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Hollow Knight: Silksong patch 2 hits Steam beta — Consoles soon, but what changed?

23 September 2025
Nintendo Switch 2Nintendo Switch
9 min.
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Hollow Knight: Silksong patch 2 hits Steam beta — Consoles soon, but what changed?

Summary:

Silksong’s second post-launch update is now available to test via Steam’s public-beta branch, and it’s a practical, stability-minded pass. We’re not looking at balance changes this time; the focus is on fixing edge-case enemy behavior, clearing out softlocks, tightening scene transitions, and clarifying a few confusing moments like the Herald’s Wish achievement description. On the technical side, we get a new Dithering option in Advanced video settings that helps smooth out color banding, at the trade-off of slightly softening some foreground assets. In fights, notorious troublemakers like Savage Beastfly and Shrine Guardian Seth get logic fixes to prevent getting stuck or flying out of bounds, while Lugoli is now caught before it disappears off-screen. Tools and Silk Skills see targeted corrections—including Volt Filament’s damage multiplier—so builds behave how we expect. For progression, updated cocoon positions prevent unreachable spawns, and Steel Soul’s Liquid Lacquer courier now works as intended. The result is a cleaner, fairer playthrough that keeps the challenge intact while trimming away unintended friction.

What’s new in the second Silksong patch (On Steam)

The second update zeroes in on reliability. Instead of reshaping the game’s difficulty, Team Cherry targets the irritating outliers that waste time or create confusion: enemies slipping out of arenas, death sequences desyncing when both sides fall at once, and specific quest items that fail to appear in tough modes. We also see attention paid to world logic—like cocoons spawning where players can’t reasonably reach—so lost rosaries and clean route planning feel less punishing. The headline visual tweak is a new Dithering effect to cut down visible color banding. In short, we get a sturdier, more consistent run without sanding down the sharp edges that define Silksong’s identity.

How to access and test the public-beta build safely on PC

Testing the beta on Steam is straightforward and reversible. We head to the game in our Library, open Properties, and opt into the public-beta branch under Betas. Before flipping the switch, it’s smart to back up our save folder so experiments don’t risk our long-term progress. Once in, we can play as normal and immediately feel the changes—no special flags needed. If anything behaves oddly, we can switch back to the main branch the same way. Because this build is a work-in-progress, it may evolve again before the finalized patch rolls out to everyone, so keeping a copy of our saves and noting which issues improve is the best way to help the team polish the update.

The new Dithering effect: when to use it and what to expect

Dithering is a rendering technique that breaks up harsh gradients by sprinkling subtle noise across color transitions. On displays or scenes where banding is visible—think broad skies, smooth lights, or softly shaded backgrounds—this option helps those gradients look more natural. The trade-off is a touch of softness on foreground elements, especially if we’re pixel-peeping during fast action. If we play on a TV with aggressive compression or a monitor prone to banding, enabling Dithering can be an instant visual upgrade; on clean, high-bit-depth setups, we may prefer to leave it off. The beauty here is choice: one toggle lets us tune the image for our screen rather than live with banding that breaks the mood.

Enemy and boss behavior fixes that prevent softlocks and odd AI moments

Nothing kills momentum like a boss slipping under the floor or ejecting itself from the arena. This update tackles exactly that kind of chaos. Savage Beastfly in Far Fields gets logic that prevents it lingering under lava, which previously forced restarts. Shrine Guardian Seth, an already tense encounter, no longer wanders out of bounds mid-battle. Lugoli now has a catch that keeps it from flying off-screen and failing to return—a subtle fix that saves entire attempts. The patch also further reduces Silk Snippers getting stuck outside reachable space in Chapel of the Reaper. Together, these changes don’t make battles easier; they make them honest, letting our learning and execution decide the outcome rather than a glitch.

How these enemy fixes change fights right now

The practical difference shows up in rhythm. When a boss sticks under lava or drifts out of the arena, all our cues vanish: we lose audio tells, projectile timing, and safe windows to heal. By keeping enemies present and correctly positioned, we reclaim the intended back-and-forth: dodge, thread the needle, punish. For Savage Beastfly, that means the arena’s hazards feel purposeful instead of broken. For Shrine Guardian Seth, edge chasing and camera drift no longer consume focus during the most dangerous move strings. And when Lugoli behaves, we stay in the pocket—no puzzling over a camera that tracks nothing. The difficulty still bites, but it’s the right kind of bite—earned, readable, and repeatable.

Practical examples you will notice after updating

In Far Fields, if you kite Savage Beastfly near lava pools, it should surface reliably instead of ghosting beneath the map. During Seth’s set-pieces, movement at the edges won’t suddenly de-anchor the fight. Lugoli’s airborne patterns may still feel aggressive, but its loops should always resolve back into the arena with predictable spacing, keeping its punish windows intact. In Chapel of the Reaper, Silk Snippers’ pathing improvements reduce those awkward “out of reach” moments so we can finish the phase cleanly. These are small, surgical fixes, yet they translate into fewer wasted runs and more time practicing patterns that matter. That’s a win for newcomers and no-hit runners alike.

Combat tools and Silk Skills: targeted fixes that restore intended damage and flow

Beyond enemies, a few under-the-hood corrections bring tools and Silk Skills back in line with their design. Volt Filament’s damage multiplier now applies correctly across the affected skills, so builds relying on that amplification feel as strong as they read on paper. The break counter finally tracks multihit tools like the Conchcutter properly, clarifying feedback during extended strings. Curveclaw no longer shatters on the first hit after a deflect, restoring predictability to a move that thrives on timing. Together, these fixes don’t transform the meta; they remove doubt. We press a button expecting a result, and we get that result—crucial for a game that rewards precision.

