Crimson Desert drops you into the massive world of Pywel and gives you the freedom to do anything and explore anywhere you want. While there are numerous tutorials throughout the game that will introduce you to various mechanics and systems to master, it would be impossible to explain everything else at your fingertips.
That’s what we’re here for. We’ve uncovered some of the best tips you should know coming into Crimson Desert, including exploration, combat, skill recommendations, and much more. Get ready to become a master Greymane, armed with some of the best tips and tricks you need to know in Crimson Desert.
What Are The Best Combat Tips?
While we go into more detail about the intricacies of fighting in Crimson Desert in our Combat Guide, these are some of the best combat tips to keep in mind.
- Use Focus for parrying or to aim your bow shots accurately (Focus Shot).
- You can hold the attack button to continue attacking; you don’t need to mash to perform combos.
- Using Grindstones or Anvils to temporarily boost your weapons or armor, respectively, is an excellent way to bump your damage before hard fights.
- Level up your gear at a blacksmith as early and often as possible to ensure you’re staying alive and doing good damage.
- Once unlocked, you can summon Damiane or Oongka to battle with you by selecting their image from your radial wheel, hovering over it, then releasing (hold up to bring up the wheel).
- Don’t get greedy against more difficult bosses, as they will punish you for attempting to consecutively attack too many times.
- Hold A/X to tackle outlaws you want to arrest for the maximum bounty payout. Hit them three times, then an option to tie them up will appear.
- You can collapse Archer towers by using Turning Slash (R1/RB+R2/RT) or by using a charged bow shot (hold LT/L2 + press RT/R2).
Crimson Desert: How To Get The Armor Of Shadows Set
We’ll walk you through both methods to get the Armor of the Shadows set.
What Are The Best Exploration Tips?
It will take you dozens of hours to explore every nook and cranny in Crimson Desert, but these tricks will help you do so much quicker and more efficiently.
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Go to Abyss Island teleport spots far above Pywel and use gliding to cover more ground quickly.
- This works even better the more stamina you have.
- Combine a double jump with Force Palm (up to three uses) while in the air to gain a lot of height, making it easy to reach higher areas or glide to new ones.
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You must use the Stab skill (R1/RB + Triangle/Y) to access the hidden area behind waterfalls.
- Waterfalls with hidden areas are often marked by a stack of rocks outside the waterfall.
- If a door is locked, and you don’t have a key, look for a window to use to enter instead.
- To avoid automatically using keys, approach a door with your lantern out, which will give you an option to use a key if you want.
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Unlock as many fast travel spots as possible by finding the location in the areas marked with large question marks.
- You can use your Blinding Flash ability to reveal the exact spot as you get closer.
- Sliding is a great way to explore quickly, and you can slide on water using the Vaporwalker boots.
- Avoid fall damage by gliding at the last second or using Force Palm to slam toward the ground.
- If a wall or floor looks suspiciously different from the rest of the environment, try using Force Palm on it to potentially unveil a secret.
- Sort items in your inventory using the ‘Group’ feature (LS/L3) to create stacks of items of the same type.
- Use Precision Jump (hold LB/L1 + X/Square) to safely navigate jumping puzzles while in the Abyss.
How To Choose The Best Skills
Ultimately, choosing your skills depends on your playstyle, but there are a few essentials you should prioritize due to their versatility and benefits to your quality of life.
- Force Palm is the most versatile skill in the game; try it on everything, especially when you see leaves swirling.
- You can see your experience bar on the bottom left, near the map. It’s the gold bar. Defeating enemies fills this and allows you to farm Abyss Artifacts.
- Level up your stamina to eight or more ASAP. This is incredibly useful for general play, but especially helpful for stringing together combos.
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Don’t bother leveling Spirit more than once or twice until much later in your adventure.
- Using Focus (LS/L3 +RS/R3) recovers Spirit and helps slow down combat.
- Nature’s Snare is a huge help against bosses, particularly those with frequent projectile attacks.
- Keen Senses is an essential Spirit skill to help make Kliff’s reaction times quicker, and also offers an audio cue to indicate incoming attacks.
- Even if you don’t plan on using bows much, upgrading one or two Marksman skills can help in desperate moments.
What Are The Best General Tips?
Crimson Desert is brimming with dozens of unique interactions and creative ways of experiencing the game. These tips will help you in a variety of ways and can be employed as you see fit.
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HOLD LT/L2 when grappling with machinery that you need to activate with Force Palm.
- This will prevent you from being launched backward and potentially falling back down to Pywel.
- You can quickly grill food by dropping it on the floor and using Blinding Flash, then concentrating the heat beam on it.
- You can slingshot yourself by using Axiom Force on a tree, pulling it, then jumping to fly forward, gaining a lot of momentum.
- Get the Great Thief’s Gloves as early as chapter four to make stealing, particularly pickpocketing, easy.
- You can remove a hood or open your helmet by selecting the item from the radial wheel, then releasing it while hovering over it.
- When your lantern glows with a blue light while on your hip, use it to reveal memories, which automatically equips the Visionie.
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Pet animals and feed them food to recruit them to follow you around and help in your adventure.
- Cats love fish and meat. Dogs like small bones.
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Food is the key to survival, especially the better recipes that heal more at once.
- Keep plenty of water, meat, and cooking oil on hand at all times.
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Using the ‘Greet’ feature is a great way to increase your trust with people; you never know when it might help.
- This is especially helpful with merchants, as reaching level 100 typically unlocks discounts or exclusive items.
- Once you unlock the Greymane Camp in Chapter Three, expand it as much as possible. It will make your life much more convenient as you progress.
- You can level up your horse by petting it. Hold LB/L1 and press X/Square to pet.
- Purple markers on your map indicate flyers you can read, or grave sites with Sealed Abyss Artifacts.
- You can earn unique gear for each major area at Contribution Shops, which deal in Contribution Points instead of money.
- Holding START brings up a quick select menu on the right, so you can choose which tab you want to go to.
- Go to a church to clear your bounty by asking for absolution from your sins.
- You can earn gold bars easily by looting them from nobles or from traveling goblins with chests strapped to them.
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Coin pouches have three purposes:
- To serve as gifts.
- Can be opened for monetary gain.
- Can be thrown to lure NPCs who see or hear it.
Crimson Desert: Staglord Boss Guide
Follow the House Serkis questline to challenge the Staglord on the battlefield.
