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Crimson Nightmare - Version 19 vs Version 20
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11Overview22Crimson Nightmare is an optional early-game boss encounter in Crimson Desert, found at the center of Fort Perwin, west of Hernand. Players face this creature during the House Roberts faction questline as part of "The Crimson Nightmare" faction quest. The goal is to pacify the area and liberate Fort Perwin from the Nightmare's corrupting presence.44The quest becomes available in Chapter 4 after completing the prerequisite "Strange Red Smoke" faction quest, which is given by Leon Roberts at Bluemont Manor in the City of Hernand. Leon informs Kliff that Fort Perwin has gone completely silent and requests an investigation. Completing Strange Red Smoke awards 2,660 Camp Funds and unlocks The Crimson Nightmare as a follow-up mission.66The fight itself is unusual compared to most boss encounters. Rather than a straightforward melee brawl, the Crimson Nightmare floats inside a protective cube surrounded by a toxic red mist called the Crimson Fog. This fog constantly drains HP from anyone standing in it, making it the primary threat throughout the entire encounter. The fog also inflicts Confusion on anyone nearby, disorienting your character and making controls temporarily unreliable. Physical attacks are largely ineffective against the shielded form, so the encounter requires magical tactics. The real trick is understanding the Force Palm mechanic and managing your Focus resource, which turns an intimidating encounter into a manageable one once you know what to do. For general tips on approaching boss encounters in Crimson Desert, see the Boss Strategies page.88The Crimson Nightmare is a faction quest and boss encounter for House Roberts in the Duchy of Hernand, the second and final quest in the Continuing Concern chain. After learning about the Strange Red Smoke at Fort Perwin, Kliff must enter the fort and confront the powerful Nightmare creature that is the source of the disturbance. This is one of the more challenging early-game bosses, but a specific strategy involving Force Palm can trivialize the fight.1010Location1212Fort Perwin sits to the west of the Hernand region, near the Precipice of Echoes. You can reach it by following the House Roberts quest marker. The boss itself occupies the center of the fort, surrounded by the Crimson Fog that blankets the inner courtyard. The fort is crawling with hostile Bleed Bandits occupying three key areas: the Barracks, the Infirmary, and the Artillery Unit. Before you can engage the Crimson Nightmare, you must liberate all three sections by clearing the bandits in each area and depleting their occupation bars.1515There is a small camp just outside the fort where you will find a Grindstone to sharpen your weapon before heading in, along with some breakable crates containing vegetables and other cooking ingredients. A bonfire nearby lets you cook food and restock before the fight. Take full advantage of both before entering the boss arena.1717Crimson Fog1919The Crimson Fog is the defining hazard of this encounter. It is a thick red mist that fills the boss arena and constantly drains your HP while you stand inside it. Unlike regular enemy attacks that you can dodge or block, the fog deals passive damage over time simply for being in the area. Without any form of protection, the health drain alone can kill you before you even deal meaningful damage to the boss. The fog also inflicts the Confusion status effect, which disorients your character and can make your movement inputs temporarily unreliable.2121There are two main ways to protect yourself from the Crimson Fog: equipping a mask with fog immunity, or using Focused Repulsion to clear the fog in your immediate area. Most players will want to use at least one of these methods, and ideally both, for a smooth fight.2323Protection Method 1: Scarlet Blade Gas Mask2525The Scarlet Blades Gas Mask is the single most important piece of gear for the encounter. It grants 100% immunity to the health drain from the Crimson Fog, completely negating the Nightmare's primary threat. With the mask equipped, you can stand inside the fog indefinitely without losing a single hit point to the passive damage.2727The mask is a random drop from the Bleed Bandits occupying Fort Perwin, specifically from soldiers wearing masks with black eye lenses. The drop rate is low, but the fort is packed with enemies, so you are likely to find one before reaching the boss as long as you clear the fort thoroughly. Other