Pin Badge is one of the late-game emblems you can get in Hollow Knight: Silksong. Like most emblems in-game, you can get it by completing certain objectives and goals. Given the nature of the game, however, the search for the Pin Badge in Silksong can be confusing for players unless they know what to do.
Where to Find the Pin Badge Emblem in Hollow Knight: Silksong
You get the Pin Badge emblem in Hollow Knight: Silksong by defeating the Pinstress boss. You need to first, however, get to Act 3 for the boss to spawn. Once you have reached Act 3, here are the next steps:
- Complete the objective Awaiting the End to receive the Fatal Resolve wish, posted at Bellhart’s wishwall.
- Ensure that you have the Needle Strike and Silk Soar skills.
- Go to the location marked in the above image, in Mount Fay. You’ll have to climb a vertical wall till you reach the mid-section.
- Once you reach there, you’ll face off against Pinstress and fight here.
Successfully defeating the Pinstress will reward you with the Pin Badge, granting you buffs that help you in the final leg of the Hollow Knight: Silksong journey.
Pin Badge Usage in Hollow Knight Silksong
The Pin Badge takes up a blue slot and reduces the charge time for performing the Needle Strike. You get Needle Strike early-game in Act 1, letting you use some of your Silk bar to charge up the skill. This is a pretty handy skill to take out slow-moving enemies, or enemies with telegraphed attacks, where there is a decent window to get in an attack or two.
How to Defeat Pinstress
Pinstress is a secret boss in Hollow Knight: Silksong. As such, unless you get the side-quest from Bellhart, you won’t be able to fight the boss. Once you reach the mid-section of Mount Fay, you have to hit Pinstress up from the frost, allowing you to start the boss fight with her. A three-part boss fight, Pinstress has certain moves you have to look out for:
- Forward and Mid-Air thrust: Pinstress does a thrust attack on the ground with her pin towards Hornet multiple times. She also sometimes jumps up in the air and performs a diagonal thrust attack towards the ground.
- Pin throw: Pinstress will jump up in the air and throw three needles towards Hornet. She also does this on the ground, standing near the corner of the platform. Later, she’ll do the needle throw twice consecutively.
- Charged slash: Pinstress does a charged X Slash in the mid-air, which has a huge hitbox, reaching the ground. She does this by coming near Hornet.
Defeating Pinstress requires patience and knowing when to move and jump. Here are some general tips to defeat Pinstress:
- When you see Pinstress doing a forward thrust, time your jump and do a downward slash towards Pinstress. Similarly, when she is in the air, you will get a small window to attack her, right after she jumps. If you miss that window, move or jump over her.
- Jumping over her after she does the mid-air thrust towards the ground also gives you the window to attack Pinstress by doing a downward slash.
- Pin Throws are easy to dodge, since there is always a huge gap between the three pins. Move away from the Pinstress to make the gaps between pins bigger, and jump through them. You also get an opportunity to hit Pinstress if you are quick enough after she does this attack.
- When Pinstress floats in the air and starts coming towards Hornet while glowing in white, that is the visual indicator of her charging her X-Slash. Start moving away from Pinstress when she does that.
- Finally, when she performs the X-Slash, do a half-jump by lightly tapping your jump button. This gives you the chance to ignore the attack and also hit her. Alternatively, you can always dash away from Pinstress if you can cover more ground when she does this attack.
If you follow these steps, you will have an easier time dealing with Pinstress. At the end of the fight, she has a nice conversation with Hornet, completing the Fatal Resolve side quest. She also awards the players with the Pin Badge emblem, which is what we were there for.
We have a few boss guides ready for players struggling in certain sections. So, check out our guides on Nyleth, Skarrsinger Karmelita, and First Sinner.
