Revision 9

Overview

The Hernand Contribution Shop is the first Contribution vendor that most players encounter in Crimson Desert. Located inside the walls of Hernand Castle, the shop is run by a merchant named Haldwin who sells faction-themed armor, horse equipment, accessories, and banners in exchange for Hernand Contribution Points.

Contribution Points cannot be purchased with Silver or any other currency; they can only be earned through good deeds and faction activities within the Hernand region. The shop stocks items ranging from 4 to 70 Contribution Points, with affordable early-game armor at one end and prestigious cosmetic accessories at the other. Any item bought from the shop can be sold back for a full refund of its Contribution Point cost, so there is no risk in experimenting with different purchases.

Shop Location

The Hernand Contribution Shop is located inside Hernand Castle. After entering the castle through the main gate, head down and to the right of the interior gate that leads to the main keep. The shop is tucked into a side building near the courtyard. Look for the merchant Haldwin standing behind a counter with faction gear on display.

If you have not yet unlocked access to Hernand Castle, see the How to Enter Hernand Castle guide. You will gain access as part of the main story during Chapter 1.

How to Earn Hernand Contribution

Contribution in the Hernand region is earned through a variety of activities. The system works on a meter: each completed activity grants Contribution XP, and each time the XP bar fills up, you earn one spendable Contribution Point. Each level requires 100 Contribution XP to fill. You can check your current Contribution level and point total by looking at the top-right corner of the map.

The following activities grant Hernand Contribution XP:

• Completing main quests in the Hernand region. Story quests award large chunks of Contribution XP as you progress through each chapter.

• Completing faction quests and commissions for Hernand NPCs. Check the Journal for available Faction Quests tied to the Hernand faction. These range from cooking requests (like Renee's Request) to full military engagements.

• Turning in bounties at notice boards in the region. Bounties begin appearing in Chapter 2 and are widely considered the fastest and easiest way to farm Contribution Points, since each one is relatively short and grants substantial XP.

• Liberating bandit camps and enemy strongholds in the area. Camps appear as question marks on the map and grant a solid amount of Contribution XP when cleared.

• Freeing prisoners and captives held by hostile forces throughout the countryside.

• Donating coins to beggars. Each donation of 1 copper coin grants exactly 1 Contribution XP. Beggars can be found in Hernand Town and nearby settlements. This method is slow but reliable, and repeated donations increase the beggar's trust level, eventually yielding occasional loot such as bread.

For a detailed breakdown of all earning methods and optimization strategies, see the dedicated How to Increase Contribution guide.

Contribution Penalties

Criminal actions will reduce your Contribution regardless of whether you are caught. Be careful, because penalties are steep and can wipe out hours of progress.

Since each level requires 100 XP, stealing just 20 items will cost you an entire Contribution level. If your Contribution drops below a level threshold, you will lose access to the points from that level, but you do not lose any items already purchased.

Each region tracks Contribution independently, so losing reputation in Hernand does not affect your standing in Demeniss or Pailune.

Available Items

The Hernand Contribution Shop sells armor sets, cloaks, accessories, horse bardings, and contribution banners. All items can be sold back to the shop for a full refund of their Contribution Point cost, allowing you to reallocate points freely as your needs change. The inventory is divided into several categories.

Bolton Plate Set

The Bolton Plate set is an affordable entry-level armor set themed after the Bolton Guard faction. It is one of the strongest early-game armor options available, and several guides recommend it as a priority purchase. The set offers excellent defense for its low cost and can last comfortably for 30 to 40 hours of gameplay before you find upgrades.

The full Bolton Plate set costs 17 Contribution Points total. The Bolton Plate Helm ties for the highest base defense among all headgear in the early game (4 DEF), and the Bolton Plate Armor's 8 DEF is exceptionally strong for its price. The Bolton Plate Cloak is also the earliest source of Fire Resistance Lv. 3, which becomes important in volcanic and fire-themed areas.

Hernand Ceremonial Guard Set

The Hernand Ceremonial Guard set is a prestigious armor set representing the elite soldiers of Hernand. It requires a higher Contribution investment but provides strong defensive stats and Lightning Resistance.

The full Ceremonial Guard set costs 69 Contribution Points total. Note that the set does not include headgear; you will need to pair it with a separate helmet. The Ceremonial Guard Cloak's Ice Resistance Lv. 3 makes it useful when heading into cold regions. The gloves and boots both provide strong ATK bonuses (17 each) on top of 4 DEF, putting them among the better options in their respective slots.

Scholastone Set

The Scholastone set is themed after the scholarly town and its institute. These items are purchased from a vendor located inside the Scholastone Institute building, but they draw from your Hernand Contribution Point pool. You can earn the points through normal Hernand faction activities and spend them at the Scholastone vendor.

