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Overview

Dispatch missions are a passive camp management system in Crimson Desert that lets players send their recruited comrades out on timed assignments. While Kliff continues exploring the world, fighting enemies, and completing quests, dispatched comrades work in the background to gather provisions, produce armaments, earn silver, and expand the Greymane Camp. The system runs on in-game time rather than real-world time, so sleeping at camp or completing quests advances the mission clock.

Dispatch missions form the backbone of the camp economy. Nearly every upgrade, construction project, and research endeavor in Crimson Desert requires resources that come from dispatched workers. Learning how to assign the right comrades to the right missions, and keeping multiple dispatches running at all times, is one of the most important habits for long-term progression.

How to Unlock Dispatch Missions

Dispatch missions become available during Chapter 3: Howling Hill as part of the Pioneering questline. After Kliff and the Greymanes establish their camp at Howling Hill, the game introduces the dispatch system as a tutorial. Players unlock their first two Freesword comrades, Luke and Ronald, and must dispatch them on the Howling Hill Camp Expansion mission to continue the story. This first dispatch doubles as a tutorial that teaches the core interface.

After completing the initial expansion, Ross sets up the Dispatch Coordinator at camp. From this point forward, players can manage all dispatch missions through two access methods described below. Ross remains the primary NPC for dispatch management throughout the game.

How to Access the Dispatch Interface

There are two ways to view and manage dispatch missions, and both provide access to the same mission list.

Method 1: Talk to Ross at Camp

Visit the Greymane Camp and speak to Ross directly. He is marked on the minimap with a helmet icon. Select the mission dispatch option from his dialogue menu to open the full mission list. This method is the most straightforward when you are already at camp.

Method 2: World Map Inspection

1. Open the world map via the pause menu.

2. Hover the crosshair over a camp or region icon (for example, Howling Hill).

3. Press the Inspect button shown at the bottom of the screen (Triangle on PlayStation, Y on Xbox).

4. Navigate to the Missions tab within the location management interface.

5. Select a dispatch mission from the available list and assign comrades.

The world map method is especially useful once the Dispatch Coordinator is unlocked at camp level 2. After that upgrade, you can assign missions remotely from anywhere in the world without physically returning to camp. Simply open the map, hover over any discovered location that has a dispatch icon, and inspect it to view its available missions.

Assigning Comrades

When you select a dispatch mission, the interface shows its resource cost, required number of workers, duration, and any skill requirements. You must then choose which comrades to assign from your available roster. A comrade who is already dispatched on another mission cannot be assigned until that mission finishes or is cancelled.

Each mission has a minimum comrade requirement. For example, the Howling Hill Camp Expansion requires two workers. However, sending more comrades than the minimum provides a bonus. Each additional worker beyond the minimum adds a 20% bonus to camp supply rewards, up to the mission's maximum capacity. Only assign extra workers if they are idle, since having comrades sitting unused at camp is a wasted opportunity.

Before confirming a dispatch, review each comrade's skill profile. Matching a comrade's skills to the mission type is far more valuable than simply filling slots with random workers. The skill system, described below, can boost rewards by up to 100%.

Freeswords and Camp Residents

Not every character at the Greymane Camp can be dispatched. The term Freesword specifically refers to comrades who are eligible for dispatch assignments. Story characters like Marius, Carl, and Ross serve important camp roles (provisions management, quest giving, dispatch coordination) but cannot be sent out on missions themselves.

Freesword comrades are recruited exclusively through Greymanes Faction Quests. These appear in your Journal under Faction Quests and are divided into three tabs: Scattered Embers (side quests from NPCs), Grounds of the Sunrise (the primary recruitment questline), and Greymane Commissions (requests from existing comrades). Recruitment missions typically begin with a quest labeled "A Rumor..." in the Grounds of the Sunrise tab, each leading you to a former Greymane member who can rejoin the camp.

Your roster grows significantly as the story progresses. Early recruits like Luke and Ronald have basic skills, while later recruits bring specialized abilities such as Builder, Engineer, or Jeweler. One notable early recruitment is Brice, found through the "A Rumor at Glenbright Farm" quest, who unlocks the Cook, Quartermaster, and trading wagon services at camp. The Goldleaf Trading Post rumor quest alone recruits six people at once, several of whom fill specialized camp roles including running shops, ranches, and farms.

Comrade Skills

Every Freesword comrade has a set of skills that determine how effective they are at different mission types. Skills are divided into two functional groups: Efficiency Boosters and Required Skills. Understanding the difference between these two categories is critical to running an efficient dispatch operation.

Efficiency Booster Skills

Efficiency boosters increase the yield of missions that match their type. Assigning a comrade with a matching efficiency skill to a mission produces more resources than sending a comrade without that skill. These skills are not mandatory for starting a mission; they simply make the output better.

