Overview
Camp management is one of Crimson Desert's primary non-combat systems, centered on the Greymanes' base camp located in Hernand. The camp serves as Kliff's home base and faction hub throughout the game, evolving from a modest collection of tents into a fortified settlement as the player invests resources and progresses through the campaign. The system encompasses physical construction, functional upgrades, farming operations, companion management, and daily life activities.
The camp management system has drawn comparisons to Red Dead Redemption 2's camp, and the parallel is fitting. Both games use a home base as a narrative anchor that reflects the player's progress and choices. In Crimson Desert, watching the Greymane Camp grow from a handful of worn shelters into a thriving settlement provides a tangible sense of rebuilding after the devastation caused by the Black Bears' attack that killed Jian and scattered the band.
Physical construction
Camp construction is a hands-on process. Players place furniture and structures directly, choosing the location and arrangement of each element. Buildings take shape in real-time as materials are applied, allowing the player to watch walls go up, roofs take form, and interiors fill with furnishings. This is not a simple menu-driven process where the player selects a building and it appears instantly; there is a physical quality to the construction that grounds it in the game world.
Decorating and arranging furniture is also part of the building process. The camp is not purely functional; it is a living space that the player can personalize. Furniture placement, structural arrangements, and decorative choices allow each player's camp to develop a unique character over time.
Functional structures
As the camp grows, the player unlocks and constructs a variety of functional buildings, each serving a specific gameplay purpose.
Structure | Function |
|---|---|
Food shop (Vendor Ronnie) | Purchase food and cooking supplies from a dedicated camp vendor |
Trading center | Buy and sell goods, manage camp economy |
Farms | Grow crops and manage livestock for cooking and crafting materials |
Ranches | Raise animals that produce resources over time |
Workshops | Produce crafted items and process raw materials |
Blacksmith | Access weapon and armor crafting and upgrades |
Tailor | Access clothing and equipment crafting |
Steinfell Fortress (dispatch) | Assign companions to off-screen missions |
The blacksmith and tailor provide access to the same crafting systems available at other locations in the world, but having them in camp means the player does not need to travel to a town every time equipment needs upgrading. The trading center handles camp economics, and the food shop run by Ronnie ensures a steady supply of provisions for cooking.
Camp upgrades and stat bonuses
Investing in camp improvements does more than change the physical appearance of the settlement. Upgrades provide direct gameplay benefits, including improvements to Kliff's stats, new skill unlocks, and an expanded roster of companions available for dispatch missions and combat support. The camp's development level effectively serves as a secondary progression system alongside character progression, rewarding players who engage with the management systems.
Farming and ranching
The camp includes farmland and ranching areas where the player manages crops and livestock. Farms produce ingredients used in cooking recipes, while ranches provide animal-derived materials for crafting. These operations require ongoing attention: crops need to be planted, tended, and harvested, while livestock need care to remain productive.
The farming system feeds directly into the cooking system. Ingredients grown at camp can be prepared into meals that provide stat buffs, healing, and other benefits. This creates a self-sustaining loop where camp investment yields cooking materials, which produce consumables that make combat and exploration more manageable, which in turn generates resources to further improve the camp.
Companion dispatch system
One of the camp's most significant features is the Companion Dispatch System, accessed through Steinfell Fortress. This system allows the player to assign groups of 4 to 6 Freeswords (companion characters) to off-screen missions that run in real-time, taking anywhere from hours to days to complete.
Mission types
Dispatch missions cover a range of objectives, each with different resource costs and rewards.
Mission type | Description | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
Resource gathering | Send companions to collect wood, stone, ore, and other materials | Silver |
Fort recapture | Assault and reclaim enemy-held fortifications | Silver, wood, clay |
Statue construction | Build statues that provide passive bonuses | Silver, stone, specialized materials |
Siege preparation | Weaken enemy fortress defenses before the player arrives in person | Silver, provisions, weapons |
Companion specializations
Each Freesword has a specialization that determines their effectiveness at different mission types. Sending a companion skilled in logistics on a resource-gathering mission yields better results than assigning a combat-focused Freesword to the same task. The system encourages players to build a diverse roster of companions and match their abilities to appropriate missions.
Strategic siege preparation
One particularly interesting use of the dispatch system is siege preparation. Before personally traveling to an enemy-held fortress, the player can send a group of Freeswords to besiege it over a period of real time. When the mission completes, the fortress's garrison is weakened, its defenses are partially destroyed, and the player faces significantly reduced resistance when they arrive to finish the job. This mechanic bridges the gap between the strategic layer of camp management and the tactical layer of direct combat.
Daily camp life
Beyond the mechanical systems, the camp has a living quality. Kliff can cook meals at the campfire, purchase provisions from vendors, rearrange furniture, and interact with the Greymanes members who populate the settlement. These activities serve practical purposes (cooking provides buffs, purchasing fills inventory) but also contribute to the sense that the Greymanes are a real community rebuilding after a catastrophe.
As the camp grows and more companions are recruited or return from dispatch missions, the population increases. More Greymanes walking around, training, eating, and conversing in the camp reinforces the narrative of recovery and gives the player a visual indicator of how far the band has come since Jian's death and the initial scattering.
Resource requirements
Camp construction and dispatch missions require a variety of resources. Silver (the game's currency) is the most universally needed, but specific upgrades demand materials like wood, clay, stone, and specialized components obtained through gathering, mining, hunting, and purchasing from traders. The resource demands of camp management create a natural incentive to engage with the game's full range of life skill systems rather than focusing exclusively on combat.