Deep Docks Walkthrough

Your Hollow Knight: Silksong adventure carries on towards the Deep Docks after The Marrow. Deep Docks consists of several ancient structures that have been overrun by enemies and consumed by lava, creating some deadly environments to traverse. Hornet has to travel through this area to progress towards The Citadel and can fight an optional boss called Lace, who will test your patience. In this Deep Docks walkthrough, you'll get directions on where to find secret rooms and more available on your first visit.

How to Reach the Deep Docks

Arriving at the Deep Docks is a fairly straightforward process. You'll simply need to advance all the way to the eastern side of The Marrow, which can be done after heading upward to unlock the Silk Spear in Mosshome and using it to clear a path through the Bellhome. The Deep Docks begins after you have reached the far right section of The Marrow, and enter a set of enclosed, ancient-looking rooms with lifts.

Jump to a section:

• Reaching The Bellway
• Obtaining Swift Step
• Reaching The Forge Daughter
• Lace Boss Fight

How to Unlock the Bellway and First Bench

Once you reach the first room in Deep Docks, continue to the right and into the next room. You can use the elevator to go upwards toward an unlockable bench. You may also note another high platform nearby in the previous room that holds a locked door with an upgrade on the other side. You can only reach it via the Marrow, but the ability you need to reach it won't be unlocked for awhile yet.

Use the second elevator on the left to reach the top of this section of Deep Docks.

Here, you can insert 30 Rosary Beads into the device to spawn a bench, which is worth doing as there isn't another bench until the other side of the Deep Docks.

Take the elevator to the left of the bench back down. Then, continuing down, keep an eye out for the spot on the right of the in the screenshot above and attack the Shell Shards shell if you need them. Alternatively, you can save this Shell Shards spot for later if you're full!

Take the other elevator down to return to the bottom of the bench area and continue right along the path. You will now enter the Deep Docks proper.

You can initially jump up, but first, we will jump down, as you can find the Bellway directly on the left.

Deep Docks Shakra Location

Just to the right of the Deep Docks Bellway entrance, you can find Shakra, who will see some additional items now that you have entered the Deep Docks. Her inventory adds the following items:

Item	Rosary Bead Cost	Description
Deep Docks Map	50 Rosary Beads	These docks, I thought them small when first I passed. Now I feel the structure's true bulk hides below the molten lake.
Vendor Pins	80 Rosary Beads	Many of Pharloom's bugs have useful equipment and items to trade. It would do you well to keep track of their locations with this pin. These pins will mark vendors on your map.
Ring Marker	40 Rosary Beads	You can use these to mark places of importance or reminders on your map. With these I often mark the locations of worthy foes.

As with the other items, you will want to buy all of these as soon as possible, but you can farm Rosary Beads fairly easily throughout the Deep Docks. For now, the Deep Docks map is the most important. The Vendor Pins are self-explanatory, but the Ring Marker allows you to manually place pins on the map to highlight key points of interest that are otherwise unmarked -- like the out of reach upgrade you may have spotted as you entered the region.

Shakra may move instantly after speaking to her for the first time in the Deep Docks, but don't forget you can summon her in Bone Bottom.

To summon Shakra, you can go to the far right side of Bone Bottom and climb the ledges up, following the rings you see her leave near her campsites. Strike the pole with the ring at the top ledge of her campsite to summon her to the site.

Head inside the Bellway Entrance, and jump down and insert 50 Rosary Beads to activate it. You can farm some on the enemies at the beginning of the Deep Docks or at the end of The Marrow if you don't have enough.

Deep Docks Secret Room and Lost Flea Location

If you need to, travel back to Bone Bottom, otherwise, jump in the bell pit and attack the wall behind the bell beast. There is a secret path here that leads to one of the Lost Fleas!

In the next room, you will have to learn a somewhat challenging parkour sequence that requires you to dodge falling lava. The trick is to jump to the next platform just when the lava has stopped falling next to you. There is a brief window of just over a second to jump to safety on the next platform. Thankfully, the runback to this area isn't too long, as the bench is just above you in Deep Docks. Jump across to the left and defeat the skull bug.

Proceed to jump upwards.

Then, jump all the way to the right across the platforms higher up.

At the end, you can find a Lost Flea. Bop it once and it will return to the Caravan. You can then return to the Bellway and exit the room.

Deep Docks Lost Flea 1

How to Unlock Swift Step

After exiting the Bellway and buying anything you need from Shakra, you want to climb back up (Taking the pathway right across the lava will eventually lead to impassible gaps, so we'll be back). When you reach the door that leads to the bench, continue further upward.

