Are you looking for more Crimson Desert tips to start your journey? Diving straight into the continent of Pywel is no joke, as the massive open-world landscapes are bound to overwhelm you. Likewise, there are tons of mechanics and intricacies to consider, including skill unlocks, puzzle areas, and challenging boss fights. Fret not because our Crimson Desert beginner's guide is here to help you every step of the way.
In Crimson Desert, you play as Kliff, a member of the Greymanes. This band of brothers and sisters has been shattered, and it's up to you to find the remaining survivors. Along the way, you also encounter two other playable characters: Damiane and Oongka.
For the most part — barring a couple of notable instances — Kliff is the only one who can tackle and complete main story missions. That means you'll spend dozens — maybe even hundreds — of hours exploring Pywel as him. You'll likely become accustomed to his playstyle.
- Damiane is unlocked early in Chapter 3, while Oongka becomes available toward the end of Chapter 7. They have their own types of equipment, as well as unique skill trees.
- You're going to end up neglecting Damiane and Oongka since Kliff is your priority, and that's pretty much expected. However, it's also possible to summon your comrades while you're free-roaming. This allows you to swap among characters to make use of different abilities.
Double-check the Journal and Help menus
You're going to run into a few issues when playing Crimson Desert, mostly because there are so many things to do in the game world. If ever you need more information, you can check various menus:
- Journal: Faction Quests — These show several quest chains that pertain to a region or a faction. Examples include the Greymanes and Hernand, the first city/region that you visit in the campaign.
- Journal: Challenges — This is where you'll find exploration-related objectives, such as Abyss islands, Witch Sanctums, Ancient Ruins, Sealed Abyss Artifacts, and many more.
- Others: Knowledge — Any informative tidbit that you learn can be found here. You'll see categories for people/NPCs, factions, collectibles, bosses, and more.
- Others: Guides — This is where you can reread tooltips about various mechanics that you've encountered so far.
- Others: Notifications — If you're too focused on your surroundings and you missed a tooltip that popped up, you can check this menu.
Hero or horror: Help the townsfolk or terrorize them
When you first arrive at Hernand, you'll notice a bulletin board at the town square. These notes, which have a purple icon on the minimap, tell you of outlaws that have evaded justice. You can catch them if you want to claim the bounty on their heads.
Likewise, you'll see numerous townsfolk milling about along the crowded streets. If you see an NPC with an orange dot icon, it means Kliff will be able to talk to them to learn about their plight. Do these quests, and you might just earn some nifty rewards.
Of course, you could just throw being a good guy out the window if you want to act like a brigand. You can commit crimes, such as stealing, assault, and vandalism. Crime does pay, as long as you don't get caught, that is — otherwise, you'd be the one with a bounty on your head.
Increase your contributions and complete research projects
One of the most important Crimson Desert tips to remember is to keep doing side quests and commissions. Almost everything you do that improves a community also increases your contribution rank — i.e. reputation. Higher contribution levels allow you to purchase unique goodies from regional vendors, including thematic weapons, armor, and horse barding.
In the same vein, you should also kickstart research projects in specific settlements that you aid. After finishing an initial quest, you should be able to choose projects that can be completed over time. These, in turn, grant powerful boons, including unlockable functions.
Make a ton of money before heading to the next town
Money matters a lot in Crimson Desert. You need Silver to buy gear, materials, and cores. If you're strapped for cash, you have to spend more time farming, which can be a hassle. Thankfully, there are several ways to make money in the game, such as investing in a bank and winning big in gambling minigames.
Use grindstones and anvils to gain temporary buffs
You can use various resources to further upgrade your gear pieces in the game. However, if you're just looking for some quick and temporary buffs, you need to find grindstones and anvils. Grindstones boost the effectiveness of your weapons for a short duration. Anvils have the same effect, but for your armors.
Bring a lot of food with you at all times
Another important Crimson Desert tip: Bosses will kick your butt, badly. That's why you need to bring a lot of extra food to heal your character. Certain boss fights tend to be overtuned, and there might be instances when you lack the means to improve your skills/stats. As such, the only recourse is to heal up consistently to survive battles. Don't worry — Kliff won't get fat regardless of how many meat skewers he eats.
