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Worker Hire System
April 4, 2026 at 10:01 AM
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The Worker Hire System in Crimson Desert lets you recruit temporary laborers called Contribution Workers and assign them to dispatch missions at the Greymane Camp. Unlike your named Comrades, Contribution Workers have no individual profiles and carry no special skills. Their purpose is to fill empty dispatch slots so you can run more missions at the same time without pulling your skilled Comrades off important tasks.
The feature is not available from the start. You need to progress through the House Azerian faction questline in Demeniss and obtain a key item called the Seal of Devotion before the hire option appears on the dispatch board. Once unlocked, workers are purchased using Contribution Points, a regional currency earned through good deeds, quest completion, and other community-oriented activities across Pywel.
Before you can hire any Contribution Workers, you must complete a specific faction quest and obtain the Seal of Devotion key item. Here is the step-by-step process:
Progress to the House Azerian faction questline. House Azerian is one of the noble factions based in the Demeniss region. Their faction quests become available as you advance through the main story and build Contribution in the area.
Accept the "Flame Knights" quest. This is a House Azerian faction quest that involves investigating a dangerous threat. The quest culminates in a boss encounter with an opponent named Tristan.
Defeat Tristan. Tristan is a challenging combat encounter that may require preparation. Make sure your gear and skills are up to the task before engaging. Defeating him rewards you with two items: the Seal of Devotion and the Scorchflame Plate Gloves.
Use the Seal of Devotion from your inventory. Open your inventory, locate the Seal of Devotion under Key Items, and activate it. This permanently unlocks the ability to hire Contribution Workers from the dispatch board across all regions.
After using the Seal of Devotion, a new "Hire Worker" option becomes visible whenever you set up a dispatch mission through Ross at the Greymane Camp or through the camp management interface on the world map.
Contribution Workers are hired using Contribution Points, which function as a regional reputation currency. Each of the three main regions in Pywel maintains its own independent Contribution bar and its own pool of spendable points. When you hire a worker for a dispatch mission, the points are drawn from the region where that mission operates.
Region | Contribution Shop Location | Notable Shop Items |
|---|---|---|
Hernand Castle (vendor: Haldwin) | Bolton Plate Armor, Hernandian Barding, Hernandian Contribution Banner, Signet, Crown | |
Available after liberating Pailune | Berkei Barding, Pailunese armor set pieces, Pailunese Contribution Banner | |
Multiple locations in the Demeniss region | Armor of Demeniss' Honor, Demenissian Barding, Demeniss Contribution Banner |
Contribution Points earned in Hernand can only be spent on Hernand workers and Hernand shop items. The same applies to Pailune and Demeniss. Plan your spending carefully because the same pool of points is shared between shop purchases and worker hires.
There are several ways to build up your Contribution in any region:
Activity | Points Earned | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Faction Quests and Bounties | High | The fastest method overall. Bounties in particular are short and highly rewarding. |
Liberating Bandit Strongholds | High | Clear all enemies in a bandit camp or fortress for a large one-time reward. |
Faction Requests | Moderate | Repeatable requests available at various settlements. |
Helping Citizens | Low to Moderate | Random events where you assist locals against bandits. These do not appear in quest logs. |
Donating at Churches | Low | Small amounts of Contribution per donation. Also increases the regional Conversion Bonus for dispatch missions. |
Giving Alms to Beggars | Minimal | Available once daily in cities like Hernand and settlements such as Scrapfold. Also raises NPC trust. |
Criminal actions reduce your Contribution. Theft costs roughly 5 points, while assault or killing civilians costs around 30 points. These penalties apply even when you are not caught. Losing Contribution levels through crime is particularly punishing because regaining those levels does not re-award the points. You only earn new points once you exceed your previous highest level.
Contribution Workers are temporary, unnamed laborers that you hire from the dispatch board. They differ from your regular Comrades in several important ways:
Feature | Comrades | Contribution Workers |
|---|---|---|
Individual Identity | Named characters with backstories and dialogue | Anonymous laborers with no individual profiles |
Each has specific skills (Engineer, Farmer, Logger, etc.) that boost or unlock missions | No skills at all; they simply fill headcount slots | |
Cost | Free once recruited through faction quests | Purchased with Contribution Points for each mission |
Permanence | Permanent members of your roster | Temporary; hired per mission and consumed on use |
Recruitment Method | Complete "A Rumor..." Greymane faction quests | Hire from the dispatch board after obtaining the Seal of Devotion |
Skill Growth | Can level up skills from Novice to Skilled to Expert through repeated dispatches | Cannot gain skills or level up |
Because Contribution Workers lack skills entirely, they cannot satisfy the required skill check on certain specialized missions. For example, a mission that requires an Engineer or a Craftsman must have at least one Comrade with that specific skill assigned. Contribution Workers only add headcount, which is useful for meeting minimum personnel requirements and triggering the Comrade Bonus on missions that do not have hard skill requirements.
