Loading...
Loading...
Chapter 3: Howling Hill Walkthrough
April 4, 2026 at 09:27 AM
Add wikilinks to table cells (9 new links)
Chapter 3 centers on rebuilding the Greymanes at their new base of Howling Hill. Across three sub-chapters (Homestead, The Face Behind the Mask, and Pioneering), Kliff reunites scattered comrades, establishes the camp, and faces the deadly Devil of the Reed Field. This chapter introduces cooking, camp building, stealth mechanics, and the dispatch mission system.
Chapter 3 is longer than the previous chapters and serves as the point where Crimson Desert's open-world systems fully unlock. Players gain access to the Howling Hill camp, which functions as a persistent hub for crafting, cooking, and managing dispatch missions. The chapter also features the game's first truly punishing boss encounter, the Reed Devil, which requires careful preparation and mastery of the parry system.
Chapter 3 contains 17 main quests spread across three sub-chapters. The table below lists every quest in order, with a summary of each quest's primary activity.
Sub-Chapter | Quest | Key Activity |
|---|---|---|
Reunite with Marius | ||
Meet Marquis Serkis, unlock camp | ||
Camp construction tasks | ||
Cooking tutorial | ||
Escort Marius to camp | ||
The Face Behind the Mask | Preparation for boss fight | |
The Face Behind the Mask | ||
The Face Behind the Mask | Tracking, Visione memory | |
The Face Behind the Mask | Reed Devil chase sequence | |
The Face Behind the Mask | Boss: Devil of the Reed Field | |
Return to camp | ||
Speak with Marius | ||
Recruit Luke | ||
Camp expansion introduction | ||
Dispatch missions, camp expansion | ||
Chapter finale cutscene |
Chapter 3 takes place entirely within the Hernand region. The locations visited during this chapter, in roughly the order they appear during the main quest line, are listed below.
Order | Location | Related Quest(s) |
|---|---|---|
1 | Hernand (back alleys) | |
2 | Serkis Manor | |
3 | Howling Hill (camp) | |
4 | ||
5 | ||
6 | ||
7 | Howling Hill (camp) | |
8 | ||
9 | Reed Field canyon | |
10 | ||
11 | Howling Hill (expanded camp) |
The Goldleaf Merchant Guild has information about someone calling himself a Greymane. Kliff goes to the back alleys of Hernand and finds Marius. This is a brief cutscene-driven quest with no combat. Marius is badly wounded and cannot make it to the camp on his own. After the scene plays out, the quest completes automatically.
Rebuilding the Greymanes requires powerful allies. Kliff visits Marquis Serkis to forge an alliance that will provide the resources and legitimacy the mercenaries need to establish a permanent base.
Speak with Marquis Serkis - Travel to the manor. A cutscene triggers when you approach the guard outside. The conversation establishes the political landscape of Hernand and sets up the alliance between the Greymanes and House Serkis.
Follow the soldier - Exit the manor and follow the guard on foot. Stay close so the NPC continues walking.
Follow on horseback - When the guard mounts up, summon your horse and ride alongside. This is a straightforward ride with no enemies.
Speak with Marshal Middler - Arrive at Howling Hill and approach the gathering in the camp's center. A cutscene plays, officially unlocking the camp as your base of operations.
Reward | Details |
|---|---|
Camp unlocked | Howling Hill becomes your base of operations |
Character: Damiane | New companion joins the Greymanes |
Mount: Brianto | A new horse for Kliff |
Formal Alliance with House Serkis | Political alliance established |
Formal Alliance with House Celeste | Political alliance established |
Kliff helps construct the Greymane camp. This quest serves as a tutorial for the camp-building system. Four tasks can be completed in any order:
Move the sacks - Pick up three sacks from the ground and carry them to the highlighted storage area. Each sack must be carried individually.
