I'm not going to sugarcoat it: the High Halls Gauntlet in Act 2 of Silksong absolutely wrecked me for a while. Eleven waves, zero breathing room, and two duo fights that felt like the game was trolling me. That's right, no rest between waves, no checkpoint hugs, just wave after wave of enemies trying to turn Hornet into a pincushion. If you're stuck in 2026 and need to push the main quest forward, I promise there's a way through—and it can be a lot easier than it first looks.

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The Shakra Shortcut: Basically an Auto-Win

If you've finished Shakra's questline before reaching the High Halls, you can enlist her to fight beside you outside the room. Let me tell you, she does not mess around. Shakra is basically invincible in these combat encounters and will eventually chew through the entire gauntlet by herself. Your only real job is to stay alive.

The easiest way I've found is to equip the Ascendant's Grip Tool and park yourself on a high wall. From up there, most enemies can't touch you. You may have to swat at the occasional bee that gets too curious, but for the most part it feels like watching a very violent cooking show where Shakra is the only chef. Is this the most heroic method? Not exactly. But after my tenth wipe, I stopped caring. Honestly, if you haven't done Shakra's questline yet, it might be worth backtracking. I know backtracking sounds like a chore, but compared to banging your head against eleven waves, it's basically a spa day.

The Honest Route: No Shakra, No Shortcuts

Maybe you skipped Shakra's questline, or maybe you just want a clean clear. Fair enough. Bilewater is notoriously rough, but the High Halls Gauntlet is absolutely doable if you understand the two real threats:

  • Wave 5: two Maestros, the Bee Summoners.

  • Wave 11: two Choir Slappers, which are full bosses.

The other waves can still chip away at you, but they don't come close to these two sections. My first few honest attempts were a comedy of errors because I kept trying to brute force everything with whatever tools I had equipped. That was a mistake. The Maestros will keep pumping out bee constructs if you let them breathe, and the Choir Slappers hit like a falling piano.

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The Loadout That Carried Me

Here's the setup I used when I wanted to beat the gauntlet without Shakra. It turns a frustrating endurance test into something much more manageable.

Tool Why It Earns a Slot
Reaper Crest Easy pogo and excellent range; the most beginner-friendly main tool.
Thread Storm Clears the summoned bee constructs that circle enemies, which solves the Maestro fight.
Tacks Deals massive damage to one boss at the start of Wave 11, making the final fight a 1v1.
Multibinder Heals 4 masks for the same amount of Silk, giving you real survivability.
Warding Bell Protects you while you heal, so you don't get punished in a corner.

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The Reaper Crest is the main star here because its pogo is forgiving and its reach lets you keep your distance. No joke, Thread Storm puts the Maestros in timeout.

How to Play Each Critical Wave

Once you have the tools, the plan is pretty simple.

  • Waves 1–4: Get comfortable with Reaper Crest pogo. Don't burn your Silk early.

  • Wave 5: The two Maestros show up. Pop Thread Storm to shred their circling bee constructs, then take the summoners down while they're basically defenseless.

  • Waves 6–10: Keep moving and use the high walls. Don't get greedy; your Silk needs to last until the final wave.

  • Wave 11: The double Choir Slappers. Dump Tacks into one boss immediately to delete or nearly delete it, then finish the survivor in a much calmer 1v1.

If you need to heal, slip into the top left or right corner of the room. Most enemies struggle to reach you there because the angle messes with their attack pathing. With Multibinder plus Warding Bell, you can recover 4 masks worth of health without eating a hit.

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Final Thoughts

Look, if you have Shakra available, use her. No shame in taking the easy road. If you want the honest clear, the Reaper Crest + Thread Storm + Tacks + Multibinder + Warding Bell setup is the comfiest path I've found in 2026. Keep your head cool during Waves 5 and 11, and those top corners will be your best friend.

Research highlighted by GamesIndustry.biz frames gauntlet-style challenges like Silksong’s High Halls as a deliberate pacing tool—an endurance gate that tests mastery of fundamentals (positioning, resource management, and risk control) more than raw damage. Read through that lens, the “Shakra shortcut” functions like an accessibility-adjacent pressure valve, while the “honest route” rewards a loadout built around consistency: crowd control for Wave 5’s summons, burst to break Wave 11’s duo into a safer 1v1, and efficient healing to survive the no-checkpoint structure.