The full Scholastone set costs 51 Contribution Points total. The Scholastone Cap matches the Bolton Plate Helm for DEF (4) while adding Lightning Resistance Lv. 1. The Scholastone Boots are a solid mid-game upgrade with their Movement Speed bonus and balanced stats. The Scholastone Cloak offers no defense but provides Ice Resistance Lv. 3, making it a pure resistance pick.

Accessories and Equipment

Beyond the armor sets, Haldwin also sells standalone cloaks, horse barding, accessories, and contribution banners that double as two-handed weapons.

The Hernandian Signet (65 points) and Hernandian Crown (70 points) are the most expensive items in the shop and serve primarily as prestige pieces for players who have invested heavily in Hernand reputation. The Signet provides a small ATK bonus (2), while the Crown is purely cosmetic with no combat stats. Both items are described in their lore text as symbols reserved for those who have made significant contributions to the region.

The Contribution Banners are unique in that they function as actual two-handed weapons that can be used in combat, not just cosmetic items. They display faction colors and can be carried into battle.

Complete Price Summary

The table below lists every item available at the Hernand Contribution Shop (including the Scholastone vendor) sorted by Contribution Point cost from cheapest to most expensive.

Recommended Purchase Order

With limited Contribution Points in the early game, knowing what to buy first makes a real difference. Here is a suggested priority order based on cost efficiency and practical value.

1. Bolton Plate Helm (4 pts). Cheapest item in the shop and immediately boosts your survivability. At 4 DEF it ties for the best defense among early headgear.

2. Bolton Plate Cloak (6 pts). The earliest source of Fire Resistance Lv. 3, which becomes important before you reach fire-themed encounters. The 2 DEF is a nice bonus.

3. Bolton Plate Armor (7 pts). With 8 DEF, this is one of the strongest chest pieces available in the early game. The full Bolton set (17 pts total) will carry you comfortably for 30 to 40 hours.

4. Hernand Ceremonial Guard Boots (14 pts) and Gloves (15 pts). Both pieces offer 4 DEF, 17 ATK, and Lightning Res Lv. 1. These are strong mid-game upgrades for your hand and foot slots.

5. Hernandian Barding (23 pts). If you rely heavily on horseback combat, the barding gives your mount added protection. Otherwise, prioritize personal armor first.

6. Hernandian Signet and Crown (65-70 pts). These are endgame prestige purchases. The Signet offers a small ATK bonus but is mostly a status symbol. The Crown provides no stats at all. Only invest after you have all the gear you need.

Farming Contribution Efficiently

If you want to fill the shop inventory quickly, here are some practical tips for maximizing your Contribution XP per hour.

• Prioritize bounties. Once bounty posters appear on notice boards in Chapter 2, they become the fastest single source of Contribution XP. Each bounty is a short combat encounter with a generous payout. See the Bounty System article for details on all available targets.

• Do not skip faction quests. Every faction quest tied to the Hernand region awards Contribution XP. Check your Journal regularly for new commissions. Even simple requests like cooking a meal or delivering an item count.

• Clear bandit camps as you explore. Camps marked with question marks on the map give a solid chunk of XP on completion. They also award loot you can sell for Silver.

• Free prisoners whenever you find them. Rescuing captives from hostile forces grants Contribution XP and often appears as a random encounter while traveling.

• Avoid crime in Hernand. Stealing costs 5 XP per item and murdering NPCs costs 30 XP per kill. If you want to steal, do it in another region where you have less investment.

• Beggar donations are supplementary, not primary. At 1 XP per copper coin, donating to beggars is very slow compared to bounties and quests. Use it to top off the meter when you are close to leveling up, not as a primary farming method.

Comparison With Other Contribution Shops

The Hernand Contribution Shop is one of several regional contribution vendors across Pywel. Each region has its own independent Contribution pool and its own shop with unique faction-themed items. Contribution earned in one region cannot be spent in another.

Since each region tracks reputation independently, you can be a respected citizen in Hernand while having poor standing in Demeniss. Plan your criminal activity accordingly. For more information on the overall system, see the Contribution System and Contribution System Guide articles.

Selling Items Back

One of the most useful features of the Contribution Shop is the full refund policy. If you no longer need an item, you can sell it back to Haldwin and receive 100% of its Contribution Point cost returned to you. This means there is no penalty for trying out different equipment combinations. If you buy the Bolton Plate Armor for 7 points and later decide you want the Hernand Ceremonial Guard Boots instead, just sell the armor back and spend the points elsewhere.

Note that the shop only accepts items originally purchased from Contribution vendors. You cannot sell regular loot or crafted gear to Haldwin.

Tips

• The Bolton Plate set (17 points total) is the single best value in the shop for new players. Buy it as soon as you can afford it.

• Mix and match sets freely. Pair the Bolton Plate Armor with Caner gloves and boots from the regular vendor to fill out your outfit cheaply.

• The Hernandian Noble's Cloak and Hernand Ceremonial Guard Cloak both cost 19 points and share the same DEF (3) and Ice Resistance Lv. 3. They are functionally identical stat-wise, so choose based on appearance.