Drive in the stakes - Grab the mallet from a small table. Equip it from the item wheel. Strike four tent stakes three times each. Line up with the stake and press the attack button repeatedly.
Push the wagon - Find the hay-covered wagon with a rock blocking its path. Pick up the nearby pickaxe and destroy all three rocks, then push the wagon into the tent. The pickaxe is located on the ground beside the wagon.
Raise the banner - Use Nature's Grasp to lift the banner from the ground and position it into its holder. This introduces the Axiom ability's utility outside combat.
Reward: 5x Iron Ore.
The camp is built, so it is time to feed the workers. This quest introduces the cooking system, which will be essential throughout the rest of the game for healing and buffs.
Check the cooking recipe - Find the Clear Soup recipe on a stool next to the cooking pot. Examine it with L1/LB.
Make 2x Modest Clear Soup - Approach the pot and press Square/X. Switch to soups with R2/RT. Select Modest Clear Soup, which requires 1x Tough Meat, 1x Barley, and 1x Water. All ingredients are on the same stool. Craft at least 2 servings. The cooking interface lets you select the recipe and ingredients separately.
Serve the feast - Go to the dining table where workers are gathered. Approaching triggers a cutscene where the Greymanes share their first meal at the new camp.
Reward: 10x Clear Soup.
Kliff rides to Scrapfold to retrieve Marius and escort him back to camp. This is a relatively short quest focused on story.
Travel to Scrapfold - Find Marius in the center of the camp surrounded by beggars. If beggars approach, you will need to give them a coin to proceed.
Speak with Marius - Initiate dialogue. Marius agrees to return to Howling Hill with Kliff.
Ride back to camp - Mount your horse (Marius will automatically mount as well). Ride back to Howling Hill to trigger a concluding cutscene. There are no enemies along the route.
A Greymane has caused a rampage at St. Halssius's House of Healing east of Hernand. This quest introduces stealth mechanics and offers multiple approaches to infiltration. It is one of the longer quests in the Homestead sub-chapter and showcases Crimson Desert's flexible approach to quest design.
There are three ways to gain entry. The guards at the front gate will physically throw Kliff out if he tries to walk in uninvited.
Method | Details | Cost |
|---|---|---|
Climb rooftops and sneak through grass past guards. Stay crouched to avoid detection. Civilians can spot you without triggering a combat alert, but guards will attack on sight. | Free | |
Visitor Pass | Before the bridge, a stranger mentions purchasing a St. Halssius Visitor Pass at the Church of Hernand. Buy it from the shop inside the church. | Varies |
Disguise Outfit | Past the bridge along the right side of the outer wall, a man sells the Halssius outfit. Wear it for unrestricted access throughout the facility. | 10 Silver |
Navigate to the second floor - Once inside, proceed to the south wing above the inner courtyard. A man is fighting patients in the hallway. This is Yann.
Follow Yann - The attacker flees through a wooden door. Chase him across rooftops. He enters a cottage, then boards a Pywell Wagon. Ride alongside him to Nas River Fishing Dock. Yann will drive the wagon while you ride alongside, and the two of you will have a conversation during the ride.
Reward | Type |
|---|---|
Armor (body) | |
St. Halssius Priest's Cloak | Armor (cloak) |
Armor (feet) | |
Armor (head) |
Now that Yann is back, Kliff returns to camp and speaks with Marius. This quest is a single conversation, but the guide strongly recommends extensive preparation before proceeding, because a difficult boss fight is coming shortly.
Before advancing past this quest, take time to prepare for the Devil of the Reed Field boss fight. This is one of the hardest encounters in the early game and being underprepared will result in repeated deaths.