Defeat the flying enemy above and jump to the right. But, fall off the ledge ahead.

Here, you can find a room, as well as a switch that you can activate.

Hit the switch and then jump back up, taking the room on the right. In this room, you can find a few pilgrims to bugs with bells on their heads and not much else.

Therefore, exit back out and continue upwards. On the left, next to the platform on a chain you can find another switch. Activate it to raise it, allowing you to jump up further.

Continue to the right and enter the next room.

Defeat the enemy, the Smelt Shoveller, on the right and then jump down to the bottom. Here you can find another enemy digging away at the coal on the ground. Defeat them and continue to the right.

The hot coals here won't harm you instantly, allowing you to jump across them without taking any damage. But if you stay on them for too long, you will take some damage. You still want to avoid falling in if you can help it. If you do, remember to stay mobile and jump often!

Ahead, you can find a new enemy type: the Hardbone Hopper. These fossilized hopping bugs will hop towards you. They aren't exactly aggressive, but they won't avoid leaping into you, either. They can't be pushed back and may catch you in a corner or against the lava.

Jump up and to the left to find a skull scuttler, before continuing to the right. Just watch out for the boulder in the ceiling on the right platform edge.

Push further to the right and kill the hopping bug, as well as the flying bug in the air and the large skull bug, the Skull Brute.

Ahead, you can progress along the platform embedded in the lava as the area slowly transitions into the fourth main area of the game: Far Fields. However, we can't enter that region just yet, and we will loop back around to the main halls of the Deep Docks.

For now, continue onward and defeat the hopping bug just ahead or jumping over and past it.

Just after the bug, you will need to hop across the lava to reach the other side. Watch out for the boulder in the ceiling of a platform that'll fall! You can see loose boulders by the gentle shake they have and the dust and dirt falling from their position. It will fall as you pass under it.

Continue to the right and then loop back around to the left, using the platforms where you just were. At the end, you will find a flying bug. The ant you saw previously won't reappear, but you can obtain some Rosary Beads from the post on the platform.

With this section almost fully explored, the final thing to do is head to the far right and attack the orange smoldering rock in the ceiling. This will open up a secret pathway above you once it explodes.

This area contains some other enemies from the Far Fields and optional Hunter's March further north, including a flying ant, the Skarrwing, which will attack you almost instantly whenever it spots you. Functionally, these don't behave any differently from the dragonflies above Bone Bottom, attacking with short charges forward, but they are fairly relentless unless you sneak up from behind.

On the right, you can find a path leading to a bench. This can be activated with 30 Rosaries and is worth doing before the next main fight.

Exit back out and continue upwards, defeating the additional ants called Skarrlids on the way up. Like the flying variants, the basic ants will speed up if they spot you, but they can't turn around until they hit a wall or ledge. The path to the right leads to a dead end, so continue up even further.

At the top, you can find another gap in the ceiling to jump through. To the right is a locked door, so head left instead. This will take you on an extremely brief but dangerous detour through the optional region of Hunter's March (the one the large ant was guarding back in The Marrow).

Here you will fight two of the larger ant varieties: Skarr Scouts, alongside some basic Skarrlids, across a few waves of enemies.

The Skarr Scouts are much trickier than the base ants and have a lot of health, taking around six hits to kill. Scouts will frequently burrow into the earth, and appear in random spots to try and ambush you. They have two basic attacks. The first is a melee two-hit combo which they will perform up close, moving forward as they slash.

The second is a weapon throw, which will target you and fly in a straight line, allowing you to jump over it or fall and avoid it. Note that in a pinch, you can also strike the projectiles directly with your needle to deflect them. It can take practice, but will pay off if you're already trying to dodge one enemy when another is flinging projectiles at you.

Once it dies, two ground-based Skarrlids will spawn, which can be killed fairly quickly. This is followed by two of the flying Skarrwings.

Finally, the second Skarr Scout and a Skarrwing will spawn. Try to focus on the weaker flier first, as it can be hard to deal with both of their attacks at the same time. A few hits and a Silkspear attack will kill the larger ant.

Once every enemy is dead, you can progress to the left and jump down.

Continue all the way down and kill the ants as you go, avoiding the spike traps at the same time.

To the right, you can destroy an orange rock and run back to avoid the explosion. This opens up a shortcut that will lead back to the path down to the Deep Docks you came up earlier.

Instead, head left.

Jump across the platforms ahead to find another ancient Weaver Altar you can bind with.

This will give you the Swift Step Ancestral Art, which is a new ability that allows Hornet to run across platforms and the environment. It can be activated with R2 (PlayStation), RT (Xbox), ZR (Switch), and C (PC) button/key. The momentum allows Hornet to jump to platforms further away. It's immensely helpful in combat!

