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Early Progression Guide
March 24, 2026 at 08:55 AM
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Crimson Desert drops players into the continent of Pywel with very little hand-holding after the prologue ends. The open world is enormous, systems stack on top of each other, and it can be difficult to tell which activities actually matter in those critical first hours. This guide walks through the optimal order of priorities so you can build a strong foundation before tackling the game's toughest challenges.
For a broader overview of the game's mechanics, see the Beginner's Guide. For actionable tips on specific systems, see Essential Tips and Tricks.
Once the prologue wraps up and you gain free control of Kliff in the Hernand region, resist the urge to wander off immediately. A handful of early tasks set the tone for everything that follows.
Head to the job board in Hernand and accept every available faction quest and request. Hernand Commissions are short tasks given by individual NPCs around town, and each one rewards a Medium Bag (extra inventory slots) plus crafting materials. Completing these commissions should be your first priority because inventory space is one of the most limiting factors in the early game. There are no storage boxes or banks for general items; everything must be carried on your person.
Completing the first few Hernand Commission quests (talk to the blacksmith Turnali and the butcher Renee) leads to a quest from the equipment vendor Rhett. This quest chain rewards free Life Tools: a fishing rod, a logging axe, and a pickaxe. Do not sell or discard these tools. They are essential for gathering timber, ore, and fish. If you miss the quest, you can buy a pickaxe (31 copper) and logging axe (29 copper) from the Provisioner's Shop in Hernand.
There are no traditional healing potions in Crimson Desert. Food is your primary way to restore health, and you can eat it during combat by holding D-pad Right (F3 on keyboard) to open the consumable wheel. Buy Tough Meat from the butcher in Hernand (it is extremely cheap), then cook it at any bonfire to produce Hearty Grilled Meat, which restores over 200 HP per serving. Cooked food provides significantly more healing than raw ingredients, and cooking is free. Aim to carry at least 50 to 100 portions before any difficult fight.
Visit the blacksmith in Hernand and refine your starting weapons and armor. Crimson Desert has no traditional character leveling system. Your combat stats are determined almost entirely by your gear's refinement level and by Abyss Artifacts spent on passive stats. If you are dying in two hits, it is because your armor is too weak. Early refinement levels cost only copper ore and iron ore, both of which are abundant around Hernand. Your starting weapons cannot be sold and are always available, so upgrading them early is never a waste.
Eight hidden Bell Towers are scattered across Pywel. Climbing to the top of each tower and ringing the bell clears the fog of war for the surrounding region and reveals roads, topography, points of interest, and Mysterious Energy zones on your map. This should be one of your highest priorities whenever you enter a new area. An unfogged map prevents you from wandering into zones you are not prepared for and makes it far easier to plan efficient travel routes. Ringing each bell also awards a small amount of Reputation Coins.
The large question-mark circles on your map typically hide Abyss Nexus or Abyss Cresset fast travel locations. When you find ruins that look out of place, step on the pressure plate on the ground and hold position for a few seconds to activate the Abyss Nexus. Cressets are smaller waypoints near roads. Activate every fast travel point you encounter; with Pywel's massive map, backtracking on horseback eats time that could be spent on quests and exploration.
Three Witch of Wisdom Sanctums in the Hernand area (Temperance, Penitence, and Benediction) contain chests with high-quality Abyss Gear. The enemies inside these sanctums only spawn once their respective questline is active. If you visit before starting the Witch of Wisdom questline, you can loot the chests without any combat.
Sanctum | Free Loot | How to Reach the Chest |
|---|---|---|
Behind a nook hidden by tall grass near the entrance | ||
Jump into the hole near the brown dog to reach the chest below | ||
Light the lantern inside to reveal a hidden area containing the chest |
Sealed Abyss Artifacts are collectibles found along roads and near points of interest throughout Pywel. Your sword's Guiding Light ability (L1+R1 on controller) marks them with a blue glint. Each one unlocks a challenge, and completing the challenge grants Abyss Artifacts (skill points). The important thing to know is that challenge progress only counts after you have collected the corresponding Sealed Abyss Artifact. Progress does not retroactively apply, so always pick them up as soon as you spot them.