Preparation | Details |
|---|---|
Healing food | Stock up on 50 to 100 Grilled Meat. Buy meat from Hernand vendors (10 to 15 copper each) and cook it at nearby pots. Each serving restores 80 HP. The Butchery restocks nightly at 0:00. You can also hunt deer, which yield 3 to 4 meat per animal. |
Plate armor | Purchase plate armor from Hernand merchants. Better defense prevents being one-shot during the boss's combo chains. |
Upgrade armor | Use ores at the blacksmith to upgrade your armor. Even one or two upgrade levels can make the difference between surviving a combo and dying. |
Shield | Equip a shield and one-handed weapon. Shields are more stamina-efficient for blocking attacks compared to two-handed swords and spears, and they have a decent attack speed for follow-up combos after parries. |
The Turning Slash ability is excellent for Phase 2. Charging it makes you resistant to flinching, which lets you destroy Scarecrows even while taking hits. |
Naira and Andrew have gone silent. Kliff rides to Glenbright Manor to investigate. The manor is located south of Hernand, almost directly south of Emberwind Workshop.
Go to Glenbright Manor - Travel south to the marker. The ride takes a few minutes on horseback.
Enter the manor - A cutscene triggers, followed by combat with five guards. Defeat them all. These guards are straightforward enemies; use dodge and attack combos to dispatch them quickly.
Look for survivors - Go upstairs to the right, down the hallway, and through the door. Find a servant sitting in the left corner and interact with them. The servant provides information about what happened to Count Grace and the whereabouts of Naira and Andrew.
Fresh tracks from Count Grace lead out of the manor. Kliff must track the "Devil of the Reed Field" and find his comrades. This quest introduces the Visione memory mechanic and the lantern tracking system.
Track the Devil - In the upstairs room, activate the "Grace Manor" memory using your Visione. Exit through the window, turn right, and activate your lantern (L1/LB) to reveal a yellow tracking line. Follow it, defeating enemy groups along the way, until you reach a hut. The tracking line fades after a short distance, so you will need to reactivate the lantern periodically.
Find Andrew and Naira - Entering the hut triggers a cutscene where you reunite with Andrew and Naira. They share details about the Reed Devil's nature and whereabouts.
The Reed Devil must be hunted down before he endangers the Greymanes further. This is a chase sequence through a canyon that tests your combat and navigation skills.
Track the Devil - After the cutscene, the quest marker disappears. Use your lantern (L1/LB) to reveal a yellow line leading southwest toward a canyon. Follow the trail carefully.
Canyon pursuit - The Reed Devil appears with enemies along the canyon road. Damage him until he flees, then continue following the linear canyon path. You can sprint past most regular enemies to conserve healing supplies, which you will need for the upcoming boss fight.
Final arena - The canyon opens into a large field. Engage and defeat the Reed Devil here. This encounter is not the full boss fight but rather a preliminary skirmish. The Reed Devil will flee after taking enough damage.
Examine the altar - After the fight, inspect the straw figure on the altar using L1/LB. This reveals crucial story details about the Devil's origins.
Bring plenty of healing food. The Reed Devil deals heavy damage even during this pursuit sequence. Save your best healing items for the full boss fight in the next quest.
This is the major boss fight of Chapter 3. The Devil of the Reed Field is a three-phase encounter and a significant difficulty spike. The Reed Devil has 3 full health bars, making this one of the longest boss fights in the early game. Players should expect to spend considerable time on this battle, particularly if they are underprepared.
Slot | Recommendation | Reason |
|---|---|---|
Weapon | Sword of the Lord (from Hornsplitter in Chapter 2) or similar one-handed sword | Good balance of speed and damage for parry follow-ups |
Off-hand | Any shield | Stamina-efficient blocking; enables the parry counter system |
Upgraded plate armor from Hernand | Prevents one-shot deaths during combo chains | |
100+ Grilled Meat | Each restores 80 HP; you will burn through supplies across all three phases | |
Skill | Charged heavy attack; destroys Scarecrows in one hit during Phase 2 and resists flinching while charging |
Focus on learning the Devil's attack patterns. Most of his attacks can be parried, making a shield essential for this phase.
