse feelings in Silksong than watching an attack come up just short of hitting, especially during a tense boss fight. The Longclaw Tool helps solve that problem by extending the range of your Needle, no matter which Crest you have equipped.
This extra range is especially appreciated on shorter Crest attacks like those from the Wanderer Crest, but even the longer ones, like those from the active Beast Crest, receive the bonus, too. That extra room gives you leeway to keep some of the most difficult bosses at arm's length while still doing damage.
The best Yellow Tools
Yellow Tools are a sort of catch-all category, as some provide buffs and bonuses, while others offer quality-of-life features that make exploring the world a bit more enjoyable. A select few have more powerful effects that can turn the tide of a battle.
Compass
The Compass shows Hornet's current location on the map (provided you have the area map unlocked), and her icon moves with her as she explores with the map open. It's entirely possible to keep track of where you are in Pharloom without a Compass, but having one will save you a few seconds every time you'd otherwise need to guesstimate where you're at.
Weighted Belt
Getting knocked around by enemy attacks can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you get pushed into a hazard and lose at least two masks for the price of a single hit. With the Weighted Belt, Hornet can withstand hits more efficiently, and while there will still be a bit of knockback, it's heavily reduced. You'll be able to stand your ground or continue your offensive without needing to worry about bouncing all over the arena. After you get used to the effect, of course.
Magnetite Dice
With the Magnetite Dice equipped, Hornet receives a small chance to negate a single hit, making it cause no damage. You'll still take the knockback and receive the momentary invincibility frames, so pairing these dice with the Weighted Belt isn't a terrible idea. As you're literally rolling the dice on whether you'll block an attack, you shouldn't rely on this Tool, but if luck is on your side, it will save what would otherwise be a lost fight.
Ascendant's Grip
After getting the Cling Grip ability, the Ascendant's Grip Tool allows you to stick to walls without sliding down. This lets you consider your next jump with a little more care. While this effect might not sound like a lot on paper, trust that once you've used it even a few times, it can make some of the trickier platforming sections in Silksong much less frustrating.
Those are our picks for the best Tools you can equip in Hollow Knight Silksong. You'll likely want to have all of them in time for the Sea of Sorrows DLC, and they can also come in super handy during Steel Soul mode, if you've the stomach for it. Knowing where to find them as early as possible will also make challenging the game's 48 bosses less of a mountain to climb.
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