Overview
The Blackstar is the dragon mount in Crimson Desert, a massive flying wyvern that grants full aerial traversal and devastating fire-based combat abilities. It is the single most powerful mount in the game and one of the most memorable rewards in the main story. Unlocking the Blackstar requires completing a specific Chapter 11 main quest, and it cannot be obtained any earlier through side content, exploration, or purchase.
This guide walks through every step of the process, from your first encounter with the dragon to the moment it becomes your permanent mount. If you are wondering how far you need to play before you can fly, the short answer is roughly 50 to 60 hours into the main story, depending on how much side content you do along the way.
Prerequisites
Before you can unlock the Blackstar, you need to meet the following requirements:
Complete Chapters 1 through 10 of the main story. The dragon is strictly story-locked. There are no shortcuts or alternative paths.
Reach Chapter 11. The unlock happens during the Chapter 11 questline titled "Truth and Reality."
Have Stamina at Level 5 or higher. You need sufficient Stamina to control the Blackstar once it becomes available.
Expect to invest around 50 hours if you focus primarily on the main quest, or significantly more if you pursue side quests, horse taming, crafting, and exploration along the way.
Story Progression to the Dragon
Your path to the Blackstar involves two major story beats across Chapters 9 and 11. Here is the full timeline:
Chapter 9: First Encounter
During the Chapter 9: The Sage of the Desert questline, you encounter the Blackstar for the first time. The dragon appears during the Shattered Stars quest chain, where you witness its power firsthand. During a cutscene, Kliff pulls a spear from the wounded Blackstar. This is a scripted narrative moment, and you cannot ride or control the dragon at this point.
Shortly after this encounter, you travel to Urdavah, where the Blackstar appears a second time. Again, this is a story sequence. The game is building the relationship between Kliff and the dragon, but you still do not have access to it as a mount.
Chapters 10 to 11: Building Toward the Unlock
Chapter 10 focuses on the ATAG Mech and the defense of Gorthak with the Ironflame Orcs. The Blackstar does not appear during this chapter. Once you complete Chapter 10 and move into Chapter 11, the story shifts back to the dragon plotline.
Chapter 11: Unlocking the Blackstar
The Blackstar is permanently unlocked during the "Foreboding Shadow: Whispers in the Wind" main quest in Chapter 11. Here is the step-by-step process:
Progress through Chapter 11 until you reach the "Foreboding Shadow" questline.
Follow the quest objectives, which lead you to the Nest of Valor location that you previously visited during Chapter 9.
Defeat the boss encounter at the end of the Foreboding Shadow questline.
After depleting the boss's health, a cutscene plays where the Blackstar swoops in to aid Kliff.
When you return to the Nest of Valor after the cutscene, the Blackstar becomes your permanent dragon mount.
This unlock is unmissable. The acquisition happens automatically during a cutscene in the main quest. It is impossible to accidentally skip or fail the unlock. Every player who completes the Chapter 11 main quest will obtain the Blackstar.
Unlock Timeline
Chapter | Event | Can You Ride the Dragon? |
|---|---|---|
Chapter 9: The Sage of the Desert | First encounter with the Blackstar during the Shattered Stars quest chain. Kliff removes a spear from the wounded dragon. | No |
Chapter 9 (continued) | Second encounter at Urdavah. The Blackstar appears again in a story sequence. | No |
Chapter 10: Counterattack | No dragon involvement. Focus shifts to the ATAG and Gorthakdefense. | No |
Chapter 11: Truth and Reality | Complete the Foreboding Shadow: Whispers in the Wind quest. Defeat the boss. Blackstar permanently joins. | Yes (permanently) |
How to Use the Blackstar After Unlocking
Summoning
To summon the Blackstar, hold H on keyboard or hold D-Pad Down on controller to open the mount wheel. Select the Dragon using the right stick (controller) or mouse (keyboard). The Blackstar will descend from the sky and land near you.
Duration and Cooldown
The Blackstar stays active for approximately 15 minutes of real time after being summoned. Once the timer expires, it flies away and enters a 50-minute real-time cooldown. Both the duration and cooldown are measured in real-world minutes, not in-game time. There is currently no way to extend the active duration or reduce the cooldown.
