How to Reach Verdania in Hollow Knight: Silksong

What to know

• Verdania is a secret late-game region, unlocked only after beginning Act 3 (Silk and Soul).
• You must free the Green Prince in Act 1 and exhaust his dialogue in Act 2 before the entrance in Greymoor opens.
• A Simple Key is required early on, and later, the Song of Memoria triggers the transition into Verdania.
• Inside Verdania, you’ll continue the Green Prince’s storyline, culminating in the Cloverdancer boss and the Conjoined Heart reward.

The importance of Act 3 and the Silk and Soul wish

Verdania is strictly locked behind Act 3. This act begins only if you complete the hidden Silk and Soul wish, which ties together side quests, caravans, and rare tools. Key steps include:

• Escorting the Flea Caravan multiple times until they finally settle by the lakeside in the Putrified Ducts.
• Collecting three special “soul” quest items:
  • Maiden’s Soul (Bone Bottom)
  • Hermit’s Soul (Bellhart)
  • Seeker’s Soul (Citadel)
• Acquiring the Snare Setter tool and delivering it during the final sequence.
• Choosing to play the Needolin (instead of binding) at the conclusion of this sequence which alters your save file and shifts the game into Act 3.

Without completing these steps, the Greymoor entrance to Verdania never opens.

Step-by-step guide to reach Verdania in Silksong

Step 1: Freeing the Green Prince

Your first step toward Verdania is freeing the Green Prince during Act 1:

• Head into Sinner’s Road and find his locked cell.
• Use a Simple Key to unlock it. Sources for Simple Keys include:
  • Found in Sinner’s Road during platforming sequences.
  • Purchased from Pebb in Bone Bottom (500 Rosaries).
  • Purchased from Jubilana in Songclave after fulfilling a wish (650 Rosaries).
  • Looted from a corpse on a bench in the Sands of Karak.

This encounter sets his storyline into motion.

Step 2: Meeting him in the Citadel

Later, in Act 2, the Green Prince relocates to the Citadel. You’ll need to exhaust his dialogue in two different spots:

1. First appearance: either in the High Halls or the Choral Chambers.
2. Second appearance: near the Cogwork Dancers arena, deeper in the Citadel.

Only after these conversations does his story progress to the point where Verdania can open in Act 3.

Step 3: Unlocking Verdania in Act 3

Once Act 3 is active, you can finally reach Verdania:

• Travel to the eastern edge of Greymoor.
• A previously sealed stone wall will now be broken open.
• Inside, you’ll find the Green Prince again.
• Playing the Song of Memoria here triggers a cutscene: Hornet falls unconscious and awakens inside Verdania.

This moment marks Verdania’s official addition to your map.

Exploring Verdania

Verdania is unlike other regions in Pharloom. Its design is lush and overgrown, filled with enormous flowering canopies, twisting vines, and waterlogged caverns. The atmosphere contrasts the mechanical Citadel and the arid wastes of Karak, offering a green sanctuary that is both beautiful and hostile.

• Enemies: Verdania is home to floral and insectoid hybrids, including spore-slinging plants, fast-moving cloaked beetles, and aerial pollen drones that can swarm Hornet if left unchecked. Many enemies inflict lingering poison, making resource management key.
• Platforming challenges: The area emphasizes vertical traversal, with vine-lifts, collapsing petal bridges, and thorny hazards requiring precise grappling with the Clawline.
• Green Prince’s presence: Throughout Verdania, the Green Prince reappears in secluded clearings. His dialogue reflects his inner conflict—gratitude for being freed, but also despair at the world’s corruption. These encounters tie directly into the final confrontation.
• Charms and resources: Players can find Verdania-exclusive items, including rare resin for charm crafting and hidden silk caches. Benches are sparse, with only two in the entire zone, both guarded by difficult encounters.

The area culminates at the Green Prince’s sanctuary, a grand hall covered in flowering ivy, where the boss encounter awaits.

The Cloverdancer boss fight

The final trial of Verdania is the Cloverdancer, a guardian bound to the Green Prince’s legacy. This boss blends graceful choreography with relentless pressure:

• Appearance: Cloverdancer resembles a towering knight draped in petal-like armor, wielding twin leaf-blades that extend into whip-like lashes.
• Phases:
  • Phase 1: Fast slashing combos and dashing strikes. The rhythm feels almost musical, requiring you to dodge with precise timing.
  • Phase 2 (half health): Cloverdancer uses arena-wide pollen storms, reducing visibility, while summoning thorned vines from the floor.
  • Phase 3 (final stretch): Attacks chain together without pause, forcing aggressive play to finish the fight quickly. The Green Prince appears in the background during this phase, silently watching the outcome.
• Strategy tips:
  • Use aerial mobility to avoid vine eruptions.
  • Strike during the recovery after whip lashes.
  • Charms that reduce poison damage or extend healing windows are especially useful.
  • The Clawline is crucial for dodging pollen storms by grappling across gaps.

Defeating Cloverdancer unlocks the Conjoined Heart charm, which increases survivability by merging silk and health mechanics. You’ll also earn the Lamenter achievement, marking the conclusion of the Green Prince’s questline.

Verdania is optional but a great experience!

Reaching Verdania is not mandatory for completing Silksong, but it adds some of the richest storytelling in the game. The Green Prince’s fate, combined with Verdania’s lush design and the intense Cloverdancer fight, makes it one of the most rewarding late-game paths. If you’re chasing both lore depth and unique gameplay challenges, Verdania is absolutely worth the effort.