Overview
Putrid Touch is an Abyss Gear item in Crimson Desert obtained by defeating Skevald, the Carrion King. When socketed into equipment via a Witch vendor, Putrid Touch enhances the Clothesline skill with a poison effect, injecting venom into enemies and dealing damage over time. It is one of the Abyss Gear rewards tied to the legendary animal and boss challenge system.
Property | Value |
|---|---|
Name | Putrid Touch |
Type | |
Effect | Enhances Clothesline with poison; injects poison for damage over time |
Stat | Press Skill 17 to subdue an enemy, consume additional Stamina to use Item Skill |
Source | |
Location | Bounty quest from Tommaso |
How to Obtain
Putrid Touch is obtained by defeating Skevald, the Carrion King, a legendary hyena boss. Skevald's bounty quest, "Lords of Unclaimed Lands," is found on a bounty notice board in Tommaso. Unlike most legendary animal encounters, this quest has no faction prerequisites. Simply find and examine the bounty notice in Tommaso to begin the hunt.
After picking up the bounty, equip your Lantern and follow the golden trail to Skevald's den. The Carrion King inhabits a hyena den east of Tashkalp. The quest auto-activates when you enter the upper-right portion of the map near the bounty area.
The Carrion King Boss Fight
Skevald is one of the toughest legendary animal encounters in the game. The fight takes place in three stages, and Skevald is protected by a pack of lesser hyenas throughout.
Stage 1: Pack Defense
The fight begins with Skevald surrounded by hyena pack members. Focus on clearing the smaller hyenas first to reduce incoming damage. Skevald will use basic charge and bite attacks during this phase.
Stage 2: Poison Gas
At roughly half health, Skevald enters his signature phase. He begins shrouding the arena in a red poison gas that slowly drains your health as long as you remain inside it. This AoE (area of effect) mechanic forces you to keep moving and makes the fight significantly harder. Recovery items like Braised Meat and Meat Skewers are essential to counteract the health drain.
Stage 3: Enraged
In the final stage, Skevald combines his aggressive physical attacks with the lingering poison gas. He becomes faster and more aggressive, chaining attacks rapidly. Bring plenty of healing items and be prepared for a prolonged fight.
Combat Strategy
Fire damage: Fire is extremely effective. When hit by fire attacks, Skevald will drop to the ground and roll, giving you free damage windows. Flame Strike is the recommended skill.
Stock healing items: The poison gas drains health continuously. Bring at least 10 Braised Meat or equivalent recovery items.
Kill the pack first: Eliminate the lesser hyenas early so you can focus on Skevald without taking chip damage from multiple sources.
Stay mobile: Do not stand in the red gas. Circle the arena and attack during safe windows between gas clouds.
Poison Enhancement
When socketed into your equipment, Putrid Touch adds a poison injection effect to the Clothesline skill. Clothesline is a close-range assault ability that knocks enemies to the ground. With Putrid Touch equipped, each Clothesline hit also applies a poison debuff that deals damage over time. This combination is particularly effective in prolonged fights because the poison continues ticking while you reposition or dodge.
To socket Putrid Touch, visit any Witch vendor in the game and select the equipment piece you want to embed it into. Witches can also remove Abyss Gears from equipment if you want to transfer Putrid Touch to a different item later.
Related Articles
Abyss Gear - How abyss gears work, including socketing and upgrading
Clothesline - The skill enhanced by Putrid Touch
Legendary Animals - Complete guide to all 24 legendary creatures
Hunting Challenges - Challenges involving legendary animals
Community Tier List Rating (Putrid Touch)
A community tier list of every Abyss Gear published by a Crimson Desert content creator scores each gear out of 30 across three axes (damage, usability, utility), each rated to 10. Scores of 25 and above land in S tier.
Axis | Score | Note |
|---|---|---|
Damage | 9 / 10 | High and almost always hits its expected number, no inconsistency penalty. |
Usability | 8 / 10 | Easy to land, works with a shielded off-hand, slots into existing heavy-attack builds without changes. |
Utility | 8 / 10 | Strong burst frame, combines with Colossal Might for a stacked glove loadout. |
Total | 25 / 30 | S Tier |
The summary puts Putrid Touch into S tier specifically because it is the more consistent partner to Colossal Might. Both gears share the heavy unarmed punch trigger and can be slotted side by side in a glove-focused loadout that covers both ceiling and floor: Colossal Might for the burst spikes, Putrid Touch for the reliable connects. The community recommendation is to run them together if both gloves are available.
Putrid Touch is also called out as friendly to shield play because the heavy punch input does not occupy the off-hand. Players running Damiane with a shield can still rotate into the heavy punch on demand, while Kliff players using Unarmed Combat loops will see the gear fire on every hard hit in the chain.