How to get through Hunter's March in Silksong

Hunter's March in Silksong is an area that's proving incredibly deadly for new players, guarded by a red ant boss who'll take apart the unprepared. Players beginning their journey in Hollow Knight Silksong are likely to find the entrance to Hunter's March, only to get brutally beaten by the guardian bosses and forced to wonder if there isn't a better way. I'll explain below everything you'll find in Hunter's March, as well as whether you even need to go there at all.

Silksong Hunter's March map and key locations

Below we've got a map of the full Hunter's March region in Hollow Knight Silksong, with all the primary locations marked for your reference.

1. Red Ant Boss Skarrgard. This brutal foe prevents you from accessing Hunter's March properly. If you need help on killing this bouncer at the door, we've got a guide on the Silksong Skull Ant boss here.
2. Second entrance/Back Door. There's a path here that links to Deep Docks, but it's locked from the inside. You'll need to beat Skarrgard and circle round to this door to open it. There's also a path that connects to the Swift Step Art, but it's much easier to access from the Deep Docks itself.
3. Trapped Bench and Map Location. Two tunnels, one above the other, hold a bench and the map seller Shakra respectively, so you can get the region map. Keep in mind that if you sit on the bench, a trap will hurt you. You need to keep going West past the bench into a secret room and hit a lever to deactivate the trap.
4. Second Skarrgard fight. At the top of Hunter's March is a room where you can fight another Skarrgard, this time with a flying ant minion who supports him. The rewards for doing so are simply a lot of Rosaries and Shell Shards, as well as completing Skarrgard's entry in the Bestiary.
5. Savage Beastfly, Chapel of the Beast and Crest of the Beast. At the end of this tunnel is a small building that holds a platforming challenge and a boss fight with the Savage Beastfly. If you can kill it, you'll get the Crest of the Beast.

Along the way of course you'll find more enemies and minor treasures, but these are the key elements involved. You'll need the drift and wall jump powers to explore completely, as laid out in our page on Silksong abilities, but those are obtained relatively early in the game.

Do you have to do Hunter's March in Silksong?

No, Hunter's March is an entirely optional area in Silksong and not mandatory to completing the main story. The main reason to go is to obtain the Crest found there, which offers new attack patterns and silk powers, but you can definitely complete the game without it.

If you're struggling, I recommend coming back to Hunter's March later on when you feel more confident, rather than bashing your head against it. Admittedly, nowhere in Pharloom is easy – the Silksong Moorwing boss fight isn't far off – but you don't need to go through unnecessary pain.

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