Diving Force Palm

Overview

Diving Force Palm is a force palm skill in Crimson Desert, available to Kliff. It belongs to the Spirit (Green) branch of the skill tree.

Skill Details

Effect

Press R3 after an Aerial Swing, or press R3 while falling, to channel all your energy into a downward strike. The impact deals heavy damage to enemies at the landing point.

Combat Tips

Diving Force Palm is one of Kliff's strongest single-hit attacks when used from a high altitude. The longer the fall, the more devastating the impact. Combine it with Aerial Force Palm or Flight to gain maximum height before diving. It works exceptionally well as an opener against unsuspecting enemies below.

See Also

For a full list of abilities, see the Skills page. Related topics: Combat System, Abyss Artifacts.

How To Unlock Diving Force Palm

Diving Force Palm is rewarded for completing the Precipice of Truth abyss island puzzle. Finishing that puzzle grants both this skill and Falling Palm at the same time.

Reaching Precipice of Truth requires working through the earlier abyss islands first. Start at the Ethereal Pathway, then clear Root's End before the Precipice path opens.

Combo With Aerial Swing

Diving Force Palm is designed to be used alongside Aerial Swing. Launch into the air with Aerial Swing, then trigger Diving Force Palm on the way down for a high-impact ground finisher. The two skills share timing windows, so practice the rhythm in open terrain before committing to it in a boss fight.

Full Unlock Walkthrough

Diving Force Palm is not granted by default and cannot be purchased with skill points. It is awarded at the end of a chained sequence of Sky Islands that begins inside the Spire of Insight, passes through an Abyss Gate, and continues across three floating Abyss puzzle islands before ending on the Precipice of Truth. The full run also doubles as one of the best ways to stock up on Abyss Artifact skill points, unlock fast travel points across the upper map, and pick up a handful of rare recipes and books. For an overview of every floating puzzle room in the game, see Abyss Island Puzzle Solutions.

Prerequisites and Preparation

Before starting the chain, make sure the following abilities are unlocked. Most of them come naturally during the main story by Chapter 4 or 5.

• Axiom Force for grappling chips, twisting pillars, and rotating cauldron elevators.

• Blinding Flash (hold L1 and R1, then L1 to channel light) for burning away thorny vines that block the Spire entrance and several island gates.

• Nature's Grasp for lifting barred doors and heavy wall sections.

• Aerial Force Palm and Flight for reaching elevated buttons and for gliding across gaps between the islands.

• A few stamina restoratives such as honey tea. The climb up to the final button on the second island drains the Stamina bar quickly.

Charged fire attacks or a fire-imbued turning slash work as substitutes for Blinding Flash when burning thorns, and a lit arrow fired from a nearby brazier will also clear them.

Spire of Insight Tower

The starting point is the Spire of Insight, an easy-to-spot tall tower south of Hernand. The entrance gate is barred by thorns and surrounded by goblin enemies. Clear the enemies until the progress bar on the left of the mini-map reads zero, then burn the thorny vines off the front steps. The goblins keep respawning until the bar empties, so sweep them aside between thorn bursts.

With the doorway clear, pick up one of the small pebbles at the base of the steps. Carry it to the altar next to the door, hold L1 to line it up, and press Triangle to drop it in. The door flashes open, letting you into the interior of the tower.

Each of the three floors inside the Spire uses the same cauldron puzzle. A central book depicts the items the cauldron needs. Gather each item, drop it in the bowl with L1 plus Triangle, and then stand right next to the cauldron so the elevator activates and carries you to the next floor. Stopping short of the bowl is the most common reason the elevator refuses to move.

While climbing the tower, grab the Ranged Weapons of the World Vol. II book near the entrance room and, on the upper floor, the alchemy recipe for the Gold Bar. The Gold Bar recipe is one of the best silver-farming tools in the game; do not leave the Spire without it.

After the third cauldron activates, the elevator rises to the top of the tower. Walk up to the glowing Abyss Gate at the summit and step through. The gate teleports you to the first Abyss Sky Island, where the rest of the unlock chain begins.

Step-By-Step Walkthrough

First Abyss Sky Island (Motherboard Chip Puzzle)

Use Nature's Grasp to lift the vine-covered gate in front of you and walk inside. The room is choked with thorns around a shallow water pool. Burn the thorns away so the pool is accessible, then look down into the room to spot the fiery motherboard chip. Grapple the chip with Axiom Force and dunk it in the water. The fire goes out, the chip turns blue, and it becomes usable.

Carry the chip to the empty socket across the room, stack it on top of the other chip, and slam it home with a jumping or grappled Force Palm. One of the two wall panels lights up blue.

Glide or aerial palm across to the far side of the room and burn the remaining vines. Behind the vines on the opposite side is a suspicious wall. Lift it with Nature's Grasp, step inside, and slam the motherboard chip into the visible slot with another Force Palm. That is only half of the second puzzle.

Walk up to one of the large blocks inside the chamber. The prompt changes from grapple to carry: you are picking up an Abyss Fragment by hand, not with the grapple. Haul it to the door you came through, lift the door with Nature's Grasp, and prop the fragment underneath it. The grooves on the raised door line up with the battery grid and complete the power flow. Press L3 to crouch under the propped door, Force Palm the exterior button, and aerial palm up to the altar. Picking up the altar prize grants a free Abyss Artifact and opens the gate to the next island.

Bridge Between Islands

Stepping through the blue portal triggers a pillar that must be grappled and twisted. Shoot Axiom Force into the central disc, then hold right on the D-pad until it clicks and glows. The twist spawns a ring of platforms that connect across to the next island, along with a run of popup bridges.

