Aerial Stab

Overview

Aerial Stab is a combat skill in Crimson Desert, available to Kliff. It belongs to the Stamina (Blue) branch of the skill tree. Aerial Stab is the third upgrade in the Stab skill line and unlocks once the base Stab ability reaches Level 3. Unlike the ground-based Stab, this variant can be aimed in any direction while airborne, including upward, which makes it valuable for both combat and vertical traversal.

Skill Details

Effect

Press R1 + Triangle while in mid-air to perform a Stab in the direction Kliff is facing. The input works with sword and shield equipped. Unlike ground Stab, the aerial version can be aimed freely: forward, diagonally downward toward enemies, or even straight upward. Kliff lunges in whichever direction the player is holding on the left stick at the moment of activation.

The attack carries the same Bleed-applying properties as the base Stab skill, so landing it from the air still inflicts Bleed on the target. This lets Kliff maintain damage-over-time pressure while staying out of reach of ground-based enemy attacks. The lunge distance is short but covers enough ground to close a gap between Kliff and an airborne or elevated target.

How to Acquire

Aerial Stab is an inner skill of the Stab ability. It becomes available once Stab reaches Level 3. Players must invest Abyss Artifacts into the base Stab skill to raise it to the required level. Stab itself is one of Kliff's starting skills and is automatically unlocked at the beginning of the game, so no Watch and Learn location or special quest is needed to begin the upgrade path.

Stab Skill Progression

Aerial Stab sits at the end of the Stab upgrade chain. Each level of Stab unlocks new inner skills and abilities:

Reaching Stab Level 3 requires a meaningful investment of Abyss Artifacts, but the payoff is substantial. Both Aerial Stab and Stab Rend Armor unlock at the same time, giving Kliff a strong aerial option and the ability to punch through boss Super Armor in one upgrade step.

Traversal and Exploration

While Aerial Stab is primarily a combat skill, it doubles as one of the most stamina-efficient methods for gaining vertical height. Because the skill can be aimed upward, Kliff can repeatedly use Aerial Stab in mid-air to climb well beyond what a normal Double Jump allows.

How it Works

After a Double Jump, hold the stick upward and press R1 + Triangle. Kliff performs a stab that propels him upward instead of forward. As long as he has stamina remaining, the input can be repeated in rapid succession. Each activation costs 40 Stamina but moves Kliff a noticeable distance upward, and the skill can be chained as many times as the stamina bar allows.

Stamina Efficiency

Compared to the common approach of Double Jump into Force Palm or Aerial Force Palm for vertical movement, Aerial Stab covers more vertical distance per point of stamina spent. The Force Palm method works well for moderate heights, but it burns through the stamina bar much faster when trying to scale tall structures like castle walls or mountainsides. Aerial Stab's 40-stamina cost per activation and its ability to be spammed in quick succession make it the more efficient choice for sustained climbing.

Practical Applications

• Reaching the tops of castle walls, towers, and other tall structures without needing to find a path or ladder.

• Scaling cliff faces and mountain ridges that would otherwise require a long detour on foot.

• Accessing treasure chests, Sealed Abyss Artifacts, and secret areas perched on high ledges.

• Skipping certain platforming sections in Abyss Dungeons by going straight up.

For a full breakdown of all movement options, see the Exploration and Traversal guide.

Aerial Movement Chain

Once you have spent all of the skill points required to unlock every node in the Stab skill tree, ending at Aerial Stab itself, the ability slots into a much larger movement combo that lets you scale terrain that looks impossible at ground level. This chain is one of the most efficient ways to climb mountains in the open world and it is also the workaround most players fall back on when a platforming puzzle inside the Abyss Nexus refuses to cooperate.

The Full Chain

Execute the chain in the following order from a standing start:

• Jump to leave the ground.

• Fire Force Palm three times in quick succession. Each cast shoves you higher into the air and resets your vertical momentum.

• Trigger Aerial Stab upward. On console this is right bumper plus Y. Aerial Stab launches you further up and converts the air window into fresh height.

• Repeat the Force Palm and Aerial Stab portion of the chain as many times as your stamina pool allows.

• When your vertical options run out, deploy Glide to carry your remaining momentum forward without dropping.

• Finish with Aerial Grapple to snap onto a ledge or anchor point, then tap jump off the grapple to launch yourself up onto the target surface.

Stamina Management

Every Aerial Stab in the loop drains a chunk of stamina, and this is the main factor that limits how far the chain can take you. Eating Stamina Food before you start climbing gives you a meaningfully longer window, because the regeneration buff stretches each Force Palm and Aerial Stab repetition. Running out of stamina mid-chain will cut the climb short and drop you back toward the ground, so plan to top up your Stamina bar and carry a stack of cooked food before attempting a long scale.

Use it to Skip Sanctum Jump Puzzles

The biggest practical application for the chain is traversing the jump puzzles inside the Abyss Nexus. The Abyss Nexus platforming sections are intentionally designed to slow players down, but the Force Palm plus Aerial Stab loop lets you gain enough altitude to simply fly over the worst stretches. When a specific platform refuses to work and you have tried the intended solution more than a few times, falling back to the aerial chain is the cleanest bypass available.

Patch History and Caveats

Aerial Stab has already taken one balance pass in a previous patch that reduced the total distance each cast covers. Despite that nerf, it remains highly effective as part of the movement chain and is still one of the fastest ways to get on top of a mountain in Pywell. Because the whole loop leans heavily on a movement ability performing well outside of combat, treat it as a feature that Pearl Abyss may reduce or remove in a future patch. For now it is considered fair game by the community, and most guides continue to recommend it whenever a climbing or platforming situation is blocking progression.

Tips

• Aerial Stab pairs well with Double Jump and Aerial Maneuver for extended aerial combos against large enemies and bosses.

• Because it inherits the Stab skill's Bleed application, using it from the air can stack Bleed damage while keeping Kliff out of reach of ground-based attacks.

• Use Aerial Stab to close distance on enemies positioned on elevated terrain or to punish bosses during recovery animations.

• When exploring, keep an eye on your stamina bar before starting a vertical Aerial Stab chain. Running out of stamina mid-climb will cause Kliff to drop. Consider eating a stamina-restoring meal beforehand if you are planning a big ascent.

• Combining Aerial Stab with Aerial Swing (from the Axiom Force tree) lets you cover both vertical and horizontal distances rapidly, making it easier to reach remote areas.

• The Stab Rend Armor perk unlocks at the same Stab level as Aerial Stab. Together they let Kliff pierce through Super Armor from the air, which is especially useful against heavily armored bosses.

Related Skills

• Stab (base skill, Level 1)

• Skewering Stab (inner skill, Level 2)

• Swift Stab (unlocks at Level 2)

• Stab Rend Armor (inner skill, Level 3)

• Echoing Stab

• Double Jump

• Aerial Maneuver

• Aerial Force Palm

• Aerial Swing