You can acquire ingredients by purchasing them from vendors like the Butcher and the Grocer. Vendor NPC wares should refresh every couple of in-game days. Alternatively, you can farm materials in the wilderness — hunting wild animals nets you a lot of meat, as well as hides, furs, and horns. Once you have the resources, start cooking via a Campfire or a Cooking Pot. Make sure you use the right amount of ingredients, or you might end up making an entirely different variant.
Keep some Palmar Pills handy in case of deaths
Make no mistake: your character will die a lot in Crimson Desert. Worse, if you choose to give up and return to a checkpoint, that checkpoint might be several hundred feet away.
If you want to keep fighting, then you need to have a few Palmar Pills. These items allow your character to revive automatically when they perish, while also restoring +30% health. Be forewarned, though — an enemy can still attack you as you're trying to get up. Imagine dying, only to get beaten down as you attempt to revive.
Read crafting recipes and discard them
Inventory space in Crimson Desert is very limited, and even nondescript items like recipes, scrolls, and books take up slots. To alleviate hassles, you should just read a recipe to permanently learn it. Once you're done, you can go ahead and sell the scroll or book to a vendor. It's also possible to gift these items to vendors to improve their trust level.
Increase inventory slots and group your items per category
As mentioned above, you might have issues with limited inventory space. That's why it's imperative that you do various side quests that reward you with bags. These grant extra slots, allowing you to carry around more loot. Here are a few tidbits to consider:
- Some vendors sell Small Bags that add +1 slot. Certain side quests, meanwhile, reward Medium Bags that provide +3 slots.
- There's no carry weight / encumbrance system in the game. You can lug around 200 stones and timber and Kliff would still be able to run around like a marathon champion.
- If you select an item, you can press and hold "T" (keyboard) or L3 (gamepad). This groups items that are part of the same category — one-handed weapons, two-handed weapons, chest armor, cores, and so on.
- Enabling item groupings doesn't increase your inventory space. It's just a way to lessen the clutter in your backpack.
Activate Blinding Flash to reveal fast travel teleporters and points-of-interest
While you're roaming around regions, you're bound to stumble upon mysterious structures and strange landscapes. If you look at your map, you'll notice they're shrouded in a fog of war with a large question mark (?) icon. To reveal these locations easily, use your Blinding Flash action:
- Mouse and keyboard: Hold CTRL + left-click
- PlayStation: L1 + R1
- Xbox: LB + RB
This shows glints of silvery light in the distance. These won't get automatically marked on your map, though — you have to make your way to those areas on your own. Once there, you might spot these points-of-interest:
- Abyss Nexus — Your general fast travel point / teleporter. Just step on the plate to activate it.
- Abyss Cresset — Also acts as a fast travel point. Some pillars only require interaction; however, many others are found in Ancient Ruins with straightforward or convoluted puzzles.
- Sealed Abyss Artifacts — These still appear as glints of light, but without the fog of war on the map. Pick them up to learn about a challenge you can complete for an Abyss Artifact.
Collect Abyss Artifacts to boost your capabilities further
Crimson Desert does not have a traditional leveling system. Instead, you boost your character's capabilities by acquiring Abyss Artifacts. This resource can be obtained by solving Abyss-type puzzles, completing certain quests, defeating major bosses, and taking out countless enemies. They are used for:
- Attributes — Increase your health, stamina, and spirit (mana).
- Skills — Level up skill tiers or unlock new ones.
- Upgrades — Higher-tier weapon, armor, and accessory upgrades require Abyss Artifacts too.
- Damiane and Oongka abilities — Some of Kliff's leveled attributes carry over, but your comrades still have their own skill trees that require separate investment.
Watch and learn from your opponents
Several skills can be unlocked via the "watch and learn" mechanic. During a battle, your opponent might have a blue highlight while time slows down — this means Kliff is learning a move from that enemy. If this occurs enough times, Kliff will learn the ability permanently, without spending a single Abyss Artifact.
Utilize your skills effectively, even those that aren't obvious at first
Various abilities can be used offensively and for traversal. In some cases, the game doesn't even tell you how certain skills can be utilized effectively:
- Force Palm — You can press the Force Palm button up to three times after jumping, causing Kliff to gain a triple-boosted jump.
- Focused Force Palm — Fully charge this ability until you see a golden orb/object on a target.
- Resist and Force Palm — When clinging onto an object, press the "Resist" button then Force Palm to trigger a push that doesn't knock Kliff backward.
- Force Current — Destroys ore deposits and trees to speed up resource gathering.
