Pale Oil is a rare item required to upgrade Hornet’s Needle Sword. There are three Pale Oil items in Hollow Knight: Silksong — two are hidden in the world and easy to find if you know where to look, and one is very tricky to get. The trickiest Pale Oil can only be unlocked by completing a long quest called the “Great Taste of Pharloom.” For that quest, you’ll need to find five foods, which is surprisingly difficult to pull off. We’ve got a guide for that here.
Pale Oil Locations Guide
There are three Pale Oil items in Pharloom — Pale Oil is used at the Pinmaster. It polishes Hornet’s sword and makes it more powerful. The Pinmaster is unlocked by completing wishboard requests at Bellhart. When the town is restored, the Pinmaster’s door will open.
Talk to the Pinmaster to get your first sword upgrade. All other sword upgrades require Pale Oil — here’s where to find each one.
- Pale Oil #1: The first Pale Oil is hidden in the Whispering Vaults area of the Citadel in Act 2. This area is accessed through the Choral Chambers and Cogwork Core area — the Double Jump is not required here.
To the left of the large vertical shaft in the center of the Whispering Vaults, there’s a room with shelves that can be moved on metal rods. Move the shelves and climb to the top, then drop down to reach a ledge in the center-left of the room. Jump and dash to reach the ledge. There’s a Pale Oil here.
- Pale Oil #2: The second Pale Oil is the most complicated and requires completing the ‘Great Taste of Pharloom‘ quest. This quest is found in the Choral Chambers of the Citadel in Act 2. To begin the quest, find the dining room area above the entrance to the Whiteward.
This is a long quest that involves finding five hidden meal items — some of the food is locked behind secret areas or in special encounters. For a full rundown how to complete this quest, check out our Great Taste of Pharloom quest guide.
- Pale Oil #3: The last Pale Oil is located at Fleatopia in Act 3. Fleatopia is required to access Act 3 — learn how to unlock Fleatopia and Act 3 with our full guide here.
In Act 3, find all Fleas to unlock the quest “Ecstacy of the End” in Bellhart. Once this quest is complete, minigames will be available at Fleatopia. By earning the high-score and winning all of the minigames, you’ll earn the last Pale Oil.
Finding all the Fleas can be tricky — but if you’ve unlocked Fleatopia, you’ll have access to a vendor NPC that shows all the locations of the Fleas in every area. It’s worth the rosaries to get those map locations. You’ll also need access to all the secret areas to get those Fleas. Learn how to unlock the Whiteward, how to access Bilewater and the Putrified Ducts, how to enter the Slab, or how to unlock the Sands of Karak and the Wisp Thicket, check out all our linked guides.