Abyss Artifacts serve as your skill points. You earn them from defeating enemies (by filling the yellow Artifact Gauge on the HUD), completing quests, beating bosses, and discovering hidden locations. Spending these Artifacts wisely in the early chapters makes a dramatic difference in how difficult the game feels.
Invest your first Abyss Artifacts into Health (the red dial with a cube icon) and Stamina (the blue dial with a wolf icon) on Kliff's skill tree. Health can be increased up to 18 times, and Stamina up to 16 times. Raising Health lets you survive the punishing hits that early bosses deal. Raising Stamina gives you more dodges, climbing endurance, heavy attack strings, and gliding range. Many players make the mistake of rushing flashy combat skills when survivability upgrades are far more impactful. A good early target is Health level 4 or 5 and Stamina level 4 or 5 before investing in anything else.
Spirit (the green dial with a tree icon, upgradable up to 14 times) powers skills like Palm Strike and Force Palm. Spirit regenerates by attacking enemies, so the resource naturally sustains itself during combat. In the early chapters, you do not have enough Spirit-consuming abilities to justify heavy investment. Transition to leveling Spirit after your Health and Stamina are at comfortable levels and you have unlocked more abilities that draw on it.
Do not spread Abyss Artifacts across multiple characters early on. Damiane becomes playable in Chapter 3, and Oongka becomes available after Chapter 7, but Kliff is your primary character for the vast majority of the game. Investing in secondary characters too early will slow your progression drastically, since Kliff is the one who needs to survive the main story's boss fights.
Beyond raw stat increases, these skills provide the most value in the early chapters:
Skill | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
Keen Senses (Level 3) | Unlocks Focused Insight, which allows instant parries during Focus slow-motion. This is one of the most powerful defensive options in the game. |
Dodge upgrades | Maxing Keen Senses also unlocks Dodge, which is essential for survivability. A perfect dodge restores a small amount of stamina instead of consuming it. |
Stuns enemies with Blinding Flash, then allows you to follow up with devastating heavy attacks while foes are stunned. | |
Replicates an attack you just performed. Even at level 1, it effectively doubles the damage of your Forward Slash. | |
Evasive Roll (free) | Learned by observing the Hornsplitter boss perform it during Chapter 2. Watch for the 'observe' prompt in the bottom-right corner to learn it at no Artifact cost. |
Many skills in Crimson Desert can be learned for free by observing enemies or NPCs perform them. When you see an "observe" prompt appear in the bottom-right corner of the screen, press L1 (left bumper on controller) immediately. This "watch and learn" system means you should save some Abyss Artifacts in reserve for skills you discover through observation rather than spending everything on the skill tree.
Crimson Desert locks several critical traversal and puzzle abilities behind the main story. Force Palm is learned during Chapter 1, Focused Force Palm during Chapter 4, and Flight is available from the skill tree after you have enough Artifacts. If you try to explore everything before progressing the story, you will run into areas, walls, and puzzles that you simply cannot complete yet.
Chapters 1 and 2: Stick mostly to the main story. Complete Hernand Commission quests and ring any Bell Towers you pass. Gather resources and refine your gear.
Chapter 3: The Greymane Camp at Howling Hill is established, and Damiane becomes playable. This is the first natural exploration window. Complete camp expansion quests, build the farm and ranch, and explore the Hernand region more thoroughly.
Chapter 4 onward: You unlock Focused Force Palm, which breaks through magical walls containing rewards throughout Pywel. This is when wide-ranging exploration becomes fully rewarding, since you now have the tools to reach most secrets.
Faction quests should be picked up alongside the main story from the very beginning, but dedicated side-content exploration is best saved until after Chapter 3 when your toolkit is broad enough to handle what the world throws at you.