- Stab — Used for puzzles where you have to thrust a blade into a socket.
- Grappling: Back Hang — Allows you to jump on the backs of larger opponents and beasts.
- Elemental abilities — Obtained many hours into exploration; they do not strictly come from main quests, making them somewhat missable.
Discover the mysteries of the Abyss
The Abyss is a realm in the sky consisting of numerous floating islands connected by bridgeways, platforms, and teleporters. If you're only doing main story content, you'll just visit a few places there. But curiosity may lead you much further. Each Abyss island is a large, self-contained puzzle area — solve the puzzle, receive an Abyss Artifact, and travel to the next island in the chain.
Skydive from the Abyss or hang on to reset your position
If you're having trouble finding fast travel points on the surface, teleport to the Abyss and jump off to skydive. While gliding down, activate Blinding Flash to reveal points-of-interest on the surface world.
If you fall off accidentally, press the Axiom Force button to make Kliff grapple the heavens above, suspending him in mid-air. Pressing the pause button will then transport Kliff back to the checkpoint of the current Abyss island.
Investigate Spires to see where they lead
Outside of main quest cutscenes, you access Abyss islands by investigating spires — towering structures that dot the countryside of Pywel, each with their own unique puzzles. Completing the objective leads you to one part of the Abyss, and from there, it's up to you to find your way.
Dip in and out of your glide to conserve stamina
When you move while gliding, you expend a lot of stamina. The trick is to dip in and out of your glide — cancel the action and free-fall for a few seconds before resuming. During free-fall, stamina replenishes swiftly, giving you enough to resume flight. You can also eat stamina food while zipping across the skies.
Enjoy the journey with pets and animal companions
If you don't want to trek with Damiane and Oongka, you can bring a pet. Animals such as dogs and cats can be tamed and will follow you around — even in battle. And yes, they'll automatically loot corpses.
Find more mounts and even a few legendaries
You definitely don't want to trek Pywel on foot. Your trusty horse mount, the Herspia, becomes available very early in the campaign. Key things to know:
- Horses level up the more you ride them, eventually gaining increased defense, speed, and stamina.
- You can purchase armor and accessories for your horse: bardings, saddles, and horseshoes.
- If a horse is too injured, charge your Force Palm and press the Healing Palm button on its torso to restore its condition.
- You can tame wild horses via a minigame where you tilt the left thumbstick in the direction of the horse's tail.
- There are other types of mounts, including mechanical contraptions and vehicles, and some legendary variants too.
Hear the roar of your own dragon
You've seen the trailers — at some point you'll be riding a dragon. You do receive your own dragon mount, the Blackstar, albeit much later in the campaign. It can shoot fireballs and breathe flames, but it has a rather long cooldown.
Upgrade your camp to unlock amazing functions
During Chapter 3, you'll build a Greymane camp at Howling Hill. Shortly thereafter, you'll be tasked with finding other survivors to bring back. As your camp grows, you'll unlock:
- Expedition recruits — Send out recruits to bring back resources for your base.
- Wagons and hot air balloons for traversal.
- Dye coloring and hairstyle changes via certain quests.
- A farm and a ranch to harvest fruits and take care of livestock.
Liberate settlements from bandits and other hostiles
As kingdoms vie for control, brigands, cultists, and even short-circuiting mechs prey on the weak. They've erected bastions all over the countryside, and it's up to you to wrest these areas from their control. When you liberate a settlement, new NPCs may move in, and these locations might yield new dispatch missions for various resources and unique items.
Prepare for brutal boss fights
The bosses in Crimson Desert will trounce you if you're not careful. Being well-prepared with food and Palmar Pills might not be enough on its own. Certain bosses have elemental weaknesses, and some battles take place in areas with potential "cheese" spots. You need every advantage you can get, especially when the challenge ramps up.
Keep exploring to find secrets
There are so many things to do in the game, and no beginner's guide can cover them all. But here's the most important Crimson Desert tip for those just starting out: Keep exploring the unknown.
Whether you're chasing after a glint of light that turns out to be a tricky puzzle, or tackling a quest chain with numerous requirements, your actions will lead you somewhere. You might receive a reward, or maybe an item you can't use yet. Perhaps another quest chain takes you to a different location entirely. Regardless of the result, always focus on the journey, not on the destination — you might just stumble upon secrets without even meaning to.