The Swift Step seems like a straightforward dashing ability, but it's actually quite complex and worth experimenting with. A quick tap will let you dash forward, and can even be used in the air for a sizeable air-dash to reach ledges or evade incoming attacks. Hold the button down, and Hornet will race forward, mantling low steps automatically. If you press the jump button after dashing for a moment, Hornet will engage in a mighty leap to give you a lot more distance than before (which can be combined with a short extra air-dash!).

Swift Step

Tip From Editor Miranda 🐻

If you hold the button to activate swift step, Hornet keeps running. Pair it with an attack and Hornet will do a neat dash attack! This attack will also change later on depending on what Crests you equip for Hornet. It took me a bit to get comfortable using this, but I recommend trying out new attack patterns with Swift Step on simple enemies so that you can be comfortable using it later against bosses.

Reaching The Forge Daughter

You can give the Swift Step ability test run by jumping to the platforms on the left.

Along the bottom, you can flick a switch behind an enemy to reach the original bench at the start of the Deep Docks. Take a seat if you need to heal, but we're not done with this area just yet.

Deep Docks Flea Location 2

If you run and jump along the platforms above you, you can reach another switch. Hit it to lower the platform on a chain, allowing you to jump further up.

You will need to run and jump to reach the platforms.

Jump upward toward the last ledge. Since there's not as much room to fully run, perform an air-dash instead using Swift Step to reach the high ledge. At the top, you can find another Lost Flea. Give it a whack to set it free!

Deep Docks Lost Flea 2

Is it worth finding the fleas? Yes, absolutely. That's the short answer. Here's what happens if you find five:

You can read more and keep track of all the Lost Fleas in the locations guide.

With everything completed in the upper section of the Deep Docks, return to the base of the area, by the Bellway.

Continue to the right from the Bellway, into the next room across the lava pool.

Immediately jump up to the platform and run and jump to the ledge in the distance. At the end, you can find a switch which, when hit, will open the gate ahead.

The gate you opened leads to a Boss that's guarding the exit to the Deep Docks. But, before we proceed right, head down by hitting the trap door switch. Fall through and head to the bottom. Take a left and at the end of the corridor by the elevator, jump up to the platform above.

Continue left to find a secret room with a Shard Bundle. This can be broken via your inventory to give you 80 Stone Shards instantly if you need them in a pinch.

Take the elevator down and jump off halfway to find some additional Stone Shards on your left by attacking the shell they are encased in.

At the bottom of the elevator, take a left. In this next room, you need to jump all the way down. On the way, you will find another new enemy type: The Lavalug. These small squishy fire bugs will spit out fire in a radius around them every few seconds, taking a few seconds to charge up the attack.

They will also do this as they die, self-destructing in the process. You can land hits in between these fire explosions. Use the platforms they stick to as shields from the fire so that you can dash back in to attack before dodging away.

Continue down, killing the enemies along the way or avoiding them. Ignore the room on the right for now and continue to the bottom of the area. The very bottom has a locked door you can't open, but on the left, you can enter a small room to the side where you'll find a good number of Rosary Beads and Shell Shards.

Inside, you will find two pilgrim enemies that can be killed easily with one Silkspear attack. Above them, you can find some Rosary Beads. There is one string on each side of the ceiling.

At the end of the corridor, there is one final enemy and a Treasure Chest you can open by hitting it. Doing so will cause a bunch of Shell Shards to pop out.

Getting a Spool Fragment

Return to the previous tall room and go through the door on the right about halfway up.

In here, you can run and jump across the platforms and coals. Remember, you can stand on the hot coals for a short amount of time before taking damage, but if you use your Swift Step, you can effectively run across the coals without taking any damage. Kill the pilgrim enemies that are on the path upwards. If you need any Shell Shards, you can destroy the silver rocks in the lava to drop some. They can then be picked up.

Continue upward, hopping across the burning coals to the right. You will find a switch which you can hit, adjusting the position of the coals.

Now, you can run and jump across them to the left. At the top of the platform, you will find a Spool Fragment. If you were diligent in following our guide to The Marrow and Mosshome, this should be your second fragment, which will be combined to create an entirely new Spool notch to add to Hornet's maximum amount. This is very important because you'll now have extra Silk banked even after performing a Bind to heal!

Deep Docks Spool Fragment 1

Now, continue to the left and hit the trapdoor to return to the beginning of the room.

With this area explored, return to the bottom of the elevator you took earlier and take a right. Jump up to hit the switch on the ceiling.