Because of this strict limitation, treat every summon as a strategic decision. Do not call the dragon for trivial travel when a horse will do. Save your dragon time for major battles, world bosses, and situations where aerial superiority provides a decisive advantage.
Combat Abilities
The Blackstar has two primary attacks. See the Mounted Combat Guide for full combat details.
Ability | Input (Controller) | Input (Keyboard) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Fireball | R1 | Left-Click | Fires a single fireball projectile. Quick and accurate against single targets. Consumes stamina. |
Fire Breath | R2 | Right-Click | Sustained stream of fire that deals continuous damage across an area. Spreads the Burn status effect to clustered enemies. Consumes stamina. |
Barrel Roll | Double-tap Dodge | Double-tap Dodge | Evasive mid-air roll. Grants invulnerability during the animation. Use it to dodge incoming projectiles. |
Stamina regenerates even while airborne, so you do not need to land to recharge between attacks. However, extended Fire Breath will drain your stamina quickly, so alternate between Fireball volleys and brief Breath passes to maintain a steady rhythm.
Flight Controls
The Blackstar handles differently from ground mounts. Use the camera to control altitude: look up while moving forward to climb, look down to dive. The dragon can reach any altitude and fly across the entire continent of Pywel. Diving sharply increases speed, which can be useful for repositioning or making aggressive attack runs.
Where You Can (and Cannot) Use the Dragon
The Blackstar can be summoned and used anywhere in the open world of Pywel. However, it cannot be used inside the Abyss realm. If you enter the Abyss while the dragon is active, it will be dismissed automatically.
Other Dragon and Wyvern Mounts
The Blackstar is the first dragon mount you obtain, but it is not the only flying reptile in the game. Several other wyvern and drake variants can be found later:
Mount | How to Obtain | Special Trait |
|---|---|---|
Blackstar (Abyssal Dragon) | Chapter 11 main quest (Foreboding Shadow) | The primary dragon mount with Fireball and Fire Breath |
Rare spawn in Volcanic Rifts | Creates fire hazard zones on the ground | |
Tamed atop Tesla Ruins during storms | Lightning breath with chain damage |
All flying mounts share the same 15-minute active duration and 50-minute cooldown. Each has slightly different combat abilities, but the Blackstar remains the most powerful overall due to its higher combat stats and Fireball lock-on capability.
Why the Dragon Is Locked to Chapter 11
Pearl Abyss intentionally gates the dragon mount behind dozens of hours of story progression. The design reasoning is straightforward: the world of Pywel is packed with hidden corners, secrets, caves, and exploration content that is only discoverable on foot or via ground mounts. If players had a flying mount from the start, they would bypass all of that content by flying over it.
By placing the dragon near the end of the main story, the developers ensure that players experience the world at ground level first. By the time you unlock the Blackstar, you have already explored most of the map on horseback and on foot, so the flying mount becomes a reward for your investment rather than a shortcut that undermines the exploration design.
Tips
Do not rush the main story just for the dragon. Chapters 1 through 10 contain some of the best content in the game. Enjoy the journey.
Upgrade your Stamina before Chapter 11. You need Stamina Level 5 or higher to ride the Blackstar effectively. Make sure you meet this requirement before reaching the unlock quest.
Save your first summon for something memorable. Your first dragon ride is one of the most exciting moments in the game. Do not waste it on a routine travel errand.
Plan around the cooldown. The 50-minute cooldown is substantial. If you know a major battle or boss fight is coming, hold off on using the dragon until then.
Combine dragon attacks with ground follow-up. Soften enemies with Fire Breath from the air, then land and finish them off on foot or horseback for maximum efficiency.
Naram's Horn: Skip the Cooldown
After unlocking the dragon, you will quickly run into its one-hour real-time cooldown between summons. The game provides a way around this through Naram's Horn, a witch-crafted item that fully refreshes the cooldown. The full ingredient chain and blueprint source are documented on the Dragon Mount page, but the short version is: feathers, stallite, and Dragon Claw Horn from the Tinkerton Dig Site dispatch.