For the brave among us who are diving into Silksong without having played Hollow Knight, some of the game’s quirks will seem a bit opaque. One of these quirks is the map system, or rather, the seeming lack of it. It’s definitely not uncommon for exploration-focused platformers to have obscure or downright useless maps, but for a while Silksong seems like it might not even have one at all.
Don’t worry though: not only does Silksong have a map, but it can be very useful so long as you cough up some rosaries ASAP. After about an hour in Silksong you’ll encounter the NPC Shakra in The Marrow—listen out for the lovely yodelling. After some dialogue they’ll offer to sell you a bunch of map-centric stuff, and your first instinct might be to ignore it. Of course this metroidvania will just plot out my map as I explore it, right? Nope: not only do you have to buy maps, but you have to buy map markers and other useful icons, such as those demarking resting places.
Oh, and you also have to buy the ability to see yourself on the map.
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Even though Shakra’s gear might seem expensive in total, you should 100% buy it all up as soon as you meet them. It’s going to make early exploration a lot more relaxed and rewarding, and if you don’t do it straight away, you’ll probably eventually realise that you should have.
Shakra has two maps: one of The Marrow (where Shakra is) and one of Mosslands (from where you’ve come). Buy them both so you know where you’ve been and where you should explore next.
Then buy the Quill, which will help you distinguish explored from unexplored areas on the maps you’ve bought. Perhaps most importantly, buy the Compass: this will let you see where Hornet is on the map. If you don’t have the Compass, you have to figure out where you are based on the shape of rooms and that’s… imprecise. For the Compass to work you have to equip it in the menu, at a resting place.
You should prioritise according to this list, in my opinion:
- Map of The Marrow (50 rosaries)
- Map of Mosslands (50 rosaries)
- Compass (70 rosaries)
- Quill (50 rosaries)
- Bench pins (60 rosaries)
- Shell marker (40 rosaries)
By the end your map should look like this. See how useful it is? It shows you where save points are, and the faint lines to the right are areas I’ve yet to explore, but for which I own a map. Hornet’s head marks where I’m standing right now.
(Image credit: Team Cherry)
That’s 320 rosaries in total, which will feel like a lot this early in the game. Honestly, you can skip the shell markers if you want—you won’t really need those for a while—and if Shakra disappears from The Marrow you’ll find them later on. But if you’re feeling short of rosaries, go left and up into a new screen. Follow left up here, and you’ll find a wealth of enemies who grant a lot of rosaries, and even a rosary bead. It’ll take about five minutes of grinding to get enough to buy out Shakra, assuming you came in with a bit as well. If they fail to respawn when you exit and re-enter the room, there’s a resting spot to unlock easy access to nearby: resting respawns them more reliably. For more info on getting rosaries, this how to get Silksong rosaries guide is all about it.
Anyone who played Hollow Knight will know that buying map items as early as possible comes highly recommended, and it’s nice to see that Silksong grants access to some crucial QoL items—like the Quill and Compass—earlier than its predecessor. As much as I love getting lost, I also like to have the tools to get un-lost. You’re definitely going to need them going forward.