Stats

Overview

Crimson Desert does not use a traditional experience-point leveling system. Instead, character power is determined by three interconnected layers: primary resource stats (Health, Stamina, and Spirit), equipment stats provided by weapons and armor, and passive modifiers from Abyss Cores slotted into gear. Primary stats are upgraded by spending Abyss Artifacts on dedicated dials in the skill tree, while secondary stats come from equipment refinement, core socketing, and certain passive skills.

All primary stat upgrades are shared across all playable characters. Increasing Health, Stamina, or Spirit on Kliff's skill tree also applies those upgrades to Oongka and Damiane. This means players only need to invest once per stat level regardless of which character they are currently controlling.

Primary Stats

The three primary stats function as resource pools that are consumed during combat and exploration. Each stat is displayed on the HUD near the minimap and has its own upgrade track within the skill tree.

Health

Health represents the total hit points a character can sustain before being defeated. The Health bar is displayed as a red gauge at the bottom-left corner of the screen near the minimap. When Health reaches zero, the character dies and must respawn at the nearest checkpoint or campsite.

Health is restored primarily through food. Cooked meals provide significantly more healing than raw ingredients. For example, Grilled Meat restores roughly 80 Health per use, and players can consume food freely during combat without a cooldown restriction. For extended boss encounters, carrying a large supply of cooked food (100 or more servings) is strongly recommended. Resting at a campfire also fully restores Health.

Health can be upgraded up to 18 times through the red dial (marked with a cube icon) on the right edge of the skill tree. Each upgrade costs Abyss Artifacts, with the cost increasing progressively at higher levels. Reaching Health Level 4 early in the game is a commonly recommended benchmark because it provides enough survivability to handle the first major boss encounters.

Stamina

Stamina is the most versatile resource in the game. It governs a wide range of actions: sprinting, dodging, climbing, swimming, blocking, gliding with the Crow's Wing, performing heavy attacks (R2/RT), and executing most melee skills. The Stamina gauge appears next to the character model during activities that consume it.

Normal light attacks do not consume Stamina, which is an important distinction. Only heavy strikes, special skills, and movement actions drain the bar. Blocking incoming attacks drains Stamina proportional to the damage absorbed, and if Stamina is fully depleted while blocking, the character staggers and becomes momentarily vulnerable.

Stamina regenerates passively over time when not performing stamina-consuming actions. Certain Abyss Cores, food buffs, and passive skills can increase the regeneration rate.

Stamina can be upgraded up to 16 times through the blue dial (marked with a wolf icon) at the top of the skill tree. Most guides recommend prioritizing Stamina upgrades first because nearly all defensive and traversal actions depend on it. Reaching Stamina Level 4 before tackling difficult content is a widely cited early-game goal.

Spirit

Spirit is the resource consumed by powerful special abilities such as Palm Strike and other Force Palm techniques. Unlike Stamina, Spirit does not regenerate passively on its own during normal gameplay.

The primary method of restoring Spirit is attacking enemies. Landing hits on opponents gradually refills the Spirit gauge, which creates an aggressive combat loop where players must stay on the offensive to maintain access to their most powerful abilities. Spirit can also be recharged manually by pressing L3+R3 on controllers (or the X key on PC), and certain consumable items restore Spirit directly.

Spirit can be upgraded up to 14 times through the green dial (marked with a tree icon) on the left edge of the skill tree. Because Spirit regenerates through combat and is used primarily for skill execution rather than survival, it is generally considered the lowest priority for early upgrades. Players who rely heavily on Force Palm abilities or Spirit-intensive skill builds may want to invest earlier.

The Battery stat (marked with a thunderbolt symbol) powers the late-game War Robot, a Dwarven-engineered combat mech. When piloting the War Robot, every weapon system (cannon, machine guns, EMP, target-locking missiles) drains the mech's energy reserves. Players must balance destruction with strategy before the mech overheats and shuts down. The Battery stat may also apply to other ancient technology encountered in Delesyia, the technologically advanced region of Pywel, though this has not been fully confirmed.

Primary Stat Summary

Upgrading Primary Stats

Primary stats are upgraded through the skill tree by spending Abyss Artifacts. The three stat dials sit at the outer edges of the skill tree: Stamina at the top, Spirit on the left, and Health on the right. Each dial can be advanced multiple times, with each subsequent level requiring more Abyss Artifacts than the previous one.