Required Skills

Required skills are mandatory for certain mission types. At least one comrade assigned to the mission must possess the relevant required skill, or the mission cannot be started at all. These skills unlock access to specialized dispatches that produce unique items or enable camp construction.

Skill Levels and Bonuses

Each comrade skill has three tiers that progressively increase the bonus it provides. Higher-level skills translate directly into larger resource yields from matching dispatch missions.

When a comrade possesses all three levels of a single skill, the bonuses combine for a total 100% boost. This is the maximum skill bonus any single comrade can provide for a given mission type.

An important detail: these tier bonuses do not stack across multiple workers. Sending three comrades who each have only the Novice level of a skill yields just a 10% bonus, not 30%. The game takes the highest individual skill level present among all assigned comrades. For this reason, concentrating skill upgrades on one highly trained comrade is more effective than spreading them across several partially trained ones.

How to Level Up Skills

Comrade skills do not level up by using them in dispatch missions. Instead, skills improve exclusively through camp upgrades. When you complete a Howling Hill expansion dispatch mission, it increases the camp level, which in turn raises the skill levels of all comrades simultaneously or unlocks the next skill tier they have available. Certain quest and faction progression milestones can also unlock specific skill types independently of camp level (for example, Engineering may unlock through a particular Greymane questline).

Earning Greymane XP through faction activities contributes to overall faction progression, which helps unlock further camp upgrades. This creates an indirect but important path to improving comrade skills: faction progress leads to camp upgrades, which lead to better skills, which lead to higher dispatch yields.

Timer Mechanics

Every dispatch mission displays a duration in hours before you confirm the assignment. This timer runs on in-game time, not real-world time. The clock advances whenever in-game time passes, whether through normal gameplay, fast travel, or sleeping.

The Howling Hill Camp Expansion mission, for example, takes approximately 17 to 18 in-game hours to complete. Since one rest in a camp bed can fast-forward time by up to 12 hours, a single sleep cycle will bring a standard expansion mission to about 67% completion. You can fill the remaining hours by completing quests, exploring, or resting again.

While a mission is active, the map icon next to the dispatched location turns yellow to indicate work in progress. Once the timer expires and the mission finishes, the icon changes to signal completion and you can collect the rewards.

Keep in mind that some actions can disrupt active missions. Leaving a region or entering the Abyss may occasionally cancel active dispatches in that area. If a mission gets cancelled or resets unexpectedly, you can cancel it manually to recover all invested provisions, then reassign comrades to start it again.

Mission Categories

Dispatch missions fall into several broad categories, each producing different resources and serving different strategic purposes. Missions are tied to specific map locations, and new locations with dispatch opportunities unlock as you progress through the story and discover new regions.

Camp Expansion Missions

Expansion missions are one-time dispatches that directly increase the Greymane Camp level upon completion. Each expansion unlocks new tents, carts, functional areas, and camp services. Expansion missions typically require the Builder skill from at least one assigned comrade and demand significant resource investment. They are the only way to raise the camp level, and each upgrade also improves all comrade skill levels simultaneously.

Because expansion missions are one-time events, they do not auto-restart after completion. The resource costs for successive expansions scale dramatically. For example, the Fourth Expansion requires 1,500 armaments, 2,500 stone, 2,500 timber, 4,000 food, and 100,000 silver.

Resource Gathering Missions

These are repeatable dispatches focused on collecting provisions for the camp. They span several subtypes based on the resource they produce.

Resource gathering missions auto-restart by default once completed. This means the comrades will immediately begin the same mission again without manual intervention. If you want to reassign them elsewhere, you must cancel the mission first.

Escort and Guard Missions

Escort missions send comrades to guard locations such as manors, trade routes, or merchant outposts. These missions generate silver (camp currency) and sometimes other trade goods. The Escort efficiency booster skill increases the silver yield. Guard missions are among the most reliable sources of passive income and should be part of every dispatch rotation.

Production Missions

Production dispatches create finished goods such as armaments, weapons, or equipment components. These missions frequently require a specific Required Skill (Craftsman, Smith, Engineer, etc.) from at least one assigned comrade. The Warspike Spearmaker in Hernand is one of the earliest production missions available and serves as a primary source of armaments in the early game.

Location Recapture Missions

Location recapture dispatches reduce enemy combat power in contested areas of the map. Completing these missions weakens hostile forces in that region, making exploration and quest completion safer. These dispatches are strategic investments that pay off through easier gameplay rather than direct resource rewards.