masks with fog immunity also work, including the Crude Devil Mask, which grants the same level of protection and can also drop from Bleed Bandits in the same area. As a bonus, masks from Fort Perwin soldiers sell for over ten silver each, making the fort a decent silver farming spot since the soldiers keep respawning.2929Protection Method 2: Focused Repulsion3131Focused Repulsion provides an active way to deal with the Crimson Fog. This ability requires Focus Level 2 to unlock. While in Focus mode (activated by pressing R3 + L3), press R1 or press L3 + R3 after being hit to create a powerful shockwave that instantly clears the Crimson Fog in a small radius around you. This gives you a temporary pocket of clean air to work in.3333Focused Repulsion is less permanent than wearing a gas mask since the fog will seep back in after a few seconds, but it is reliable and does double duty: two wind blasts from Focused Repulsion will stun the boss for several seconds and expose its core for direct damage. This makes it both a defensive fog-clearing tool and an offensive stagger method rolled into one. If you have Focus Level 2 unlocked and prefer not to farm for a mask, Focused Repulsion alone can carry you through the entire fight.3535Preparation3737Getting ready for this fight is just as important as the fight itself. Because the Crimson Nightmare is an early-game boss that punishes purely physical approaches, you should focus on three things: a protective mask, food supplies, and your weapon edge.3939Scarlet Blades Gas Mask: This is the single most important piece of gear for the encounter. The Scarlet Blades Gas Mask grants 100% immunity to the Crimson Fog's health drain, completely negating the Nightmare's primary threat. It drops from the Bleed Bandits occupying Fort Perwin, specifically from soldiers wearing masks with black eye lenses. Farm the enemies around the fort and you should pick one up before reaching the boss. The drop rate is relatively low, but the fort is packed with enemies so keep at it if one does not appear right away. Other masks with fog immunity also work, including the Crude Devil Mask which is another viable option found in the same area. As a bonus, masks from Fort Perwin soldiers sell for over ten silver each, making the fort a decent silver farming spot since the soldiers keep respawning.4141Food: Bring both healing food and Spirit-replenishing food. Hearty Grilled Meat works well for healing at this stage and can be prepared at a bonfire using Fine Meat from hunting deer in Hernand's woodlands. Spirit-replenishing food is equally important because Force Palm consumes Focus with each use. Without a way to restore Focus mid-fight, you will run dry before finishing the boss. Stock up on food that restores Spirit before heading into the arena. Bring more than you think you will need; running out of Spirit food mid-fight effectively locks you out of staggering the boss.4343Grindstone: Use the Grindstone at the camp outside the fort to temporarily increase your weapon damage before entering. This helps you deal more damage during the vulnerability windows after staggering the boss, which shortens the fight and reduces your overall resource consumption.4545Before entering the boss fight, take advantage of the resources available at Fort Perwin:4747Preparation StepDetailsCrude Devil MaskDropped by enemies inside Fort Perwin. Equipping this mask prevents the Confusion status effect from the Nightmare's red smoke. This is essential for the fight.GrindstoneA small camp outside Fort Perwin has a Grindstone. Use it to temporarily boost your damage output before engaging the boss.Free IngredientsDestroy crates around the camp outside the fort to collect free crafting ingredients.Hearty Grilled MeatCraft this at a bonfire using Fine Meat (from hunting deer). Bring several for healing during the encounter.4949Recommended Gear5050The following table summarizes what to bring into the Crimson Nightmare encounter. None of these items are strictly mandatory except for a fog immunity mask, but each one makes the fight noticeably smoother.5252ItemPurposeHow to ObtainScarlet Blades Gas MaskGrants 100% immunity to the Crimson Fog's HP drain and Confusion; negates the red smoke entirelyRandom drop from Bleed Bandits at Fort Perwin (soldiers with black-lens masks)Crude Devil MaskAlternative fog immunity mask if the Scarlet Blades Gas Mask has not dropped yet; grants the same protectionRandom drop from Bleed Bandits at Fort PerwinHearty Grilled MeatHeals HP; solid early-game healing foodCook at a bonfire using Fine Meat from