Some of the popup planks have visible cracks. These cracked tiles collapse almost as soon as you land on them, so either sprint off them immediately or skip them entirely by chaining jumping aerial Force Palms into a Crow's Wing glide. Gliding costs stamina but is noticeably safer than racing the cracks. If you fall during this section you respawn at the last nexus, which usually means a full run-back from the previous island, so play the bridge slowly.

Roots of Truth (Second Island)

The second island, called the Roots of Truth, is themed around roots, lasers, and parkour. Climb the root-lined cliffs on the outer edge of the island, then use a high aerial palm jump to glide across to the archway with the nexus fast travel point. Dive through the waterfall using R1 plus Triangle to stab the water, then follow the corridor inside and climb up along the ladder-like indents.

At the spinning laser chamber, glide straight over the top of the disc so the lasers pass beneath you and land on the stairs leading into the central chamber. Inside, hold L1 plus R3 to latch onto the ceiling grates and rotate them so platforms appear behind you. Work upward using targeted jumps (hold L1 plus Square), dodge the moving lasers, and reach the narrow floor grate near the top.

Under the floor grate is a motherboard chip locked behind the slit. Grapple it with Axiom Force and use the D-pad to rotate it. When the chip is turned sideways it slips up through the opening. Carry the chip to the empty wheel socket beside the wall, line it up, and slam it in place with a Force Palm. A second chip is hidden on the left edge of the island, reachable by dropping down onto a tree root. Pull it out the same way, ferry it back across the waterfall, and dock it into the remaining socket.

With both chips installed, climb to the awkwardly placed button on the side of the tall pillar. Stamina drains fast on the climb, so keep honey tea ready and use the small ledge mid-way to rest. Glide directly into the button, hold L2 to stay latched, and press R3 to punch it. The cutscene plays and the second Abyss Artifact drops at the altar.

Precipice of Truth (Final Island)

After activating another twisted pillar and crossing a longer run of popup platforms and elevator tiles, you arrive at the Precipice of Truth, the final island in the chain. Glide over the opening gap instead of attempting the jumping puzzle. Grapple the eyeball of the first turret to disable it and claim its electrical power core. Seal the core in your cuckoo pot, or carry it by hand, and head into the alcove.

Just around the corner sit the nexus fast travel point and the first invisible-wall puzzle. A motherboard chip is locked behind the wall. Slot the turret power core into the glowing cube beside the wall to drop the barrier, pull the chip out, and push it into the empty battery socket next to the wall opposite. Force Palm the socket to activate the first wind turbine. Before moving on, pocket both that power core and a secondary core sitting at the very top of the island above where you started; you will need them again.

Glide into the now-spinning wind turbine. It boosts you high onto a floating platform with another invisible wall and another locked chip. Place one of your saved power cores, grab the chip, move it into its spotlight socket, and Force Palm it into place. The extra turbines around the platform start spinning. Chain an aerial triple jump into Force Palm to glide across to the next invisible wall and repeat the process with the final chip, again using a stored power core.

With all three chips installed and every turbine active, drop down into the central pair of turbines. They launch Kliff straight up toward the glowing altar at the peak of the island. Grapple the final button in the air, hold L2 to cling, and press R3 to punch it. The cutscene plays and the skill notification appears: Diving Force Palm acquired.

Island Chain Summary

Rewards Along the Way

Running the chain strictly for Diving Force Palm still produces a stack of side rewards worth collecting. Every island hands out a free Abyss Artifact, which converts directly into a skill point for any available branch of the skill tree.

• Two free Abyss Artifacts from the puzzle completion cutscenes on the first island and Roots of Truth.

• Three new fast travel nexus points on the upper map, which dramatically shorten travel time across the Abyss network. Nexus points double as respawn anchors if you die on a later island.

• The Gold Bar alchemy recipe and Ranged Weapons of the World Vol. II book from inside the Spire of Insight.

• Extra electrical power cores recovered from the Precipice of Truth turrets. These cores can be stored in the cuckoo pot and reused as crafting ingredients or as keys for later Abyss Sky Island puzzles.

• The Diving Force Palm skill itself as the final reward at the top of the Precipice of Truth.

Tips and Tricks

• Carry stamina food. Honey tea and similar drinks refill the stamina bar mid-climb, which matters most on the tall button at the end of the Roots of Truth. If you run out, cling to a wall ledge to recover a bit before pressing on.

• Use targeted jumps for long gaps. Holding L1 while looking at the target and pressing Square locks the direction of your leap, which is far more reliable than free aerial palms when the landing area is narrow.

• Glide over cracked bridge tiles. The popup bridges between islands contain planks with visible cracks that fall almost immediately. Triple-jump aerial Force Palms into a Crow's Wing glide and skip the dangerous sections entirely.

• Do not leave power cores behind. The Precipice of Truth uses the same cores three times, and any spare cores you take home can be used at other Abyss Sky Islands, as well as in cuckoo pot crafting recipes.

• Stand directly next to the cauldrons in the Spire of Insight. The elevator only triggers when Kliff is on the central platform, not merely nearby. If the book updates but nothing moves, step onto the raised ring.

• Register every nexus. The chain is long enough that dying without a nexus save can force you to repeat the entire Spire of Insight. Tap every fast travel pad before attempting the next puzzle segment.

• Practice the Force Palm rhythm before committing. Diving Force Palm chains with Aerial Swing, and the timing window is tight. Test the combo on Enemies in open terrain before bringing it into a boss fight.