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Faction Overview

House Lanford is the marquis house of Calphade, one of the major territories within the Duchy of Hernand. Led by Marquis Stefan Lanford, the house has served for generations as the military backbone of Hernand, defending the duchy's western and northern borders against threats from Pailune. Their unyielding conviction earned them the title "The Unyielding Shields," a name that represents both the Lanford family and Calphade as a whole.

The Calphade region is heavily fortified compared to other noble territories in Hernand. Castles, watchtowers, gates, supply depots, a siege armory, and a gunpowder mill all fall under House Lanford's jurisdiction. This military infrastructure reflects the constant pressure Calphade faces as Hernand's primary buffer zone. However, House Lanford was destabilized when its own officer, Cassius Morten, defected to the Black Bears and turned his knowledge of Calphade's defenses against his former lord. This betrayal sets the stage for Chapter 6: Cracks in the Shield in the main story and, after that chapter is completed, unlocks House Lanford's faction quest line.

Unlock Conditions

House Lanford's faction quests do not become available until specific main story progress has been made. Unlike some of the other Hernand noble house quest lines, which open up relatively early, House Lanford requires you to push deep into the campaign before its side content appears.

• Complete Chapter 6: Cracks in the Shield. The entire Calphade siege arc must be finished, including the boss fight against Cassius Morten during "The Unyielding Shields" sub-chapter. Once Kliff reports to Marquis Lanford after the battle, the faction quest line begins to unlock.

• Reach the post-Chapter 6 open world. After finishing Chapter 6, you return to the open world with new faction quest tabs visible in your Journal. House Lanford's quests appear under their own faction tab alongside the other Hernand noble houses.

• Build Contribution with House Lanford. Some quests in the chain (particularly the White Blizzard quest line) require you to have completed earlier Lanford tasks and built up enough Contribution with the faction before they appear. The final quest chain unlocks after you have completed several initial House Lanford assignments.

Quest List

House Lanford's faction quests culminate in the White Blizzard quest chain, which sends you into the frozen wastes of northern Hernand to confront a powerful frost-wielding enemy. Below is a summary of the known quests in the faction line.

House Lanford Contribution Tasks

After completing Chapter 6, House Lanford soldiers stationed in the northwest of Hernand City begin offering faction requests. These are repeatable tasks that award Contribution XP toward the Lanford faction. Completing them raises your standing with the house and eventually unlocks the White Blizzard quest chain.

Like other faction quest lines in Crimson Desert, each quest completed for House Lanford earns Contribution XP. Each level gained provides one Contribution Point, which can be spent at the faction's dedicated Contribution Shop. Reaching Alliance status with House Lanford unlocks several benefits: allied Lanford troops may appear to assist you during ambushes in Calphade, new vendors become available, additional quests open up, and previously restricted resource nodes in the Calphade region become accessible.

Keep completing Lanford tasks and building your Contribution. Once you have finished enough initial assignments, the "Cursed Mountain" quest becomes available, marking the start of the White Blizzard chain.

White Blizzard Quest Chain

The White Blizzard quest chain is the highlight of House Lanford's faction content and one of the most challenging side quest lines in the game. It takes you into the frozen northern reaches of Hernand, where a dark presence has taken hold of the ancient Hoenmark Ruins. The chain consists of two main quests that culminate in a brutal boss encounter against Beloth, the Darksworn.

Cursed Mountain

Cursed Mountain is the first quest in the White Blizzard chain. It becomes available once you have completed Chapter 6 of the main story and finished enough House Lanford Contribution tasks. The quest sends you to the Argent Peaks Outpost, located east of Hoenmark Ruins, where you encounter wounded Lanford soldiers who have been investigating strange occurrences in the frozen mountains.

Walkthrough

1. Travel to the Argent Peaks Outpost, east of Hoenmark Ruins in northern Hernand. If you have already visited the outpost and spoken with the wounded soldiers before completing Chapter 6, this introductory step may be skipped automatically.

2. Speak with the wounded Lanford soldiers at the outpost. They describe an unnatural blizzard that has engulfed the Hoenmark Ruins and report sightings of a dark figure moving within the storm.

3. Investigate the area around the Argent Peaks. The soldiers point you toward several locations where their scouts went missing.

4. Return to the outpost with your findings to complete the quest. The soldiers direct you toward the Hoenmark Ruins themselves, setting up the next quest in the chain.

Note: If you visited the Argent Peaks Outpost and met the wounded soldiers before finishing Chapter 6, the introductory meeting step will not appear when you pick up the quest. The game recognizes that you have already encountered them and moves you directly to the investigation phase.