hunting deer in HernandSpirit-Replenishing FoodRestores Focus (Spirit); essential for sustained Force Palm and Focused Repulsion usageVarious cooking recipes or vendor purchasesGrindstoneTemporarily boosts weapon damage for higher burst during vulnerability windowsLocated at the camp outside Fort Perwin's entrance5454Attack Patterns5555The Crimson Nightmare has a limited but punishing set of attacks. Learning to recognize each one is essential, especially if you are fighting without a fog immunity mask.5757AttackDescriptionHow to AvoidCrimson DiveThe Nightmare launches into the air and dives into the ground with a heavy slam attack. It targets the area directly below its flight path and can knock you down on impact, leaving you vulnerable to follow-up damage from the Crimson Fog.Watch for the upward animation cue and dodge roll to the side. Do not dodge backward, as the landing zone extends further than you might expect along the boss's trajectory.Crushing ShotThe Nightmare winds up and slams the ground, sending out multiple projectiles in a cone shape ahead of it. The projectiles travel along the ground and can hit multiple times if you are caught standing in the cone.Jump when it strikes the ground. The projectiles travel at ground level, so getting airborne avoids the entire barrage. You can also sprint laterally to escape the cone if you have enough distance.Crimson Fog (Passive)The red fog surrounding the boss constantly drains HP from anyone standing in it, in addition to inflicting the Confusion status effect that disorients your character and causes your controls to become temporarily unreliable. This is the main challenge of the entire encounter.Equip a mask with fog immunity such as the Scarlet Blades Gas Mask or the Crude Devil Mask for 100% protection. Alternatively, use Focused Repulsion to create a shockwave that clears the fog in a small radius around you. Without either method, you will take steady HP drain and lose control frequently, making the fight extremely difficult.Barrier ReformationAfter recovering from a stagger, the Nightmare rises back into the air and re-forms its protective cube and Crimson Fog cloud. During this animation, it is briefly invulnerable.Back away during the reformation animation and use the downtime to restore Focus through Meditation or Spirit food. Prepare for the next stagger cycle.5959Phase Breakdown6060Unlike multi-phase bosses that change form at specific health thresholds, the Crimson Nightmare follows a single repeating loop throughout the entire fight. Understanding this loop is the key to a clean kill.6262Shielded Phase: The Nightmare floats inside its protective cube, surrounded by Crimson Fog. Physical attacks cannot reach it in this state. It will cycle through Crimson Dive and Crushing Shot while the fog deals passive HP drain and Confusion damage to anyone nearby.Stagger Phase: Use Force Palm (R3), Focused Repulsion, or Axiom Force to fill the yellow stagger gauge beneath the boss's health bar. The boss's only true weakness is the glowing core at its center, which becomes exposed once the stagger gauge is full. At that point, the protective barrier collapses and the Nightmare's core drops to the ground.Vulnerable Phase: The boss lies exposed for roughly 8 to 10 seconds. Rush in and deal as much damage as possible to the glowing core with regular attacks and combos. This is your primary damage window.Reformation: The Nightmare rises back up and re-forms its cube. Use this brief pause to restore Focus, heal, and reposition. Then the loop starts again from Step 1.6464Depending on your gear level and weapon upgrades, you may need to knock the boss down three to five times to finish the fight. With a fully sharpened weapon from the Grindstone and upgraded Force Palm, you can cut this down to two or three cycles.6666Strategy6868The fight becomes surprisingly straightforward once you understand the core mechanic. The Nightmare floats inside a protective cube surrounded by Crimson Fog. Physical attacks cannot reach it in this state. Your primary tool here is Force Palm, activated with R3 on controller. Each Force Palm hit increases the Crimson Nightmare's stagger gauge by roughly 25%. After four hits, the stagger gauge fills completely, the protective barrier collapses, and the Nightmare's glowing core drops to the ground. This core is the boss's only true weakness, and this is your chance to deal real damage.7070Once the core is grounded, rush in and deal as much damage as you can with regular attacks. The Nightmare stays down for a solid window of roughly 8 to 10 seconds, giving