Once the Seal of Devotion has been activated, the hiring process is straightforward:
Open the dispatch interface. Talk to Ross at the Greymane Camp on Howling Hill. Alternatively, open your world map, hover over the camp icon, and select "Inspect" to access the Mission List tab directly.
Select a dispatch mission. Choose any available mission from the list. Each mission shows its minimum personnel requirement and any required or recommended skills.
Look for the Hire Worker option. On the assignment screen where you drag Comrades into mission slots, you will see available Contribution Workers listed alongside your regular Comrades. Workers from each region where you have accumulated Contribution Points will be displayed.
Assign workers to empty slots. Drag a worker into an open slot just like you would a Comrade. The Contribution Point cost is deducted from the corresponding region's pool when the mission is confirmed.
Confirm and dispatch. Once your team is assembled, confirm the dispatch. The mission timer starts and workers are consumed for the duration. You can rest at a camp bed to pass in-game time and speed up completion.
Workers appear automatically on the dispatch board for any region where you hold Contribution Points. You do not need to visit a separate shop or NPC to hire them. The cost is deducted at the moment you confirm the dispatch.
Contribution Workers serve a specific niche in your camp management strategy. Here are the situations where hiring workers makes the most sense:
Running multiple missions simultaneously. Early in the game you only have a handful of Comrades, which limits how many dispatch missions you can run at once. Workers let you staff additional missions without waiting for more faction quest recruits.
Meeting minimum headcount on large missions. Some dispatch missions require two, three, or even five personnel. If your Comrade roster is small or your key Comrades are already assigned elsewhere, workers fill the remaining slots.
Triggering the Comrade Bonus. Sending more personnel than the minimum requirement on a mission provides an extra 20% bonus to camp supply rewards for each additional person up to the mission's cap. Contribution Workers count toward this bonus even though they have no skills, making them a cost-effective way to increase resource yields.
Preserving skilled Comrades for important missions. If you have a mission that requires specific skills (Engineer, Cook, Jeweler) and another mission that only needs bodies, assign your skilled Comrades to the specialist mission and fill the generic one with workers.
Understanding which missions require specific skills helps you decide where to deploy Comrades versus Contribution Workers. There are two groups of dispatch skills in Crimson Desert:
These skills increase the yield of matching missions but are not required. A Comrade without the right efficiency skill can still be assigned; they just produce lower returns.
Skill | Matching Mission Type |
|---|---|
Escort | Guard and protection dispatch missions |
Farmer | Crop harvesting and food production |
Rancher | Livestock husbandry and animal product collection |
Fisherman | |
Smith | Metalworking and equipment-related missions |
Logger | |
Miner | Ore and mineral extraction missions |
For efficiency-only missions, Contribution Workers are a viable choice since the mission will still complete. You just sacrifice the yield bonus that a skilled Comrade would provide.
Some missions demand that at least one member of the dispatch team has a specific skill. Without it, the mission cannot be started at all. Contribution Workers cannot satisfy these requirements.
Skill | Unlocks |
|---|---|
Craftsman | Item crafting and special production missions |
Jeweler | Jewelry and accessory crafting missions |
Engineer | Wagon construction, Cloudcart building, workshop upgrades (see How to Get an Engineer at Camp) |
Cook | |
Explorer | Scouting and reconnaissance missions |
Painter | Artistic and decorative camp projects |
Weaver | Textile production and clothing crafting |
Builder | Camp structure construction and infrastructure projects |
For required-skill missions, you must assign at least one Comrade who has the right skill. Contribution Workers can then fill the remaining slots to meet headcount requirements and activate the Comrade Bonus.
While Contribution Workers have no skill progression, your named Comrades develop their abilities over time. Understanding skill tiers helps you decide when workers are a suitable substitute and when a leveled Comrade is the better choice.
