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How to Respec Skills
March 27, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Fixed 7 broken wikilinks: faded-abyss-artifact -> faded-abyss-artifacts, abyss-artifacts -> abyss-artifact, artifacts -> artifacts-and-abyss-fragments, exploration-traversal -> exploration-and-traversal, abyss-artifacts -> abyss-artifact, faded-abyss-artifact -> faded-abyss-artifacts, abyss-artifacts -> abyss-artifact
Resetting your skills in Crimson Desert is not free. Each reset consumes one Faded Abyss Artifact of the game. There is no currency cost, no cooldown, and no penalty for respeccing. Every Abyss Artifact you spent on skill upgrades is refunded immediately when you reset, and you can reassign those points right away.
While the system does require a consumable item, Faded Abyss Artifacts are accessible enough that the game still encourages experimentation. You can try different builds and playstyles without worrying too much about wasted resources.
Open the Skills Menu from the pause screen.
Navigate to the skill tree section.
Look for the Reset All button in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Press the corresponding button to confirm the reset.
All Abyss Artifacts you previously invested in skill upgrades are returned to your inventory. You can immediately spend them again on different skills.
The reset only affects skills that were unlocked or upgraded by spending Abyss Artifacts. When you hit Reset All, every artifact you spent comes back. This includes points invested in:
Spirit Skills (Force Palm tree)
Passive abilities and stat upgrades
Any skill that required Abyss Artifacts as a cost
Not everything resets when you use the Reset All function. The following are permanent and unaffected by respeccing:
Category | Details |
|---|---|
Observed Skills | Skills learned by watching NPCs perform moves in the open world. These are unlocked through observation, not Abyss Artifacts, and stay with you permanently. |
Weapon Mastery Progress | Your proficiency with each weapon type is tied to usage, not skill points. Respeccing does not reduce your mastery level. |
Story and Exploration Progress | Quest completions, map discoveries, collectibles, and story advancement are unaffected. |
The distinction between purchased skills and observed skills is the most important thing to understand about respeccing. If you learned a skill by watching an NPC demonstrate it out in the world, that skill is yours forever. Only the skills you bought with Abyss Artifacts can be refunded.
You cannot reset a single skill. The only option is Reset All, which refunds every Abyss Artifact skill at once. If you want to change just one skill, you still have to reset everything and then re-purchase the skills you want to keep.
This is a minor inconvenience at most, since you just need one Faded Abyss Artifact to reset. Just take a moment to re-allocate your points after each reset.
Because respeccing only costs one Faded Abyss Artifact per reset and has no cooldown, you can respec frequently. Here are some situations where a reset makes sense:
New gear: If you find a weapon that favors a different playstyle, respec to complement it.
Tough boss: Some bosses are easier with specific skill loadouts. Reset before a hard fight and rebuild around whatever gives you the best advantage.
New story abilities: As you unlock new characters and combat options through the story, your old build may no longer be optimal.
Experimentation: Curious about a skill you have never tried? Reset, try it out, and reset again if you do not like it.
Spend your Abyss Artifacts freely. Do not hoard them thinking you might need them later. Since respeccing only costs a Faded Abyss Artifact (available from witch vendors for about 2.85 silver each, or craftable from Chapter 4 onward), there is no reason to be cautious with skill point allocation.
After respeccing, double-check your quick menu and equipped abilities. Some abilities may be unequipped when you reset.
If you are stuck on a boss, try respeccing into a defensive build with more health and stamina upgrades. You can always switch back to an offensive build afterward.
Observed skills remain after a reset, so prioritize seeking out NPCs who teach special moves through observation. Those skills are permanent additions to your toolkit.
Save your game before respeccing if you want to compare two builds side by side. Load the save to try the second build without needing to reset again.
Faded Abyss Artifacts are the consumable item required to reset your skills. Each reset costs exactly one Faded Abyss Artifact. You can obtain them from witch vendors found throughout Pywel (about 2.85 silver each, with 3 available per vendor), by crafting them after learning the recipe in Chapter 4 at Scholastone, or as quest rewards. Stock up on a few before you experiment with builds. Do not confuse them with the standard Abyss Artifacts that you spend on skill upgrades.
