Bell Towers

Overview

Bell Towers are tall stone-and-wood structures scattered across the continent of Pywel in Crimson Desert. There are eight in total, and each one is a vantage point that, when climbed and rung, reveals the surrounding area on the player's world map. Before ringing a bell tower, the corresponding region appears as a grey, featureless section on the map. Afterward, terrain features, roads, landmarks, and points of interest become visible, making navigation and exploration far more efficient.

The concept draws from the open-world tradition of synchronization points or vantage towers found in other action-adventure games, but Crimson Desert ties the mechanic into its own world and traversal systems. Ringing each bell plays a short cinematic that pans across the newly revealed landscape. This points to notable locations the player has not yet visited.

Locating and Climbing

Bell Towers are visible from a considerable distance due to their height. Most rise well above the surrounding tree line or rooftops, and their silhouettes are distinctive enough to spot while riding across open terrain. Some towers sit in easily accessible towns or crossroads, while others occupy more remote or dangerous ground, such as cliffs overlooking enemy-held territory or isolated ridges in the wilderness.

Climbing a bell tower involves a short traversal sequence. Players approach the base and interact with a ladder or scaffolding that leads upward. The climb itself is linear rather than free-form: the game guides the player along a fixed path of handholds and platforms. Once at the top, a prompt appears to ring the bell, triggering the map reveal and the overview cinematic.

Certain bell towers in later regions may be guarded by enemies or surrounded by environmental hazards. Clearing or bypassing these threats before climbing is recommended, since the climbing sequence leaves the player unable to fight.

Map Reveal

Each bell tower reveals a large circular area of the map centered roughly on the tower's position. The revealed zone typically covers an entire sub-region or a significant chunk of a major area. After ringing all eight towers, the full world map of Pywel is uncovered, though individual points of interest such as hidden caves or unmarked side paths may still require on-foot exploration to discover.

Revealed map sections display terrain types (forests, mountains, rivers), named locations, road networks, and icons for key landmarks. Abyss Nexus fast travel points also become visible on the map once their surrounding area has been revealed by a bell tower, though each Nexus still needs to be activated in person before it can be used for travel.

Bell Tower Locations

The eight bell towers are distributed across the five main regions of Pywel. Most regions contain at least one tower, and the larger regions have two. The table below lists each tower's region and approximate location.

The Hernand Market Tower is typically the first tower a player encounters, since the main storyline passes through the Hernand market early on. The Crimson Spire in the desert region is widely considered the most difficult to reach, owing to its remote position and the strength of the enemies in the area.

Exploration System Integration

Bell Towers are one component of a broader exploration framework in Crimson Desert. Alongside bell towers, the game features Abyss Nexus points that serve as fast travel anchors, Secret Places that reward players with rare loot for finding hidden areas, and various challenges tied to discovery milestones.

Ringing bell towers contributes toward exploration challenge completion. A dedicated challenge tracks how many of the eight towers a player has rung, and completing it awards a small resource bonus along with a trophy or badge. Players aiming for full completion should plan a route that hits each tower while also activating nearby Abyss Nexus nodes to minimize backtracking.

Rewards

Beyond the map reveal, ringing a bell tower grants a one-time experience reward that feeds into skill progression. Some towers also have a loot chest at the top or on a platform partway up, containing materials, silver, or minor equipment pieces. The loot quality roughly scales with the difficulty of reaching the tower, so the harder-to-access towers in Demeniss and The Crimson Desert tend to hold more valuable items.

The exploration challenge for ringing all eight towers grants a unique cosmetic item and a notable chunk of silver. This reward is account-wide, so there is no need to repeat the process on subsequent playthroughs if the game adds New Game Plus in a future update.

Strategy and Route Planning

Players who want to uncover the full map as early as possible can make bell towers a priority during the first few chapters of the story. The Hernand towers are reachable within the opening hours, and the Pailune towers become available once the story progresses past Chapter 2. Demeniss and Delesyia towers open up in the mid-game, while The Crimson Desert spire is generally a late-game objective due to enemy density.

Unlocking the map early provides a significant navigation advantage. Knowing where roads lead and which areas contain resources or points of interest reduces aimless wandering and makes quest tracking more straightforward. For players focused on efficient progression, ringing each bell tower as soon as its region becomes accessible is one of the best time investments in the game.

Tips

• Ring the Hernand Market Tower as soon as you arrive in town. It takes less than a minute and reveals a large, heavily-used section of the map.

• Keep an eye on the skyline while traveling. Bell Towers are tall enough to spot from most open areas, and riding toward one whenever you see it saves time on revisits.

• Activate any nearby Abyss Nexus points before or after climbing a tower to set up convenient fast travel connections in the newly revealed area.

• The Crimson Spire is surrounded by powerful enemies. Consider upgrading your equipment through refinement before attempting the approach.

• Check the top of each tower for loot chests. They are easy to miss if you ring the bell and immediately jump down.

• Completing the "Ring All Bell Towers" challenge early frees up time to focus on combat and story content without worrying about map coverage.