Skill Tier | Dispatch Bonus | How to Reach |
|---|---|---|
Novice | +10% yield | Default starting tier for Comrades who already have the skill |
Skilled | +30% yield | Gained through repeated dispatch missions in that skill's category |
Expert | +60% yield | Highest tier, reached after extensive dispatching in matching missions |
A single Comrade at Expert level provides a full +100% bonus when all three tiers stack (10% + 30% + 60%). These tiers do not stack across multiple Comrades. Using three Novice-level Comrades on the same mission still only provides a 10% bonus, not 30%. For this reason, focusing one Comrade's skill growth in a particular category is more efficient than spreading assignments across several. Workers fill the headcount gap so your specialist Comrade can earn experience without competition for the slot.
Separate from skill bonuses and the Comrade Bonus, each region has a Conversion Bonus that applies to all dispatch missions operating within that region. This bonus is increased by donating silver or camp provisions at churches in the relevant region.
The Conversion Bonus is considered the most powerful passive dispatch buff in the game because it applies universally to every mission in the region, stacking with both skill bonuses and the Comrade Bonus. In the Hernand region, donating approximately 110,000 camp provisions can push the Conversion Bonus above 100%, effectively doubling resource returns on all Hernand dispatch missions.
Because the Conversion Bonus multiplies the base yield of a mission, it synergizes well with the Worker Hire System. Even though Contribution Workers add no skill bonuses, the Conversion Bonus still applies to their portion of the yield, making each hired worker more valuable in regions where you have invested in church donations.
Because Contribution Points serve double duty as both shop currency and worker currency, you need to budget carefully. Contribution Shops sell some of the best armor, bardings, and accessories in the game. A few guidelines:
Prioritize gear over workers early on. In the early to mid game, Contribution Shop equipment is often better than what blacksmiths or open-world drops provide. Spend your first Contribution Points on armor and accessories that meaningfully improve your combat effectiveness.
Hire workers once you have surplus points. After purchasing the key Contribution Shop items you need, excess points can be funneled into workers. This typically happens once you have cleared most of a region's faction quests and bounties.
Sell back gear if you outgrow it. Items purchased from Contribution Shops can be sold back to the same vendor for a full refund of Contribution Points. If you find better gear through crafting or world drops, sell the Contribution gear back and use those points to hire workers instead.
Balance across regions. Some regions accumulate Contribution faster than others depending on your quest progression. If one region has a surplus while another is depleted, focus your worker hiring on the region with more points.
Progress through the main story until the Demeniss region and House Azerian faction quests become available.
Accept and complete the "Flame Knights" House Azerian faction quest, defeating Tristan at the end.
Collect the Seal of Devotion key item from the quest rewards.
Open your inventory and use the Seal of Devotion to permanently unlock the worker hire feature.
Earn Contribution Points across Hernand, Pailune, and Demeniss by completing quests, bounties, and other community activities.
Visit Ross at the Greymane Camp or open the camp management screen from the world map.
Select a dispatch mission and assign available Contribution Workers alongside your Comrades to fill empty slots.
Confirm the dispatch and wait for the mission to complete. Rest at camp beds to pass in-game time.
Do not rush to spend Contribution Points on workers. Armor and bardings from the Contribution Shop provide far greater value in the early game. Workers become more useful once your camp has grown and you are running many dispatch missions at once.
Contribution Workers count as extra bodies for the Comrade Bonus. Even though they add no skill bonus, each extra person on a mission provides a 20% increase to camp supply rewards. This stacks up to the mission's personnel cap.
The Seal of Devotion is a one-time unlock. Once activated, the hire option appears globally and permanently. You do not need to find additional seals for other regions.
Workers are region-locked to the pool where you earned the points. If you need workers for a Hernand dispatch mission, make sure you have Hernand Contribution Points available. Pailune points cannot be used for Hernand missions and vice versa.
If you have committed crimes and lost Contribution levels, focus on bounties and stronghold liberations to recover. These provide the highest point returns per time invested.
Workers pair well with the Conversion Bonus from church donations. Investing in the Conversion Bonus in a region where you frequently hire workers multiplies the benefit of every hired laborer.
You can sell Contribution Shop gear back for a full refund at any time. Treat purchased gear as a temporary loan if you expect to outgrow it. Reclaim those points later for worker hires or better equipment.
Focus your best Comrade on leveling a single skill category to Expert rather than spreading experience across multiple Comrades. Contribution Workers handle the filler slots, letting your specialist Comrade run more missions in their area of expertise.
