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How to Dye Equipment
June 9, 2026 at 12:10 AM
Removed duplicate in-body wikilinks
The dyeing system in Crimson Desert lets players recolor armor, weapons, horse gear, and even their War Robot using collectible dyes. Each piece of equipment has multiple dyeable zones, so you can mix and match colors across the chest plate, leather straps, trim, buckles, and ornamental details of a single armor piece. Beyond color, you can also change the material finish to make gear look matte, metallic, worn, or polished.
Dyeing is introduced early in the game through a short quest chain given by Naira at the Greymane Camp. Once unlocked, the system stays available for the rest of the game. This guide covers every step: unlocking dyeing, acquiring dyes, applying them at a Dyehouse, and removing the regional color restriction by recruiting a personal dye merchant.
Dyeing becomes available through the Brightening the Spirits quest chain, which is part of the Scattered Embers questline at Howling Hill. The chain begins when an argument between Naira and Andrew triggers at camp. Speak to Naira to start the first step.
Gloomy Gray: After the argument, accompany Naira on horseback from the camp to Hernand Farmland.
lively Dye: Naira hands you crafting materials: 1 Rhinoceros Beetle, 1 Longhorn Beetle, and 10 Pink Rosemary. She asks you to craft a Bright Red Dye at a Cauldron. Travel to Hernand and find the Cauldron in the building just north of where the Rock, Paper, Scissors minigame is held (across the street from the back of the Tannery). Use the provided ingredients to craft the dye.
Apply and Return: Open your inventory and "Use" the crafted dye to learn it. Visit the Hernand Farmland Dyehouse, speak with the Dyer, pick any color, and apply it to your armor. Return to Naira at Howling Hill to complete the quest.
Completing the chain rewards a Grey Dye, which is exclusive to this quest and cannot be crafted or purchased elsewhere.
There are four ways to add new colors to your collection. Each method yields a dye item in your inventory. You must "Use" the dye from your inventory to learn it permanently before it becomes available at any Dyehouse. One dye bottle often unlocks multiple related shades of that color family.
Dyes are crafted at a Cauldron (not a regular cooking pot). The earliest accessible Cauldron is in Hernand, in the building just north of the Rock, Paper, Scissors minigame. All dye recipes follow the same base formula: 10 flowers plus a mix of insects.
Different flower types determine the color family. Pink flowers (Peony, Pink Rosemary, Begonia) produce reds and violets. Yellow flowers (Dunbaria, Marigold, Yellow Rosemary) produce yellows and oranges. White flowers (False Starwort, Snapdragon, Dendrobium Orchid) produce lighter tones. The types and quantities of beetles mixed in (Rhinoceros Beetle, Longhorn Beetle, Stag Beetle) adjust the richness and brightness of the resulting color.
Dye Example | Flowers | Insects |
|---|---|---|
10 Peony | ||
10 Dunbaria | 3 Beetle, 1 Longhorn Beetle, 2 Stag Beetle | |
10 Peony |
The Cauldron also has an Improvise function that lets you experiment with ingredient combinations outside of known recipes. This is useful for discovering new colors without looking up exact formulas.
For a full list of recipes and ingredients, see the All Dyes List article.
Regional Dyehouse NPCs sell a selection of dyes in addition to applying them. The first vendor you encounter is Theoric at the Hernand Farmland Dyehouse, located southeast of Hernand town near the river. Each regional vendor stocks dyes that match their region's color palette. Purchasing a dye and using it from your inventory unlocks that color at all Dyehouses where it is available.
Bottles of dye can be found as world loot in houses, shelves, and containers across Pywel. Most of the time these items belong to NPCs, which means picking them up counts as theft. To steal safely, equip a mask before entering the building. If you are caught stealing without a mask, your reputation in that area will drop.
Certain quests reward unique dyes that cannot be obtained any other way. The Brightening the Spirits quest chain, for example, rewards a Grey Dye upon completion. The Pure White Dye is another highly sought-after color that requires completing a specific questline.
After learning a dye by using it from your inventory, visit any Dyehouse to apply colors to your equipment. The process is straightforward.
Travel to a Dyehouse and speak to the Dyer NPC.
Select "Dye" from the interaction menu.
On the left side of the interface, choose the piece of equipment you want to recolor. You can dye armor, weapons, horse gear (barding and caparison), and War Robot parts.
On the right side, browse the available colors and select the one you want. Only colors you have learned will appear.
Select individual dyeable zones on the equipment piece. Armor typically has multiple zones: chest plate, leather straps, ornamental trim, buckles, frills, and lining. Simpler items may have only one or two zones.
Optionally adjust the material finish for each zone. Options include matte, metallic, worn, and polished finishes that change how the surface reflects light.
Preview the result, then press "Dye" to confirm. Pay the required Silver Coins to complete the transaction.
The cost in Silver varies depending on how many zones you recolor. A single-zone change costs very little, while a full overhaul across multiple sections of multiple equipment pieces will cost more. All transactions use Silver Coins.
The dye system covers most visible gear that Kliff wears or uses. There is no transmog system in Crimson Desert, so you cannot change an item's shape, only its color and material finish.