Wraith in the Frost

Wraith in the Frost is the climax of the White Blizzard chain and one of the toughest faction quests in Crimson Desert. After learning about the dark presence at Hoenmark Ruins during Cursed Mountain, you must venture into the ruins to confront Beloth, the Darksworn, a frost-wielding warrior clad in the Armor of the Shadows.

Walkthrough

1. Travel to Hoenmark Ruins in northern Hernand. The ruins are engulfed in a perpetual blizzard that actively drains your health. Eat warming food or equip ice-resistant armor before entering the area.

2. Navigate through the ruins. There are flying enemies patrolling the area, so try to avoid unnecessary fights and head directly toward the quest marker. The blizzard reduces visibility and causes constant cold damage, so speed is important.

3. Reach the rooftop area on the left side of the Hoenmark Ruins. This is where the boss encounter triggers.

4. Defeat Beloth, the Darksworn. This is an extremely difficult boss fight that can last five to ten minutes depending on your gear level. See the boss strategy section below for detailed combat tips.

5. After defeating Beloth, the quest updates and directs you to retrieve his armor from the adjacent ruins. Collect the Plate Helm of the Shadows and Plate Gloves of the Shadows from the illuminated container nearby.

Boss Fight: Beloth, the Darksworn

Beloth, the Darksworn is one of the most punishing bosses in the game. He wears the black Armor of the Shadows and attacks with devastating frost-based abilities. His attack patterns are specifically designed to punish panic rolling, so patience and precision are critical. Many players consider him to be a true endgame challenge, even tougher than several main story bosses.

Preparation

• Frost Resistance: Equip armor with high Ice Resistance. The Hoenmark Ruins blizzard deals constant cold damage even outside the boss fight, and Beloth's frost attacks hit harder if your resistance is low.

• Healing Items: Bring plenty of cooked meats and refined Palmar Pills. The fight can last five to ten minutes, and you will need sustained healing to survive his assault.

• Warming Food: Stock up on warming food items to counteract the blizzard's health drain while traversing the ruins to reach the boss arena.

• High-Tier Gear: This boss hits extremely hard. Bring your best armor and upgraded weapons. Being underleveled makes the fight significantly more painful.

Combat Strategy

Beloth fights with sweeping frost attacks and leaves almost zero margin for error. His attack patterns punish players who dodge reactively rather than reading his animations. The key to this fight is learning his specific opening windows and chipping away at his health bar patiently.

• Learn his wind-up animations. Beloth telegraphs his heavy attacks with distinct wind-up animations. Watch for these closely, as they indicate the narrow damage windows where you can safely counterattack.

• Do not panic roll. His attack chains are designed to catch players who spam the dodge button. Wait for the full combo to finish before rolling, or time your dodges precisely to individual swings.

• Watch for red flash attacks. Unavoidable attacks are signaled by a red flash on Beloth's body. When you see the red flash, dodge immediately. Do not attempt to block these hits, as they will break through your guard.

• Chip away patiently. Land one or two hits during each opening, then back off. Trying to squeeze in extra attacks will get you punished. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

• Keep distance during frost area attacks. Beloth periodically releases frost area-of-effect attacks that cover the ground around him. Back away when you see these wind up and wait for the effect to dissipate before re-engaging.

Rewards

Completing the White Blizzard quest chain awards you with the Armor of the Shadows set. Defeating Beloth directly grants the Plate Helm and Plate Gloves. The remaining three pieces (Plate Armor, Plate Cloak, and Plate Boots) can be found at exploration locations scattered across the Argent Peaks and surrounding area. Together they form one of the strongest armor sets in the game.

Armor of the Shadows Set

The Plate Helm of the Shadows is particularly notable because it grants the unique Frost Breath skill. Activating Frost Breath allows you to freeze enemies in front of you and also creates temporary ice platforms on water surfaces, enabling traversal across rivers and lakes. This ability opens up new exploration routes that are inaccessible without it.

For players who want the visual look of the set without fighting Beloth, a cosmetic alternative called the Frostcursed Plate Helm can be found at Chattering Rocks, far north of Demeniss. It provides Daze Immunity but lacks the Frost Breath skill and the higher defensive stats of the true Plate Helm.

Finding the Remaining Armor Pieces

While the Plate Helm and Plate Gloves come from defeating Beloth, the other three Armor of the Shadows pieces are found through exploration in the frozen northern areas of Hernand. You do not need to fight any bosses to collect these, but some require specific abilities to access.

