In Crimson Desert, you play as Kliff, a member of the Greymanes faction. The story takes place on Pywel, a continent of green plains, woods, deserts and rugged mountains. It opens with a night ambush by the Black Bears, the Greymanes' sworn enemies, which leaves many of the group dead or scattered across the land. Kliff sets out to find the survivors and rebuild the faction.
A typical session mixes story with exploring. You can follow the main story and faction quests across Pywel, or step off the path to explore towns, wilderness, ruins and the Abyss. Moving around the world, solving puzzles, gathering and taking on boss fights all reward you with gear, upgrade materials, skills and new ways to strengthen the Greymane Camp.
Before a harder fight, it pays to prepare with food and equipment, since battles move fast and a split second can decide the outcome. Combat mixes swords, axes, spears, ranged weapons, punches, kicks and grabs, and there's no single way to win. Over time, better gear and skills let you take on tougher bosses and areas, and a stronger camp lets you send comrades out on dispatch missions. Once you're far enough into the main story, the Charting the Unknown expansion adds the ocean beyond Pywel's shores, with ships to sail and underwater areas to dive into.
- Developer
- Pearl Abyss
- Publisher
- Pearl Abyss
- Release
- KST/JST: 2026-03-20 · Worldwide (PDT): 2026-03-19
- Platforms
- Windows PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Game data
Swords and Blades
Swords and blades cover the melee weapons of Crimson Desert, from plain branches and bamboo stalks to rapiers, longswords, giant longswords and daggers. They come from the open world, quest rewards, shops, enemy drops and the smithy, and all of them can be refined up to level 10. Some arrive with Abyss Gears already fitted, and a few can only be used by a single character.
Heavy Weapons
Heavy weapons are Crimson Desert's melee weapons across the axe, mace, warhammer, spear, pike and halberd groups, each with its own moveset and Attack value. Most can be equipped by Kliff, Damiane or Oongka, while a few are Oongka-only, and you can find them in the world, buy them from merchants, earn them from quests or craft them at a smithy. Refining at a smithy is the main way to make any of them stronger, and Abyss Gear in their sockets adds abilities on top.
Ranged and Special Weapons
Ranged and special weapons in Crimson Desert cover bows, crossbows, firearms, blasters, two-handed cannons, elemental spitters, fans, drills, chainsaws, the Soporific Blowpipe and A.T.A.G. weapons. Most work for every character, while bows are mainly Kliff's and blasters are shared by Kliff and Oongka. Many are crafted at a smith after learning the matching Ranged or Two-Handed Weapons of the World volume, and others come from shops, enemy drops or quest rewards.
Body Armor
Body armor is the gear worn on the upper body, and it's sorted into tiers from the entry-level pieces up to the top ones. Defense is the core stat, and many pieces add resistances, speed, breath underwater, or other bonuses. Armor is refined at a blacksmith and comes from shops, missions, crafting, and the open world. Some pieces are limited to certain characters, so check who can wear a piece before you upgrade it.
Headgear
In Crimson Desert, headgear covers the helmets, hats, masks, glasses and special devices that protect your characters in battle. Each piece adds defense, which grows as you refine it at a blacksmith, and many carry bonus effects or limits on who can wear them. Pieces come from enemy drops, quest rewards, shops and crafting blueprints, and the Visione devices stand out for their memory-reading abilities.
Gloves
Gloves are the hand armor in Crimson Desert, and unlike most other armor, they add Attack as well as Defense. They come in cloth, leather, plate and chain, and plate pairs reach the highest Attack of any glove. Gloves can be refined at a blacksmith, and many carry built-in bonuses such as Critical Rate, Attack Speed and Lightning Resistance.
Footwear
Footwear is the feet armor slot in Crimson Desert, and boots add Attack and Defense, often with built-in effects like Movement Speed, Critical Rate or special moves such as sliding across shallow water. Boots can be found while exploring, dropped by enemies, earned from quests, bought from merchants or crafted at a smithy. Each pair can be refined at a smithy using materials that match its type.
Cloaks
Cloaks sit in the back armor slot and mainly add elemental resistance, with some adding movement speed, lower stamina costs, disguises or niche bonuses. Players can buy them from merchants, find them in treasure chests, earn them from enemies and bosses, craft some at a smith, or pick them up in the open world. Cloaks can be refined at the blacksmith in Hernand, and each one is most useful when its resistance matches the region or the fight.
Shields
Shields are off-hand gear that pair with one-handed weapons, used to block, bash, and in some cases release stored force as wind, fire, sound, or a shotgun blast. Kliff uses regular and Large Shields, Damiane uses folding shields, and Oongka cannot use shields at all. Shields can be refined at the blacksmith in Hernand, and Charting the Unknown added a line of cooking lid shields.
Collectibles
Bosses
Bosses are the named opponents of Crimson Desert, from armored knights and war machines to giant beasts and dragons. They fall into a few types, including story bosses, world bosses, elites, legendary animals and mysterious creatures, and many begin with a quest or a story chapter. Once you've beaten one, its Memory Fragment lets you fight it again through Boss Rematch, either as it was when you first met it or scaled to your progress. Bosses from Charting the Unknown can be rematched too, and some of them sit on islands you reach by ship.
Crimson Desert gameplay tips
- Cook your food and stock up on grilled meat. Cook raw ingredients at a cooking pot or campfire, since cooked food restores more health. For boss fights, buy Tough Meat from the butcher in Hernand and cook it into Grilled Meat, which restores 140 health. Bring 100 or more, because bosses are built to land hits and a big stack lets you keep healing while you attack.
- Sharpen weapons and repair armor before each boss fight. Use a Grindstone and an Anvil to bring the Reinforcement stat to its maximum. That raises your Attack and Defense, which gives you an edge when the fight starts.
- Buy a Pickaxe and a Logging Axe from the Provisioner's Shop in Hernand. The pickaxe lets you mine ore from mountains, and the axe lets you fell trees for wood. Ore and wood are the materials you need to upgrade your gear.
- Fill the yellow bar beside your minimap, then spend early Artifacts on Health Level 4 and Stamina Level 4. Each time the bar fills from defeating enemies, you get one Artifact, which works as one skill point. Stat upgrades carry over to every playable character, so this early investment isn't tied to Kliff alone.
- Use Force Palm three times in a row while in midair to climb tall walls. Once you've unlocked Force Palm in Chapter 1, jump and use it three times to launch yourself up. Combining it with the double jump skill gives you even more height, which makes getting up high walls much quicker.
- Check the reward list in the Faction Quest menu and go for quests that give Medium Bags. Bags expand your inventory, so you can carry more gear and materials before running out of room.