Beloth the Darksworn

Overview

Beloth the Darksworn is an optional boss in Crimson Desert, found at Hoenmark Ruins in the Hernand region. The boss appears during the Wraith in the Frost quest, which is part of the White Blizzard faction quest line tied to House Lanford. Beloth wears black Shadow Armor and attacks with relentless ice-based abilities, making this one of the most punishing encounters in the entire game.

The fight demands patience and precise positioning. Beloth hits extremely hard, leaves almost zero margin for error, and has attack patterns specifically designed to punish panic rolling. Players who attempt this fight unprepared will be overwhelmed quickly. However, the reward for persevering is well worth the effort: Beloth drops the Plate Helm of the Shadows, the crown jewel of the Armor of the Shadows set. This helmet grants a unique frost breath ability that allows you to freeze water surfaces and walk across them, opening up exploration routes that are otherwise inaccessible.

Boss Information

Prerequisites

To unlock the Wraith in the Frost quest and encounter Beloth, you must complete 100% of Chapter 6 in the main story. The boss spawns at the beginning of Chapter 7. No additional side quests are required to trigger the encounter. Once Chapter 6 is fully complete, travel to Hoenmark Ruins in Hernand to find the boss waiting.

There is an optional step involving wounded soldiers at the Argent Peaks Outpost, located east of Hoenmark Ruins. You may be prompted to meet them as an initial quest objective, though this can be skipped if you have already visited that location earlier in the story. An Abyss Nexus fast travel point sits nearby, making it easy to reach the ruins once unlocked.

Recommended Build and Preparation

Weapon Choice

A two-handed weapon is strongly recommended for this fight. The extended reach of two-handed swings lets you poke Beloth from behind cover without fully exposing yourself. One-handed weapons and dual-wield setups force you to get dangerously close, which increases the risk of being caught by his devastating combo finishers.

Ice Resistance Gear

Because cold damage ticks constantly throughout the fight and many of Beloth's attacks inflict freeze, stacking ice resistance is critical. Two specific gear pieces help enormously:

• Hernand Contribution Store Cloak: Available from the Hernand contribution shop, this cloak provides Ice Resistance Level 3. This is one of the most accessible sources of frost protection before the fight.

• Caner Plate Helm: Grants additional ice resistance. Equipping both this helm and the contribution cloak significantly reduces the cold damage you take throughout the encounter.

Abyss Gear

If you obtained the Crow's Pursuit Abyss Gear from the Tauria Curved Sword during Chapter 5 (dropped by the Crowcaller), it provides helpful extra damage output. Crow's Pursuit sends out a murder of crows whenever you land a heavy attack, adding free damage during your punish windows. Any offensive Abyss Gears you have slotted will help speed up this long fight.

Healing Supplies

Bring as much food as you can carry. Cold damage constantly drains your health throughout the fight, even when you are not being hit directly. This constant chip damage means you will burn through healing items at a much higher rate than in most other boss encounters. Stock up on Grilled Meat, Palmar Pills, and any high-tier healing consumables before heading to Hoenmark Ruins.

Arena Layout

The boss arena at Hoenmark Ruins contains several stone pillars scattered around the area. These pillars are the most important environmental feature in the fight, because they serve as cover against specific attacks. Some pillars may be encased in ice at the start of the encounter. You can bait Beloth into attacking near them to shatter the ice coating, making the pillars usable as cover.

Understanding how each of Beloth's attacks interacts with pillars is essential to the strategy. His ice slam attack passes through pillars and will still hit you on the other side. His spear throw, however, does not pass through pillars. This distinction is the foundation of the pillar method strategy detailed below.

Attack Patterns

Beloth the Darksworn uses a mix of ice-based attacks and physical strikes. His combos are fast, hit hard, and are specifically tuned to punish players who dodge reactively instead of reading the patterns. Learning to distinguish between his two main combo finishers is the key to surviving this fight.

Ice Flurry Into Ice Slam

Beloth unleashes a series of rapid strikes that end with a powerful ice slam into the ground. The slam sends a shockwave of frost outward that can freeze your character solid. This attack passes through pillars, meaning you cannot hide behind cover to avoid the slam itself. If you get frozen, mash the sprint button to break free as quickly as possible. Always break free behind the safety of a pillar so that you are not exposed to follow-up attacks while recovering.

