In Hollow Knight: Silksong, getting a map is super important for finding your way around the massive and complicated kingdom of Pharloom. Unlike the last game, you don’t start with a map, which makes exploring early on a bit harder.
Don’t worry, the beginning of the game is pretty straightforward and guides you right to the map merchant as part of the main story. Once you get past the Denuvo issues, the game is really fun.
Where To Get the Map, Quill, and Compass In Hollow Knight: Silksong
Once you’re in The Marrow in Hollow Knight: Silksong, you need to find Shakra, a warrior monk and super-talented cartographer who sells maps and other gear. To find her, head to a huge lava-filled room in The Marrow. From there, your path goes up and to the left through a shaft room that has crumbling ledges that pop back into place for a moment.
You’ll need to be careful with your movements and timing to get past these platforms, but if you keep at it, you’ll reach the top of the shaft. Once you get to the top, go through the left passage and keep moving left. As you get closer to Shakra, you’ll start to hear her unique singing in the dark, which is a clear sign that you’re on the right track. You’ll also see a bunch of bug corpses and copper rings, which also let you know she’s nearby.
Shakra sells a bunch of map-related items for Rosary Beads, which is the local currency. To start, she’ll have maps for the Mosslands and The Marrow for 40 and 50 Rosary Beads, respectively. Besides the basic maps, she also sells some essential accessories:
- The Quill (50 Rosary Beads), which automatically updates your maps with new areas you’ve discovered whenever you rest at a bench
- The Compass (70 Rosary Beads)
- A Yellow Tool that shows your location on a purchased map when you look at it
- Bench Pins (60 Rosary Beads), which automatically mark the locations of benches and rest spots
- Shell Markers (40 Rosary Beads), which give you nine custom markers you can put on your map.
It’s a good idea to buy the Mosslands and The Marrow maps along with the Compass first, since those are the most important tools for getting around. If you’re low on Rosary Beads, there’s a great spot to farm them just to the left of Shakra’s location, which leads back into the Moss Grotto.
This room is full of aggressive pilgrim bugs that drop Rosary Beads when you beat them. You can keep defeating these enemies over and over to get enough currency for everything Shakra sells. Shakra will show up in other regions as you go, so you can buy maps for new areas.
Just remember that the Quill only updates maps you already own, so getting the regional maps first should be your top priority. You can then equip the Compass, which is a charm, at a bench to show Hornet’s location on the map, which is super helpful for exploring Pharloom.
What Do Maps Do In Silksong?
In Hollow Knight: Silksong, maps are a huge help for getting around the giant kingdom of Pharloom. Unlike the first Hollow Knight, where you started with nothing and slowly filled in the map by finding Cornifer, Silksong gives you a more direct way to get maps, though you still have to explore to fill them out.
When you buy a map, it doesn’t show you the whole area right away; it just gives you a basic outline. To fill in the new passages and rooms you find, Hornet needs to get a Quill, which Shakra also sells. Once you have the Quill, every time you rest at a bench, the map you bought will automatically update with all the areas you’ve explored since your last rest.
Where to Find Shakra: The Cartographer in Hollow Knight: Silksong
In Hollow Knight: Silksong, you’ve got this awesome NPC named Shakra, who is a cartographer and a warrior monk. She’s the person you want to find to get all your mapping needs sorted. Early on, the game is pretty straightforward, but you don’t start with a map, so finding Shakra is a huge deal if you want to uncover all the secrets of Pharloom.
You won’t run into Shakra right away. You’ll have to play through the first couple of areas of the game, beat your first boss in the Moss Grotto, and then head into a small village called Bone Bottom. After that, you’ll enter the second major area, The Marrow. This is a tough spot with big lava rooms and some tricky platforming, which is something you should know before playing.
To find Shakra, you need to go to The Marrow and make your way to the top-left section. You’ll get to a big room with lava, and your goal is to go up. Look for a vertical shaft or some ledges that crumble and then reform. You’ll need to be quick on your feet to navigate these platforms and move upwards and to the left. As you get closer, you’ll probably hear a voice singing in the darkness; that’s how you know you’re on the right path. You’ll also see more bug corpses and copper rings, which are signs that her place is nearby.
Keep heading left through the passages at the top of the shaft, and you’ll find Shakra in that upper-left part of The Marrow. When you get to her, she’ll initially take on a warrior’s stance—don’t worry, it’s just a traditional greeting from her people. Talk to her and she’ll sell you a bunch of maps and accessories for your Rosary Beads.
How To Find The Marrow
All you need to do is keep playing through the game. You’ll go through the initial areas, beat the first boss in the “Moss Grotto,” and then pass through “Bone Bottom.”
Once you do that, you’ll officially be in “The Marrow,” which is the second region in Pharloom. Just keep following the main quest, and you’ll get there naturally in Hollow Knight: Silksong.