Mechanic | Details |
|---|---|
Parrying | Press L1/LB while pushing the left stick toward the enemy. Successful parries build the gauge beneath his health bar, stagger him, and create openings for combos. This is the primary damage strategy throughout the entire fight. |
Sword draw attack | The Reed Devil lowers his upper body and clutches onto his sword. A one-second wind-up follows, and you will see a red glint coming off his blade. This specific attack cannot be parried; dodge it instead. |
Stamina break | When the gauge below his health is fully depleted, he staggers. Land 2 to 3 consecutive combos during this window, then repeat the cycle. Focus on parrying consistently to fill the gauge rather than trying to deal chip damage. |
Healing during light attacks | Light attacks consume no stamina and can be chained freely. You can heal while performing light attacks, which makes it safer to top off your HP during the fight. |
Five Scarecrows spawn along with four Devil clones, all sharing the same moveset. This is the most chaotic phase and requires a different approach from Phase 1.
Mechanic | Details |
|---|---|
Objective | Locate and destroy all five Scarecrows (marked orange on the minimap). Once all are destroyed, three clones vanish and only one Devil remains. |
Turning Slash strategy | The Turning Slash ability is ideal here. Run up to a Scarecrow, hold the left and right mouse button (RB and RT on controller). After a short charge, you will smash the Scarecrow in a single strike. The flinch resistance while charging means enemies cannot interrupt you. |
An alternative approach is using Explosive Arrows to clear Scarecrows from range while staying mobile. After shooting, keep moving; the Reed Devil will close aggressively and you cannot reliably block during this phase. | |
Movement | Prioritize evasion over offense. Multiple Devils attack simultaneously from all directions. Move in zigzag jumps between Scarecrows. Keep your shield up and watch the minimap to avoid being blindsided. |
Healing | Heal liberally. Survival matters more than speed here. |
Once all Scarecrows are destroyed, three clones vanish. Damage the remaining Devil to trigger Phase 3.
This phase resembles Phase 1 but with higher aggression and a second Devil that appears during certain combos. The Reed Devil gains new attacks that were not present in Phase 1.
Mechanic | Details |
|---|---|
Red energy waves | These travel in straight lines toward you. Roll left or right to dodge. They come in successive groups before the Devil sheathes his sword. Watch for the animation where he draws his blade, then immediately prepare to dodge sideways. |
Maintain aggressive parrying. Build the stamina gauge through repeated parries, break his guard, and execute combo chains. The strategy is the same as Phase 1, but the windows are tighter. | |
Two-Devil combos | The two Devils can chain attacks with limited healing windows. Try to position yourself so both Devils are in your line of sight. Never let one get behind you. |
Health management | Manage health carefully. Heal during light attack chains whenever your HP drops below half. This phase can drag on if you play too defensively, so find a balance between aggression and survival. |
Reward | Details |
|---|---|
Sunset Reed Cloth Gloves | Armor (hands); unique reward from the Devil of the Reed Field |
Andrew was injured during the Reed Devil battle. Kliff rushes back to camp. Use fast travel via the sky map (R3) to the island above camp, then skydive down. Enter the tent for a cutscene. This quest marks the transition from the intense boss fight sequence back to the camp-building portion of the chapter.
Marius has been speaking with an informant since daybreak. Approach them at camp and listen. This is a brief dialogue quest that sets up the next recruitment mission. Marius provides the location of another Greymane who has been living as a woodworker near Coalvale.
Rumors say some Greymanes traded swords for axes and now work at a sawmill near Coalvale Workshop. This quest takes Kliff outside the immediate camp area to recruit another ally.
Travel to Coalvale Workshop - Follow the quest marker. The workshop is located to the east of Howling Hill.
Recruit Luke - Find Luke sitting at the workshop. Talk to him to bring him into the Greymanes. Luke was once a skilled fighter who put down his sword after the Greymanes were scattered. He agrees to return and help rebuild.