Ice Flurry into Spear Throw

The second major combo follows a similar opening flurry but finishes with Beloth hurling a spear at your position. This spear throw has one-shot potential and will kill most players in a single hit if it connects cleanly. The critical difference between this attack and the ice slam is that the spear throw does not pass through pillars. Positioning yourself behind a pillar when you see the spear wind-up blocks the projectile entirely.

Teleport Strike

If you move too far away from Beloth, he will teleport directly on top of you and deliver a devastating strike that can kill you instantly. This punishes players who try to create distance or play overly defensively at range. The counter to this mechanic is to keep Beloth engaged at medium range at all times. Firing bow shots at him periodically prevents the teleport from triggering, because it keeps his aggro locked and interrupts the teleport condition.

Ambient Cold Damage

Throughout the entire fight, cold damage ticks against your health at regular intervals. This is not tied to any specific attack; it is a persistent environmental hazard during the encounter. The constant drain means you need to heal frequently just to stay alive, even if you are dodging every attack perfectly. Ice resistance gear reduces this passive damage significantly.

Stamina Freeze

Periodically, your stamina bar will freeze over, preventing you from sprinting, dodging, or performing stamina-consuming actions. When this happens, spam the sprint button rapidly to shatter the ice on your stamina bar and regain control. Do this behind a pillar whenever possible so you are not left vulnerable while mashing to break free.

Attack Pattern Summary

Strategy: The Pillar Method

The most reliable way to defeat Beloth the Darksworn is the pillar method, which uses the stone pillars in the arena as cover to safely bait and punish his attacks. This approach is slower than aggressive melee strategies but far more consistent, especially for players who are still learning his patterns.

Step 1: Secure a Pillar

At the start of the fight, roll toward the nearest stone pillar. Some pillars may be coated in ice initially. Bait Beloth into attacking near an iced pillar to destroy the ice layer, making the pillar usable as solid cover. Once you have a clean pillar, position yourself directly behind it relative to Beloth's position.

Step 2: Peek and Punish

With a pillar between you and the boss, peek out to the side and land a two-handed swing (this is why long weapon range matters), then immediately roll back behind the pillar. The pillar absorbs his spear throw if he retaliates with that attack. Repeat this cycle to chip away at his health safely.

Step 3: Identify the Combo Finisher

Pay close attention to whether Beloth finishes his combo with the ice slam or the spear throw, because your response to each is very different:

• After Spear Throw (Best Punish Window): The spear throw has a long recovery animation. Once the spear hits the pillar or misses, rush in and land 4 to 5 hits before rolling back behind cover. This is your biggest damage opportunity in the fight.

• After Ice Slam (Minimal Punish): Do not overcommit after the ice slam. Beloth recovers quickly and often teleports away if you try to attack aggressively. Land 1 to 2 hits at most, then retreat to your pillar immediately.

Step 4: Build the Stun Bar

As you deal damage, a yellow stun bar fills up above Beloth's health. This works similarly to the stagger gauge on other bosses in Crimson Desert. Focus on landing hits that force the ice slam, since the slam's commitment gives you a consistent pattern to exploit. Once the yellow bar is full, Beloth becomes dazed, opening a large DPS window where you can unload your strongest combos and abilities without fear of retaliation.

Step 5: Manage the Freeze

Watch for the stamina freeze timing. When your stamina bar ices over, break free by spamming sprint before the stun window arrives. Getting frozen during a DPS window wastes your best opportunity to deal damage. If a freeze catches you in the open, break free behind a pillar so you are not exposed.

Step 6: Stay at Medium Range

Never stray too far from Beloth. If you back off beyond medium range, the teleport strike will trigger and likely kill you instantly. Use your bow periodically to fire shots at Beloth between melee exchanges. The bow shots serve two purposes: they deal a small amount of chip damage, and more importantly, they prevent the teleport from activating by keeping his aggro engaged.

Common Mistakes

• Playing too far away: The teleport strike punishes passive or ranged-heavy playstyles. Stay within medium distance and use bow shots only to prevent the teleport, not as a primary damage source.

• Overcommitting after the ice slam: Many players see the slam's recovery and try to rush in for a full combo. Beloth recovers from the slam much faster than from the spear throw and will punish greedy play. Limit yourself to 1 to 2 hits after the slam.

