Ultimate Bell Beast Guide: Silkspear Mastery (March 2026)
After defeating the Bell Beast and obtaining the Silkspear in Hollow Knight: Silksong, your next priorities are: buying the Deep Docks map from Shakra, freeing Grindle the imprisoned thief, mastering Silkspear combat mechanics for breaking silk barriers, and utilizing the new fast travel system to explore previously inaccessible areas throughout Pharloom. This victory opens up multiple progression paths that fundamentally transform your exploration capabilities.
When I first took down the Bell Beast after several attempts, the immediate rush of accomplishment was quickly followed by an important question: what now? Unlike the linear progression of many games, Silksong opens up dramatically after this point, offering multiple paths forward. In this guide, I’ll share everything I’ve discovered about maximizing your post-Bell Beast progression, from mastering the Silkspear mechanics to utilizing the newly unlocked fast travel system that completely revolutionizes exploration.
Understanding Your Bell Beast Victory Rewards
The Bell Beast fight represents the first major difficulty spike in Silksong, and Team Cherry rewards your perseverance generously. After consuming the Silk Heart and gaining the ability to ride the Bell Beast for fast travel, I immediately noticed how this changes the entire game’s pacing. The Silkspear ability you’ve unlocked isn’t just another attack – it’s a versatile tool that breaks through silk webbing throughout Pharloom, opening previously inaccessible areas.
What makes the Silkspear particularly powerful is its piercing long-range attack that costs Silk to use. During my exploration, I’ve found it deals significantly more damage than Hornet’s basic needle attacks, making it invaluable against tougher enemies. However, the Silk cost means you’ll need to balance offensive Silkspear usage with keeping enough Silk reserves for healing – a lesson I learned the hard way during subsequent boss encounters. For more insights into Silksong’s revolutionary mechanics, understanding the Silk system is crucial.
Immediate Post-Victory Priorities
Right after defeating the Bell Beast, I recommend taking these immediate steps to set yourself up for success. First, head to Shakra to purchase the Deep Docks map – this becomes essential for navigation as you explore new territories. The map reveals crucial pathways and helps you identify areas where your new Silkspear ability can break through barriers.
Next, make your way to free Grindle, the imprisoned thief. This character provides valuable rewards and opens up questlines that enhance your progression options. I initially overlooked this step in my first playthrough, but freeing Grindle early provides resources that make subsequent challenges more manageable. The community consensus strongly supports prioritizing this encounter for the strategic advantages it provides, similar to how advanced Silksong strategies emphasize early resource optimization.
Exploring Your Progression Path Options
One of Silksong’s greatest strengths is the non-linear progression that opens up after the Bell Beast. Based on my experience and validated community strategies, you have three primary paths to consider, each offering unique rewards and challenges.
The first option involves returning to Bone Bottom’s Wishwall, where your Silkspear ability allows access to previously unreachable areas. I found this path particularly rewarding for players who enjoy exploration and uncovering secrets. The Wishwall area contains numerous silk barriers that the Silkspear can break, revealing collectibles and upgrade materials essential for character progression, much like the thorough exploration required in our comprehensive exploration guides.
Alternatively, you can pursue the Forge Daughter questline, which I personally found to be one of the most engaging narrative threads in the game. Meeting the Forge Daughter unlocks crafting opportunities and weapon upgrades that significantly enhance combat effectiveness. The Steam community discussions I’ve analyzed show this path is favored by players who prioritize combat optimization over exploration.
The third major option involves seeking out the Swift Step skill, which fundamentally changes movement mechanics. Located in a challenging area that tests your newfound abilities, Swift Step provides enhanced mobility that makes platforming sections and boss fights considerably more manageable. During my playthrough, acquiring Swift Step early transformed how I approached the rest of the game, similar to how mastering Hollow Knight’s challenging content requires strategic ability acquisition.
Mastering the Fast Travel System
The Bell Beast fast travel system is more complex than it initially appears. After unlocking it, I discovered that Bellway stations aren’t just convenient waypoints – they’re strategically placed to encourage thorough exploration of each area. The community has mapped out optimal fast travel routes that minimize backtracking while ensuring you don’t miss crucial upgrades.