Dyeable | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
Armor (all slots) | Yes | Multiple dyeable zones per piece (chest plate, straps, trim, buckles, frills) |
Yes | Blade, hilt, and guard can often be colored separately | |
Horse Barding | Yes | The metal armor plates on your mount |
Horse Caparison | Yes | The cloth covering on your mount |
War Robot | Yes | Body panels and metallic sections can be painted |
No | Rings, earrings, and necklaces cannot be dyed |
There are ten Dye Specialists spread across the regions of Pywel. You can identify them by the brightly colored fabrics displayed outside their shops. Each Dyehouse can only apply dyes from its own region. For example, you cannot use a Hernandian Red dye at a Pailunese Dyehouse.
Region | Color Family | Notable NPC | How to Access |
|---|---|---|---|
Hernandian | Reds and warm tones | Available from the start; southeast of Hernand near the river | |
Demenissian | Purples and blues | Edmar / Linus | Multiple Dyehouses in Demeniss; opens after Chapter 8 main quests |
Pailunese | Teals | Laurick | Must liberate Pailune first; southern part of the city near the gate |
Calphadean | Regional specialty colors | Local Dyer | Available after reaching Calphade in the main story |
Pororin | Specialty dyes | Local Dyer | Accessible after arriving in the Pororin region |
Additional Dyehouse locations exist in Delesyia, Tommaso, and Varnia. To check whether you have visited a Dyehouse in a given region, open your map and look for the dye icon.
The regional color restriction is removed once you recruit Oliver to your Greymane Camp at Howling Hill. Oliver becomes available as a recruitable Greymane member through a rumor after your third camp expansion. Once recruited, he sets up a Dyehouse inside the camp that functions as a universal dye station.
At Oliver's Dyehouse, you can apply any color you have learned from any region. This eliminates the need to travel back to specific regional Dyehouses. To unlock a region's palette at the camp Dyehouse, you must have spoken to at least one Dyehouse NPC in that region. For example, speaking to Edmar in Demeniss unlocks all Demenissian colors at Oliver's shop.
Oliver also sells dyes directly, giving you another convenient source for expanding your collection without traveling to distant vendors.
Every dye belongs to a color family, and each family contains five shade variations: Bright, Rich, Standard, Dark, and Deep. Learning one dye in a family often unlocks access to multiple shades within that family at the Dyehouse.
Color Family | Shade Variations | Flower Base |
|---|---|---|
Red | Bright Red, Rich Red, Red, Dark Red, Deep Red | |
Violet | Bright Violet, Rich Violet, Violet, Dark Violet, Deep Violet | Peony / mixed |
Purple | Bright Purple, Rich Purple, Purple, Dark Purple, Deep Purple | Mixed flowers |
Blue | Bright Blue, Rich Blue, Blue, Dark Blue, Deep Blue | Mixed flowers |
Sky Blue | Bright Sky Blue to Deep Sky Blue | Mixed flowers |
Teal | Bright Teal, Rich Teal, Teal, Dark Teal, Deep Teal | Mixed flowers |
Green | Bright Green, Rich Green, Green, Dark Green, Deep Green | Mixed flowers |
Spring Green | Bright Spring Green to Deep Spring Green | Mixed flowers |
Yellow | Bright Yellow, Rich Yellow, Yellow, Dark Yellow, Deep Yellow | |
Bright Orange, Rich Orange, Orange, Dark Orange, Deep Orange | Yellow / mixed flowers |
Special dyes such as the Pure White Dye, Black Dye, Gold Dye, and the quest-exclusive Grey Dye fall outside the standard color families and are obtained through specific means.
Collect flowers in bulk. Every recipe requires 10 flowers, so gather them whenever you spot them in the open world. Pink Rosemary and Dunbaria are among the most common.
Stock up on beetles. Rhinoceros Beetles, Longhorn Beetles, and Stag Beetles are needed in varying quantities. You can find them near trees, logs, and grassy areas.
Use the Improvise function. If you do not have a specific recipe, throw 10 flowers and a handful of beetles into the Cauldron using Improvise. You may discover a new color without needing the exact formula.
Check recipe scrolls. The Cauldron location in Hernand has two recipe scroll icons on the minimap nearby. Picking up recipe scrolls in the world teaches you new dye formulas for the crafting menu.
Beetle ratios matter. The specific types and quantities of beetles you use affect whether the result is a bright, rich, dark, or deep shade. Experiment with different ratios to target specific variations.
Yes. You can revisit any Dyehouse and apply a different color over an existing one. There is no removal cost beyond paying for the new dye application. You can also revert individual zones to the equipment's default color.
Regional Dyehouses only display colors belonging to their region. If you learned a Pailunese Teal but are visiting the Hernandian Dyehouse, it will not appear. Visit a Dyehouse in the correct region, or use Oliver's camp Dyehouse, which shows all unlocked colors.
No. Crimson Desert does not currently have a transmog system. You cannot change the shape or model of an armor piece to look like a different one. The dye system only modifies color and material finish.
Yes. Horse barding, horse caparison, and War Robot body panels are all dyeable. The process is the same: select the item in the Dyehouse interface and apply your chosen color to each dyeable zone.
All Dyes List - Complete list of every dye in the game with recipes
Barber Shop and Dyehouse - Overview of customization NPCs
Pure White Dye - How to obtain the rare Pure White Dye
Alchemy and Crafting - Full crafting guide including Cauldron usage
Character Customization - Appearance options, tattoos, and hairstyles
Camp Expansion Guide - How to expand Howling Hill and recruit Oliver