Abyss Artifacts are the universal currency for both stat upgrades and skill unlocks, so players must decide how to balance spending between raw stat increases and new abilities. Some skills can be learned for free by observing enemies or Axioms in the world, which frees up Artifacts for stat investments.

How to Obtain Abyss Artifacts

There are several ways to earn Abyss Artifacts throughout the game:

• Artifact Gauge: A yellow bar displayed to the left of the minimap fills up as you defeat enemies. Each time the gauge fills completely, you earn one Abyss Artifact. Clearing enemy camps and fortresses is one of the fastest ways to fill this gauge.

• Boss defeats: Major bosses drop Abyss Artifacts upon defeat, often in quantities of two or more.

• Main quests: Certain story missions reward Abyss Artifacts upon completion.

• Sealed Abyss Artifacts: Hidden throughout Pywel, these are collectible items locked behind puzzles, platforming challenges, or hidden locations. Each one grants an Abyss Artifact when unsealed.

• Side content: Various side activities and commissions can also reward Abyss Artifacts.

Recommended Upgrade Priority

While the optimal upgrade path depends on playstyle, the following priority is widely recommended for new players:

A common early benchmark is to reach Stamina Level 4 and Health Level 4 before taking on the first difficult boss encounters. After that, players can distribute points according to their preferred combat style.

Secondary Stats

Beyond the three primary resource stats, characters are affected by a range of secondary stats that influence combat performance. These stats come from equipment, Abyss Cores, passive skills, and consumable buffs rather than from the stat dials on the skill tree.

Equipment Stats

Every weapon and piece of armor in Crimson Desert has base stat values that directly affect combat performance. Weapons contribute Attack, while armor pieces contribute Defense. Some weapons also have inherent Attack Speed and Critical Hit Chance values that vary by weapon type.

Weapon Stat Profiles

Each weapon type has a distinct stat profile. Swords sit in the middle of every stat curve with medium speed, medium damage, and short range. Greatswords and Spears rank among the highest damage weapons thanks to their reach and raw power. Daggers attack very quickly but deal less damage per hit. Heavy weapons like hammers and maces specialize in stagger damage, which breaks through enemy guards and opens up follow-up attacks.

Refining

The primary method of increasing equipment stats is Refining. Players bring weapons and armor to any Blacksmith NPC and spend materials to raise the item's refinement level. Each refinement level grants roughly +2 to +3 points of Attack (for weapons) or Defense (for armor). Refining only increases these base stat values; it does not improve Attack Speed or Critical Hit Chance.

Even a single refinement level can roughly double defense stats in the early game, so visiting the Blacksmith before major encounters is strongly recommended. In addition to permanent Refining, players can temporarily boost their weapon's Attack at a Grindstone and their armor's Defense at an Anvil, both of which are found at camps and settlements. These temporary buffs are consumed over time or upon death.

Abyss Cores

Abyss Cores are special enhancement items that can be installed into equipment sockets to grant additional stat bonuses and passive effects. They are the primary way to customize secondary stats beyond what base equipment provides.

Abyss Cores are managed by Witch merchants found throughout Pywel. Witches handle all core-related services: installing cores into sockets, extracting installed cores, creating additional sockets on equipment, and selling core recipes. Installation and extraction are free, but adding new sockets to gear requires payment.

Core Types

The following table lists known Abyss Core types and the stats they provide:

Cores come in multiple tiers (I, II, III, etc.), with higher tiers providing stronger effects. They can be equipped to weapons, armor, shields, gloves, and footwear depending on the core type. Named cores such as Howling of Chaos, Piercing Bloom, Slashing Reeds, and Wind Slash provide unique special abilities rather than flat stat increases.

Elemental Stats

Crimson Desert features three elemental enhancement types that can be applied to weapons: Fire, Ice, and Lightning. Each element adds unique effects on top of the weapon's base damage and interacts differently with critical hits and enemy behavior.

Lightning attacks deal 20% more damage during rain, making weather conditions tactically relevant for elemental builds.

Damage Formula

Damage calculation in Crimson Desert follows a multi-step process. While the game does not display the full formula in its menus, community testing and data-mining have established the general structure:

• Base Damage: Determined by the weapon's Attack value, which is the foundation for all damage calculations.

