Being prepared with what to do first in Crimson Desert is knowledge that’ll help you get your bearings as you explore this massive open world.
There’s a plethora of systems, mechanics, and more which you can interact with in Crimson Desert, and without a traditional levelling system and so much freedom, it may be difficult for you to definitively know where to start once you’ve been let loose in Pywel at the start of Chapter 1.
To help you along with where to go, we’ll be running through several Crimson Desert tips to get you set off on the right path as you begin this massive adventure.
Complete the ‘Woman in White’ quest for a new form of traversal
Early on in Crimson Desert’s main story, you’ll complete a couple of puzzles and, after a small bit of traversal and a cutscene, unlock a new form of traversal as part of the quest titled ‘Woman in White’.
The traversal method in question is ‘Flight’, granted through a pair of crow wings that allows Kliff to glide through the air when launching off high points in the world. This will become handy throughout the game, particularly when getting down from heights but also to travel through the air when moving from point to point – though your reach is limited depending on Stamina.
With these wings though, you’ll have much more freedom to explore the world if that’s something you’re interested in doing sooner rather than later. That said, we’d still recommend getting a little bit further in the story, ideally somewhere around Chapter 3 or 4 as you’ll still be unlocking new features up to that point.
Unlock fast travel points
Whilst unlocking the ability to glide through the air will let you roam around the world quicker, if you’re looking to jump around the map without needing to manually travel there, you’ll want to work on unlocking fast travel points.
To do this, you’ll want to activate Abyss Nexuses scattered across Pywel. Once unlocked, you’ll be able to easily fast travel back to an Abyss Nexus location!
You can identify where these are on the map by using the ‘All’ filter, then heading to locations marked on the map by a big cloud and question mark icon.
Expand your inventory capacity
If you’re anything like me in any game with items to collect, you’ll probably end up carrying a bunch of items. Some of which you might not even need, but such is life as a hoarder of goods in games. If this is you, fear not, for there is a way to expand your inventory space!
To increase the amount you can hold, you’ll want to collect bags which come in an assortment of sizes and can be found through a variety of means; be it purchased from vendors, earned through quests, and more.
As an example, the side missions in Hernand reward a ‘Medium Bag’ on completion which increases your inventory capacity by three slots. Alternatively, you might find a vendor selling a ‘Small Bag’ which increases your capacity by one slot – not much on its own, but a handful of these will incrementally let you carry more.
Furthermore, you also have a storage box available at your campsite. When starting out, this is located in the tent you’re in at the beginning of Chapter 1, but later can be accessed in a separate campsite you’ll unlock as part of the main questline.
Sell items for Money
Since there are many items, creatures, gear and more to find in Crimson Desert, you don’t have to rely on storing them alone and can instead choose to sell them at vendors to make yourself a bit of money.
It’s self explanatory, but having more money will allow you to buy additional items. You don’t have to worry about this too much when it comes to gear and equipment generally, but how important it is also somewhat depends on what you’re interested in. For example, you can find recipe books at shops that expand what you can cook and craft, as well as other items such as Bandit Masks (more on them below).
Different items sell for different amounts, and what you want to part with is up to you, but be sure to keep an eye out for each item’s value as you might be able to rack up a fair amount of cash.
Buy a Bandit’s Mask to become a thief
For those among you who are looking for more items to collect, barter, and sell, you may be interested in the Bandit’s Mask which opens up criminal actions including the ability to steal.
You can find these in various locations in the world, but one of the earliest is purchased from Grimrak’s Back Alley Shop vendor on the outskirts of Hernand. The cost is fairly low, so this is something you’ll be able to net pretty early on as you engage in stealthy theft. We’ve got more details on where to find this vendor and stealing in general in our dedicated guide.
It’s worth getting a Bandit Mask especially if you’re looking to solve the puzzles and steal from Strongboxes, like the ones in Northern Bluemont Manor and Hernand Castle. Just be cautious of anyone nearby before you start your thievery.