Reward | Quantity |
|---|---|
Camp Wood | 1,000 |
1 | |
Fine Timber | 5 |
Return to Howling Hill and examine the Dragon Head Totem at the shrine. Read Shakatu's Letter from your inventory (it is a purple letter). This introduces the Camp Expansion mechanics, which allow you to grow the camp by assigning Greymane members to construction and resource-gathering tasks.
Reward | Quantity |
|---|---|
Camp Oats | 200 |
Camp Coins | 200 |
6 | |
5 |
The camp needs to expand to house more personnel. This quest introduces the dispatch mission system, a key ongoing mechanic for the rest of the game. Dispatch missions let you send Greymane members on timed tasks that earn resources and unlock new camp facilities.
Dispatch the expansion mission - Open your map (ALL tab), zoom into camp, and activate Howling Hill on the left side with Triangle/Y. Switch to the Mission List tab with R1/RB. Select "Howling Hill Camp Expansion" and assign both Luke and Ronald as dispatched soldiers.
Wait for completion - The expansion takes 18 in-game hours. You can explore, complete side quests, shop, or sleep at a bed/campfire to advance time. Sleeping at a campfire passes time in 3-hour increments, making it the fastest way to wait.
Once the expansion hits 100%, a notification explains the camp expansion system and the quest completes.
The camp has been expanded. Return to Howling Hill and enter the gathering area for a cutscene celebrating the reunion. The Greymanes share stories around the campfire, reflecting on their journey from being scattered fugitives to rebuilding as a cohesive force. With this, Chapter 3 ends and Chapter 4 begins automatically.
Chapter 3 introduces several systems that remain important throughout the rest of Crimson Desert. Players should take time to understand each of these mechanics before moving on to Chapter 4.
Mechanic | Introduced During | Description |
|---|---|---|
Craft food at cooking pots using ingredients. Food restores HP and can provide temporary buffs. Recipes are found throughout the world. | ||
Camp Building | Complete physical tasks at Howling Hill to construct camp structures. Later expanded through the dispatch mission system. | |
Crouch to avoid guard detection. Stealth approaches are optional but can bypass combat encounters entirely. | ||
Activate memory echoes at specific locations to reveal past events. Used for tracking and story progression. | ||
Lantern Tracking | Use the lantern (L1/LB) to reveal yellow tracking lines that lead to quest objectives when the quest marker is hidden. | |
Assign Greymane members to timed missions that earn resources and unlock camp expansions. Missions progress in real in-game time. | ||
Camp Expansion | Expand Howling Hill by completing dispatch missions and investing resources. Unlocks new facilities and NPC services. |
Tip | Details |
|---|---|
Prepare before The Face Behind the Mask | The sub-chapter leading to the Reed Devil boss fight is a gauntlet with limited rest opportunities. Stock up on food and upgrade your equipment before speaking with Marius during the Return quest. |
Explore Hernand between quests | The Homestead quests leave plenty of downtime. Use it to explore Hernand, buy supplies, and complete side quests for extra experience and resources. |
Save your best food for the boss | The Seed of Unease chase sequence drains healing items. Try to sprint past regular enemies in the canyon to conserve supplies for Dance with the Devil. |
Sleep to pass dispatch time | During Bustling Hill, sleeping at campfires passes time in 3-hour increments. This is faster than wandering around waiting for the 18-hour timer. |
Master parrying early | The parry system is essential for the Reed Devil fight and becomes even more important in later chapters. Practice on regular enemies during the Homestead quests to get comfortable with the timing. |
Keep your shield up in Phase 2 | The Scarecrow phase is chaotic with multiple enemies. Holding your shield while moving between Scarecrows prevents surprise attacks from the Devil clones. |
Check the minimap during boss fights | Orange markers show Scarecrow positions during Phase 2, and enemy positions are shown in Phase 3. Use the minimap to track threats you cannot see on screen. |
