Endgame Weapons and Builds Guide

Overview

Reaching the endgame in Crimson Desert opens up access to some of the strongest weapons, armor sets, and Abyss Cores in the game. This guide covers the top-tier weapons available in later chapters, the most devastating combo builds you can assemble, the full Frostcursed Plate Armor set and where to find every piece, and reliable farming methods for upgrade materials. Whether you favor raw critical damage or multi-element devastation, the setups below will carry you through the toughest encounters Pywel has to offer.

Best Endgame Weapons

The strongest weapons in Crimson Desert share two traits: high base attack at max reinforcement and synergy with powerful Abyss Cores. Three weapons stand out above the rest for endgame play.

Elite Vanguard (Spear, 35 ATK)

The Elite Vanguard is a spear with exceptional attack speed and one of the best two-handed movement sets in the game. At maximum reinforcement (+10), it reaches 35 Attack with 3 Attack Speed, a full three points above what a standard two-handed weapon provides at the same tier. The spear movement set is particularly strong because Turning Slash generates bonus damage on the whirling hits, making it the ideal platform for the Turning Slash Nuke combo described later in this guide.

To find the Elite Vanguard, travel to the southern tip of Demeniss, to a small peninsula called Bowsprit Cape. Look for a river inlet with two teleportation points and distinctive hexagonal stones along the bank. From the lower waypoint, jump down from the twin waterfalls and turn right. The cave entrance leads directly to a chest containing the weapon. No story chapter requirement blocks access, so you can pick this up as soon as you can survive the trip south.

Vow of the Dead King (Halberd, 35 ATK)

The Vow of the Dead King is a halberd that matches the Elite Vanguard's 35 Attack at max reinforcement but trades the attack speed bonus for 4 Critical Rate. For builds stacking critical chance through accessories and cores, this extra crit pushes consistent damage higher than any other endgame weapon. Because halberds share the spear movement set, you still get full access to Turning Slash combos and all the core synergies that make spears dominant.

The weapon is located inside the Frost Veil Castle Ruins in northern Pailune, between the letters A and I on the world map. Clear the bandits occupying the ruins, then find the staircase at the upper section leading underground. Navigate the jumping puzzle through spike traps (stock up on healing items beforehand), dispatch the enemies at the far end using Force Palm, and light the lantern to lower the door blocking the final room. The Vow of the Dead King sits in a chest at the back. Its default cores (damage to humanoids, walkers, and mighty foes) are serviceable but should be replaced with the Turning Slash Nuke cores described below for maximum output.

Moon Spears (Chapter 8 Reapers)

Three unique spears become available after completing Chapter 8 of the story: the Circling Moon, Grasping Moon, and Diverging Moon. After the chapter's final boss, a quest with House Elmore in Demeniss opens up, directing you to clear the eastern, western, and southern courts. Each court is marked on your map and contains a Reaper boss with a distinct elemental affinity.

After defeating each Reaper, do not leave the area immediately. Each Reaper's staff remains on the ground and must be picked up manually. These staffs provide the elemental slash cores that power the Quad Elemental Slam combo. The Reapers are tough opponents, so come prepared with gear reinforced to at least +6. A Volcanic Mage build makes these fights significantly easier.

In terms of raw stats, the Moon Spears offer similar numbers to the Elite Vanguard at max reinforcement. The real value lies in the three elemental cores they provide. If you only need one spear as a stat stick, the Elite Vanguard or Vow of the Dead King outperforms them, but the Moon Spears are essential for unlocking the quad elemental playstyle.

Other Notable Endgame Weapons

Plate Helmet of the Cursed Soul

The Plate Helm of Cursed Soul is one of the most important endgame armor pieces because it provides Daze Immunity. In the later chapters, nearly every enemy and boss has attacks that inflict Daze, which locks you out of actions for a dangerous window. Wearing this helmet eliminates that threat entirely.

The helmet is hidden behind a waterfall south of the Elite Vanguard's location in Demeniss. From the area with the hexagonal stones, head further south and then left until you reach a triangular formation of river and island with a nearby waypoint. Chapter 8 of the story will eventually lead you through this area, but you can reach it earlier if your gear is strong enough.

From the teleportation point, head left up the mountain until you reach the right arm of the river. You will see a waterfall dropping down with a ledge above it. Turn around and look for the middle section of the waterfall, identifiable by stacked stones. Use your Stab skill to push through the water and enter the hidden cave. The helmet is inside.

For the core slot on this helmet, the recommended choice is the +35% Turning Slash damage core (Momentum) from the deer helmet found in the Sanctum of Benediction in Hernand. This core stacks with all the other Turning Slash modifiers described in the build section below.