Buy keys to unlock doors
As you explore the world of Pywel, you’re likely going to run into a number of doors which require keys to open, so it’s worth preparing ahead of time for when those moments occur.
Many vendors will sell items simply named ‘Key’, which can be used to enter various locked rooms throughout the world. It’s worth keeping a small stockpile of these as you never know when one might come in handy!
Cook your food and ingredients for buffs and Health restores
After collecting food and ingredients, you’ll no doubt want to cook it. Either to save on inventory storage, for larger Health and Spirit refills mid-combat or more specialised dishes to provide enhanced benefits.
To begin cooking, you’ll need to find a bonfire and interact with it. Similar to the alternate storage option mentioned earlier, you’ll be able to find a bonfire just outside the tent from which you begin Chapter 1 in.
Cooking is how you’ll get the most out of the ingredients and food since it can turn them into one singular meal. Having access to a quick pick-me-up or extra buff will allow you to spend more time focused on combat and less worrying about finding the right window of opportunity to heal several times in a row from individual ingredients.
Level up your horse
Once you get access to a horse, you’ll have a quicker method to traverse the world instead of being on foot. However, there are ways to make the horse even better, namely by levelling it.
You can level horses by simply using the horse to ride around and in doing so, you’ll upgrade it in various ways. A list of unlockable bonuses and abilities can be viewed in the game’s menus. Navigate to your horse’s page in the Inventory tab, and use the ‘Open Details’ option seen along the bottom of the screen. Your horse will need to be nearby for this menu to appear though.
As you increase your horse’s level, you’ll be able to move faster, kick enemies, drift (yup, you heard that right) and more.
Invest points into stats like Health
Whilst there isn’t a traditional XP levelling system in Crimson Desert, you’ll still acquire skill points to spend in the form of Abyss Artifacts which are how you’ll unlock certain skills and other core stat upgrades.
Ultimately the choice is up to you, but we’re recommending you start with upgrading your Health simply because the bar starts off so small. This will give you a bit of an edge in tougher combat scenarios you might come across both in and outside of the story.
Of course, feel free to try a different approach and you can always respec your skills via Faded Abyss Artifacts if you change your mind later. Plus, it might be worth putting the odd point in Stamina anyway to let you get off an extra attack or dodge when battling foes.
Personally I typically take a more balanced approach in games, so I’ve been spec-ing into both Health and Stamina off the bat. Generally speaking though, you’ll probably want your Health increased sooner rather than later should you run into tough encounters, especially if your healing options aren’t helping.
Keep an eye out for new items and upgrade your equipment
As mentioned above, there isn’t a traditional levelling system in Crimson Desert which can make it difficult to know where to go and when. With that in mind, you’ll want to constantly be keeping an eye out for weapons, armour and items that have better stats than your currently equipped gear.
You can check their stats and more in the inventory screen, and it’s worth keeping tabs on these as you begin to make your way out into the world. You can manually upgrade equipment by speaking to a Smithy who, for a required fee of specific materials, can upgrade the damage and general stats of gear.
By that same token, if you find your equipment isn’t strong enough for a particular area or quest, it’s worth exploring elsewhere or seeing what other items you can find before coming back.
Explore the world at your own pace
Whilst you’re free to take on the main quests whenever, you’ll likely find that it’s beneficial to dip in and out of open world activities and side content for additional rewards and features.
Some of the tips above allude to that, but there are also bounties, side quests, and more that can be picked up and completed as you go that offer a range of rewards. Completing these, freely exploring, and using the tips above will allow you to have a more intricate adventure.
Just some of the potential activities you may find yourself doing in Crimson Desert.
Keep an eye out for the various question mark icons that appear on your map since these can often lead to quests, minigames or puzzles. All of these are a great way to get easily sidetracked and may lead to benefitting you in the long run.
Crimson Desert is a massive world with so much to explore and learn. It can be somewhat overwhelming with so much offloaded and available to you early on, but taking your time and keeping all these tips in mind is your best bet at getting to grips with all that’s on offer.
Hope these tips are handy to help you get a head start in Crimson Desert!
