Hollow Knight: Silksong is a challenging game by design. Enemies are tough, bosses are tougher, and dying means a long run back. Your character’s kit improves slowly, and the game does not shower you with resources. There are no difficulty or accessibility options, which is where mods come in.

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The combination of these mods essentially serves as an additional difficulty option, akin to an easy mode without compromising the game’s integrity. If you’re having a tough time in Hollow Knight: Silksong and don’t want your first playthrough to be as challenging, there’s no shame in installing these mods. I tried to add something from each of its major aspects, whether it’s combat, exploration, or resource gathering.

Note: All mods featured here are available through Nexus Mods, and you will need a free account to download the files.

No Double Damage

Some enemies and bosses in Hollow Knight: Silksong deal double damage to your visible masks in the health bar. This means that getting hit a few times means certain death, which can be quite daunting for new players, especially in the earlier sections of the game.

Screenshot by Prima Games

This mod addresses this by reducing the attack damage to one attack across the board, increasing your chances of survival by a lot.

  • Mod Author: Baiker
  • NexusMods Link

Always Have Compass Effect

Getting lost in Hollow Knight: Silksong is part of the experience because it makes the eventual reward of finding where you are and where you need to go all the more exciting. That said, the way its map works is pretty brutal, giving you no hint of where you are through the UI unless you use up an item slot and equip the compass.

Screenshot by Prima Games

This mod removes that restriction and as soon as you aquire the compass, you will be highlighted on the map without the need to equip it.

  • Mod Author: WheresWolfgang
  • NexusMods Link

Show Damage and HealthBar

Not knowing how much damage you’ve dealth to an enemy or boss is part of the frustration new players can face. There are no health bars for any threat in Hollow Knight: Silksong, which means that there’s a good chance you can’t really tell how much damage you’re doing to enemies and how much longer a fight is. This mod meticously adds health bars to all enemies and bosses while also showing the damage dealt by Hornet.

Images via XiaoHaiNB
  • Mod Author: XiaoHaiNB
  • NexusMods Link

Stakes of Marika – Rebirth Anywhere

One of the most complaints about Hollow Knight: Silksong are the runbacks after your die while fighting a boss. This often feels uncessary because it means you have to traverse a bunch of platforms and potentially fight enmeies to get to the boss fight, instead of spawning right outside the boss room.

Elden Ring addressed this in the Souls titles with Stakes of Marika, and this mod essentially does that. So, you can not only spawn outside the boss room, but even create your own checkpoints. The latest version of the mod also refills your tools, you really don’t need to rest at the bench either.

  • Mod Author: kassent
  • NexusMods Link

Increase Player Damage

It can take a while before you are able to upgrade your weapon in Hollow Knight: Silksong, so damage does not increase dramatically at first. This results in fairly low damage output from Hornet for much of the early game and makes many fights with enemies and bosses last longer. If you are not satisfied with the default damage, this mod lets you multiply damage by any value you choose, for example 1.5×, 2× or 3×.

  • Mod Author: stebars
  • NexusMods Link

AutoMap

This paired with the compass mod makes updating the map a godsend. Instead of having to sit at the bench to make updates to the map, this mod automatically updates it as you make your way through it. This does require you to purchase the Quill and the map of the area, of course.

  • Mod Author: WheresWolfgang
  • NexusMods Link

Double X Resources

The following mods double the amount of resources you recieve from all possible sources:

ModMod AuthorDouble SilkBlueRajaDouble RosariersBlueRajaDouble ShardsBlueRaja

Simple Rosary Cheat

Finally, if you’re annoyed by looking for and farming rosaries, then this mod adds 1000 to your inventory with a single button press. It’s basically a cheatcode, but if aquiring currency is stopping you from having fun, who am I to stop you?

  • Mod Author: midouu
  • NexusMods Link

You can pick and choose which mods you need to improve your Hollow Knight: Silksong experience to make it much easier.

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Hollow Knight: Silksong