The Greymane Camp becomes available at the start of Chapter 3 during the Howling Hill questline. Camp expansion is a major progression mechanic: building new facilities, recruiting scattered Greymane members, and sending companions on dispatch missions create a resource loop that strengthens Kliff and the entire mercenary band.
Farm and Ranch: Prioritize food production. Almost every mission costs resources, and the farm lets you plant seedlings to harvest crops on a schedule. The ranch lets you raise chickens, cows, and goats for a steady supply of meat and materials. Build these as soon as the Goldleaf Trading Post quest becomes available.
Blacksmith: Recruit Tranan to your camp to unlock a local blacksmith. This saves trips back to Hernand Town for gear refinement and gives you access to his buy/sell inventory.
Dispatch Board: Once you have recruited enough Greymane members, you can send them on dispatch missions. These missions run in the background and return with materials, silver, and other useful items.
Check the camp regularly as you progress through the story. New construction options and recruitable members unlock as you complete faction quests and advance the main plot.
Inventory space is one of the biggest bottlenecks in early Crimson Desert. You start with a limited number of slots, and there are no storage boxes anywhere in the world. Every item must be carried.
Complete commission quests for bag upgrades. Many Hernand Commissions reward a Medium Bag, which permanently adds inventory slots.
Buy extra slots from vendors. You can purchase individual inventory slots for 50 copper each at equipment vendors.
Sell documents and books after reading them. Once you have read a document, it no longer serves a gameplay purpose. Sell it to free a slot and earn a few coins.
Open currency pouches immediately. Pouches of copper do not automatically add to your wallet. Go into your inventory and use them to add the coins and free the slot.
Sell recipe scrolls after learning them. Recipes are permanently memorized once read. The scroll can then be sold.
Check the supply chest at camp. Items you miss during exploration are automatically sent to the supply chest at Greymane Camp. Check it periodically so you do not lose valuable loot.
Silver and copper fund gear refinements, inventory expansion, and vendor purchases. Building your wallet early prevents frustrating bottlenecks later.
Complete bounties. Apprehending bounty targets marked on your map through House Celeste's bounty board is one of the most reliable ways to earn silver. Bounties are short and reward generously.
Sell cooked food. Dishes that you do not need for healing sell for a solid price. Fishing provides ingredients that cook into high-value meals.
Rob the Hernand Bank (optional). You need a mask (10 copper) and a key (30 copper) from Grimrak, a back-alley merchant behind a building in the Hernand Farmhouse area. The bank robbery yields over 40 Silver, which is a substantial sum in the early game. Be aware that crimes reduce your Contribution in the region.
Sell surplus materials. If your inventory is full of copper ore and iron ore that you do not need for immediate refinements, sell the excess. These ores are common and easy to re-gather.
Crimson Desert has a Prologue and 12 main chapters. Significant progression milestones are tied to story advancement, so it is important to know what each chapter unlocks.
Chapter | What You Should Do | |
|---|---|---|
Prologue | Tutorial and opening story | Learn basic combat, movement, and controls. |
Chapter 1 | Force Palm learned; Hernand region opens | Complete Hernand Commissions for inventory slots. Get gathering tools. Refine starting gear. Stock up on food. |
Chapter 2 | Evasive Roll can be observed from Hornsplitter boss | Watch for the 'observe' prompt during the boss fight. Ring nearby Bell Towers. Activate fast travel points. |
Chapter 3 | Greymane Camp established at Howling Hill; Damiane becomes playable | Build the farm and ranch. Recruit Tranan (blacksmith). Start exploring Hernand region more broadly. Pick up faction quests from the camp board. |
Chapter 4 | Focused Force Palm learned | Use Focused Force Palm to break magical walls that hide rewards. This opens up exploration substantially. Good time to revisit areas you passed earlier. |
Chapters 5 to 6 | New regions open; story intensifies | Ring Bell Towers in newly accessible regions. Keep refining gear. Build Contribution by completing quests in each new area. |
Chapter 7 | Oongka becomes temporarily playable | Experiment with Oongka's combat style. Continue faction quests and camp dispatches. |
Chapters 8 to 12 | Late-game story and endgame content | By this point, your foundation should be solid. Focus on story completion, endgame gear, and unfinished challenges. |
Main story bosses hit extremely hard and require preparation. Going into a boss fight underprepared is the most common cause of frustration in the early chapters.
