Overview
Hexe Marie, titled "Follower of Darkness," is a witch boss and the first two-phase encounter shown in Crimson Desert. She was teased ahead of G-STAR 2024, playable at that event, and featured in a dedicated 7-minute gameplay trailer in December 2024.
She does not fight you directly. She transforms into crows, summons waves of minions, drops explosive traps, and repositions constantly. The challenge is managing the swarm while finding windows to damage the witch herself. Her health pool is not large, but reaching her is the problem.
Lore
Pearl Abyss's official description: "In defiance of the sanctuary's sacred laws stands Hexe Marie, a follower of darkness. Enraptured by the mesmerizing shadows, she dared to break forbidden taboos and infused darkness even into her own child. Many have tried to thwart her twisted ambitions, yet she remains within the sanctuary steeped in wrath and vile curses, awaiting the dawn of the false paradise."
Hexe Marie also exists in Black Desert Online, where she is described as "the deadliest Witch in history" with a traumatic backstory involving townspeople who nearly burned her to death. It is not confirmed whether the Crimson Desert version is the same character or a shared-universe parallel.
Arena
The fight takes place in the Smoking Lands. Noisy Pixel described the battlefield as "littered with mysterious urns and a slew of other creepy things." Purple particle effects and cinematic quick-time events give the encounter a horror-movie atmosphere. RPG Site called her a "humanoid crow queen" who commands "an immense amount of crows with her heretical spells."
Minion types
Pot-headed automatons Scarecrow-like creatures with tilted jugs on their heads. They swarm in groups. Explosive arrows blast them "into chunks of crockery."
Skeletons Spawned in hordes alongside the automatons.
Hexe Earthen Warriors Larger enemies that can be immobilized with ice arrows.
Explosive traps Minions leave explosives behind when they die, creating persistent area denial. Marie also drops magic mines that deal damage over time.
Combat: phase 1
Marie fights alongside her summoned minions. She phases in and out of visibility, coats weapons with poison creating ground hazards, and sends wave after wave of enemies. Her health pool is relatively small, but she is constantly moving and protected by the swarm.
The key to this phase is crowd management. Explosive arrows clear groups of pot-headed automatons. Ice arrows freeze Hexe Earthen Warriors. The Turning Slash combo works well against clusters of weaker minions.
Combat: phase 2
The minion spawn rate increases. Marie moves faster and attacks more aggressively. Her crow transformation becomes more frequent. Dramatic transitions mark the shift between phases.
When she turns into a murder of crows, track where she reforms. Use Force Palms to launch into the air, activate bullet-time with Precision Focus, and fire explosive arrows into the swirling mass. PSU called this combination "satisfying and stylish."
Strategy
Bring explosive arrows. They are described across multiple previews as "the key to defeating her."
Use ice arrows to immobilize Hexe Earthen Warriors before they reach you.
Watch for mines on the ground. Slain minions leave traps behind.
Do not ignore the minions. They will overwhelm you. Clear them in bursts, then switch to damaging Marie.
Track her crow transformation. She reforms at a specific location after each transformation.
See Boss Battles for general boss tips and Elemental Effects for how ice arrows work.