This will open a small lore room with a tablet you can read. You can hit the switch again to leave. Prepare yourself for another wave-based encounter!

The Deep Docks Gauntlet Fight

Continue to the right. The gates close and the first set of five waves enemies emerge in the enclosed room. The first wave is two workers, a Flintstone Flier and Smelt Shoveller.

The second wave has a new enemy type. The Smokerock Sifter charging bug has a shield and can't be attacked from the front while it holds its sifting tool outward. It can also adjust its shield to hold either in front of its face-- or above, deflecting downward strikes. Because of this, you'll want to vary up your tactics. Jump over the charges and attack from above or behind, and then bait out the shield rising by jumping, and then fall to the ground and lash out before it lowers the shield.

Next in the third wave, you will face two Flintstone Fliers at once. If the explosive projectiles get overwhelming, remember that Hornet can volley them back with well-timed strikes from your needle, and the enemies aren't immune to the blast from their own bombs!

The fourth wave consists of one Flintstone Flier and one charging Smokerock Sifter. You can hit the lava rocks away, but dodge them if you're not confident in doing so. It is best to take out the flying worker first with air attacks, as it can disrupt your jumps and how much room you have to dodge the charging bug. Plus, any bombs you knock aside can be angled into the charging bug to weaken it.

The fifth and final wave has a a Smelt Shoveller and Smokerock Sifter. A Silkspear attack can wipe both of them out quickly! These gauntlets can be a challenge in any area in Silksong. As always, it's best to take it slow and find the best positioning for how you can comfortable avoid attacks while getting strikes in safely.

Deep Docks Locked Door - Should You Use the Simple Key?

If you head right straight away, you can run and jump to the platform on the other side. This leads to a door where the Simple Key can be used if you have bought this in Bone Bottom.

There are in fact 4 Simple Keys hidden across Pharloom that open 4 locked doors. Now that you've gotten the Swift Step, you have a bit of a choice here: Using the key here will consume it, but it does allow you to skip the Lace boss fight ahead to find an alternate path to the Far Fields (though you will have to fight her eventually).

Alternatively, you can also use the Simple Key to unlock a new pathway by crossing the chasm above Bone Bottom to unlock The Wormways. This actually lets you skip the Far Fields entirely as a different way to head upwards through Pharloom, but you'll also miss out on an important ability in Far Fields if you take the other route.

We recommend leaving this door locked for now, until you can explore more of the Deep Docks area beyond using an ability you'll find in Act 2. Meanwhile, you can use the Simple Key to reach the Wormways later, and get a Mask Shard much earlier than usual.

Now, return to the room where you defeated the waves of enemies and jump up, hitting the trapdoor above you. Do the same for the second one.

To the left, you can find a bench and a switch, which links back to the top of the Deep Docks by the path we opened earlier.

To the right, you can find the Forge Daughter, an NPC vendor. She will explain that she can craft tools for you to use. To craft them, she will need Rosary Beads and some Craftmetal.

Her initial inventory consists of:

Item	Material Cost	Description
Sting Shard	140 Rosary Beads + 1 Craftmetal	A vicious stabbing trap? We can build it. Just know, it disturbs us, these devious implements you conceive to kill.
Magma Bell	110 Rosary Beads + 1 Craftmetal	This trinket is our own invention. It wards against the deadly lava and heat around these docks. The workers used to request them of us. Now they've lost the mind to care.
Crafting Kit	180 Rosary Beads	Crafting by claw alone produces inferior results. With this kit you can craft finer, sharper, and deadlier tools... if that is your wish.
Shard Bundle	50 Rosary Beads	To maintain one's tools is a constant task. These shards should be kept close when you travel, that you can repair and replenish as the need arises.

To the right of her, you can find Ballow, who is digging away but doesn't have much to say.

Tip From Editor Miranda 🐻

If you've got Craft Metal, it's absolutely worth grabbing and using the Magma Bell in this area. You've already seen how the heat of magma can make traversal dangerous, but from my playtime, I found upcoming bosses way easier to get through thanks to preserving some health with the help of the Magma Bell. If you find yourself falling into magma, you'll only take one hit of damage instead of two. This also includes damage taken from enemies and bosses using fire in their attacks! The bell does need to recharge between uses, but it doesn't take too long.

If you bought the Craftmetal in Bone Bottom along with the one mined in The Marrow, you should have enough to buy both of the Tools that the Forge Daughter sells. The Sting Shard is an excellent trap-based tool to hamper mobile enemies, while the Magma Bell is a great defensive item against fire. If you have the Rosaries to spare, you should also consider getting the Crafting Kit to make your offensive tools more effective.

