Stuck finding your way through Hunter’s March in Hollow Knight: Silksong? Of all the parts I’ve written so far for this Hollow Knight: Silksong walkthrough, I think Hunter’s March deserves one the most. This area is extremely unwelcoming, filled with spikes and dangerous ant enemies. And if you haven’t yet got the hang of Pogo-ing off enemies and surfaces, now’s probably the time to really commit to learning that skill.
In Part 7 of our Silksong walkthrough, I’ll show you the safest, most optimal route through Hunter’s March, beginning with the powerful ant guardian in the Marrow, and culminating in one of the hardest fights yet deep inside the Chapel Of The Beast. Let’s get started!
Want the walkthrough for a different area of the game? Check out our Hollow Knight: Silksong walkthrough hub!
Hunter’s March walkthrough steps:
- Take the Bellway to the Marrow.
- Defeat Skarrgard, the giant ant miniboss.
- Pogo your way up to the captive Flea.
- Head East to reach the gauntlet with Shakra.
- Reach the next Bench and disarm its trap.
- Meet Gilly by the dancer statue.
- Find Mottled Scarr in the secret passage.
- Unlock the shortcut to Deep Docks.
- Enter the Chapel Of The Beast.
- Defeat the Savage Beastfly.
1. Take the Bellway to the Marrow.
Picking up exactly where we left off, we’ve just entered the region of Greymoor but don’t actually want to be here yet. So drop down almost all the way to the bottom of the shaft, and use the Bellway to fast travel to the Marrow.
From there, head all the way to the right until you reach the Marrow’s own rather shorter shaft with the stepladder running down it.
2. Defeat Skarrgard, the giant ant miniboss.
Drop to the ground level where the stepladder ends. On your right is the path that takes you into Hunter’s March, a region governed by powerful ant enemies. But before heading there, drop down the hole and enter the prison (where you freed Grindle), and rest at the Bench there. This gives you an easy and quick path back to Hunter’s March.
When you’re ready, head down that passage to the right and you’ll come face to face with an as-yet unnamed miniboss (his name is Skarrgard, so you know). This guy is very aggressive, hits for double damage, and will absolutely tear you apart if you’re unprepared. I’ve included a quick “how to beat” video from our friends at IGN just below.
The secret to beating Skarrgard is to keep close to him, and either dodge backwards if he swings, or dodge beneath him when he leaps. Attack often but carefully, as there are plenty of opportunities to punish his attacks. He doesn’t actually have much Health, so it shouldn’t take long provided you’ve followed our walkthrough and gained both the Swift Step ability and the Wanderer Crest (the faster attacks make this fight easier).
Once the giant ant is slain, collect the couple of Shell Shard caches in the upper area just beyond Skarrgard’s arena, and then press onward to enter Hunter’s March.
A warning before we go further…
I strongly recommend you switch to the Wanderer Crest for this area, because – together with your new floating mechanic from Far Fields – it makes navigating Hunter’s March significantly easier. With practice though, you can use Hornet’s original Pogo attack to clear everything in Hunter’s March, so it’s up to you.
3. Pogo your way up to the captive Flea.
Follow the path and Pogo up all the red plants until you arrive at a vertical fork in the road. Take the left-side path upwards, evading the flying ants as you go.
At the top, just past the spikes, you’ll find a Flea held captive inside a cage. Break the cage to release it and send it back to its caravan. After that, carefully descend and take the right-hand path upwards off-screen.
4. Head East to reach the gauntlet with Shakra.
In the next room, Pogo upwards to reach the high left-hand ledge, where you’ll find a couple of Rosary strings guarded by one patrolling ant. Then head along to the right, killing or bypassing the soldier ant in front of you. Pogo to the high ledge, and attack the rope to dislodge a Rosary Necklace.
Make your way further right (either path is fine but brings different obstacles), and enter the next room. Pogo over the spikes, and you’ll enter another gauntlet arena where successive waves of ant enemies attack you. But this one’s a little different; after the first wave, Shakra the map-maker joins you.
Survive the gauntlet – you can let her do most of the work and just concentrate on dodging. When the fighting is over, speak with Shakra and purchase the Hunter’s March map for 70 Rosaries.
5. Reach the next Bench and disarm its trap.
After speaking with Shakra, progress to the right and you’ll enter yet another spike-filled Pogo-heavy area. Attack the webs above for some free Silk, then take either the upper path for fighting, or the lower path for Pogo-ing.
When the paths converge, look up and you’ll see a trail of red plants leading to an upper section. Climb up there, and be aware that an ant will spawn behind you as you reach the end. Kill the ant, and attack the ropes for some Shell Shards.
Then drop back down and continue to the right. There are three pressure plates on the ground across this stretch, so be sure to jump over them as you go, or you’ll be hit by swinging bone axes. Make your way over the spikes at the end of the room and exit off-screen.
