All Hollow Knight Silksong Crests – Complete Location Guide & Best Builds

Discover all 7 crests in Hollow Knight Silksong with our complete guide. Learn locations, abilities, upgrade paths, and which crests offer the best combat advantages.

Understanding the Crest System in Silksong

The crest system in Hollow Knight : Chant de soie represents one of the most significant evolutions from the original game’s charm system. Instead of passive equipment slots, crests fundamentally alter Hornet’s combat style, movement patterns, and strategic options. Each of the seven available crests transforms how you approach encounters, making your choice feel genuinely impactful rather than just numerical.

What makes the crest system particularly engaging is how it encourages experimentation and adaptation. Unlike some RPG systems where optimal builds become obvious, Silksong’s crests offer legitimate trade-offs that make different choices viable for different situations, playstyles, and progression stages.

For newcomers to Silksong, understanding crests early helps you make informed decisions about exploration priorities and combat development. The crest you choose significantly influences which areas become accessible and which challenges feel manageable versus overwhelming.

Memory Lockets: The Key to Crest Progression

Before diving into individual crest locations, it’s crucial to understand how the upgrade system works through Médaillons de mémoire. These items serve as the primary method for expanding your tool slots across all crests, making them some of the most valuable collectibles in the entire game.

Upgrade mechanics: Six of the seven crests can be enhanced using Memory Lockets to unlock additional tool slots. The Hunter Crest follows a unique upgrade path tied to your total locket usage rather than direct application, making it scale naturally with your overall progression.

Vesticrest rewards: After using specific numbers of Memory Lockets (four for Yellow, twelve for Blue), speaking with Eva grants access to special Vesticrests that add universal slots to all seven crests. These represent some of the most powerful upgrades available, making Memory Locket collection a top priority for serious players.

Hunter Crest: Your Starting Foundation

Emplacement: Default crest, available from game start Upgrade Location: Eva in southeastern Weavenest Atla (after finding Needolin in Bellhart)

The Hunter Crest serves as your introduction to Silksong’s combat philosophy, emphasizing aggressive, sustained offense that builds focus through consecutive successful strikes. This crest teaches fundamental combat concepts that remain relevant regardless of which other crests you eventually prefer.

Combat style: “Stalk prey and attack with lethal strikes. Build focus with successive strikes.”

Initial slots: 1 Red, 1 Blue, 1 Yellow, 1 White Upgraded slots: 2 Red, 2 Blue, 2 Yellow, 1 White

Valeur stratégique : The Hunter Crest’s balanced slot distribution makes it excellent for experimentation and learning different tool combinations. Its focus-building mechanic rewards aggressive play while teaching you about sustained combat engagement – skills that transfer to every other crest.

Beginner advantages: New players benefit from the Hunter Crest’s forgiving nature and balanced approach. It doesn’t force you into specific playstyles while you’re still learning enemy patterns and combat timing.

Reaper Crest: Early Game Power Spike

Emplacement: Chapel of the Reaper, west side cave in Greymoor

The Reaper Crest represents your first major combat upgrade, fundamentally changing how you approach resource management through enhanced Silk generation. This crest transforms standard combat encounters into resource-building opportunities.

Combat style: “Attack with heavy, arcing slashes and reap additional Silk from enemies.”

Initial slots: 1 Red, 1 Blue, 1 Yellow, 1 White Upgraded slots: 2 Red, 2 Blue, 2 Yellow, 1 White

Resource advantage: The additional Silk generation makes this crest particularly valuable for players who rely heavily on Silk-based abilities and tools. The increased resource flow enables more aggressive use of powerful abilities without constant resource anxiety.

Considérations relatives au calendrier : Available relatively early in your Greymoor exploration, the Reaper Crest often becomes many players’ primary crest for the middle portions of the game. Its resource benefits compound over time, making early acquisition highly valuable.

Wanderer Crest: Precision and Mobility

Emplacement: Chapel of the Wanderer, Bonegrave area cave in Moss Grotto

The Wanderer Crest appeals to players who prefer precision over raw power, offering unique mobility advantages that can transform how you navigate both combat and exploration challenges.

Combat style: “Cut swiftly and nimbly with short, precise strikes.”

Initial slots: 1 Red, 0 Blue, 2 Yellow, 1 White Upgraded slots: 1 Red, 2 Blue, 3 Yellow, 1 White

Mobility advantages: The Wanderer Crest’s most significant benefit for many players is how it modifies Hornet’s downward slash to behave more like the original Hollow Knight’s pogo attack. This change dramatically improves traversal options and combat mobility.

Yellow tool synergy: The crest’s emphasis on Yellow tool slots makes it ideal for builds focused on mobility, utility, and exploration enhancement. The three Yellow slots when upgraded provide unmatched flexibility for specialized builds.

Beast Crest: Savage Aggression

Emplacement: Chapel of the Beast, east side cave in La marche du chasseur

The Beast Crest represents the most aggressive combat philosophy in Silksong, transforming Hornet into a life-stealing predator that becomes stronger through sustained combat.