• Contribution Banners cost 30 points each and function as actual two-handed weapons you can use in combat. They are a fun cosmetic weapon but not necessary for progression.

• The Scholastone vendor inside the Scholastone Institute building draws from the same Hernand Contribution pool. You do not need a separate reputation to shop there.

• You can always sell items back for a full refund. Do not hesitate to experiment with different loadouts.

• Build contribution organically by completing faction quests as you encounter them during the main story. Dedicated farming is only necessary if you are targeting the expensive prestige items.

Patch 1.04: Balphion Plate Unlock Flow

Patch 1.04 added a new plate armor set to Rhett's equipment shop down in the Hernand main square, and this contribution shop up at the top of Hernand Castle is where the unlock key lives. The flow is a clean two-stop purchase chain: buy the Hernandian Crown from Haldwin here for 70 Hernand contribution points, then travel down to Rhett in the main square. With the Hernandian Crown in your inventory, the Prestige lock on the Balphion Plate pieces clears and the set becomes purchasable. You do not need to wear the crown or hand it in. Keeping it in your bag is enough for the lock to read as satisfied, and the check happens at the moment you confirm the purchase at Rhett.

This shop is the only source for the Hernandian Crown, which makes it the single mandatory stop for anyone chasing the Balphion Plate set. The same pattern applies to every other regional crown across the Contribution Shops network, but the Hernand case is the anchor example because it is the first contribution shop most players can reach during Chapter 1.

Purchase order. Fill your Hernand contribution meter to at least 70 through main quests, side quests, bounties, and faction activities in the region. Travel up to Hernand Castle, buy the Hernandian Crown from Haldwin for 70 contribution points, then fast travel or glide down to the main square and visit Rhett. Purchase whichever Balphion Plate pieces you want. Afterward, return here and sell the crown back for the refund loop described in the next section.

Balphion Plate Pieces

The Balphion Plate set added in Patch 1.04 consists of three confirmed pieces at Rhett's shop: the helm, the chest, and the gloves. Boots and a matching cloak have not been confirmed in the current patch and may either be missing from the set or stocked by a different vendor. Values below are the maximum after full refinement; base values scale up through the standard refinement progression.

The gloves are notable for carrying an attack stat as well as defense, which reflects their role in hand-to-hand strikes. The helm is the lightest piece in terms of defensive value and is the one most often swapped for a different aesthetic if players want a mixed fashion set. Because Rhett is an equipment vendor and not a smithy crafting line, there is no blueprint step: once the Prestige lock clears, each piece is bought outright with silver like any other vendor item.

Crown Refund Loop

The Hernandian Crown is fully refundable at this shop, which turns the 70-point cost into a temporary key rather than a permanent sink. After buying whichever Balphion Plate pieces you wanted at Rhett, return to Haldwin and sell the crown back. The full 70 Hernand contribution points return to your regional pool, with no tax and no cooldown. The Balphion pieces you already purchased stay in your inventory; refunding the crown does not re-lock them or undo the transaction at Rhett.

The practical result is that the net contribution cost of unlocking the Balphion Plate set is zero. The crown acts as a pass: buy it, use it to flip the Prestige lock at Rhett, buy the gear, walk back, sell the crown, reclaim the points. Those reclaimed points are then free to spend on horse barding, cloaks, or any of the lower-tier shop inventory.

If you have already spent your contribution points on earlier purchases from this shop and do not have 70 on hand, the same refund behavior applies to those earlier items. Sell back any cheap contribution gear you no longer need, reclaim the points, buy the crown, run the Rhett loop, then sell the crown as well to recover the 70. The cycle can be repeated any time a new Prestige piece is added to a Hernand vendor.

Caveat. Hernand contribution is capped at 100 points per region, and the crown's 70-point cost consumes most of that ceiling while it is held. Plan the crown purchase as the last step of a contribution session right before the Rhett run, so the crown is not sitting in your inventory eating your headroom for other shop purchases.

Vendor UI Labels (Patch 1.04)

Patch 1.04 also refreshed the vendor interface at equipment vendors, smithies, and contribution shops across the world. Locked items now display the exact unlock requirement next to the listing instead of being hidden or shown with a generic lock icon. The three labels you will see are Trust, Knowledge, and Prestige.

Trust. Appears on items gated by the vendor's personal Trust level. Raise it by gifting crafting materials to the NPC until the printed threshold is met.

Knowledge. Appears on items gated by a piece of in-world Knowledge you have not yet collected. The fix is out in the world, not at the vendor.

Prestige. Appears on items gated by the regional crown pattern. In Hernand, this is the label currently printed next to the Balphion Plate pieces at Rhett, and it clears the moment the Hernandian Crown sold by this shop enters your inventory.

Because each label is printed directly on the listing, you can scan the shop and know exactly which progression system opens a given item without guessing. At this contribution shop specifically, the Hernandian Crown itself is unlocked from the start and has no label next to it, so any player who has earned the 70 contribution points can buy it immediately.