Turning Slash Nuke Build

The Turning Slash Nuke is the single most damaging attack combination in Crimson Desert. It layers four core effects onto a single flame-imbued Turning Slash, producing a burst that can delete half a boss's HP bar in one swing. Here is the full breakdown of the combo.

Required Cores

How the Combo Works

Equip all four cores across your weapon and armor slots. Imbue your weapon with fire using the Imbue Element skill. Then perform a Turning Slash with a spear or halberd. On a single swing, the following effects trigger simultaneously:

• Turning Slash base damage plus the +35% Momentum core bonus from the Cursed Soul helmet

• Ground Surge sends a forward wave of destruction

• Wound of Darkness fires a three-directional dark wave

• Flames of Judgment triggers fire explosions from the flame imbue

• Volcanic Eruption adds forward-firing flame explosions on top

The combined stagger output frequently sends bosses flying or forces a stagger state that allows free follow-up attacks. The trade-off is heavy Spirit and Stamina consumption. To sustain the combo, run Spirit Regeneration cores on your armor and a Spirit Siphon effect on your weapon. Between bursts, use normal attacks to regenerate resources before the next Turning Slash.

Quad Elemental Slam Combo

The Quad Elemental Slam takes a different approach from the Turning Slash Nuke. Instead of stacking fire effects, it combines all four elemental slash cores (fire, ice, electricity, and wind) into a single forward-firing beam triggered by a roll into a light attack. The result is a rapid-fire elemental barrage that works both for clearing groups and chipping boss health.

Required Cores

Execution

With all four cores equipped, the key input is a full dodge roll followed immediately by a light attack. This is a true dodge roll, not the evasive maneuver. After every roll, all four elemental cores fire simultaneously, sending a beam of combined elemental damage forward. The pattern is simple: roll, light attack, roll, light attack. Each cycle fires the full quad-element blast.

This approach is particularly effective against bosses because the roll naturally dodges incoming attacks, and the immediate light attack punishes the recovery window. You can also trigger the elemental blast with a heavy attack followed by another heavy attack into a light attack, but the roll method is faster and safer.

Against regular enemies, light attack spam also works. Every few light attacks in a chain will fire elemental projectiles forward, letting you clear groups without committing to the roll timing. The combo is versatile, but the roll into light attack is the most consistent method for dealing burst damage.

Frostcursed Plate Armor Set

The Frostcursed Plate Armor is the best frost-resistance set in the game, reaching level 13 frost resistance with the chest piece and cloak combined. All five pieces are scattered across Demeniss in caves, waterfall grottoes, and sanctums. The set becomes accessible around Chapter 6 when you first travel to the Demeniss region, though some pieces require navigating dangerous frostbitten areas. Bring frost resistance food from Dalia's inn in Hernand City (level 4 frost resistance) and a Bear Cloak (level 5 frost resistance) to stay safe while collecting the pieces.

All Five Piece Locations

A notable downside of this set is that the chest armor and the cloak cannot be reinforced, unlike comparable sets such as the Plate Armor of the Shadows. For raw defense in non-frost content, the Plate Armor of the Shadows remains superior because all of its pieces accept reinforcement. However, for frost-heavy areas and the Spire of Frost, the Frostcursed set is unmatched. You can also mix and match: equip the Frostcursed chest or cloak for frost resistance while keeping reinforceable pieces in other slots.

Pure vs Combination Weapons

Crimson Desert's combat system supports both dedicated single-weapon play and rapid weapon switching mid-combo. Understanding the difference between these approaches helps you decide which weapons to invest reinforcement materials into.

For endgame optimization, most players settle on a single primary weapon (Elite Vanguard or Vow of the Dead King) with all cores dedicated to the Turning Slash Nuke build, then keep a secondary greatsword or sword for situational encounters. The spear movement set's Turning Slash is so dominant in endgame damage that splitting focus across multiple weapons is rarely worthwhile unless you specifically want the Quad Elemental Slam playstyle, which works on any spear.

Iron Ore and Abyss Core Farm at Sage's Peak

Fully reinforcing endgame weapons requires large quantities of Iron Ore and Abyss Cores. The fastest farm for both materials at once is at Root's End Ruins on Sage's Peak, located north of Hernand and south of Pailune.

Setup

Travel to the waypoint at Root's End Ruins on Sage's Peak. The location is marked by a symbol at the top of the mountain. Before you begin farming, save your game manually. The respawn behavior of the enemies here can occasionally break, and having a save to reload fixes the issue.

Farming Method

1. Climb to the top of the ruins and locate the clusters of small animated stones.

2. Use a beam or laser ability to wake them up in groups. Do not wake every single stone. Leave at least one stone (especially the large stone in the back) untouched. If all stones are destroyed, they may not respawn properly.

