Silksong needle upgrades use Pale Oil, which can be found all over the map and must be brought to Pinmaster Plinney in Bellhart to use. Upgrading your weapon damage is technically optional, but you are really going to struggle with the late game in Hollow Knight Silksong if you don't have at least a couple of upgrades to increase your needle damage. Below, I'll explain how to get all needle upgrades, and show you all the Pale Oil locations so you can use it to purchase them from the Pinmaster in Silksong.
Where to get Needle upgrades in Silksong to increase weapon damage
Needle upgrades in Silksong are given to you by Pinmaster Plinney, an NPC found in Bellhart who will increase your weapon damage. You'll have to beat the Silksong Widow boss fight to unlock them though, as while you can reach Bellhart before the fight, it's not populated by anybody until afterwards. The Pinmaster is found on a raised building halfway up the town, requiring a bit of jumping to reach him.
The first time you speak to him, he'll upgrade the damage of your Needle permanently for free. However, all future upgrades will require an item called Pale Oil and you'll get a side quest called the Pinmaster's Wish to help you start finding it. However, there are three Pale Oils in the game, and the Wish only challenges you to find one of them.
All Silksong Pale Oil locations
There are 3 Pale Oil items found in Silksong, in the these locations:
- At the left side of Whispering Vaults, behind a moving platform puzzle.
- As a reward for completing the "Great Taste of Pharloom" Wish for Loyal Mergwin in Choral Chambers.
- As a reward from the Fleamaster for finding every Flea in Silksong and progressing to the celebration in Act 3.
Needless to say that none of these things are easy and I've numbered them according from the easiest to hardest above. So if you haven't found any yet, I recommend going for the Whispering Vaults one first. Now let's take a look at where you need to do in more detail.
1. Whispering Vaults Pale Oil location
The easiest Pale Oil is found at the left side of the Whispering Vaults in Sliksong, behind a series of moving crates. It's a fairly easy puzzle that can be completed with only the Silksong wall jump ability, but once you're there you can collect the Pale Oil and open up a new route between the Vaults and the Choral Chambers. You'll need to approach this from the right side though, as the route from the left is blocked off initially.
2. Great Taste of Pharloom Pale Oil location
The NPC Loyal Mergwin in Choral Chambers, at the location marked above, will give you Pale Oil if you can bring him five different dishes from around the game.
Each dish is found in its own region with its own requirements. It's a big journey, and one you'll probably complete near the end of the game. Here's everything you need to find and where to find it.
- Mossberry Stew
- Location: Northeast Mosshome. Go speak to the Moss Druid who takes all the Silksong Mossberries. You'll need to complete her quest first, if you haven't already.
- Vintage Nectar
- Location: Greymoor. Go to the Halfway House where you can rest, not far from the Silksong Moorwing, and speak to the owner, Criege. He'll sell you Vintage Nectar for a costly 480 Rosaries, but you'll have to fetch it yourself from his cellar, which is a gauntlet of ant enemies.
- Courier's Rasher
- Location: Bellhart, eventually. After saving Bellhart in Silksong and completing the "My Missing Courier" Wish from the notice board, speak to the rescued Tipp and he'll tell you about a new Wish: "My Missing Brother". Complete that and save Pill from central Sinner's Road, then speak to him when he goes back to Bellhart. Speak to them both and you'll get a challenge to bring the Courier's Rasher to Mergwin in five minutes. You can't use fast travel of any kind – you'll need to get there on foot. I recommend going up via the route shown in our Silksong Blasted Steps guide, as any player will be familiar with it by this point.
- Crustnut
- Location: Sands of Karak. The path beneath the one leading to the Choral Tower is a complex platforming challenge that leads to a dead end – but the Crustnut will be waiting for you at the end of it.
- Pickled Muckmaggot
- Location: Sinner's Road. Slaying the boss Disgraced Chef Lugoli, to the right of the central room of hanging cages, earns you the Muckmaggot as a reward.
3. Fleamaster Pale Oil location
The final Pale Oil is given to you as a reward by the Fleas, at the end of a very long quest chain. To get it, you need to do the following:
- Find all 30 fleas across the whole game and meet the Caravan in the East Putrified Ducts.
- Reach the optional Act 3 of the main story.
- Speak with Fleamaster Mooshka, then go to Bellhart and look at the notice board for a new wish: Ecstasy of the End.
- Go back to the Flea Caravan for a celebration party. Complete every minigame and they'll give you the Pale Oil.
Obviously this is a huge process that'll carry you across almost the entire game (reaching act three is no easy task), but I heavily recommend finding the NPC Vog in the Putrified Ducts, shown on the map above. Once found, she goes to the Flea Caravan and becomes a vendor who will sell you Flea maps, revealing their locations in different regions. It costs a bit of money, but it effectively can reveal all their locations for you!
Want more help with Pharloom? Find out everything you need to know about the Silksong Slab and Apostate Key here, or discover how to slay the legendary Silksong Savage Beastfly boss here!
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