Return to the elevator in the center of Deep Docks and continue through the open gate you previously opened to fight Lace, the boss in the next room.

Lace Boss Fight Guide and Strategy

• Recommended Tools: Straight Pin, Druid's Eye/Magma Bell

If you have the the Magma Bell, I recommend equipping it before fighting Lace. You can do so at any bench. You'll know Lace is ahead when you hear their gentle singing.

Lace can be a shock to the system compared to the other bosses in the game. They are far more nimble than the Moss Mother and Bell Beast and has a variety of attacks and combos that you can easily be caught by.

The first thing to understand about Lace is that they can parry most of your hits, and they will enter a guarding stance, crouching and holding her rapier-like pin weapon upwards, randomly after the majority of their combos and attacks.

When you see this, if you attack, they will send out a flurry of hits forward, which can be tricky to dodge. The attack also take two pips of your health.

This can be dodged with a well-timed jump backwards or over them just before they counter, but it is easier said than done. So, it is best to only attack once or twice every time you go on the offensive. They won't always counter however, sometimes they will just go into another attack.

Finally, watch out for the lava on either side of the arena. You want to keep to the middle third of the arena if possible, as a few of Lace's hits can knock you back (which makes the Magma Bell a useful tool for lowering damage taken if you get knocked in). You can push Lace into the lava, however, with your own attacks dealing some damage in the process. They don't die instantly; however, they just respawn.

Lace's main moveset consists of a regular combo, a dash, and an aerial diagonal ground attack. The dash and aerial attack will be what they use most often.

To dodge the dash on the ground, which is signified by Lace holding the rapier horizontally by their side, you can jump over as they lunge forward. If you land close to Lace, you can hit them once or twice.

But be wary, as they can follow this up quickly with the regular combo. This is a two-hit attack that hits directly in front of Lace in an arch. Lace will hold the rapier by her side, facing downwards, when they are preparing this attack.

You can jump over this or simply back away to avoid it, but if you get hit by the first attack, you will get knocked backwards. They can also perform this attack on their own when you get close to them.

Finally, Lace has a diagonal aerial dash. They will jump in the air for a brief second before jumping down at a 45-degree angle.

This can be dodged by running or walking underneath her after they are airborne, backing away (the diagonal attack does carry them forward slightly, so allow for some extra room), or jumping over them as they land on the ground.

Either method works, and you will likely use a combination of evasive maneuvers during the fight, depending on the situation.

The goal is to whittle Lace's health down with one or two hits in between their attacks. It is a somewhat drawn-out fight, but attacks like Silkspear or your offensive Tools can be a big help, as Lace has no projectiles of her own to deal damage at range. Midway through the fight, or if you get enough damage on Lace, Lace becomes briefly stunned, allowing you to land several hits or pull off a Silkspear attack.

In phase two, Lace's moveset doesn't change much. However, they gain one additional attack. They can summon this circular light aura anywhere in the arena. They will charge this attack for a few seconds before unleashing a flurry of hits within the area.

If you are caught in the area, you will take two hits instantly. Therefore, in this second phase, you need to stay on the move far more, and we suggest constantly changing the direction of your movement, so you have an escape route if they ever prepare this attack.

The corners of the area act as great areas to hide, though be careful not to fall in the lava.

When they finish the attack, they will slam on the ground. Afterwards, this is the perfect time to perform a Silkspear attack or land a few hits as they recover! Eventually, Lace will be defeated and run off. Congratulations on defeating this challenging foe!

Lace Defeated

Continue to the right and hit the switch to activate the bell, opening the gate ahead, allowing you to enter the Far Fields.

Note that with the Swift Step, you can try your hand at entering the optional areas of Hunter's March or the Wormways (if you haven't used the Simple Key bought in Bone Bottom), but we'd recommend keeping on this path to claim a big new upgrade in Far Fields first!

Deep Docks

Deep Docks Checklist
Tools Collected
Sting Shard	Magma Bell
Lost Fleas Found
Deep Docks Lost Flea 1	Deep Docks Lost Flea 2
Bosses Defeated	Spool Fragments
Lace Defeated	Deep Docks Spool Fragment 1
Ancestral Art Abilities	Crafting Kits
Swift Step	Deep Docks Crafting Kit

Up Next: Far Fields Walkthrough

PreviousThe Marrow WalkthroughNextFar Fields Walkthrough

Top Guide Sections

• Differences and New Features
• Essential Tips and Tricks
• Walkthrough
• Boss Guides and Boss Order

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Initial Release: Sep 4, 2025

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