• Ignoring the stamina freeze: When your stamina bar freezes, immediately mash sprint. If you wait or try to reposition first, you will be stuck in the open with no way to dodge the next attack.

• Panic rolling: Beloth's combos are designed to catch panic rollers. His attack timings are slightly delayed compared to earlier bosses, so rolling on instinct instead of reading the animation will get you hit. Stay calm and wait for the actual attack before dodging.

• Forgetting to heal through ambient cold: The passive cold damage can slowly drain your health to dangerous levels if you focus entirely on dodging and attacking. Keep an eye on your health bar and eat food regularly, even when you have not been hit by a direct attack.

Combat Stats

The following stats come from the official game database. Beloth has 13,000 HP, placing him among the most durable bosses in the game. His Attack of 800 is extremely high, which explains why unprotected players are killed in one or two hits. His Knockout threshold of 1,000 means stagger mechanics require sustained combos to proc.

Equipment and Skills

Beloth is armed with the Soul Harvester, a Halberd weapon that gives him the extended reach visible throughout the fight. His upper body is covered by Antumbra Cloth Armor, completing a set built around shadow and frost themes. His only listed skill is the passive Boss Large Human, which governs the behavioral AI archetype that all large humanoid boss encounters share in the game.

Rewards

In addition to the Plate Helm of the Shadows, defeating Beloth also rewards the Frost Spike, a unique item obtained only from this encounter. The Frost Spike can be used as a crafting material or slotted into compatible builds, making it a secondary reason to revisit this boss after the initial kill.

Defeating Beloth the Darksworn rewards the Plate Helm of the Shadows, the most valuable piece of the Armor of the Shadows set. The helmet is the only piece in the set that requires a boss kill to obtain; the other four pieces (Plate Armor, Plate Cloak, Plate Gloves, and Plate Boots) are found in treasure chests scattered across the Hernand and Argent Peaks regions.

Plate Helm of the Shadows

The Plate Helm of the Shadows grants a unique frost breath ability that allows you to exhale a cone of freezing air. This ability freezes water surfaces, letting you walk across rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water that are normally impassable. The exploration utility of this helmet is enormous, opening up shortcuts and hidden areas throughout the world. The developers intentionally locked this powerful utility behind one of the hardest bosses in the game.

Full Armor of the Shadows Set

The complete Armor of the Shadows set consists of five pieces. While only the helmet drops from Beloth, collecting the full set provides powerful defensive stats, elemental resistances, and Abyss Gear bonuses.

For players who want a frost-resistant helmet without fighting Beloth, the Frostcursed Plate Helm at Chattering Rocks (north of Demeniss) provides Daze immunity as an alternative. However, it does not grant the frost breath ability.

Matching Legendary Weapon

The Vow of the Dead King is a legendary two-handed axe that thematically pairs with the Armor of the Shadows set. It can be found in Frostfell castle ruins near Pailune. Obtaining it requires navigating treacherous platforming sections, defeating two Rock Worms, and lighting a final brazier. While not required for the Beloth fight, it makes a natural endgame weapon to complement the Shadow Armor set.

Overwhelming Beings Classification

Beloth the Darksworn is the second of three Overwhelming Beings in Crimson Desert. The Overwhelming Beings are a tier of endgame encounters tracked in the Knowledge menu under Knowledge > Bosses > Continent of Pywell > Mighty Foes > Overwhelming Beings. Community guides consider Beloth the second hardest of the three, sitting between the easier and hardest fights in the group.

According to the in-game bestiary entry referenced in the Overwhelming Beings guide, Beloth has 13,000 HP and an attack value of 450. His HP is 2,000 higher than the first Overwhelming Being, Ator, which reflects his position as a harder fight in the set.

Alternative Access Route

While Beloth is encountered through the Wraith in the Frost faction quest in the White Blizzard storyline, the Overwhelming Beings guide confirms that no prerequisite quest is strictly required to reach him. You can travel directly to Hoenmark Ruins, located just above the "H" in "Hernand" on the world map, and fight him at any time. Fast travel to the Hernand waypoint and walk into the ruins to trigger the encounter.

The catch is that ice resistance is mandatory to even stand in his arena. Without it you cannot reasonably fight him regardless of whether you arrived through the quest or directly.

Ice Resistance Requirement

Beloth's arena is saturated with freezing cold. You need a minimum of 15 total ice resistance to exist in the boss room without taking ticking cold damage. Below that threshold, the environment alone will slowly drain your health and can freeze you outright, leaving you vulnerable to a one-shot attack from Beloth during the freeze window.