3. Kill the awakened stones. Each wave drops Iron Ore on the ground and floating Abyss Cores in the air.

4. Collect everything after clearing the wave. A single clear typically yields 30 to 40 Iron Ore plus several Abyss Cores.

5. Teleport back to the Abyss Nexus and create a second save slot (do not overwrite your original save).

6. Return to the ruins. If the stones have respawned, repeat the cycle. If they have not respawned, reload your first save and try again.

The Abyss Cores collected here can be synthesized at a Witch into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cores for your endgame builds. Iron Ore is the most-needed material for weapon reinforcement, so this farm covers both needs simultaneously. Copper Ore is used in smaller quantities and can be gathered along the cliffs of Howling Hills south of Hernand City.

Shield Defense Trick for Two-Handed Builds

Two-handed weapons like spears, halberds, and greatswords do not have a native block or parry. This leaves players reliant on dodge rolls for defense, which costs stamina and can interrupt combo flow. There is a workaround: keep a one-handed sword and shield in your secondary weapon slot.

When you need to block an incoming attack, swap to your sword and shield with a quick weapon switch, hold guard to raise the shield, and absorb the hit. Then immediately switch back to your two-handed weapon and resume your combo. This technique is especially useful during boss fights where dodge windows are tight and you need to conserve stamina for your next Turning Slash.

The Flame Knight's Shield is a strong pick for this role because it comes with the Dragon Counterattack ability: pressing shield bash (L1 + R2) fires cannonballs from the shield, giving you ranged damage during the brief moments you are on the defensive. You can obtain it by completing the Latter of Silence quest in Demeniss (available around Chapter 7), which leads to a boss fight with the Flame Knight at Flame Knight's Castle. After defeating him, climb the castle walls and retrieve his shield from behind some crates.

Jewelry Stat Roles

Crimson Desert's accessories system lets you equip multiple pieces of jewelry, each with specific stat tendencies. Understanding which accessory type provides which stats helps you target the right pieces for your build.

For the Turning Slash Nuke build, prioritize a necklace with Critical Rate and Spirit Regeneration, then stack rings for Attack Speed. If you are using the Vow of the Dead King with its built-in 4 Critical Rate, a Critical Rate necklace pushes your total crit chance into the range where crits become consistent rather than occasional. For the Quad Elemental Slam build, prioritize Attack Speed rings to speed up the roll-into-light-attack cycle.

For a deeper look at specific accessory recommendations and where to find the best pieces, see the full Best Accessories Guide.

Recommended Full Build Summary

Turning Slash Nuke Build (Maximum Single-Hit Damage)

• Weapon: Vow of the Dead King (+10, 35 ATK, 4 Crit Rate) or Elite Vanguard (+10, 35 ATK, 3 Attack Speed)

• Helmet: Plate Helm of Cursed Soul (Daze Immunity) with Momentum core (+35% Turning Slash damage)

• Weapon Cores: Ground Surge + Wound of Darkness

• Armor Cores: Flames of Judgment + Volcanic Eruption

• Element: Fire (Imbue Element)

• Necklace: Critical Rate + Spirit Regeneration

• Rings: Attack Speed for faster Turning Slash startup

• Playstyle: Imbue fire, perform Turning Slash for massive burst, use normal attacks to regenerate Spirit between bursts

Quad Elemental Slam Build (Sustained Elemental Damage)

• Weapon: Any Moon Spear (Circling Moon, Grasping Moon, or Diverging Moon) or Elite Vanguard

• Cores: Crescent Moon Slash (fire), Full Moon Slash (electricity), Half Moon Slash (ice), Wind Slash (wind)

• Playstyle: Roll + light attack repeatedly to fire all four elements; works against both bosses and groups

• Rings: Attack Speed to accelerate the roll-attack cycle

• Backup: Keep Flame Knight's Shield in secondary slot for emergency blocking

Tips and Additional Advice

• Always carry healing items when exploring Demeniss for the first time. Frost damage and aggressive enemies can end a run quickly without frost resistance gear or food.

• Save frequently when farming at Sage's Peak. The respawn system for the stone enemies can occasionally fail, and reloading a save is the only fix.

• The Turning Slash Nuke drains stamina rapidly. Consider the Stamina Siphon weapon trait or stamina regeneration rings to maintain uptime.

• For the Quad Elemental Slam, the frost imbue from the Imbue Element skill can instant-freeze most regular enemies in just a few hits, providing crowd control on top of damage.

• The Vow of the Dead King's default cores (damage to humanoids, walkers, mighty foes) are decent for general play but should be swapped out for the Turning Slash Nuke cores once you have them.

• You can mix Frostcursed armor pieces with other sets. For example, wear the Frostcursed chest and cloak for frost resistance while keeping reinforceable Plate Armor of the Shadows pieces in the helm, glove, and boot slots.