Look, we all knew Pharloom was going to be a brutal step up from Hallownest. Hornet’s a faster protagonist, sure, but the enemies in Hollow Knight: Silksong don't exactly sit around waiting for you to pogo on their heads. If you’re tired of seeing the "Defeated" screen every time a Tarmite look at you funny, you need more health. Period.
Basically, the health system here mirrors the original game. You start with five masks. To get more, you have to track down silksong all mask shard locations scattered across the map. You need four shards to make one full mask. There are 20 shards in total, which means you can end the game with a comfy 10 masks of health.
Getting them isn't always a walk in the park. Some are tucked behind breakable walls that you’ll walk past ten times without noticing. Others are locked behind "Wishes"—the game's new quest system—or require late-game movement abilities like the Silk Soar or the Clawline.
The Early Game Scavenge (Act 1)
In the beginning, you're fragile. Most things in the Moss Grotto can kill you in a few hits. Your first priority should be hitting the shops and checking every suspicious corner.
Bone Bottom Shop
Honestly, this is the easiest one to get, provided you aren't spending all your Rosaries on throwables. Once you reach the first town, Bone Bottom, talk to the merchant Pebb. He sells a Mask Shard for 300 Rosaries. It’s expensive for the early game, but just grind a few enemies near the bench and you'll have it in no time.
The Moss Grotto Secret
Don't leave the starting area too quickly. Near the entrance to the Wormways, there’s a room where a massive beast spits at you from the ceiling. If you drop down into the shallow water and strike the wall on the far right, you’ll find a hidden alcove. There's your second shard.
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Wormways Hidden Pool
This one is easy to miss because it requires a bit of speed. In the Wormways, west of Mosshome, you'll find a room with abandoned lifts. A beast will chase you from the ceiling dropping acid. Run to the end, go through the door, and you'll find a tall room. Drop into the pool at the bottom and hit the right wall. Another hidden room, another shard.
Shellwood’s Flower Puzzle
Near the Shellwood Bellway, there’s a long room filled with white flower buds and thorns. You’ll need to be decent at pogoing (striking downward) to get across. At the very end of this platforming gauntlet, the shard is wedged into a breakable wall in the upper-right corner.
Mid-Game Challenges and Mobility Gates
By the time you reach Act 2, you should have the Drifter’s Cloak and maybe the Cling Grip. These are mandatory for the next batch of upgrades.
Far Fields Updrafts
Northwest of the Seamstress’s hut, you’ll see some steam vents. Use your Drifter’s Cloak to catch the air. You’ll need to hit some molten rocks to keep the steam flowing and eventually break a section of the floor to find the shard hidden below.
Deep Docks Combat Trial
You’ve probably seen this one behind a locked gate and felt the frustration. To get it, you actually have to loop around from The Marrow (the area to the west). Once you enter the room from the "back" side, you’ll be locked in for a four-wave combat trial. It’s mostly Beastflies and Tarmites. Survive the bugs, and the gate opens.
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Weavenest Atla Lava Room
This one is a nightmare for anyone who hates platforming over hazards. Go to the bottom of the light elevator in Weavenest Atla and head right. You’ll find a room filled with lava. You have to pogo off enemies and small platforms to reach the right wall, then pogo back to the left to reach a high ledge where the shard sits.
Act 2 Locations at a Glance:
- Choral Chambers: Buy one from the merchant Jubilana for 750 Rosaries.
- Whispering Vaults: Look for a moving box in the eastern hallway of the lower levels. Hit it upward to reach a hidden glass case.
- The Slab: Locked behind an Apostate Key door in the northeast.
- Bilewater: Requires the Clawline. It’s at the end of a long eastward path filled with grappling rings.
The Act 3 Completionist Run
The final shards are basically rewards for being the apex predator of Pharloom. You cannot get these until the world state shifts into Act 3.
The Bellhart Wishboard
The town of Bellhart becomes your hub for the late game. Check the board for these specific quests:
- The Hidden Hunter: You’ll have to hunt a specific elite enemy.
- Dark Hearts: This involves destroying Void Hearts scattered across the map.
- Savage Beastfly: A Grand Hunt that ends in a nasty boss fight.
Completing these "Wishes" is the only way to get these specific shards.
Mount Fay and Silk Soar
The absolute final shards usually require the Silk Soar ability—Hornet’s vertical rocket move. In Mount Fay, there’s a massive hollow rock pillar. You have to use the Cling Grip to scale the inside and the Silk Soar to blast through an opening in the ceiling that was previously unreachable.
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The Skull Cavern Trial
Back in the Far Fields, there’s a hut shaped like a skull. In Act 3, you can go deep into the basement. It’s a gauntlet where you’re chased by rising lava while doing precise platforming. If you die, the whole thing resets. It’s arguably the hardest shard to get in the game, so make sure your kit is fully upgraded before attempting it.
Why 10 Masks Actually Matters
You might think seven or eight masks is plenty. It’s not. In the late game, especially against bosses like the purified Lace or the final encounters in the Citadel, enemies start dealing double damage (two masks per hit).
If you have 6 masks, you can only take three hits. If you have 10, you can take five. That’s a massive margin of error when you’re trying to learn a boss's rhythm. Plus, Hornet heals differently than the Knight—her "Bind" heals three masks at once but uses a full bar of Silk. Having a larger health pool makes that big heal way more efficient.
Your Next Steps
Check your inventory. If you have two or three shards sitting there, go back to Bone Bottom or Choral Chambers and see if you missed the shop upgrades. If you're stuck at 9 masks, you likely haven't finished the "Fastest in Pharloom" wish or the hidden platforming challenge in the Blasted Steps. Start with the shops, then move to the combat trials to beef up your health before hitting the Citadel.