you time for full combos. When it rises back up and re-forms the cube, repeat the process: jump, Force Palm, attack while it is down.7272After each Force Palm, dodge backward to avoid the Crimson Fog cloud that lingers around the boss. Even with a protective mask equipped, minimizing time in the fog reduces the risk of Confusion interfering with your inputs. Blocking with your shield is also effective between Force Palm uses; the boss's melee-range attacks deal manageable damage when blocked, and keeping your guard up lets you stay closer to the cube for faster stagger cycling.7474You can cycle through this pattern consistently. With a fog immunity mask equipped, the boss should deal almost no passive damage to you at all, since the Crimson Fog's constant HP drain is its main threat. Depending on your gear level and weapon upgrades, you may need to knock it down three to five times to finish the fight.7676Critical pre-fight step: Clear ALL Bleed Bandits in the boss arena before engaging the Crimson Nightmare. Their attacks can interrupt your Force Palm timing if they are still active, and if you die and retry, the bandits respawn alongside the boss. Eliminating them first ensures a clean one-on-one fight every attempt.7878Positioning tip: Try to lure the Crimson Nightmare near one of the watchtowers in the Fort Perwin arena. When the boss is close to a wall or structure, it cannot drift as far during its airborne attacks, which keeps it within Force Palm range and prevents you from needing to chase it across the arena between stagger attempts.8080Focus and Resource Management8282Force Palm consumes Focus (Spirit) with each use. This is the main resource constraint during the fight. If you run out of Focus, you cannot use Force Palm and will have no way to stagger the boss. There are two ways to restore Focus mid-combat:8484Spirit-Replenishing Food: Consume food items that restore Spirit from your inventory. This is the faster option and can be done while moving. Pop a Spirit food item as soon as your gauge dips below half so you always have enough for the next stagger cycle.Meditation: Press L3 and R3 (both thumbsticks) simultaneously to meditate. Meditation restores your Focus gauge and slows down time while you are stationary. The time-slowing effect makes it safer than it sounds, since enemies move at a crawl during meditation, giving you a brief window to reposition after recovering your resources. Meditation is best used during the brief pause when the Nightmare is reforming its barrier after a stagger.8686A good rhythm is to use Force Palm three to four times to stagger the boss, deal damage during the vulnerability window, then meditate or eat food to top off your Focus before the next cycle. Keep an eye on your Spirit gauge throughout the fight so you do not get caught empty-handed when the boss reforms its barrier.8888Alternative Stagger Methods9090While Force Palm is the most straightforward way to fill the stagger gauge, several other abilities also work against the Crimson Nightmare's protective barrier. Players who have unlocked these skills can mix up their approach or use them as backup if Focus runs low.9292AbilityEffectUnlock RequirementNotesForce PalmFills stagger gauge by roughly 25% per hit. Four hits staggers the boss.Available by defaultActivated with R3. Consumes Focus. Primary method for this encounter.Focused RepulsionSends a powerful shockwave that instantly clears the Crimson Fog in a small radius and brings the protective cube down to the ground. Two blasts stun the boss for several seconds, exposing the glowing core for direct damage.Improve Focus to Level 2Activated with R1 while in Focus mode (R3 + L3), or L3 + R3 after being hit. Fastest stagger method available. Also clears fog, making it both offensive and defensive.Axiom ForceTargets the glowing core at the center of the Crimson Nightmare and wrenches it out of the fog, pulling it to the ground.Unlocked via skill progressionActivated with L3. Pulls the core down for a damage window without needing to fill the stagger bar. Harder to aim than Focused Repulsion, so it requires more precise positioning.Force CurrentAn aerial variant of Force Palm that can be used while connected to the boss via Axiom Force.Force Palm Level 2 + Axiom Force Level 2 + 1 Abyss ArtifactAdvanced option for players who have already invested in both skill trees.9494Focused Repulsion Cheese Method9595If you have Focused Repulsion unlocked (requires Focus Level 2), the Crimson Nightmare becomes trivial. Enter Focus mode by pressing R3 + L3, then press R1 to fire a wind