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Overview
Kliff MacDuff is the main protagonist of Crimson Desert and leader of the Greymanes mercenary band. He is the son of Martinus and was introduced at G-STAR 2019 as "Macduff, son of Martinus." Kliff is the only character who can progress the main story. He has the widest weapon variety of all three playable characters and access to the Axiom Bracelet for elemental magic.
Background
The Greymanes served under the great leader Gian, who unified the northern region of Pailune and maintained peace. The Black Bears, led by Myurdin, ambushed and killed Gian, scattering the Greymanes across Pywel. Kliff starts at his lowest point: comrades dead or scattered, barely any abilities, forced to rebuild from nothing.
Weapons
Kliff has access to the widest range of weapons in the game. His inventory shows two weapon slots, meaning he can equip two weapons at a time and swap between them seamlessly mid-combat using the equipment wheel.
Melee weapons
Item | Details |
|---|---|
Sword and shield | Balanced default loadout with parry chains, overhead slams, and defensive counters. |
Greatsword | Heavy two-handed weapon with wide sweeping AoE attacks. |
Spear | Superior reach, thrust attacks, and wind blast attacks. Best for maintaining distance. |
Dual-wield blades -- Confirmed in the Features Overview #2 trailer. A pair of blades with different curvature, suggesting mix-and-match combinations may be possible. The emphasis is on rapid slicing chains with graceful, flowing attacks. | -- |
Longsword | Versatile single blade. The Sielos Longsword is a named variant from the Ultimate Pack. |
Pitchfork | Confirmed as a usable weapon, suggesting improvised and environmental weapons exist. |
Ranged weapons
Bow -- Multiple ammo types (standard, explosive, freezing, lightning-wreathed, artillery whistling, fire barrage). Archery builds are viable through the progression system. Elemental infusion via Axiom Bracelet.
Arquebus / Musket -- Firearm for ranged follow-ups after melee combos.
Bare-handed combat
Bare hands have their own damage stat in the inventory screen, suggesting an upgradeable unarmed path for players who want to specialize in bare-knuckle fighting. Unarmed combat is not a fallback -- it is a deliberate playstyle with a full moveset:
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Clothesline | Swing your arm into an enemy's face, knocking them to the ground. |
Shoulder tackle | Rush forward and slam into an enemy, sending them flying. |
Choke slam | Grab an enemy by the throat and slam them into the ground. |
Back breaker | A devastating grapple that breaks an enemy over Kliff's knee. |
Knee lift to thrust kick | A knee strike that can be extended into a full thrust kick for knockback. |
Rapid punches | A flurry of rapid-fire punches. GamingBolt compared this to Star Platinum's barrage from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. |
Unarmed strikes blend seamlessly with armed combat. Throw a punch between sword swings, kick an enemy to create distance, or chain grapples into weapon follow-ups. See Combat system for how these systems interconnect.
Elemental magic
The Axiom Bracelet channels elemental power through a dial interface visible in gameplay. Five elements have been confirmed:
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Fire | Burning damage over time. Can be applied to weapons or cast as AoE fields. |
Ice | Freezing and slowing effects. Crowd control oriented. |
Lightning | Area-of-effect stun and shock. Can fell multiple clumped-up enemies at once. |
Wind | Provides a quick air lift that launches Kliff into the air. From the elevated position, land on a mass of enemies with a dive kick -- the impact sends them flying. Wind is a mobility-enhancing element. |
Nature | Leaves brief after-images under attacks. The visual effect suggests phantom strikes or lingering hitboxes that extend the reach of each attack. |
Skill learning
Kliff can learn skills through multiple discovery-based methods, tied to the knowledge system:
Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
Hologram observation | Discovering holograms of individuals performing techniques teaches Kliff the skill. A hologram demonstrating the Force Palm was shown in the Features Overview #2 trailer, with Kliff picking up the ability after watching it. |
Mid-combat learning from enemies -- Kliff can learn new skills during combat from enemies who use them. The example shown was a flying belly flop attack used by an enemy. After witnessing it, Kliff adds the technique to his own repertoire. This is not limited to passive observation -- it happens in the heat of battle. | -- |
NPC observation | Watching NPCs perform activities (fishing, martial arts demonstrations) teaches those skills. |
Skill tree
The skill menu shows skill trees for each playable character. In the Features Overview #2 trailer, a node for increasing stamina was visible, alongside an "enhance" button and a "reset stats" button. The reset stats function allows redistributing Abyss Artifacts at any time, enabling flexible build crafting with no penalty. See Artifacts for the full respec system.
Traversal
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Crow Wings | Wraith-like wings for gliding, gifted by White Crow the Witch. Kliff is the only character confirmed with this specific traversal gadget. |
Climbing | Standard stamina-based climbing on mountains and structures. |
Grappling hook | Dual-purpose for combat (chain grapples, momentum attacks) and traversal (gap crossing, reaching elevated areas). |
All mount types | Horses, bears, raptors, wolves, dragons, battle mech, and hot air balloons. See Mounts. |
Role
Kliff is the generalist. He can adapt to any encounter, which makes him the most versatile character. Only Kliff can progress the main story. Damiane and Oongka are available for open-world exploration and side content after being recruited.