How to Get the Reaper Crest in Hollow Knight: Silksong: Chapel of the Reaper Route and What It Does

Hornet's starting Hunter Crest is quick and reliable, but it isn't the only way to fight. The Reaper Crest swaps those fast jabs for big, sweeping scythe-like slashes, pulls extra Silk out of everything you hit and gives you a very different downward attack. It's one of the first new crests most players can pick up, and it's tucked away in a small side dungeon in Greymoor called the Chapel of the Reaper.

This guide is up to date for Patch 5, the March 2026 update Team Cherry called its last significant one before the free Sea of Sorrow expansion. Patch 5 didn't change the Reaper Crest or the Chapel, and Sea of Sorrow still had no release date in early November 2026.

Quick answer

Requirements

• Access to Greymoor. The first route in is the long vertical tunnel in the Far Fields, which you can climb once you have the Drifter's Cloak. You can also arrive by Flea Caravan after rescuing enough fleas.
• Some combat confidence. The Chapel ends in an arena that locks you in until every wave is dead. The waves get progressively harder.
• No key, quest or currency is needed to claim the crest itself.

Step-by-step: reaching the Chapel of the Reaper

1. Start at Halfway Home. The inn sits in the middle of Greymoor, with Craw Lake off to the east. If you haven't found it yet, it's worth unlocking first, since it makes a good base for the run.
2. Head west to the edge of the map. Keep moving left until you reach a cage near the far western side of the area. This part of Greymoor sits above the arena where you fight Moorwing.
3. Climb up past the cage. Get on top of it and keep working upward and left. Expect some tricky platforming on the way. A candle-lit path leads to the Chapel's door.
4. Watch for Silk Snippers. These scissor-carrying bugs guard the big building the Chapel sits beside, and you'll meet more of them inside. Clear them out rather than trying to rush past.

Step-by-step: inside the Chapel

The Chapel is a compact, mostly linear dungeon, so you won't get lost for long.

1. Go down first. The path heads downward from the entrance before it starts climbing again.
2. Do the platforming climb. Work your way up the tower using platforms and pogo opportunities. Take it slowly; a missed jump drops you back down.
3. Hit the lever at the top. It opens the way forward into the upper part of the Chapel.
4. Survive the ambush. Entering the upper room locks you in with waves of scissor-wielding enemies that get tougher as the fight goes on. Focus on staying alive between waves rather than racing for damage.
5. Claim the crest. Once the last enemy dies, the passage onward opens. Climb up to the crest's shrine and interact with it to take the Reaper Crest.
6. Equip it at a bench. Crests can only be changed while resting at a bench. Open the equipment menu there, swap to Reaper and set up your tools.

What the Reaper Crest does

• Heavy, wide slashes. Standard attacks hit harder and reach farther with more knockback, but they're noticeably slower than the Hunter Crest's.
• More Silk. Hits on enemies give extra Silk, so you can heal and use Silk Skills more often.
• A stronger bind. After you bind, your attacks generate bonus Silk for a short time.
• A different downward attack. The diagonal dive is replaced by a downward arcing slash. Many players find it easier to pogo with, especially off small targets.
• Tool slots. It starts with one red, one blue and one yellow tool slot plus a Silk Skill slot. You can unlock one more slot of each color with Memory Lockets.

Tips

• Bring area damage for the arena. Traps and other tools that hit several enemies at once thin out the waves quickly.
• Use the reach. The Reaper's long slashes let you hit enemies from a step farther away than usual, which is ideal against groups.
• Lean on the Silk economy. Since hits refill Silk faster, a Silk Skill like Silkspear fits nicely in the skill slot.
• Pick your moments. The slower swing punishes button-mashing. Hit, step back and hit again.
• Swap for tight spaces. In cramped rooms or against very fast enemies, switching back to the Hunter Crest at a bench is perfectly fine.

Common mistakes

• Expecting the Hunter Crest's speed. The Reaper's swings take longer to come out, so attacks you could squeeze in before now get you hit.
• Trying to change crests on the spot. You can only swap crests while sitting at a bench.
• Rushing the climb. The platforming before the arena is where most deaths happen. Slow, deliberate jumps are faster in the long run.
• Fighting the ambush on low Silk. Arrive with enough Silk to bind at least once, or the later waves can wear you down.
• Forgetting the extra slots. Memory Lockets can open up more tool slots on the Reaper Crest, so it gets better the more of them you find.