The Overwhelming Beings guide recommends the following gear combination to reach the 15 ice resistance floor without relying on the Hernand Contribution Store cloak:

The Frost Cursed Plate Armor required to craft the Kuku chest is hidden in a chest inside Mist Shard Cave, a waterfall cave on the western edge of the Crimson Desert region beneath Dead Fire Mountain. The cave entrance is concealed behind a waterfall, and you need to stab through the curtain of water to pass inside.

The Power Core - Crown of Shadows is a drop from abyss enemies. A reliable farming spot is the tree observer cluster just southwest of Hoenmark Ruins, near the letter "H" in Hernand on the map. Three to four observers spawn there, and you can save-reload to reroll the drop until the core appears.

The Core of Exultation is obtained by liberating and restoring the Sanctum of Exultation in northern Pailune, near Silver Wolf Mountain. Solving the light and heat reflection puzzle on the central device causes the sanctum to output the Core of Exultation.

Elemental Weakness

Beloth is strongly weak to fire damage. Fire element attacks deal significantly increased damage, apply a burn damage-over-time effect, and appear to build his stun bar faster than other damage types. A fire-based weapon and skill loadout is the recommended offensive setup for this fight.

This is an important distinction from the Pillar Method strategy above, which focuses on positioning rather than elemental damage. If you have access to fire weapons or fire-infused skills, use them in combination with whichever strategy you prefer for the best results.

Alternative Strategy: Kuku Watcher Pack and Ranged DPS

The Overwhelming Beings guide uses a different approach from the Pillar Method. It relies on the Kuku Watcher Pack and ranged weapons to break Beloth down from a safe distance. The fight supports this approach because Beloth sits in the open during his long combos and animations, giving a ranged player many free DPS windows.

• Beloth is vulnerable to stun buildup from the Kuku Watcher Pack. Pack triggers stack quickly against him between his combo recoveries.

• Because he does not use ranged interruptions or illusion attacks, Focus Mode spirit recovery is safe to use mid-fight. You can top up spirit without being punished.

• Beloth is vulnerable to parries, but many of his strikes are red-flash non-parriable attacks. Only parry when you are certain the attack is parriable; otherwise prioritize rolling.

• Avoid rolling backwards away from him. Instead, roll sideways or directly past him so you end each roll near his flanks. This keeps you in DPS range for the next opening.

• Stay near Beloth, rolling around his sides rather than staying planted in front of him. His side and back are significantly safer than his front arc.

Key Attack Tells (Overwhelming Beings Guide)

The Overwhelming Beings guide breaks down Beloth's most dangerous moves into a small set of readable tells. Learning these tells is the difference between a safe punish window and a one-shot.

Summoned Ice Halberd with Raised Hand

When Beloth summons his ice halberd and raises his hand, he is starting a short-range standing combo. The combo consists of slamming attacks ending with a forward line shot at medium range. Step back to medium distance and shoot him with a bow during the combo, then dodge to the side at the end to avoid the line shot. Alternatively, rush in and roll around him during the long wind-up for melee damage.

Wide Swings (Short Version)

The short version of the wide swing animation closes the arena tightly and ends in a single spin attack. Roll through the spin to avoid it and punish during the recovery.

Wide Swings (Long Version)

The long version begins with Beloth summoning the ice halberd and performing a long charge-up. He then executes a triple spin, turns, and follows with a leap slam that shoots ice out in four directions on impact. Roll INTO him and past him during the triple spin, then roll sideways as he leaps into the air. The long recovery after the leap slam is a major punish window.

Arena-Tightening Ice Swirls

When swirling ice patterns appear on the ground, they are warning markers for ice shards falling from above. Do not stand on the swirls. Move off the marked ground the instant the swirls appear to avoid the incoming shard impacts.

Additional Rewards and Effects

In addition to the drops already listed in the Rewards section above, the Overwhelming Beings guide notes several effects that apply after defeating Beloth:

General Overwhelming Beings Prep

The following preparation applies to all three Overwhelming Beings, not just Beloth, and is worth reading if you plan to attempt this fight or the other two in the set.

• Bring a max-refined weapon of choice. Refinement level matters more than weapon archetype for these fights.

