After a long and arduous journey through Pharloom, and after the Act 2 cutscene plays when you defeat The Last Judge, Hornet will finally enter the Citadel. Act 2 is structured a little bit differently than Act 1. Progression is much less linear, which has made some players wonder what they should do first in Act 2 of Silksong.
Hollow Knight: Silksong - Interactive Map (Pharloom)
Our interactive map for Pharloom in Hollow Knight: Silksong. All the skills, tools, benches, and more found in the game.
Don't be too intimidated by the Citadel – as you become familiar with its winding corridors and learn to deal with its numerous enemies, figuring out where to go in Act 2 becomes much easier. Learn the best things to do first in Act 2 in Silksong, and where to find these important points of interest, with this guide to help direct your journey in the second half of the game.
Spend 40 Rosaries to Get the Grand Gate Map
After beating the Last Judge and progressing into Act 2, the very first thing you should do is purchase your first map in Act 2. Unlike Act 1, maps cannot typically be bought from NPCs like Shakra in Act 2. Instead, the majority of your maps will come from machines that display a miniature version of the Citadel.
Walk into the first room of the Citadel, and you will see one of these machines. Interact with it and pay 40 Rosaries to get a map of the Grand Gate. This tiny zone only spans the area between the Blasted Steps and the much larger Choral Chambers above, but it's a start!
Reach Choral Chambers via the Underworks
From the Grand Gate map machine, head right, then drop down into The Underworks. Traverse upward through this eerie sub-area, which is filled with bugs being forced to work for the Citadel and fans that will deal 2 Masks of damage if you touch them, until you see a sign with lines and shapes on it. Enter this room to find the Underworks map pinned to a board, which costs Hornet nothing to pick up.
Then, make your way further upward to reach the Choral Chambers. Continue through the Choral Chambers until you reach another map machine at the start of a long, slightly angled room with three enemies. Purchase this map for 70 Rosaries, then go to the left to discover your first Ventrica station.
Ventrica Stations are the primary form of Fast Travel in the Citadel, but you must spend 80 Rosaries to unlock each station.
Find the Shortcut to The Slab
To get to the Slab normally, players must let Hornet get captured in a cage by a large enemy in the top-right of the Deep Docks area. However, if you make your way to the left side of the Choral Chambers, you will find another entrance to The Slab. This shortcut connects almost directly to a Bench and the Slab Bellway station.
This is important for later on, as you will have to return to the Slab Bellway station to get to Mount Fay. Mount Fay contains an extremely useful movement item, but to access this zone and the enormous platforming challenge it holds, you must acquire the Clawline ability somewhere within the Citadel.
Defeat the Cogwork Dancers
The Cogwork Dancers are the first major boss players will encounter in The Citadel, and can be found at the very top of the Choral Chambers. This boss fight is not the most challenging in the game, but it is one of its most tragic (and beautifully designed). Hornet goes up against two Cogwork Dancers at once, which move in time with the music and display the direction they will attack.
There are essentially three phases to the fight as the song gets faster and faster. After you defeat one of the dancers for the third time, it will be destroyed. The remaining dancer will continue the routine alone with a tragic fourth phase as the music plays a slower, more somber melody.
After you beat the Cogwork Dancers (and survive the waves of sadness that will surely overwhelm you in real life), you will unlock access to the Cogworks Core below and the rest of the Choral Chambers to the right.
Ring the Grand Bell to Unlock Songclave
After defeating the Cogwork Dancers, head right – taking care to jump over the two incredibly tough, large enemies on the way – to reach a strange building on the far top-right of the Citadel. Enter the building and ring the bell within to spawn a bench. Exit the room to find an NPC named the Caretaker, who asks if you rang the bell, and warns that it will call pilgrims to the location.
Indeed, come back to this spot later on, and it will have transformed into a new Town hub: Songclave. The Caretaker is obviously a bit peeved by all the new arrivals, but on the plus side, you will be able to fulfill Wishwall requests from pilgrims in Songclave now.
Look to the right of the building to discover a White Key. This White Key can be used to enter the Whiteward below the Choral Chambers.
Locate the Grand Bellway in Choral Chambers
Make your way to the far bottom-right of the Choral Chambers zone to discover the Grand Bellway, a Bellway station situated right in the center of the Citadel. This serves as a convenient way to return back to areas from Act 1, in case you want to pick up missing Mask Shards, Spool Fragments, optional abilities, fulfill wishes, or complete other side content you skipped on the way to the Citadel.
The Grand Bellway is situated right below
Look For Pale Oil in Whispering Vaults
The Whispering Vaults are an area that can be difficult to get to, if you don't know where to go. That's because it can only be accessed by turning the gigantic wheel-gate so that the pathway faces left to right, which is impossible to enter from the top or bottom when horizontal.
Instead, go back to the Cogwork Dancers arena and drop down. This leads to the Cogwork Core, a sub-zone that isn't entirely unlike the Path of Pain from Hollow Knight. Go down three floors, then loop down, right, and up to get to the other side of the central column in the lower half of this room.
You will have to make liberal use of all of Hornet's movement skills and ability to bounce off cogs with a downward slash, to make it through this zone.
Unlock a shortcut to the left side about halfway up the right side, for easy access later on.
Make your way to the top-right of the room, continuing to pogo off of cogs that move back and forth on set tracks, then continue right. At the right side of this hallway, you will find a room that leads to the left side of the gigantic wheel-gate. Hit the lever, then cross through to the right side, to enter the Whispering Vaults.
Somewhere in the Whispering Vaults, you can find a Pale Oil, which will allow Hornet to upgrade her Needle for a second time, further increasing its damage.
Hunt Down Pieces to The Threefold Melody
After you defeat the Cogwork Dancers, the background of the room will rotate and reveal three ominous statues. Interact with the statues to learn Hornet's final task to ascend the peak of Pharloom: hunt down all three pieces to the Threefold Melody, then play it in front of these statues.
The three parts of the song can be found in difficult, out-of-the-way areas of the Citadel. Two are locked behind extremely challenging gauntlet rooms in the top-left and bottom-right of the Citadel, while the other is hidden high atop the Clockwork Core area.
This will take you a long time, and you will have to explore numerous areas as you try to achieve this goal, including the Cauldron, the deeper parts of the Whispering Vaults, Bilewater, the High Halls, Whiteward, Memorium, and more.
To make the job a little bit easier, consider going to the Underworks and the Cauldron first to get the Clawline ability, then make your way back to the Slab Bellway station. Go left, and use Clawline, to enter Mount Fay. Complete the incredibly difficult platforming challenge to get to the top of Mount Fay and you will be rewarded with the Faydown Cloak, which allows Hornet to double-jump.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Released
- September 4, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Team Cherry
- Engine
- Unity
- Franchise
- Hollow Knight
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- PC Release Date
- September 4, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC
