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How to Use Item Abilities
March 29, 2026 at 03:05 PM
New article: guide to equipping and using item abilities via the Function Wheel
Some equipment in Crimson Desert has special abilities that can be activated during gameplay. Using these abilities requires a few steps that can feel unintuitive at first, since equipping an item and activating its ability are separate processes.
Equip the item: Open your gear quick menu and scroll to the Armed Combat or Armor tab. Select the item with a special ability and equip it.
Open the Function Wheel: Press Right on the D-pad (controller) or the assigned key on PC to bring up the Function Wheel.
Select the item: Cycle through the Function Wheel to find the item you equipped. When selected, the button prompt for its ability appears on screen.
Activate the ability: Exit the menu and press the displayed button prompt to use the item's ability.
Type | How It Works | How to Identify |
|---|---|---|
Active | Requires manual activation through the Function Wheel | Shows button prompts when selected in the wheel |
Passive | Works automatically while the item is equipped | No button prompts shown in the Function Wheel |
If an item shows no button prompts on the Function Wheel, it has a passive ability. Just keep it equipped and the bonus applies automatically.
Toggle through your gear menu to check which items have special abilities. The ability description appears in the item tooltip.
You can swap between items with abilities during combat using the Function Wheel, but this pauses your action briefly.
Some quest items have one-time abilities that are consumed on use. Check the description before activating.