• Wear jewelry that boosts passive bonuses. A necklace that adds attack, critical rate, and spirit regen is strongly recommended.

• Equip the Kuku Watcher Pack for stun buildup and crowd control.

• Recommended active skills: Focus Shot upgraded into Focus Charge Shot, Force Palm upgraded to three palm strikes, Focus upgraded for parrying, Keen Senses upgraded for counter and dodge, Nature's Snare or Nature's Retribution, and Aerial Roll.

• Stock up on food, Palmar Pills, Refined Palmar Pills, and spirit-restoring food before entering the arena.

• Carry elixirs obtained from quests. They can be popped during attempts, and they refresh when you restart the fight after dying, so there is no opportunity cost in using them liberally.

• Bring Wild Ginseng (no spirit cost window) or Skyroot (no stamina cost for 4 seconds), depending on whether your build is spirit-heavy or stamina-heavy.

Tips and Tricks

• Use a two-handed weapon for the extra reach. Being able to poke Beloth from behind a pillar without fully exposing yourself is a major advantage.

• Stack ice resistance from the Hernand Contribution Store Cloak (Ice Res Lv.3) and the Caner Plate Helm. The reduced cold damage makes the fight significantly more manageable.

• Bring at least 50 to 100 pieces of healing food. The ambient cold damage alone will eat through your supplies over the course of a long fight.

• Fire bow shots between melee exchanges to prevent the teleport strike from triggering. You do not need to deal meaningful bow damage; the shots just need to connect.

• The spear throw has a much longer recovery than the ice slam. Always save your biggest combos for the post-spear punish window (4 to 5 hits) rather than wasting them after the slam (1 to 2 hits max).

• If the Crow's Pursuit Abyss Gear is available from the Tauria Curved Sword, slot it for free bonus damage on heavy attacks.

• When your stamina bar freezes, find cover first, then mash sprint to break free. Breaking free in the open leaves you vulnerable during the recovery frames.

• Learn to recognize the difference between the ice slam wind-up and the spear throw wind-up. The distinction determines whether you can safely punish or need to stay behind your pillar.

• Be patient. This fight is intentionally long and punishing. Chip damage through the pillar method is slow but consistent, and consistency beats aggression against Beloth.

Related Bosses

Crimson Desert features several other challenging bosses that test similar skills. Players who conquered Beloth may enjoy these encounters.

Trivia

• Beloth the Darksworn wears the same black Shadow Armor that the player receives as a reward. During the fight, you are essentially battling the original owner of the gear set.

• The Plate Helm of the Shadows is the only piece of the Armor of the Shadows set locked behind a boss encounter. The other four pieces are found in treasure chests throughout the Hernand and Argent Peaks regions.

• Many players consider the frost breath ability from the Plate Helm of the Shadows to be one of the most impactful utility abilities in the game, since it opens up entirely new traversal options across bodies of water.

• The name "Darksworn" suggests Beloth has sworn an oath or pact with a dark force, fitting the Shadow Armor's dark aesthetic and the cursed atmosphere of the Hoenmark Ruins.

• The Wraith in the Frost quest name reflects Beloth's spectral, ice-themed fighting style. Despite being a physical opponent in heavy armor, his ice magic and teleportation give him a wraith-like quality.

Community Difficulty Notes

Among the post-game superbosses, Beloth is frequently described by the community as the hardest single fight in Crimson Desert. The combination of fast aggression, very large area-of-effect attacks, and a cold-biome arena that drains stamina recovery is what places this encounter at the top of most player tier lists. By community consensus this is an S Tier fight, with many players ranking it ahead of Aethelred (Ator) and the Forgotten General specifically because of the volume of damage Beloth puts out per minute.

Recurring community tips that line up with the existing strategies on this page:

• Bring Kuku Frost Enhancer or another cold-resistance set. The chill effect on the arena directly reduces stamina recovery, so cold mitigation is functionally a damage stat for this fight.

• Move diagonally toward the boss when dodging instead of straight backward. Many of his sweeping attacks are designed to clip a player who is retreating in a straight line.

• Treat fire-element imbues and Abyss Gear cores as the highest-priority offensive picks for this fight; the boss has very high health and the stagger bar is slow to build without fire pressure.

• Plan healing items as a finite resource and pace usage to phase transitions. Burning every potion in phase one rarely leaves enough margin for the second phase, where his attack output increases.