Overview
The Refinement Token is a key item added to Crimson Desert in Patch 1.01.00, released by Pearl Abyss on March 28, 2026. It allows players to advance a weapon, shield, or armor piece up to Stage 4 refinement without spending the usual tempering materials such as Iron Ore, Copper Ore, Thin Hide, or Timber. The first variant introduced is the Hernand Refinement Token, which can only be redeemed at the blacksmith Turnali in central Hernand.
Pearl Abyss added the token as part of the broader 1.01.00 quality of life pass that also brought five new summonable mounts, flight stamina rework, faster shop knowledge acquisition, and immediate mining and lumber collection. The token is meant as an early boost so that newer players, returning veterans, and anyone who held off on upgrades during early chapters can catch up on basic gear power without grinding for ores and hides. The endgame economy is untouched: refinement past Stage 4 still requires standard materials and Abyss Artifacts.
Refinement Tokens are stored in the key item section of the inventory, so they do not count against carry weight or normal slot limits. They are region-bound: a Hernand Refinement Token can only be used in Hernand, and future regional variants are expected to follow the same restriction.
What It Does
From the official 1.01.00 patch notice: equipment can be tempered up to Stage 4 without consuming any additional materials when using a Refinement Token. The token replaces the normal material cost of one refinement attempt at Stage 1, 2, or 3, pushing the gear to the next stage at no resource cost.
Property | Detail |
|---|---|
Stage range | Stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 only. The token cannot upgrade equipment beyond Stage 4. |
Material cost | None. The token bypasses ores, hides, timber, and other common refinement materials. |
Abyss Artifact cost | Not applicable at Stages 1 to 4. Abyss Artifacts only become required for refinement at Stage 5 and above. |
Inventory impact | Stored as a key item. Does not occupy normal inventory slots. |
Region restriction | Hernand Refinement Tokens can only be redeemed at Turnali in Hernand. |
Eligible equipment | Most weapons, shields, and armor pieces. A small number of armor sets cannot be refined at all (for example, parts of the Frostcursed Armor set). |
Once a piece of gear reaches Stage 4, the Refinement Token tab disappears from the blacksmith's tempering sidebar. From that point forward the player must use ordinary refinement materials, and starting at Stage 5 the system also begins demanding Abyss Artifacts.
How to Obtain
Refinement Tokens come from a small number of sources, all centered on completing content in the region they are tied to. For Hernand Refinement Tokens, that means main and faction quests located in or related to Hernand.
Source | How It Works |
|---|---|
Main quests in Hernand | Selected main story missions tied to the Hernand region award Hernand Refinement Tokens on completion. Check the Rewards preview in the Journal before turning a quest in. |
Faction quests in Hernand | Several faction questlines based out of Hernand grant tokens as part of their reward bundles. |
Retroactive login reward | Players who completed the qualifying Hernand quests before patch 1.01.00 launched receive a one-time stack of Hernand Refinement Tokens by mail or login reward after updating the game. |
Existing save files | Veteran players should check their key item inventory and mailbox the first time they log in after the update. |
The patch notes do not list cash shop, dispatch, or weekly challenge sources, so for now Refinement Tokens come exclusively from main story, faction quests, and the one-time retroactive grant.
How to Use
Spending a Refinement Token at the blacksmith is a quick six-step process:
Travel to Hernand. Use any fast travel point in or near the city to save time.
Locate Turnali, the Hernand blacksmith. He is in central Hernand near Rhett's equipment shop. Look for the anvil icon on the minimap.
Interact with Turnali and select the Refinement option from his services menu.
Choose the weapon, shield, or armor piece you want to upgrade. The piece must currently be below Stage 4.
On the refinement screen, the tempering method sidebar shows three tabs: Refinement Materials, Same Equipment, and Refinement Token. Select the Refinement Token tab.
Press the confirm key (Space on PC, the equivalent button on console) to spend one token and refine the piece by one stage.
Repeat for each stage you want to skip ahead. Once the gear reaches Stage 4, the Refinement Token tab vanishes and you switch back to material-based refinement.
Tempering Stages
Crimson Desert's Weapon Refinement system upgrades equipment through progressive stages. Each stage adds a fixed amount of base attack power to weapons or base defense to armor. The Refinement Token only covers the first four stages.
Stage | Standard Cost | Token Eligible |
|---|---|---|
Stage 1 | Small amounts of Iron Ore, Copper Ore, Thin Hide, or Timber depending on the equipment type. | Yes |
Stage 2 | Same materials as Stage 1, in larger quantities. | Yes |
Stage 3 | Continued material scaling. | Yes |
Stage 4 | Final stage that uses ordinary tempering materials. | Yes (this is the maximum stage the token can reach) |
Stage 5 and beyond | Materials plus Abyss Artifacts. Each upgrade is a meaningful resource decision because Abyss Artifacts are also used to unlock skills. | No. The Refinement Token tab disappears once gear reaches Stage 4. |
Tips
A few practical guidelines for getting the most out of Refinement Tokens:
Spend tokens on your main loadout. Because they only work up to Stage 4, reserve tokens for the weapon, shield, and armor you actually use, not spare pieces.
Check your mailbox immediately after patching to 1.01.00. Veterans who already finished Hernand content get a retroactive stack of Hernand Refinement Tokens as a login reward.
Inspect quest rewards in the Journal before abandoning anything in Hernand. Tokens are tied to specific main and faction quests.
Travel to the origin region before redeeming. Hernand Refinement Tokens are useless outside Hernand because no other blacksmith accepts them.
Do not waste tokens on unrefineable gear. A small number of armor sets, including parts of the Frostcursed Armor, cannot be refined at all.
Save ordinary materials for Stage 5 and beyond. Using tokens for Stages 1 to 4 preserves Iron Ore, Copper Ore, Thin Hide, and Timber for the post-Stage 4 grind, where you will also need Abyss Artifacts.
Related Articles
Weapon Refinement, Weapons, Armor, Turnali, Hernand, Abyss Artifacts, Patch 1.01.00, Faction Quests.