Consumables

Overview

Consumable items in Crimson Desert restore health, replenish stamina, and provide temporary buffs. They supplement the permanent stat increases from the Artifact system but do not replace gear-based progression. There is no XP bar. Kliff gets stronger through equipment and abilities, and consumables keep him alive between those upgrades.

Using a consumable takes time. Healing is not instant: you commit to an animation, and popping a heal at the wrong moment can get you killed. Inven Global's preview emphasized that knowing when to heal is part of the combat skill set.

Known food items

A full item database is not available ahead of the March 19, 2026 launch, but several consumable items have appeared in gameplay footage and press materials:

• Generous Assorted Flat Grilled Skewers A cooked food item visible in the inventory wheel during gameplay demos. Described as restoring both Health and Stamina.

• Meat on toast Spotted in Fextralife's breakdown of the 50-minute gameplay video. A basic health restoration item.

• Barley Available from trading NPCs, likely a cooking ingredient.

• Meat jerky A preserved food item available through trading centers.

• Salt-grilled fish A cooked fish dish from trading NPCs, produced from fishing catches.

• Fruit juice A beverage available through trading.

Health items

Health restoration consumables come in several forms. Food crafted through cooking is the primary healing source. Health items appear in the D-Pad selection wheel and can be used mid-combat without pausing.

Health can also be permanently increased through Abyss fragments collected from quests, bosses, and exploration. Consumables handle the moment-to-moment healing between those permanent upgrades.

Stamina and energy items

A green leaf-shaped gauge in the HUD tracks stamina. It replenishes naturally during combat but can also be restored with consumables. RPG Site noted that stamina can be refilled "with a quick press of the right D-Pad when selected." Stamina fuels dodges, sprinting, and climbing, so managing this gauge matters.

Stamina can also be permanently increased by investing Abyss fragments into the stamina node in the skill tree.

D-Pad quick-select

The D-Pad handles multiple functions:

• Calling your horse

• Selecting health items

• Selecting buff items

• Selecting elemental types for the Axiom Bracelet

This allows mid-combat item usage without pausing. RPG Site described the overall control scheme as "incredibly complicated" across combat, traversal, and item inputs. Organizing your consumable quick-slots before a tough fight is worth the time.

Sources of consumables

Cooking

Cooking is the primary source of food consumables. Preparation happens at camp cauldrons in the Greymane Camp, where players physically stir ingredients. Ingredients come from multiple gathering activities:

• Fishing Fish caught in rivers and lakes serve as cooking ingredients

• Hunting Killing wildlife yields meat and animal products

• Farming Growing crops on camp plots provides plant-based ingredients

• Ranching Tending livestock yields milk, meat, and other animal products

• Hand gathering. Picking mushrooms, herbs, and plants from the open world

In his Save State Plus interview, Will Powers mentioned spending 50 hours focused on side content during his playthrough. He highlighted cooking alongside fishing and mining as examples of the activities that filled that time.

Alchemy

Alchemy is a separate life skill that uses flowers and insects collected from the world. One source describes alchemy as being used to "give weapons special abilities," suggesting it produces weapon enhancement items rather than healing potions. Whether alchemy also creates drinkable consumables remains unconfirmed.

Trading

Trading centers and NPC merchants sell ready-made consumables. Confirmed trade goods include barley, meat jerky, salt-grilled fish, and fruit juice. Trading provides an alternative for players who prefer buying over gathering.

Gathering progression

Gathering starts manual. You pick up individual pieces of wood or mine one rock at a time. As you level up life skills, bulk collection unlocks. Raw materials come from:

• Mining Copper ore confirmed. Uses a hammer, pickaxe, or explosives.

• Logging Chopping trees with an axe for wood.

• Hand gathering Picking mushrooms and plants.

• Fishing Catching fish in rivers and lakes.

• Hunting Killing animals for meat and materials.

Preview build note

In preview demos, consumables were unlimited. GamingBolt reported that developers expressed concerns about balancing the buying and crafting economy for the final release. The retail version will have limited consumable supplies.

See Life Skills for the full list and Crafting for how materials feed into gear and consumable production.