How Long to Beat Crimson Desert
Crimson Desert is a large open-world action RPG with a sprawling main story and hundreds of hours of side content. The time it takes to beat the game depends heavily on how much optional content you engage with.
Playtime Estimates
Playstyle | Estimated Hours | What's Included |
|---|---|---|
Main Story Only | 50 to 80 hours | Completing the Prologue, 12 main chapters, and Epilogue with minimal detours. |
Main Story + Side Content | 100 to 180 hours | Main story plus side quests, exploration, faction quests, cooking, crafting, and moderate boss hunting. |
Completionist | 150+ hours | Everything: all quests, all achievements/trophies, all bosses, all collectibles, and full map exploration. |
Why the Range Is So Wide
The wide range in estimates reflects the game's design. Crimson Desert does not scale enemy difficulty to your level, so players who skip side content will encounter much steeper difficulty spikes during the main story. Most players naturally end up engaging with a significant amount of side content just to stay strong enough for later chapters.
Additionally, some chapters lack fast travel points along the main quest path, forcing you to go off the beaten trail just to activate teleporters. This naturally adds exploration time even for players trying to focus exclusively on the story.
Content Scale
The world of Pywel is packed with content:
Content Type | Amount |
|---|---|
Main Story Quest Steps | 168 |
Total Quests (including side content) | 430+ |
76 | |
467 | |
Territories | 573 |
110 | |
29 |
Chapter Structure
The main story spans a Prologue, 12 chapters, and an Epilogue. For a detailed breakdown of each chapter, see the Game Progress Route guide. This summary lists the chapter titles:
Chapter | Title |
|---|---|
Prologue | Dead of Night |
Chapter 1 | The First Encounter |
Chapter 2 | Golden Greed |
Chapter 3 | |
Chapter 4 | The Price of Knowledge |
Chapter 5 | Guest Unbidden |
Chapter 6 | Cracks in the Shield |
Chapter 7 | Homecoming |
Chapter 8 | |
Chapter 9 | |
Chapter 10 | |
Chapter 11 | Truth and Reality |
Chapter 12 | |
Epilogue | Journey's End |
Chapter 9 (The Sage of the Desert) is the longest chapter, with six arcs: The Calling, Shattered Ties, Thinning Blade, Six Statues and the Beast, Veiled Witch, and Enlightenment.
Estimated Time per Section
These estimates assume a balanced playthrough that mixes main story progression with moderate side content and exploration:
Section | Estimated Hours |
|---|---|
Prologue | 1 to 2 |
Chapters 1 to 3 | 10 to 15 |
Chapters 4 to 6 | 15 to 25 |
Chapters 7 to 9 | 20 to 30 |
Chapters 10 to 12 | 10 to 15 |
Epilogue | 2 to 3 |
Tips for Faster Completion
Follow the orange markers on your map to stay on the main quest path.
Activate Abyss Nexus fast travel points as soon as you find them to reduce backtracking.
Sell loot frequently to afford better equipment, which speeds up combat encounters.
Use cooking to prepare healing meals before boss fights so you do not have to retry as often.
Skip optional content only if you are confident your gear and skills can handle the upcoming story missions.
Tips for a Thorough Playthrough
Take your time between chapters to explore each region thoroughly.
Complete Request quests and faction quests for additional story context and strong equipment rewards.
Build NPC trust with merchants to unlock trade agreements that centralize shopping at your camp.
Check the Beginner's Guide and Game Progress Route for recommended progression strategies.
Comparison to Other Open-World RPGs
Game | Completionist | |
|---|---|---|
50 to 80 hours | 150+ hours | |
Elden Ring | 50 to 60 hours | 130+ hours |
The Witcher 3 | 50 to 70 hours | 170+ hours |
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 50 to 60 hours | 170+ hours |
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | 50 to 60 hours | 150+ hours |
Crimson Desert sits comfortably among the largest open-world RPGs in terms of content volume. Its main story is on the longer end, and the completionist route provides well over 150 hours of gameplay.