World and progression stability: cocoons, couriers, and clean transitions

Progression snags can sour a night of perfect play. Updated cocoon placements ensure they don’t spawn in unreachable spots, which is especially important for rosary recovery after a risky detour. In Steel Soul mode, the Liquid Lacquer courier delivery is now accessible, protecting a tight run from being blocked by a missing hand-off. Scene changes also behave better: Cogflies won’t reset to full health when crossing rooms, and death sequences won’t desync when we trade blows with a boss on the final frame. These are the kind of fixes we only notice because the problems disappear—routes flow, resources stay consistent, and the world feels more trustworthy under pressure.

Achievement and dialog clarifications: Herald’s Wish and cursed hints

The Herald’s Wish achievement now plainly states that we must both complete the wish and finish the game. That line saves players from chasing vague requirements or imagining hidden steps, and it fits the update’s theme of clarity. Elsewhere, certain NPCs now play their cursed hint dialogues correctly, so explorers who hunt for every scrap of lore no longer miss cues due to a conditional misfire. It’s a small thing, but in a world built on whispers and ritual, accurate delivery keeps narrative breadcrumbs intact. When descriptions match reality, we can plan our route and close loops without second-guessing whether a bug—or our memory—was to blame.

Audio-visual polish and interaction quirks ironed out

Several subtle presentation issues get addressed in this pass. Verdania memory orbs no longer replay layered screen-edge bursts, which could stack visual noise and distract from platforming lines. Pondcatcher Reed can finally fly away after singing, an interaction that adds a bit of life back to those serene pockets between fights. These aren’t headline items, but they matter: Silksong’s atmosphere relies on crisp transitions and believable reactions. When effects fire once, when a creature departs on cue, we stay immersed. Pair those with the new Dithering option, and the game’s painterly look holds together more consistently across a wider range of displays.

What these changes mean for different playstyles

If we’re new, the patch reduces confusing edge cases that look like punishments for mistakes we didn’t make. Bosses stay present, cocoons stay reachable, and achievement language points in the right direction. For speedrunners, fewer out-of-bounds incidents mean cleaner splits and less run-killing randomness. Challenge chasers benefit too: when a no-hit attempt ends, it’s because a pattern wasn’t mastered—not because the target vanished. Even casual explorers feel it as a subtle easing of friction; fewer trips back to a bench for reasons beyond our control, more time savoring the route. The end result is a tougher game that’s also fairer, which is exactly where a precision platformer should land.

What isn’t changing: difficulty balance and why that matters

Team Cherry has been clear: this patch doesn’t nerf bosses or reshape progression. That stance keeps the sequel’s identity intact. Hornet moves fast, enemies hit hard, and learning the dance—tells, spacing, recovery windows—remains the path forward. While some will wish for gentler early hours, stability patches like this one can actually help: when fights behave consistently, practice produces results. If adjustments to balance arrive later, they’ll be intentional, not side effects of bugs. For now, the message is simple: the gauntlet stays up, but the floor beneath it is sturdier, and that’s a healthy foundation for any future tuning.

Practical prep before updating: saves, settings, and troubleshooting basics

Before hopping onto the beta branch, we make a quick backup of save data and note our current graphics settings. After enabling the public beta, we test key scenarios that previously annoyed us—arena edges, scene changes, and tool combos tied to Volt Filament—to confirm the fixes. If something regresses, we capture a short clip and a brief description of where we were, what we equipped, and the exact steps that reproduced the issue. That kind of report is gold for developers and often gets things fixed faster than a one-line complaint. And if we prefer the stability of the main branch, opting out is just as easy as opting in.

Outlook for console players and timing expectations

This build is currently available in Steam’s public-beta branch, with more additions and tweaks expected before the finalized release. Once it’s locked, wider rollout follows—PC first, with consoles after that pipeline finishes testing. If we’re playing on console today, the best move is simply to note the changes that matter to us—Lugoli’s catch, cocoon placement sanity, tool multipliers—and watch for the update notification. The key point is that none of these tweaks alter fundamental difficulty; they simply remove rare but frustrating detours. When the console patch lands, we’ll feel the game tighten in the same subtle, satisfying ways PC testers are feeling now.

Conclusion

This patch doesn’t grab headlines with sweeping balance shifts, and that’s precisely why it works. We get a sturdier platform to learn on, with bosses that behave, tools that hit as intended, and visual options that help the art sing on more screens. The hard parts remain hard; the broken parts stop getting in the way. Whether we’re on our first trek through Pharloom or grinding for a clean, deathless run, that steadiness is the difference between frustration and flow. Test it on Steam’s public beta if we’re curious, keep notes on what improves, and when the final build rolls out everywhere, expect the same sharp game—just with fewer cracks underfoot.

FAQs
  • What is included in Silksong’s second patch? — A new Dithering video option, enemy and boss behavior fixes to prevent out-of-bounds or softlocks, corrected tool and Silk Skill behavior, clearer achievement text, and multiple world and UI polish items.
  • Is this update live for everyone? — It’s currently available on Steam’s public-beta branch for testing, with further tweaks expected before the finalized release. Wider rollout will follow once the build is locked.
  • Does this patch make the game easier? — No. There are no nerfs in this pass. The changes aim to remove bugs and edge cases so fights feel fair and consistent rather than toned down.
  • Should I enable the Dithering option? — If you notice color banding on gradients, try turning it on. It can slightly soften foreground assets, so if your display already looks clean, you may prefer to leave it off.
  • Will console players get these fixes? — Yes, but timing depends on finalization and platform certification. The goal is parity once the patch is finalized and ready to ship beyond the beta branch.
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