blast directly at the cube. This creates a shockwave that instantly clears the Crimson Fog in a small radius and drops the cube to the ground, giving you a roughly 10-second opening to deal damage to the exposed glowing core. As soon as the Nightmare reforms, repeat the process. Two Focused Repulsion blasts are generally enough to keep the boss stunned indefinitely, letting you cycle through damage windows without ever needing to worry about the stagger gauge.9797This method has a secondary benefit: since each Focused Repulsion blast clears the Crimson Fog around you, you can fight without a gas mask entirely if your Focus management is solid. The fog will seep back in after several seconds, but if you stun the boss fast enough, the fog never has time to deal meaningful HP drain. For best results, lure the boss near one of the watchtowers before using Focused Repulsion. This prevents the knockback from pushing the boss too far away, keeping it within easy reach for your melee follow-up. This method effectively turns the fight into a damage-only encounter where you never have to dodge an attack.9999Quick Step-by-Step101101Complete the "Strange Red Smoke" quest from Leon Roberts at Bluemont Manor to unlock this mission.Travel to Fort Perwin and liberate the Barracks, Infirmary, and Artillery Unit by clearing the Bleed Bandits in each area.Farm Fort Perwin enemies until you obtain a mask with fog immunity (such as the Scarlet Blades Gas Mask or the Crude Devil Mask). The fort is packed with enemies, so you will likely find one before reaching the center.Use the Grindstone and bonfire at the camp outside the fort to sharpen your weapon and cook food.Equip the mask before entering the boss arena.Clear ALL remaining Bleed Bandits in the boss arena before engaging the Nightmare. Their attacks can interrupt your Force Palm timing if they are still active, and they respawn if you die and retry.Jump and use Force Palm (R3) on the protective cube surrounding the Nightmare. Repeat four times to fill the stagger gauge.Dodge backward after each Force Palm to avoid the Crimson Fog.Attack the exposed glowing core while it is on the ground (roughly 8 to 10 seconds of vulnerability).Meditate (L3 + R3) or consume Spirit-replenishing food to restore Focus between stagger cycles.Dodge Crimson Dive to the side and jump over Crushing Shot projectiles between knockdown phases.Repeat until the boss is defeated. Expect three to five stagger cycles depending on your gear.103103Force Palm Upgrades105105Investing skill points into Force Palm provides significant benefits for this fight and beyond. At higher levels, the skill allows up to three consecutive strikes in a single activation, which lets you fill the stagger gauge much faster. With the Force Palm Expertise upgrade (unlocked at Force Palm Level 3), you can land three Force Palms back to back, filling roughly 75% of the stagger gauge in a single sequence. This means you only need two activation windows to stagger the boss instead of four separate ones.107107Beyond boss encounters, upgraded Force Palm is also a powerful traversal tool. Chaining jumping Force Palms lets Kliff gain massive height on demand, which is useful for reaching elevated platforms and gliding across the map. The investment pays off well beyond this single fight.109109Rewards111111Defeating the Crimson Nightmare and completing the faction quest grants the following rewards:113113RewardQuantityNotesHernandian Contribution EXP100Increases your standing with House RobertsFreya's Elixir1Rare consumable elixirApollonia's Lesser Elixir2Stat-boosting elixirMeliara's Lesser Elixir2Stat-boosting elixirAbyss Artifact1Rare progression item used to unlock advanced skills such as Force Current115115Completing the encounter also advances the House Roberts faction questline and liberates Fort Perwin, allowing you to access the area without enemy resistance going forward. The Abyss Artifact reward is particularly valuable, as these items are required to unlock powerful late-game abilities and are not easy to come by in the early chapters.116116RewardAmountFreya's Elixirx1Apollonia's Lesser Elixirx2Meliara's Lesser Elixirx2Abyss Artifactx1118118The elixirs provide permanent stat boosts and are valuable progression items. The Abyss Artifact is used in the Abyss skill tree to unlock powerful abilities.119119Tips121121If you are underleveled, farm the Fort Perwin soldiers for a while before the fight. They drop masks with fog immunity (sell for 10+ silver each) and provide decent experience.A fog immunity mask is the difference between a frustrating