Crests quietly reshape how you play Hollow Knight: Silksong — they don’t just tweak damage, they hand you a fresh moveset and a different rhythm. Each crest carries its own fighting style and a set of colored tool slots, which dictates what you can equip and how you handle tougher enemies. Think of crests as your build’s foundation. The trick is actually finding them — several are tucked behind ability checks or small questlines.
All crests in Hollow Knight: Silksong
There are seven main crests to track down (eight if you count the Vesticrest add-ons):
- Hunter Crest — Your starting crest; can be upgraded by Eva in the Weavenest Alta.
- Wanderer Crest — Chapel of the Wanderer in Bonegrave.
- Beast Crest — Chapel of the Beast in the southeast of Hunter’s March.
- Reaper Crest — Chapel of the Reaper on Greymoor’s west side.
- Architect Crest — Chapel of the Architect in the Underworks, above the Twelfth Architect.
- Witch Crest — Northwest Greymoor, after finishing the Twisted Bud questline.
- Shaman Crest — Above the Ruined Chapel in Act 3.
Detailed locations and what each crest actually does are below.
Hunter Crest location
You start Silksong with the Hunter Crest, but it gets much better after you unlock the Needolin. Head to the southeastern corner of Moss Grotto and look for a door marked with a weaver’s face. Play the Needolin to open it, head down the hall, and strike the three silk spools to power Weavenest Alta. Ride the lift and, on the right, speak with Eva to upgrade the crest.
Post-upgrade, each strike builds Focus. More Focus means higher damage, but taking a hit wipes your Focus bar. You can check it beside your masks in the top-left — a white bar shows how much you’ve banked.
Bring Eva all seven crests and she’ll upgrade Hunter Crest again, increasing Focus capacity for even bigger damage windows.
Slots: starts with 1 red, 1 blue, 1 yellow, 1 white. Fully unlocked adds +1 red, +1 blue, +1 yellow.
Wanderer Crest location
Wanderer sits in Bonegrave, just left of Moss Grotto. From the left side of Mosshome (near the hanging cages), you’ve got two routes:
- Swift Step + simple key: Keep left to a locked door into Wormways, then drop to the bottom for a path into Bonegrave.
- Cling Grip + Drifter’s Cloak: Float down until you can land on the left platform; glide left to the rooftop, continue left, then wall-climb into Bonegrave.
Wanderer mimics the Knight’s familiar attack patterns. If you’ve got enough silk stored to bind, your hits also have a tiny crit chance.
Slots: starts with 1 red, 0 blue, 2 yellow, 1 white. Fully unlocked adds +2 blue, +1 yellow.
Beast Crest location
Beast is awarded in the Chapel of the Beast at the far southeast of Hunter’s March. You’ll need the Drifter’s Cloak from the Seamstress in Farfields to reach it. Ride the updrafts in the southeast corner to the chapel and defeat the Savage Beastfly inside to claim the crest.
This one leans into aggression. Binding swaps to lifesteal: you enter a brief fury state with boosted range, speed, and damage, and instead of a flat heal you recover by landing hits — each bind can restore up to three masks, one per successful strike.
Slots: starts with 2 red, 0 blue, 0 yellow, 1 white. Fully unlocked adds +2 yellow.
Reaper Crest location
Reaper sits in Greymoor, left of the western tower. Climb the left tower to the top, move left into the next screen, then drop down one tier (not all the way). From the platform just below the Dreg Catcher, exit left to the Chapel of the Reaper. Inside is a gauntlet featuring enemies you fought on the way in.
Attacks with Reaper swing slower and on an arc. The payoff is the bind: you heal normally and, for roughly 10 seconds afterward, striking enemies spawns silk orbs. Collect them to refill your spool and chain binds rapidly.
Slots: starts with 1 red, 1 blue, 1 yellow, 1 white. Fully unlocked adds +1 red, +1 blue, +1 yellow.
Architect Crest location
Architect is locked behind the Underworks door. You’ll need the Architect’s Key sold by the Twelfth Architect for 110 rosaries (provided you’ve gathered enough tools).
First, pick up the Clawline in The Cauldron. Return to the bench above The Cauldron, grapple to the ring overhead, hop right to the platform, hit the switch, and enter to meet the Twelfth Architect. Buy the key, flip the switch to the right, climb the wall, flip the switch above, and follow the path to the Chapel of the Architect. Head in to claim the crest.
Architect converts your strikes into a drill thrust. You can charge for extra reach and damage. Binding works as usual, but you can also hold Up + bind to craft tools with silk.
Slots: starts with 3 red, 0 blue, 0 yellow, 0 white. Fully unlocked adds +2 blue, +2 yellow.
Witch Crest location
Witch sits at the end of the Twisted Bud questline. You’ll find the Twisted Bud in Bilewater after finishing the “Rite of the Pollip” wish in Shellwood. Returning it to Greyroot in Shellwood will curse you until the chain is done — you’ll lose tools, your moveset shifts, and you can’t heal. There’s also an achievement tied to reaching the credits while cursed, if you want that route.
For the cure, visit Yarnaby, a surgeon in the top-left of Greymoor. Complete “Infestation Operation” — buy Steel Spines from Crull and Benjin (they’re at the top-right of the hanging cages in Sinner’s Road) — then return to Yarnaby. Finishing the operation unlocks the Witch Crest.
With Witch equipped, your down and dash slashes double-tap, letting you dive in and out more safely. Binding changes completely: it creates an area burst that only heals if it actually damages foes — each damage instance restores one mask.
Slots: starts with 1 red, 1 blue, 0 yellow, 1 white. Fully unlocked adds +2 blue, +1 red.
Shaman Crest location
Shaman is in the Ruined Chapel in Act 3. Progress the story until you gain Silk Soar, then return to the chapel with the Snail Shamans. To the right of the bench is a small hole in the ceiling lit by a sunbeam — Super Jump up, follow the passage, and collect the crest.
Shaman adds a wave projectile to each needle swing, extending effective range. It also amps your Silk Skills’ damage. Its bind requires solid ground: binding midair slams Hornet down first, then heals once she lands.
Slots: starts with 0 red, 0 blue, 0 yellow, 3 white. Fully unlocked adds +2 blue.
Vesticrest add-ons
Vesticrest pieces are bonus tool slots that apply on top of whatever crest you’re running. Unlock them by speaking with Eva at Weavenest Alta (same process used to upgrade the Hunter Crest). There are two Vesticrest slots; the thresholds are a bit fuzzy, but the following conditions worked consistently:
- Yellow slot — Four crests unlocked, with at least 12 total slots opened.
- Blue slot — Five crests unlocked, with at least 20 total slots opened.