How to Lock on Targets

Overview

Crimson Desert's lock-on system works differently from most action RPGs. Rather than a traditional lock-on camera that follows an enemy's every movement, the system tracks the enemy you are facing and adjusts loosely. You still need to move the camera manually during fast fights. Understanding the two lock-on modes and the related camera settings makes a big difference in how combat feels, especially during boss fights.

Hard Lock-On (Toggle)

Hard lock-on fixes your targeting on a single specific enemy. A dotted circle with spiked lines appears around the target. The camera follows that enemy even if they move through a group of other combatants, which makes it easier to track fast targets like flanking enemies or airborne opponents.

Press the button once to toggle hard lock on. Press it again to release the lock. A white dot on the enemy closest to your position indicates which target will be selected when you press the button.

Temporary Lock-On (Guard Lock)

Holding the guard button raises your shield and simultaneously locks on to the nearest enemy. This is not a toggle; it stays active only while you hold the button. The visual indicator is a white dot inside a circle, distinct from the hard lock-on's spiked marker.

The guard lock has a unique behavior: your target automatically switches to the most recent enemy that attacks you. When you block an incoming hit, the camera shifts to that attacker. This makes it useful for reactive defense against groups, where the biggest threat is whoever is currently swinging at you.

Switching Targets

There is no dedicated "switch target" button in Crimson Desert. To change targets during hard lock-on, release the lock first, move until the white dot highlights the enemy you want, then press the lock-on button again. It takes a moment to readjust, which is the main tradeoff for the system's simplicity.

With guard lock, target switching happens automatically when a new enemy attacks you. This makes guard lock the better choice in group fights where you need to react to whoever is most dangerous at any given moment.

Auto Lock-On Setting

Crimson Desert includes an auto lock-on option in the settings menu. When enabled, the game automatically targets the nearest enemy when you enter combat. This saves you from pressing the lock-on button at the start of every fight.

Enable auto lock-on unless you specifically need manual target selection for encounters with many enemies where you want to pick a priority target yourself. For most standard combat and boss fights, auto lock-on reduces one step of busywork.

Camera Settings for Combat

The lock-on experience depends heavily on your camera settings. The defaults are functional but not ideal for combat-focused play. Here are the recommended adjustments:

Lock-On in Boss Fights

Boss fights are where the lock-on system matters most. Here is how to get the best results:

• Use hard lock-on for single bosses. When there is only one target, hard lock keeps the camera centered on the boss at all times, freeing you to focus on dodge timing and attack windows.

• Use guard lock for bosses with adds. If the boss summons minions, the guard lock's auto-switch behavior helps you react to whichever enemy is currently attacking. Block the minion's attack, the camera snaps to it, and you can counterattack quickly before returning focus to the boss.

• Parry with guard lock. Pressing guard just as an attack lands triggers a parry on many enemies and some bosses. The guard lock ensures you are facing the attacker, which is required for the parry to register.

• Invest in Stamina early. Guarding (and therefore guard lock) costs Stamina. In early boss fights, Stamina determines how long you can maintain your shield, which directly affects how much you can use the guard lock system. Abyss Artifacts that boost Stamina are a priority.

Tips

• First-person mode (press V on keyboard) can reveal environmental details during exploration, but switch back to third-person for combat. The lock-on system only works properly in third-person view.

• If the camera feels sluggish during lock-on, check that Camera Auto-Centering is not set to "Hard." That setting is the most common cause of camera fights.

• During multi-enemy fights, guard lock (hold guard) is generally better than hard lock. The automatic target switching reacts faster than you can manually release and re-lock.

• Against flying enemies, hard lock-on is essential. Without it, the camera drifts below the enemy and you lose visual tracking. See the flying enemies guide for more.

• The white dot indicator shows which enemy will be targeted before you press the lock button. Use this to plan your initial target in group fights.

• Adjust your sensitivity settings after 15 minutes of actual gameplay, not in the menus beforehand. What feels right standing still is different from what works in combat.

• The Combat System rewards deliberate play. Lock-on helps with tracking, but reading enemy patterns and timing your dodges is still more important than which lock mode you use.

Patch Update: Hard Lock-On Improvements

A recent patch reworked how hard lock-on behaves at distance and against the largest enemies in the game. Once you activate hard lock-on, the camera now stays consistent across far longer distances rather than dropping the lock the moment a target slips a few meters away. This was one of the biggest combat camera complaints, since previously you would commit to a long-range engagement and then lose lock at the worst possible moment.

The second change is that hard lock-on no longer applies to the very largest bosses. The reasoning is field of view: locking onto a building-sized boss would crank the camera so tight that you lost peripheral vision for telegraphed attacks. With lock-on disabled on those fights, you get a wider battlefield view and can react to environmental hazards and adds without fighting the camera.

For full controls, manual targeting, and target-switching, see How to Lock on Targets above.