fight and an easy one. Do not skip it. The Scarlet Blades Gas Mask and Crude Devil Mask both grant 100% immunity to the Crimson Fog's HP drain.Force Palm can be used repeatedly with no cooldown against this boss, so you can keep the Nightmare grounded almost indefinitely if your timing and Focus management are good.Bring extra food as a safety net even if you have the mask equipped, since the Crimson Dive and Crushing Shot attacks can still chip away at your health.Clear all the bandits in the boss arena before engaging the Nightmare. Their attacks can interrupt your Force Palm timing, and if you die and retry, the bandits respawn alongside the boss. Eliminating them once per attempt saves a lot of frustration.If you have unlocked Focused Repulsion, it can bring the cube down instantly without needing four separate Force Palm hits. It also creates a shockwave that clears the Crimson Fog in a small radius, giving you a safe pocket to attack from. This makes the fight significantly shorter.When using Axiom Force to pull the core out of the fog, be aware that it is harder to aim than Focused Repulsion. Position yourself carefully before activating it, and do not rely on it as your only stagger method unless you are comfortable with the aiming requirements.Meditation slows down time, making it a safe option to restore Focus even when the boss is active. Use it during moments when the Nightmare is reforming its barrier.Blocking is a valid defensive option between Force Palm casts. The boss's direct attacks deal manageable chip damage through a raised shield, and staying close reduces the time needed to reach the cube for your next Force Palm.Do not try risky jump attacks during the Shielded Phase. Observe the boss's attack rotation and use the safe windows after Crimson Dive or Crushing Shot to land your Force Palms.If you want to make the fight as quick as possible, invest skill points into Force Palm before attempting the quest. At Level 3, the triple-strike combo fills 75% of the stagger gauge in one activation window.123123Always equip the Crude Devil Mask before starting the fight. Without it, the red smoke will cause Confusion, making the battle far more difficult.Use the Grindstone at the camp outside Fort Perwin to temporarily increase your damage. This shortens the fight considerably.Crude Devil Masks dropped by fort enemies sell for over 10 Silver each. This makes Fort Perwin a profitable farming location even outside the quest.If you are underleveled, do not skip the preparation steps. Hearty Grilled Meat and the Grindstone buff together make a significant difference.The Force Palm strategy is so effective that the boss "shouldn't really do any damage to you at all" when executed properly, according to experienced players.125125Quest Details127127DetailInfoTypeFaction Quest / Boss EncounterFactionHouse RobertsQuest ChainContinuing Concern (2nd quest)LocationFort PerwinPrevious QuestStrange Red SmokeBossThe Crimson Nightmare129129Objectives130130Travel to Fort PerwinDefeat enemies in the fort to obtain a Crude Devil MaskEnter the boss arenaConfront and defeat the Crimson Nightmare132132Core Strategy: Force Palm134134The key to this fight is using Force Palm. Jump into the air and activate Force Palm on the Nightmare. This knocks the creature to the ground, exposing its core. While grounded, attack the core repeatedly for heavy damage. When the Nightmare recovers and stands back up, repeat the process: jump, Force Palm, attack the core.136136With consistent Force Palm usage, the Nightmare will spend most of the fight on the ground and should deal minimal damage to you. Depending on your gear level, you may need to repeat this cycle several times.138138Attacks to Watch For140140Red Smoke Cloud: The Nightmare releases clouds of red smoke that inflict Confusion if you are not wearing the Crude Devil Mask. With the mask equipped, this attack is harmless.Lunging Strike: The Nightmare charges forward with a powerful attack. Dodge to the side when you see it rear back.Area Blast: Periodically releases a burst of energy around its body. Jump away or use the Force Palm timing to stay airborne during this attack.142142Alternative Approach144144If you have unlocked Damiane, her agility makes dodging the Nightmare's attacks easier. However, the Force Palm strategy with Kliff is generally the most efficient approach, as it keeps the boss stunlocked on the ground.146146Completion148148The monster made of swirling smoke, the Crimson Nightmare, was slain. The ominous aura of the red smoke that spread through the fort began to dissipate.
