How to Trigger Fatal Resolve in Silksong and Find the Pinstress
Master the Fatal Resolve quest in Hollow Knight: Silksong with this exact route to find the Pinstress and claim the Pin Badge reward.
I'm going to walk you through exactly how I triggered and finished Fatal Resolve in Hollow Knight: Silksong. When I reached Act 3 in the current 2026 build, I made a beeline to Bellhart and checked the Wishing Board. The Fatal Resolve wish was sitting there like a needle left in a pincushion, just waiting for me to pull it. I accepted it, and Hornet was told to find the Pinstress twice, then beat her in a final duel. The reward is the Pin Badge, which decreases the charge time of Needle Strike.
Quest at a GlanceDetail
Info
Quest name
Fatal Resolve
Quest type
Wayfarer
Act
3
Starting point
Bellhart Wishing Board
Pinstress stops
Blasted Steps, Mount Fay
Reward
Pin Badge
After taking the wish, my first job was to find the Pinstress's house in Blasted Steps. It sits at the west-most edge of Blasted Steps, near the Sands of Karak entrance. I started from the Blasted Steps Bellway and moved right. I glided down past the hanging cages until a blue flag with pins appeared on my left. From there, I used the platforms to continue in the same direction until I reached an area with a heavy storm. The balloons are key here: I rode them upward to reach the Pinstress house. Inside, I found a bench and a note explaining that she had moved to Mount Fay.
Mount Fay: Tracking a Trail of PinsThe route up to her perch felt like threading a needle through a sandstorm, every platform a thread that wanted to snap. The Pinstress waits on a cliff near the top of Mount Fay's first vertical area. To track her, I interacted with bodies impaled by pins along the way. They are grisly but effective markers.
Here is the path I used:
From the bottom, double jump to the left wall and climb the platform.
Hop right and quickly use the temporary platforms to go higher.
Harpoon the enemy to reach the ring, then cling to the left wall and climb to the upper platform with silk flowers.
Jump to the left wall as leverage to reach the ring on the right.
Hop onto the temporary vertical platform and turn to the left wall, using it to climb to the platform with a warming light.
Look left and cling to the wall while climbing up.
In the next area, stay on the wall and avoid spikes to reach the other side.
Glide down to a warming light and hop to the right side.
Go up the vertical platform carefully to avoid spikes, then use Clawline on the enemy to gain height.
Repeat for the next enemy and land on a metal platform with a pin.
Use the upper enemy to reach the left wall and climb to the top.
Proceed forward and jump onto the upper platform.
Harpoon the enemy to the right to reach the ring.
Double jump to the higher ring, then use the enemies to grab the upper ring.
Follow the path that leads up and inspect the body to continue tracking her.
Go left and rest at the bench if needed.
Jump high and use Clawline into the ring, then use the left wall to reach the nearby enemy.
Use the wall again to reach the ring and go left.
Climb carefully to the warming light, then harpoon the needle to the spikes on the right to land on top of the platform. If that timing feels too tricky, glide down instead and use enemies and temporary platforms to go higher.
Double jump left to find a blue body covered in snow. Hit it a few times to find out it is the Pinstress taking a nap.
The Duel and the Pin BadgeSpeak with her, accept the challenge, and the fight begins. The Pinstress jumps around a lot and uses ranged attacks, so her fight cadence is less like a duel and more like a sewing machine in a hurricane. I stayed mobile, used Clawline to close distance, and punished her after ranged volleys. Once the fight is over, Fatal Resolve completes and Hornet receives the Pin Badge tool, which decreases the charge time of Needle Strike.
That is the whole quest. If you have already cleared Act 3 and are hunting for Wayfarer tasks, this one is absolutely worth the climb.
Completing this quest is a true test of traversal mastery, and the Pin Badge reward makes every subsequent needle throw feel snappier, which pays off in the harder gauntlets ahead. If you are playing on PC and found yourself coming back to this guide after finally grabbing the game, you likely already know how valuable a good deal can be on release week.
For those still waiting to jump into Hornet's adventure, checking for the [cheapest steam keys]( before launch can save a few dollars that are better spent on a nice new controller for all that wall-jumping. After all, the climb to Pinstress is tough with a keyboard, but it is far less painful when you know your key did not break the bank.