Combat style: “Tear foes with savage slashes. Bind to enter a wild fury and steal life from prey.”

Initial slots: 2 Red, 0 Blue, 0 Yellow, 1 White Upgraded slots: 2 Red, 0 Blue, 2 Yellow, 1 White

High-risk rewards: The Beast Crest’s life-stealing capabilities and fury mechanics reward aggressive, in-your-face combat but require excellent timing and positioning to avoid taking more damage than you’re healing.

Red tool specialization: The dual Red tool slots enable powerful offensive combinations that can overwhelm enemies quickly. This crest excels in situations where burst damage and sustained aggression are more valuable than defensive options.

Witch Crest: Mystical Warfare

Emplacement: Complete Infestation Operation Wish for Greyroot, northwestern Greymoor

The Witch Crest introduces magical combat elements that blend offense with unique life-draining mechanics, creating a distinctive playstyle that rewards understanding enemy behavior patterns.

Combat style: “ Frappe l'aiguille par de larges mouvements. Aspire la vie des ennemis à travers des racines tordues. ”

Initial slots: 1 Red, 1 Blue, 0 Yellow, 1 White Upgraded slots: 2 Red, 3 Blue, 0 Yellow, 1 White

Blue tool mastery: When upgraded, the Witch Crest’s three Blue tool slots provide unmatched access to utility and support abilities. This makes it excellent for players who prefer tactical approaches over direct confrontation.

Quest integration: Obtaining this crest requires completing community wishes, integrating crest acquisition with Silksong’s social and exploration systems rather than just chapel challenges.

Architect Crest: Tool Mastery

Emplacement: Chapel of the Architect, Cauldron area cave in Travaux souterrains

The Architect Crest transforms tool usage from resource management into active combat strategy, enabling rapid tool creation and deployment during encounters.

Combat style: “Spin the needle as a screw, shredding foes. Spend Silk to rapidly craft new tools.”

Initial slots: 3 Red, 0 Blue, 0 Yellow, 0 White Upgraded slots: 3 Red, 2 Blue, 2 Yellow, 0 White

Synergie d'outils : The rapid crafting capabilities make this crest exceptional for players who enjoy complex tool management and tactical preparation. The three Red slots enable devastating offensive combinations.

Mid-game timing: Available during Underworks exploration, the Architect Crest often becomes available when you have sufficient tools and resources to fully utilize its crafting advantages.

Shaman Crest: Ultimate Power

Emplacement: Ruined Chapel during Act 3 (requires Silk Soar skill)

The Shaman Crest represents the pinnacle of Silksong’s power progression, offering unmatched access to the game’s most powerful abilities while requiring significant story progression to obtain.

Combat style: “Cast the blade forward and empower Silk Skills with powerful runes.”

Initial slots: 0 Red, 0 Blue, 0 Yellow, 3 White Upgraded slots: 0 Red, 2 Blue, 0 Yellow, 3 White

White tool dominance: The three White tool slots provide access to the most powerful abilities in Silksong, making this crest the ultimate choice for players who’ve mastered the game’s advanced mechanics.

Late-game accessibility: Requiring Act 3 progression and the Silk Soar ability, the Shaman Crest serves as a reward for players who’ve demonstrated mastery of earlier content and progression systems.

Choosing Your Optimal Crest Build

Early game recommendations: The Reaper Crest’s resource generation advantages make it an excellent choice for most players transitioning from the default Hunter Crest. Its balanced slot distribution and Silk benefits support diverse playstyles while you’re still learning the game.

Mid-game considerations: The Architect Crest becomes increasingly valuable as your tool collection expands, while the Wanderer Crest offers unique mobility advantages that can transform exploration and combat approach.

End-game dominance: The Shaman Crest represents the ultimate power choice, but its late availability means mastering other crests remains important for progression.

Playstyle matching:

• Joueurs agressifs : Beast or Architect Crests
• Tactical players: Witch or Wanderer Crests
• Balanced approach: Hunter or Reaper Crests
• Power users: Shaman Crest (when available)

Vesticrest Strategy and Memory Locket Priorities

Collection priorities: Focus on gathering Memory Lockets early and consistently rather than waiting for specific crests. The universal benefits from Vesticrests improve every crest simultaneously.

Eva interaction timing: Plan visits to Eva around your locket milestones (4 and 12 lockets) to maximize the benefits from Vesticrest unlocks across your progression.

Universal upgrades: The additional Yellow and Blue slots from Vesticrests provide flexibility that complements any crest choice, making them among the most valuable upgrades in the entire game.

Ready to master Silksong’s crest system? You can experiment with all seven crests and discover your preferred playstyle in Hollow Knight: Silksong on Vapeur, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, ou Xbox. With this complete guide, you’ll understand how to find, upgrade, and optimize every crest for maximum effectiveness!