What I’ve learned through extensive testing is that the fast travel system works best when you establish a mental map of station locations relative to major objectives. Unlike traditional fast travel, the Bell Beast system requires you to physically summon your mount at designated stations, adding a strategic element to route planning. I recommend thoroughly exploring each new area before moving on, as returning later without proper fast travel access can be time-consuming.
Advanced Silkspear Techniques and Combat Strategies
The Silkspear ability has hidden depths that aren’t immediately obvious. Through experimentation and community collaboration, I’ve discovered several advanced techniques that maximize its effectiveness. The ability’s piercing property allows it to damage multiple enemies in a line, making crowd control significantly easier in areas with dense enemy placement.
Resource management becomes crucial when integrating Silkspear attacks into your combat rotation. I’ve found that reserving Silkspear usage for breaking barriers and dealing with particularly troublesome enemies yields better results than using it as a primary attack. The Silk cost-to-damage ratio improves significantly when you target enemy weak points, which the community has extensively documented for each enemy type.
One technique I’ve mastered involves combining Silkspear attacks with environmental hazards. Many areas contain destructible elements that, when hit with the Silkspear, create area-of-effect damage or temporary platforms. This environmental interaction adds a puzzle-solving element to combat that rewards creative thinking, reminiscent of the strategic depth found in the original Hollow Knight DLC progression guide.
Preparing for Upcoming Boss Encounters
With the Bell Beast defeated and new areas accessible, you’ll soon face even more challenging bosses. The Ant Guardian and Lace represent significant difficulty increases that test everything you’ve learned. I strongly recommend using your newfound mobility to gather upgrade materials before attempting these encounters.
The Far Fields area, where you’ll eventually encounter the Seamstress, requires particular preparation. Based on my experience and confirmed by numerous Steam community reports, having fully upgraded tools and a solid understanding of Silkspear mechanics is essential for this late-game area. The progression path you choose after Bell Beast directly impacts how prepared you’ll be for these challenges, similar to how Silksong’s Frayed Rosary currency system affects your overall progression capabilities.
Community-Discovered Secrets and Optimizations
The Silksong community has uncovered numerous secrets in the post-Bell Beast areas that aren’t immediately obvious. I’ve verified several sequence-breaking opportunities that allow early access to powerful upgrades, though these require precise execution of advanced movement techniques. The 360,000 Twitch viewers during launch contributed to rapid discovery of these optimization strategies.
One particularly valuable discovery involves using the Silkspear to access a hidden merchant who sells rare upgrade materials at reduced prices. This vendor, located behind multiple silk barriers in the Deep Docks, offers items that normally require extensive grinding to obtain. The community consensus is that finding this merchant early significantly smooths out the difficulty curve, much like the strategic advantages discussed in essential Silksong beginner strategies.
| Priority Level | Action | Location | Reward Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | Purchase Deep Docks Map | Shakra (vendor) | Navigation Aid |
| High | Free Grindle | Prison Area | Resources & Quests |
| Medium | Explore Bone Bottom Wishwall | Bone Bottom | Collectibles |
| Medium | Meet Forge Daughter | Forge Area | Crafting & Upgrades |
| Optional | Acquire Swift Step | Challenging Area | Movement Enhancement |
Conclusion: Your Journey Forward
Defeating the Bell Beast and obtaining the Silkspear marks your transition from Silksong’s early game to its expansive mid-game content. The choices you make at this junction will shape your entire playthrough experience. Whether you prioritize exploration, combat optimization, or narrative progression, the game rewards thorough investigation and mastery of its mechanics.
My advice is to embrace the non-linear nature of post-Bell Beast progression. Take time to explore each path, experiment with Silkspear techniques, and utilize the fast travel system to its fullest potential. Remember that Silksong, like its predecessor, rewards patience and thorough exploration over rushed progression. With these strategies and insights from comprehensive progression guides, you’re well-equipped to tackle everything Pharloom has to offer beyond the Bell Beast’s domain.
For those looking to understand the broader context of this achievement within the Silksong universe, our detailed analysis of Team Cherry’s development journey provides valuable insights into why this particular progression point was designed as such a crucial turning point in Hornet’s adventure through Pharloom.