Ruins Dispatch Missions

Ruins dispatch missions send comrades to explore ancient ruins and recover Special Materials that cannot be obtained through standard gathering or other mission types. These missions require at least one comrade with the Explorer skill and consume Equipment (armor/weapons) provisions. Special Materials are used in advanced crafting and research, making ruins dispatches a priority once you have the provisions to fund them.

Engineering Production Missions

Engineering production missions have the broadest resource requirements among all dispatch types. They involve territory control, security operations, and the production of specialized items not available through other mission categories. At least one comrade with the Engineer skill is required. These missions become available later in the game and produce unique outputs such as wagons and advanced equipment.

Notable Early Dispatch Missions

Several dispatch missions become available early in the game and form the foundation of your resource pipeline. All of the missions listed below are located in the Hernand region.

Later in the game, additional dispatch locations unlock in other regions. Missions in Demeniss include Thornbriar Food Storage, Sungrove Manor, and Azerian Manor. By Chapter 10 and beyond, high-tier locations such as Gorthak Ironworks in Delesyia become available and can produce thousands of armaments per dispatch cycle.

Camp Provisions and Resources

Dispatch missions both consume and produce camp provisions. Understanding the six resource categories is essential for keeping your dispatch operation running smoothly.

Resources are donated to Carl, the provisions keeper, through his "Manage Provisions" menu. Different items contribute different amounts; for example, one piece of cloth adds 2 to the Armaments pool, while one Azurite ore adds 63 to the Ore/Stone pool. You can also donate funds directly by scrolling to the bottom of the inventory in Carl's menu. Collected items from completed dispatch missions appear in the Supply Chest located behind Carl at camp.

Food deserves special attention because almost every mission type draws from the food pool as a cost. Running out of food stalls your entire dispatch operation. Prioritize at least one food-producing mission at all times.

Auto-Restart Behavior

Repeatable dispatch missions (resource gathering, escort, production) auto-restart once they finish. This means that when the timer expires, the same comrades are automatically reassigned to the same mission and the timer begins again. This saves the hassle of manually restarting routine dispatches.

However, auto-restart can sometimes cause frustration. If you sleep at camp right before a mission completes, the mission may restart and reset the timer before you collect the reward. In this situation, you can cancel the restarted mission to recover all invested provisions, then manually reassign the comrades if you want a different mission.

One-time missions such as camp expansion dispatches do not auto-restart. Once completed, they are removed from the mission list permanently.

Conversion Bonus

The Conversion Bonus is a region-specific multiplier that applies to all dispatch missions within a given area. It is widely considered one of the most powerful buffs available for dispatch farming. The bonus increases when you donate to churches in major cities within that region.

In Hernand, for example, donating approximately 110,000 camp silver to local churches can push the conversion rate above 100%, effectively doubling the output of every dispatch mission in that region. Because this bonus is permanent and applies to all future dispatches in the region, church donations represent the best long-term investment for consistent resource farming.

Tips and Strategy

• Keep all comrades working. An idle comrade at camp is a wasted opportunity. Always have every Freesword assigned to a mission. If you run out of high-priority missions, assign them to basic resource gathering.

• Run a balanced rotation. In the early game, prioritize one Escort mission for silver income, one Harvest or Ranching mission for food, and one Warspike Spearmaker run for armaments. This covers the three resources you need most for expansion.

• Match skills to missions. A single comrade with an Expert-level skill provides a 60% bonus. Three comrades with only Novice-level skills still provide just 10%. Always send your most skilled comrade for the relevant mission type.

• Send more than the minimum. Each extra comrade beyond the minimum requirement adds a 20% bonus to camp supply rewards. If you have idle workers, put them to use.

• Invest in church donations early. The Conversion Bonus is permanent and applies to every dispatch in the region. Donating to churches pays for itself many times over as you continue running dispatches.

• Prioritize food production. Almost every dispatch mission consumes food. If your food supply runs dry, your entire dispatch operation stops. Always keep at least one food-generating mission active.

• Sleep strategically. Resting at camp advances the clock by up to 12 hours. Chain sleep cycles with short quest runs to complete long dispatch missions quickly. Be aware that sleeping right before a mission completes can trigger the auto-restart, forcing you to cancel and recollect.

• Cancel freely. Cancelled missions refund all resource costs entirely. Do not hesitate to cancel a mission if you need to reassign comrades or change priorities.

• Recruit aggressively. The more comrades you have, the more simultaneous dispatches you can run. Pursue Greymane Faction Quests (especially the "A Rumor..." quests under Grounds of the Sunrise) whenever they become available.

• Plan for armaments. Armaments become a major bottleneck in later camp expansions. Start stockpiling them well before you need them by running production missions consistently.

Related Articles

• Greymane Camp

• Camp Expansion Guide

• Comrades

• Greymanes Faction Quests

• Howling Hill

• Hernand