In Hollow Knight: Silksong, Pale Oil is a rare item required to upgrade Hornet's Needle Sword. There are exactly three Pale Oil items hidden throughout the Kingdom of Pharloom, and each one is essential for maximizing your weapon damage against the game's increasingly tough enemies. With Silksong's notoriously challenging difficulty curve that has players discussing balance changes in recent patches, securing these damage upgrades early can make the difference between victory and countless defeats.
| Pale Oil # | Location | Requirements | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Whispering Vaults (Citadel) | Access to Citadel, Box Puzzle | Medium |
| #2 | Choral Chambers (Great Taste Quest) | 5 Food Items, Multiple Regions | Hard |
| #3 | Fleatopia (Act 3) | All 30 Fleas Found, Minigame Mastery | Very Hard |
Before diving into Pale Oil locations, let's understand how Silksong's damage upgrade system works. Pinmaster Plinney, located in Bellhart, is your go-to NPC for all Needle upgrades. After defeating the Widow boss and freeing Bellhart, Plinney offers your first upgrade completely free – the Sharpened Needle.
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The four upgrade levels provide the following base damage values:
What makes these upgrades crucial is their multiplicative effect on skills. For example, Silkspear deals 3 times base damage, meaning at maximum upgrade it hits for 63 damage instead of just 15. This scaling applies to all Silk Skills, making each Pale Oil exponentially valuable.
| Upgrade Level | Cost | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| First Upgrade | FREE | Defeat Widow, Free Bellhart |
| Second Upgrade | 500 Rosaries + 1 Pale Oil | Complete Pinmaster's Oil wish |
| Third Upgrade | 500 Rosaries + 1 Pale Oil | Find second Pale Oil |
| Fourth Upgrade | 900 Rosaries + 1 Pale Oil | Access Act 3, Rescue Plinney |
The first Pale Oil is hidden in the Whispering Vaults area of the Citadel in Act 2. This area is accessed through the Choral Chambers and Cogwork Core area. You'll need to have defeated the Cogwork Duo boss west of Songclave first to access this region.
This Pale Oil is locked behind one of Silksong's more intricate environmental puzzles. Here's the step-by-step solution:
Pro Tip: Take screenshots as you progress through the puzzle. If you make a mistake, you can reset the room by leaving and re-entering, but having visual references helps immensely.
The Whispering Vaults is populated with tough Citadel guards and mechanical enemies. With the recent patch reducing some early game difficulty, this area remains challenging but manageable. Bring plenty of healing items and consider equipping defensive tools before attempting the puzzle.
The second Pale Oil comes from completing the "Great Taste of Pharloom" wish for Loyal Mergwin in the Choral Chambers dining area. This extensive quest requires collecting five specific food items from across Pharloom:
Navigate to the desert region and search for this elusive ingredient. You'll need heat resistance tools to survive the harsh environment. The Crustnut is typically found near oasis areas where desert crabs congregate.
Speak to the Moss Druid in Bone Bottom who collects all the Silksong Mossberries. You'll need to complete their mini-quest first, which involves gathering scattered Mossberries throughout the Moss Grotto region.
Defeat Lugoli in Sinner's Road and pick up the Pickled Muckmaggot he drops. Lugoli is a challenging mini-boss who uses poison attacks, so bring antidote tools.
Go to the Halfway House near the Moorwing boss area and speak to Criege. He'll sell you Vintage Nectar for 480 Rosaries, but you must retrieve it yourself from his cellar, which is filled with aggressive ant enemies.
This is the most complex ingredient to obtain:
Speed Run Strategy: For the 5-minute delivery challenge, take the route through the Blasted Steps. Practice the path beforehand without the timer to memorize enemy positions and optimal movement patterns. You cannot use fast travel during this challenge!
This final Pale Oil has the steepest requirements:
Once at Fleatopia in the Putrified Ducts area, you'll participate in the Festival of the Flea, which consists of three minigames:
You must achieve the high score in all three minigames to earn the final Pale Oil. The scores turn orange in the bottom left when you've beaten them.
