Last updated: 26 July 2026
Silksong Crest & Tools Planner Build Your Loadout
Every Silksong build starts with a Crest — it sets Hornet's attack style and the colour and count of her Tool slots. The interactive planner below lets you choose one of the seven Crests, toggle between starting and fully-unlocked slot layouts via Memory Lockets, then assign any of the 54 real base-game Tools to matching colour slots. Your loadout saves automatically to your browser. Note: the Sea of Sorrow expansion (free DLC, coming 2026, not yet released) adds further Tools not yet reflected in this planner.
01Crest & Tools Planner
02How to Use the Planner
The planner mirrors the in-game steps for building a loadout at the Bench:
- Pick a Crest — choose from the seven equippable Crests. After clicking you will see a short description of its playstyle and any important notes (Beast Crest has no Blue slots at all; Shaman requires Act 3).
- Memory Lockets — toggle between Starting Slots (what you have when you first equip the Crest) and All Lockets Found (maximum slot count after investing every collectible Memory Locket across Pharloom). Slots are Crest-specific: Lockets invested in Hunter stay on Hunter even after you switch Crests.
- Assign Tools — each slot shows a colour-coded dropdown listing all real game Tools of that colour. Red slots only accept Red active attack Tools; Blue slots only accept Blue passive combat Tools; Yellow slots only accept Yellow passive exploration Tools. The ★ marker on Injector Band and Spool Extender flags the two highest-priority Blue Tools.
Your loadout saves automatically after every change. Reload the page and your build persists. Note: Vesticrest universal slots (available after 12 total slots are unlocked across non-Hunter Crests) are not modelled in this planner — configure those separately at the Bench.
03Tool Colour Rules at a Glance
Colour matching is a hard constraint in Silksong — a Tool only fits its own colour of slot:
- Red Tools (active, limited charges): throwing weapons, traps, and burst attacks. Charges refill by spending Shell Shards at a Bench. 21 Red Tools exist; two (Snare Setter and Needle Phial) are removed after certain Wishes are completed, leaving 19.
- Blue Tools (passive combat): ongoing buffs affecting healing, damage, and defence — applied automatically once slotted. 21 Blue Tools exist; Druid's Eye and Claw Mirror can each upgrade into stronger variants.
- Yellow Tools (passive exploration): traversal enhancements, map tools, and resource boosts — also automatic. 12 Yellow Tools exist; Dead Bug's Purse is replaced by Shell Satchel in Steel Soul mode.
- Silk Skill slots: present on most Crests except Architect, these slots hold learned Silk Skills (powerful silk-consuming moves such as Silkspear or Cross Stitch). Architect trades the Silk Skill slot for more total Tool slots.
04Where to Invest Memory Lockets
Each Memory Locket unlocks one locked slot on the Crest you have active when you use it. Because slots are Crest-specific, think before committing:
- Invest in your main Crest first. Lockets on the Crest you use for most combat compound across every fight. Splitting Lockets evenly across all seven Crests means none reach their full potential.
- Architect Crest is the best target for completionists. Its extra Yellow slots unlock more exploration Tools per Bench visit, directly accelerating secret and collectible hunting.
- Wanderer's first two Lockets are the best early investment. Wanderer starts with zero Blue slots; the first two Locket investments unlock exactly two Blue slots — enough for Injector Band and Warding Bell, the healing core every non-Beast build needs.
- Skip Hunter Crest for Locket investment. Hunter does not count toward the game's completion percentage, so Memory Lockets spent on it contribute nothing to your long-term progression.
FAQ
How many Crests are in Hollow Knight: Silksong?
Seven equippable Crests: Hunter (starter, does not count toward completion %), Reaper, Wanderer, Beast, Witch, Architect, and Shaman. Shaman is locked behind Act 3 and requires the Silk Soar ability. There are also special Cursed and Cloakless states with no Tool slots, but these are not standard choices. The Vesticrest is an extra accessory — not a Crest — that gives one persistent Yellow slot once you have unlocked 12 total slots across non-Hunter Crests, adding a Blue slot at 20 total.
Can I put any Tool in any slot in Silksong?
No. Tools are colour-locked to their matching slot: Red active Tools only go in Red slots, Blue passive combat Tools only in Blue slots, and Yellow passive exploration Tools only in Yellow slots. You cannot place a Red Tool in an empty Blue slot. The only exception is the Vesticrest, which adds a small number of universal slots — but even those must be filled with the correct colour for their type.
What happens to my Tools when I switch Crests in Silksong?
Switching Crests at a Bench removes all equipped Tools from their slots and returns them to your inventory. They are not lost — but you must re-equip them at the Bench. Because the new Crest has a different slot layout (different counts of Red, Blue, Yellow, and Silk Skill slots), you may need to choose different Tools to fill the available colours.
Do Memory Lockets carry over to other Crests in Silksong?
No. Memory Lockets are invested into the specific Crest that is active when you use them, and the unlocked slots belong to that Crest permanently. Switching to a different Crest does not transfer those extra slots. This is why concentrating Lockets into one or two main Crests is usually stronger than spreading them across all seven.
Why does Beast Crest have no Blue slots?
Beast Crest replaces Bind healing entirely with Berserker mode: using Bind spends your Silk spool and activates a brief window where every hit on an enemy restores 1 mask directly. Because healing comes from attacking rather than from the Bind animation, Blue Tools that improve Bind (like Injector Band and Warding Bell) are irrelevant — there is no Bind animation to speed up or shield. The trade-off is that Beast Crest unlocks Yellow Tool slots with Memory Lockets instead of Blue.
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