Plate Armor of the Shadows

Located in a small cave near the Everfrost Watchtower in the Argent Peaks. Enter the cave and look for an unlit brazier near an iron-spiked metal door. Light the brazier using any fire source to lower the spikes and open the passage. The armor is in the treasure chest inside.

Plate Cloak of the Shadows

Found at the Hoenmark Ruins. Navigate the blizzard-covered ruins and locate a snowy brick floor area on one of the rooftops (to the left side of the main ruins). Crouch on the loose brick panel and use the Force Palm skill to flip the panel open and reveal the treasure below. Remember that the blizzard deals constant cold damage, so equip warming gear or eat temperature-resistant food.

Plate Boots of the Shadows

Found inside Frostclaw Cave, located along the western river below Hernand near a massive waterfall. The cave entrance is hidden behind the waterfall. Use the Stab skill (R1 + Triangle) to lunge through the water barrier and enter the cave. The boots are inside a chest within the pitch-black ice cave.

Connection to the Main Story

House Lanford's faction quests build on the events of Chapter 6: Cracks in the Shield, which is the primary Calphade storyline in the main campaign. During Chapter 6, Kliff arrives in Calphade searching for his trusted ally Oongka, only to find the region under siege by Cassius Morten's rebel forces and the Black Bears. The chapter spans four main quests across the Calphadean Territory and Deepfog Basin: Blazing Beacon, Below the Banners, Turning Tides, and The Unyielding Shields. The campaign arc culminates in a boss fight against Cassius Morten at Calphade Castle, after which Kliff receives the Shield of Betrayal as a reward.

The White Blizzard faction quest chain picks up where Chapter 6 leaves off. While the main story resolves the siege of Calphade, the lingering dark presence at Hoenmark Ruins represents an unfinished threat. Beloth, the Darksworn appears to be connected to the supernatural forces that have plagued the northern reaches, and eliminating him provides closure for the region's security.

Related Quests and Characters

The House Lanford faction line intersects with several other quest lines and characters in the Hernand region.

Tips and Strategy

• Complete Chapter 6 first. There is no way to access the White Blizzard quest chain without finishing the Calphade siege storyline. Focus on pushing through the main story if you want to tackle House Lanford's faction content.

• Build Contribution early. Start completing House Lanford's repeatable faction tasks as soon as they become available after Chapter 6. The White Blizzard chain requires accumulated Contribution progress before it appears in your Journal.

• Collect the exploration armor pieces before fighting Beloth. The Plate Armor, Plate Cloak, and Plate Boots of the Shadows can all be collected without fighting the boss. Equipping them gives you better frost resistance and defense stats for the Beloth encounter.

• Stock up on Palmar Pills and warming food. The Hoenmark Ruins blizzard and Beloth's frost attacks both deal cold-based damage. Having a full inventory of healing items and warming food makes the difference between success and failure.

• Avoid flying enemies in the ruins. The Hoenmark Ruins area has flying enemies that patrol between you and the boss arena. Do not engage them; instead, run past them and head straight to the quest objective. Fighting them wastes health and resources you need for Beloth.

• Be patient during the Beloth fight. This boss punishes impatience. Land one or two hits per opening, dodge his red-flash attacks, and avoid panic rolling. The fight takes five to ten minutes even with solid gear.

• Use the Frost Breath skill after winning. The Plate Helm of the Shadows grants Frost Breath, which freezes water surfaces. Return to areas with rivers and lakes to discover new paths and hidden locations that were previously inaccessible.

• Consider the Frostcursed Plate Helm as a stepping stone. If Beloth is too difficult at your current level, the Frostcursed Plate Helm from Chattering Rocks (north of Demeniss) offers Daze Immunity and decent defensive stats. It can serve as a placeholder while you level up for the real fight.

Contribution Shop

Like every faction in Crimson Desert, House Lanford operates a dedicated Contribution Shop where you can spend Contribution Points earned from completing their quests. The shop offers faction-specific gear and items aligned with House Lanford's military aesthetic. As your Contribution level rises, higher-tier items become available for purchase. Reaching Alliance status with House Lanford unlocks the full shop inventory along with the other Alliance benefits such as allied troop support during ambushes and access to restricted resource nodes in the Calphade territory.

See Also

• House Lanford (faction overview)

• Factions (all factions in Crimson Desert)

• Hernand (region overview)

• Calphade (House Lanford's territory)

• Contribution System (faction reputation guide)

• Chapter 6: Cracks in the Shield (prerequisite main story chapter)

• Armor Sets (all armor sets in the game)