Juggle Tips:
Bounce Strategy:
Dodge Techniques:
During Act 3, Pinmaster Plinney leaves Bellhart to visit graves in Shellwood. You'll find him being attacked by void-corrupted enemies in the western part of Shellwood. Defeat three waves of enemies to rescue him and enable the final upgrade.
Combat Warning: The void-corrupted enemies deal significant damage and have unpredictable movement patterns. Bring your best defensive tools and plenty of healing items.
With all Pale Oils collected, your combat effectiveness transforms dramatically:
Skill Damage Calculations (at Max Upgrade):
The damage upgrades synergize multiplicatively with certain Crests and Tools:
As of September 2025, Team Cherry has released two major patches addressing various bugs and balance adjustments. The first patch included slight difficulty reductions for early bosses like Moorwing and Sister Splinter, while the second focused on bug fixes and tool-related issues.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is available on PC (Steam, GOG), PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and the upcoming Switch 2. Xbox Game Pass subscribers can play at no additional cost.
Since later upgrades require substantial Rosary investments (900 for the final upgrade), efficient farming is crucial:
While Silksong is more linear than its predecessor, some sequence breaks exist:
Many players rush past Bellhart without realizing Plinney offers a free damage boost. This is essentially mandatory for reasonable progression.
The Flea Festival minigames are balanced around having most upgrades. Attempting them undergeared leads to frustration.
Spending Rosaries on non-essential items before securing upgrades can lock you out of progression. Prioritize:
The Whispering Vaults puzzle can seem intimidating, but it's actually one of the easier Pale Oils to obtain. Don't skip it thinking you'll find an easier one later.
Many content creators have produced visual guides for the box puzzle and minigames. Search for "September 2025 Pale Oil guide" for the most recent strategies incorporating latest patches.
No, only three Pale Oils exist in Hollow Knight: Silksong. Any rumors of additional oils are either speculation or misinformation.
No, all three Pale Oils can be obtained at any point once their respective areas become accessible. There are no missable upgrades in Silksong.
The Whispering Vaults puzzle oil is generally the most accessible and doesn't require extensive questing or perfect execution like the others.
Pale Oil specifically upgrades the Needle's base damage, which then scales with skills. Tool damage is separate but some tools do scale with certain stats.
Absolutely. The jump from 13 to 21 base damage is massive, especially when multiplied across skills. This represents a 60% damage increase.
No, Needle upgrades are permanent improvements. There's no downside to upgrading, so don't hesitate when you have the resources.
Steel Soul mode starts fresh with no upgrades, requiring you to collect all Pale Oils again. Plan your route accordingly for this challenging mode.
Silksong uses the same damage scaling as the original (5, 9, 13, 21), but the faster combat pace and skill system make upgrades feel more impactful.
While skilled players can complete the game at any upgrade level, having at least two Pale Oils (13 damage) is strongly recommended for the final act's challenging encounters.
No, all Pale Oil locations remain unchanged. Patches have only addressed bugs preventing quest completion and adjusted some reward values.
Securing all three Pale Oils in Hollow Knight: Silksong transforms Hornet from a nimble fighter into a devastating force. While the journey to maximum damage requires exploring every corner of Pharloom, completing challenging quests, and mastering minigames, the payoff is substantial. With base damage increasing from 5 to 21 and skills scaling multiplicatively, each upgrade represents a significant power spike.
Remember that Silksong rewards preparation and persistence. Take time to practice the Whispering Vaults puzzle, gather ingredients methodically for the Great Taste quest, and don't rush into the Flea Festival until you're truly ready. The join the official Discord community remains active with players sharing strategies and offering assistance for particularly challenging sections.
As Team Cherry continues to refine the experience with patches throughout 2025, the core challenge and satisfaction of maximizing your combat potential through Pale Oil collection remains one of Silksong's most rewarding progression systems. Whether you're aiming for a casual playthrough or preparing for Steel Soul mode, these damage upgrades are essential to conquering the singing kingdom of Pharloom.
Happy hunting, and may your Needle strike true!
For more Hollow Knight: Silksong guides, including Mask Shard locations, Tool combinations, and boss strategies, bookmark this page and check back regularly as we update our coverage throughout September 2025. Don't forget to join the conversation in the official community Discord or share your own Pale Oil hunting experiences on the Hollow Knight subreddit.