In the highly anticipated world of Hollow Knight: Silksong, Crests stand as the cornerstone of deep, player-driven customization. These powerful artifacts fundamentally reshape Hornet's capabilities, allowing you to tailor her agility, attack patterns, and special skills to your preferred playstyle. Among these, the Witch Crest emerges as one of the most sought-after and game-changing upgrades, offering a unique blend of offensive power and vampiric survival. This comprehensive guide will detail exactly how to earn this legendary Crest and master its potent, whip-fast combat style.
Why the Witch Crest is a Game-Changer
The Witch Crest doesn't just tweak Hornet's abilities; it completely reinvents her approach to combat. While her standard needle is precise and quick, the Witch Crest imbues it with new, terrifying life. Equipping it transforms her primary attacks into long-range, whip-like sweeps, allowing you to strike enemies from a safer distance with impressive speed.
The trade-off is a slight reduction in per-hit damage, but this is more than compensated for by its unique mechanics. Dash attacks and downward slashes will now hit twice with a single input, effectively doubling their damage output and making them devastating against bosses and tougher foes.
However, the most radical change comes from its alteration of the
Bind skill. Normally a simple healing ability, the Witch Crest morphs it into a life-draining tendril attack. Hornet can leech health directly from her enemies, turning them into her personal lifeline. This high-risk, high-reward mechanic encourages an aggressive, in-your-face playstyle, as you must be at point-blank range to siphon their HP.
Step-by-Step: How to Acquire the Witch Crest
Earning the Witch Crest is no simple task; it is the reward for one of Silksong's most challenging and intricate questlines. It requires perseverance and skill, as you will be voluntarily relinquishing some of your core powers for a significant portion of the journey.
1. Locate the Twisted Bud: Your quest begins in the tangled roots beneath the Whispering Vaults.Explore the chambers to the bottom-left of the descent into Bilewater to find the mysterious Twisted Bud.
2. Deliver to Greyroot: Take this strange item to the reclusive Greyroot, who resides in a huton the left side of Shellwood. Handing over the Bud will trigger a new,daunting proposition: the Ritual of Rebirth.
3. Endure the Parasitic Ordeal: Accepting the ritual will cause Greyroot to infect Hornet with aparasitic entity. This begins the most grueling part of the quest. You will be severely handicapped, losing the ability to heal, use Tools, or generate Silk. You mustnavigate and combat the dangers of Pharloom in this weakened state tocomplete a series of specific tasks and purge the parasite.
4. Complete the Purification Ritual: The final steps of this quest chain are complex and demand preciseexecution. Successfully navigating these challenges will finally destroy the Twisted Bud parasite. In its place, its essence is absorbed intoHornet, permanently granting her the power of the Witch Crest. Your full abilities will be restored, and you will gain unrestricted access tothis powerful new form.
Mastering the Witch Crest Playstyle
With the Crest equipped, your strategy must evolve. The extended reach ofyour attacks allows you to control space effectively, picking offenemies before they can get close. The double-hit dash and downwardstrikes become your primary tools for dealing massive burst damage.
The vampiric Bind skill requires a tactical shift. You can no longer healsafely at a distance; you must earn your health back by engaging enemies directly. This makes the Witch Crest perfect for players who favor anaggressive, relentless combat rhythm. Furthermore, the Crest comespre-equipped with one red and one blue Tool slot, with more unlockablevia Memory Lockets, allowing for further synergistic customization toenhance your new whip-based prowess.
For adventurers seeking to truly master Hornet's arsenal, the pursuit of the Witch Crest is an essential and rewarding journey.
Platform(s): Microsoft Windows PC, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4 PS4, PlayStation 5 PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Developer(s): Team Cherry
Publisher(s): Team Cherry
Release date: 4 September 2025
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