The next room is a vertical shaft with an air current. Ride the air current upwards until you reach the first exit on your left, about halfway up the shaft.
Inside you’ll find a Bench, but DON’T rest at it yet. The Bench is trapped; resting now will cause a swinging axe to hit you rather than healing you.
Instead, head through the left-hand wall to find a miniature hidden area with a lever to disarm the trap. Now you can rest at the Bench.
6. Meet Gilly by the dancer statue.
Head back out into the previous room with the wind current, and enter the room opposite you on the right-hand side. Inside here you’ll find a statue of a dancing figure, and right next to it is a slightly shuffling plant.
Attack the plant to reveal a new NPC – Gilly. You can exchange some words with her about the statue and the region at large, after which you should head back out into the previous room.
7. Find Mottled Scarr in the secret passage.
Ride the air current even higher, and enter the next door on your left. This appears to be a small room filled with some strings of Shell Shards, which you’re free to collect. But there’s much more to this room than meets the eye.
Head to the left-hand wall where all the shrubbery is, and jump into it. This will reveal a well-hidden secret passage filled with a number of parkouring elements and pressure plate traps.
Make your way to the end – whenever you see a jump that looks quite large, hold dash to do a running jump instead, and follow up with another dash in midair. At the very end of this secret area, you’ll find a peculiar NPC – the ant-man known as Mottled Scarr.
Speak with him, and though you can’t understand each other’s language, he’ll allow you to purchase some obscure items from his shop. The Curveclaw is a boomerang-esque ranged attack tool which is good against flying enemies, while the Fractured Mask is a tool that protects you from death for one hit (per rest).
It’s not too likely you’ll have enough Rosaries at this stage for either purchase, but if you can, buy the Fractured Mask and equip it as soon as possible.
8. Unlock the shortcut to Deep Docks.
Exit back the way you came, and drop to the very bottom of the vertical shaft, using the air current to slow your descent before you reach the spikes at the bottom. There are two exits – one to the left, and one to the right. Take the left exit.
Here you can attack a lever to open a handy shortcut back into the top of Deep Docks. We’ve still got stuff to do in Hunter’s March though, so turn back around and take the right-hand exit this time.
9. Enter the Chapel Of The Beast.
Pogo over the spikes in the next room, and then look out for the pressure plate on the grass. It’ll ensnare you in a cage ready for the soldier ant ahead to get the drop on you. Defeat the ant, and press forward.
Head past the air current, and you’ll find a small ledge on the right-hand side of the room, where a Pilgrim enemy’s corpse lies inside a hanging cage. Attack the cage to destroy it, and loot the body for a Memory Locket.
Now, turn around and ride the air current upwards to the higher ledge. Follow this path to its very end, and you’ll find the entrance to a new building. This is the Chapel Of The Beast – and if you recall the reward you got from the last Chapel you visited, you should be quite excited.
10. Defeat the Savage Beastfly.
Inside the Chapel, ride the air current upwards and head right (and try to ignore the intimidating pounding noises). The whole Chapel is basically a parkour challenge, but there’s very little to explain here – just follow the air currents and red plants all the way up, around, and down.
After floating down between the two walls of spikes, jump quickly off the ground below, because it’s about to crumble into spikes. Defeat the enemies just beyond, and press on until you glide down between another couple of spike walls. When you land, flick the lever on your right to open up a shortcut, so you never have to go through that parkour section again.
Now, head left. It’s time to face one of the toughest bosses in the early-game of Hollow Knight: Silksong.
This is the Savage Beastfly, and it’s the final test of Hunter’s March at this stage. All its attacks deal double damage to you, and its charges – both horizontal and vertical – are aggressive combos that keep you on the move.
Again, I highly recommend using the Wanderer Crest for its quick attacks. You need to keep up the pressure – every time you dodge an attack in the middle of one of its combos, try to only just dodge it, so you’re close enough to do a single retaliatory strike. Each time it finishes a horizontal combo by slamming into the wall, make sure you’re near the wall as it starts the charge so you’re close enough to get three strikes after your jump in as it recovers.
The worst part of this fight is its second phase, because the Savage Beastfly starts to call in reinforcements. The best strategy here is to bait the Beastfly into doing its floor slam attack on whatever enemy it spawns, because that will instantly kill the minion.
Take your time, and don’t give up. It’s a tough fight, but you can do it.
Once the Savage Beastfly is finally slain, head to the left and claim your reward: the Beast Crest. This crest gives Hornet a powerful swiping slash attack, and turns her Bind into a temporarily lifesteal attack ability.
I will advise, however, that you spend a moment getting used to Hornet’s new rolling midair downward attack, as it’s very different from before. The Crest is auto-equipped, so you’ll need to exit back the way you came and Pogo off the red plants with this new attack, so a bit of practice beforehand wouldn’t go amiss.
That’s everything there is to do for now in Hunter’s March! Next stop… Well, you can find out by heading over to Part 8 of our Silksong walkthrough!
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