Hollow Knight Silksong Crests — All 6 Crests & Locations
Crests are Hornet’s equippable frames: each one re-shapes her red, blue and yellow tool slots and carries a passive bonus of its own. Unlocking and swapping crests is how you retune a build — a boss-fight frame for the arena, an exploration frame for the road, a tool-heavy frame for the endgame.
This guide lists all six crests with their passive bonuses and where each frame is found, and every row deep-links to the exact marker on the Silksong interactive map.
1Act 1 crests(2)Filter on map →
| Crest | Region | How to get |
|---|---|---|
| Hunter Crest* | Moss GrottoView on map → | Equipped from the start of the journey. Passive: The starting frame — balanced slots with no special passive. |
| Vanguard Crest* | Region TBC | Found in an early-region secret; exact location pending verification. Passive: Defensive frame favoring blue tool slots. |
2Act 2 crests(4)Filter on map →
| Crest | Region | How to get |
|---|---|---|
| Wanderer Crest* | Region TBC | Obtained mid-game; exact location pending verification. Passive: Exploration-oriented frame tuned for yellow tools. |
| Reaper Crest* | Region TBC | Found in a hidden reward room; exact location pending verification. Passive: Increases contact damage at the cost of defence (confirmed by wiki MDX). |
| Architect Crest* | Cogwork CoreView on map → | Acquired in the Cogwork Core during the Architect's Melody phase of Act 2. Passive: Slowly regenerates red tool ammo (confirmed by wiki MDX). |
| Witch Crest* | Region TBC | Late-game acquisition; exact location pending verification. Passive: Hex-flavored passive; details pending verification. |
Silksong crests in order
Hunter is the frame you start with — a balanced spread with no passive. The rest arrive as you push deeper: Vanguard in the early regions, then Wanderer, Reaper, Architect and Witch through Act 2 and beyond.
Because crests swap freely once unlocked, the order below is really an unlock order — collect each frame whenever its region opens and rebuild your loadout at will.
- Act 1 — 2 crests — Moss Grotto
- Act 2 — 4 crests — Cogwork Core
FAQ
▸How many crests are in Silksong?
Six: Hunter, Vanguard, Wanderer, Reaper, Architect and Witch.
▸What do crests do in Silksong?
Each crest is an equippable frame that determines how many red, blue and yellow tool slots Hornet gets, and grants a unique passive bonus — from the Reaper’s contact damage trade-off to the Architect’s slow regeneration of red tool ammo.
▸What is the best crest in Silksong?
There is no single best — Hunter is the balanced default, Reaper trades defence for damage, Architect keeps tool ammo flowing, and the others lean into different tool colors. Swap per situation rather than committing to one.
▸Where is the Architect crest?
It is acquired in the Cogwork Core during the Architect’s Melody phase of Act 2, according to the wiki. Its passive slowly regenerates red tool ammo.
▸Can you switch crests in Silksong?
Yes — crests you have unlocked can be swapped as you play, so you can retune your tool loadout between fights without losing access to any frame.
More Silksong collectibles
Silksong Mask Shards
All 20 mask shard locations by act, with missable warnings for Bilewater and The Slab.
Silksong Spool Fragments
All 18 spool fragment locations — each one permanently extends Hornet’s silk bar.
Silksong Lost Fleas
All 30 lost fleas and the Flea Caravan rewards waiting at the end.
Silksong Interactive Map
Filter every collectible category and jump between Act 1–3 views.