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The Grace Manor Basement Key is a key item in Crimson Desert found during the Traces in the Manor main quest in Chapter 3. It is hidden inside a secret room behind a painting of two jousting knights in Glenbright Manor (also called Grace Manor or Grace Estate). The key does not open the basement entrance itself. Instead, it unlocks a reinforced door inside the basement, behind which the Alchemy Formula: Meliara's Lesser Elixir Recipe is stored. The basement entrance is accessed separately through the bookshelf passage opened by the golden dagger fireplace puzzle.
Because the basement key and the dagger puzzle are independent of each other, you can collect the key at any point during your visit to the manor. Many players miss it entirely on their first trip because the painting that hides it blends in with the rest of the ground-floor decor. Returning to the manor later to pick it up is always an option.
Property | Value |
|---|---|
Type | Key Item |
Category | Keys and Access Items |
Sell Price | Cannot be sold or discarded |
Obtained | Secret room behind a painting in Glenbright Manor |
Quest | |
Chapter | Chapter 3 (The Face Behind the Mask) |
Unlocks | Locked door inside the basement of Glenbright Manor |
Glenbright Manor is located in southern Hernand Highlands, just south of Glenbright Farm. You visit the manor naturally during the Chapter 3 quest Nonhuman, which leads into Traces in the Manor. After arriving at the manor gates and witnessing the aftermath of a massacre, you enter through the front door and are ambushed by five guards. Defeat them to gain free access to the rest of the building.
Enter the main lobby. Walk through the front door of Glenbright Manor and into the ground-floor lobby area. The main staircase leading to the second floor is directly ahead.
Find the painting of two knights jousting. At the foot of the main staircase on the right side, look for a large wall painting depicting two mounted soldiers (knights fighting on horseback). This painting is on the ground floor, not upstairs. Some guides describe it as being to the left of the staircase depending on which direction you are facing, so check both sides if you do not see it immediately.
Push into the wall. Walk directly into the painting. On controller, push the left stick toward the wall. On keyboard, simply walk forward into the wall. After a moment, the wall slides open to reveal a hidden passage.
Collect the key. Inside the secret room, the Grace Manor Basement Key sits on a side table. Pick it up to add it to your inventory. The room may also contain other minor loot worth grabbing.
The painting can be easy to overlook if you head upstairs immediately. Make sure to check the walls on the ground floor near the staircase before going to the second floor. The painting is the only interactive wall art in the manor, and it has no visible prompt until you physically walk into it.
The basement key does not open the entrance to the basement. The basement itself is accessed through a hidden bookshelf passage on the second floor, which requires solving the golden dagger fireplace puzzle. The basement key opens a separate locked door once you are already inside the basement.
To reach the basement, you need to find and place two golden daggers into slots above the fireplace in the second-floor study. Here is the full sequence:
Find the Ruby Hilted Golden Dagger. On the second floor near the top of the stairs, look for a wall frame holding a dagger. Pick up the Ruby Hilted Golden Dagger directly from the stand.
Solve the chandelier puzzle. On the second-floor hall, locate the large crank wheel next to a statue holding a glass orb. Interact with the crank and rotate it to redirect the blue light from the chandelier onto the orb. When the crystal glows, two side panels on the wall lift open.
Collect the Sapphire Hilted Golden Dagger. The Sapphire Hilted Golden Dagger is revealed behind one of the opened panels. Pick it up.
Go to the study fireplace. Enter the main study room on the second floor (the room where the wounded servant sits). Examine the fireplace and find two slots on either side of the plaque above it.
Insert both daggers. Place each golden dagger into its respective slot. The bookshelf to the right of the fireplace slides open, revealing a hidden passage.
Climb down the ladder. Through the bookshelf passage, you will find a ladder leading down into the basement.
Once you descend the ladder into the basement, you will find an open area with several lootable containers and items. A locked door blocks access to an additional room further in. This is the door the Grace Manor Basement Key opens.
Reward | Location | Details |
|---|---|---|
Behind the locked door (requires Basement Key) | Alchemy formula that provides temporary boosts to Max Health and Attack Speed for five minutes | |
[object Object] | Main basement area (before the locked door) | Blueprint for crafting Cloudcart mounts; key item for faction quest progression |
Main basement area | Contains approximately 1.23 Silver (requires equipped Mask to loot) | |
Shelves in the basement | Several pre-made elixirs providing various stat boosts | |
Basement table | Dye item for cosmetic customization |
The Cloudcart Blueprint is one of the most valuable finds in the basement. It is a key story item used during The Lord Who Hid in the Manor faction quest and is required to craft Cloudcart mounts later in the game. The Meliara's Lesser Elixir Recipe is also significant because the Max Health and Attack Speed buffs it provides last for five minutes, making it useful for boss encounters throughout Chapter 3 and beyond.
Note that some of the strongboxes and containers in the basement require you to have your Mask equipped to steal their contents. If you cannot interact with a container, check your equipment.
Glenbright Manor contains a separate puzzle involving two golden daggers: the Ruby Hilted Golden Dagger and the Sapphire Hilted Golden Dagger. These are found on the second floor through the chandelier and crank wheel puzzle described above. Placing both daggers into the fireplace opens the bookshelf passage that leads down to the basement.
Both the basement key (found via the painting on the ground floor) and the daggers (found via the second-floor puzzle) are needed to fully explore every hidden area in the manor. The daggers grant access to the basement itself, while the basement key opens the locked door within the basement. Collecting all three items ensures you do not miss any loot.
Item | Location | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
[object Object] | Ground floor, secret room behind jousting painting | Opens the locked door inside the basement |
Second floor study, on the desk next to the wounded servant | Opens a reinforced iron door elsewhere in the manor | |
Second floor, wall frame near the top of the stairs | Insert into fireplace plaque to open bookshelf passage | |
Second floor, revealed by chandelier/orb puzzle | Insert into fireplace plaque to open bookshelf passage |
The Grace Manor Basement Key is tied to two quests:
Traces in the Manor (main quest): The key is found during this Chapter 3 story quest. Exploring the manor and collecting its hidden items, including this key, is optional but rewarded.
The Lord Who Hid in the Manor (faction quest): The locked basement door that this key opens contains the Cloudcart Blueprint, which is a required item for progressing this faction quest later in the game.
You do not need to use the key during the Traces in the Manor quest itself. The main story progresses by speaking with the wounded servant upstairs and then following the trail to the Devil of the Reed Field. However, exploring the basement before leaving the manor saves you a return trip.
The painting depicting two knights jousting is on the ground floor near the main staircase. It is the only interactive painting in the manor. There is no visible interaction prompt; you must physically walk into it.
You can collect the basement key before or after solving the dagger puzzle upstairs. Both paths to the basement are independent of each other.
This key item cannot be sold, discarded, or dropped. It remains in your inventory until used.
Make sure to loot every container in the basement. The Meliara's Lesser Elixir Recipe is behind the locked door, so using the key is essential if you want the recipe.
Some strongboxes require you to wear your Mask before you can interact with them. Equip the Mask if containers appear non-interactive.
If you leave the manor without collecting the key, you can return at any time during or after the quest to retrieve it.
While exploring the manor, do not forget to also pick up the Grace Manor Iron Door Key from the desk next to the servant upstairs, and the Two-Handed Weapons of the Word, Vol. 1 crafting book from the back corner bookshelf in the study.
The basement area connects to the faction quest The Lord Who Hid in the Manor, so clearing it early saves time later.
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