Refine your gear. Visit the blacksmith and make sure your weapon and armor are at the highest refinement level you can afford.
Use a grindstone and anvil. Interacting with these environmental objects (found near blacksmiths and some camps) maximizes the Reinforcement stat on your equipped items, giving you a temporary boost to Attack and Defense.
Stock up on Hearty Grilled Meat. Carry at least 50 portions. You can eat during combat, so a large food supply is your safety net.
Craft Palmar Pills. Palmar Pills are crafted using 2 Water and 15 of any single herb variety (such as Rosemary, Lavender, or Peony) at a Cauldron. When consumed, they allow you to revive with 30% HP if you are knocked out during a fight. The recipe is found at Shadow's Whisper Cave in northern Hernand.
Check your skill tree. Spend any unallocated Abyss Artifacts. Even a single extra point in Health or Stamina can make the difference.
Do not button mash. The combat system rewards patience and timing. Enemies have super-armor attacks (indicated by blue splash effects) that cannot be interrupted by normal strikes.
Master perfect parry and perfect dodge. A perfect parry negates all damage and staggers the enemy. A perfect dodge, timed at the exact moment an attack lands, restores stamina instead of consuming it.
Use Focus in emergencies. Focus slows down time and regenerates Spirit, giving you a window to land heavy combos or dodge otherwise unavoidable attacks.
Farm Mountain Goats for Fine Meat early on. Mountain Goats die quickly compared to deer and are the easiest source of Fine Meat for cooking.
Ignoring gear refinement. Because there is no character leveling system, skipping refinements makes every encounter harder than it needs to be.
Spreading Abyss Artifacts across characters. Focus everything on Kliff until you are well into the mid-game.
Exploring too far too early. Without Focused Force Palm (Chapter 4) and other story-locked abilities, large parts of the world are inaccessible or unrewarding.
Skipping Bell Towers. An unfogged map is one of the most valuable tools for planning your route and avoiding dangerous areas.
Not cooking food. Eating raw ingredients wastes their potential. Always cook at a bonfire first for significantly more healing per item.
Committing crimes early. Getting jailed in the early game is devastating. You likely lack the silver to pay fines, and the Contribution loss is hard to recover. If you must steal, wear a mask first.
Selling gathering tools. Your pickaxe, logging axe, and fishing rod are irreplaceable quest rewards. If sold, you must buy replacements from the Provisioner's Shop.
Ignoring the 'observe' prompts. Many powerful skills can be learned for free by watching enemies or NPCs perform them. Press L1 or left bumper whenever the observe prompt appears.
Use this checklist as a reference for the first few chapters:
Complete Hernand Commission quests for inventory bag upgrades.
Acquire gathering tools (pickaxe, logging axe, fishing rod).
Buy and cook Hearty Grilled Meat for a large food supply.
Refine starting weapons and armor at the blacksmith.
Invest Abyss Artifacts into Health and Stamina on Kliff's skill tree.
Ring every Bell Tower you encounter to unfog the map.
Activate every Abyss Nexus and Cresset fast travel point.
Loot the three Witch of Wisdom Sanctums before starting their questline.
Collect Sealed Abyss Artifacts along roads for skill point challenges.
Craft Palmar Pills at Shadow's Whisper Cave in northern Hernand.
Build the farm and ranch when the Greymane Camp unlocks in Chapter 3.
Learn Focused Force Palm in Chapter 4, then revisit earlier areas for hidden rewards.