• Combo Multiplier: Each attack in a combo chain applies a multiplier. Basic chains use a 1.0x multiplier, while advanced sequences like Counter Burst (1.6x) and Full Rotation (1.85x) deal significantly more.

• Critical Hits: When a critical strike lands (based on Critical Hit Chance), the damage is multiplied by the Critical Damage modifier.

• Enemy Defense Mitigation: The target's defense reduces damage using a diminishing returns formula: Mitigation = 1 minus (Defense / (Defense + 100)). This means that an enemy with 100 Defense mitigates 50% of incoming damage, while an enemy with 200 Defense mitigates about 67%.

• Armor Penetration: Flat reduction applied to the enemy's defense value before the mitigation formula runs. Against bosses with very high defense, Armor Penetration provides outsized value.

• Elemental Bonuses: Fire, Ice, and Lightning add their own damage layers after the physical calculation.

Combo Multipliers

Temperature and Environmental Effects

The world of Pywel features a dynamic temperature system that directly affects stat performance. A thermometer HUD indicator tracks the character's body heat, and straying too far from the optimal range triggers stat penalties.

Freezing (Cold)

In cold regions such as Kweiden (the frozen north), low body temperature causes Stamina to drain 50% faster and eventually chips away at Health over time. Blizzards intensify these effects. Cold can be counteracted by wearing fur or heavy armor, staying near fires, or consuming warming items like Spiced Cider or Hot Soup.

Overheating (Hot)

In hot regions such as the Akashen desert, overheating drastically reduces maximum Stamina capacity and slows movement speed. Desert travel also drains a water meter; running depletes it faster. Overheating is countered by wearing lightweight linen clothing, staying in shade during midday, or consuming cooling items like Cooling Water or Cactus Fruit.

Weather Effects on Stats

Food Buffs and Stat Bonuses

Cooking and consuming meals at campfires provides temporary stat bonuses beyond simple Health restoration. Eating a cooked meal grants the Well-Fed buff, which increases Maximum Health and Stamina Regeneration for 30 minutes. The quality of the meal determines the strength of the buff. Equipping the Gourmet Abyss Core further enhances the effectiveness of food items.

Detailed Stat Pages

Each stat has a dedicated page with in-depth mechanics, upgrade costs, and build advice. Use these pages for detailed information beyond what this overview covers:

Reaching the 15/15/15 Stat Cap

The three key secondary combat stats (Critical Rate, Attack Speed, and Movement Speed) each have a maximum effective level of 15. Reaching all three caps simultaneously requires a specific combination of best-in-slot accessories and Abyss Cores. Below is the most efficient loadout, which uses only 7 of the available Abyss Core slots for stats, leaving the rest free for utility effects.

Best-in-Slot Accessory Loadout

Stat Math Breakdown

The following table shows how each stat reaches 15 using the loadout above:

This loadout uses 7 Abyss Core slots total (2 for Critical Rate, 3 for Attack Speed, 2 for Movement Speed). All remaining Abyss Core slots are free for damage reduction, health regeneration, or other utility effects.

Important Notes on Glove and Boot Stats

A common mistake is investing in Attack or Attack Speed Abyss Cores placed in gloves or boots. The attack-related stats on gloves and boots only apply to unarmed combat, not to weapon-based attacks. Players using any weapon will see no benefit from these stats. Only Movement Speed Abyss Cores placed in gloves or boots apply universally to all combat and movement.

This means Critical Rate and Attack Speed Abyss Cores in glove and boot slots are effectively wasted for weapon builds. Place those cores in weapon, armor, or shield sockets instead.

Shield on Back

A shield carried on the character's back still contributes its stat bonuses even when the player is wielding a two-handed weapon. This is critical for Movement Speed builds: equipping a shield with +2 Movement Speed on the back frees up Abyss Core slots that would otherwise be needed to compensate.

Budget Ring Alternative

Players who have not obtained the Mark of Darkness or the Witch's Ring can substitute two Tarnish Rings (+3 Attack Speed each) for +6 Attack Speed from rings. This requires one additional Attack Speed Abyss Core compared to the optimal loadout but is a viable stopgap.

Tips

• Prioritize Stamina upgrades early. Almost every defensive and traversal action costs Stamina, and running out mid-combat leaves you completely exposed.

• Visit the Grindstone and Anvil at your camp before every major fight. The temporary Attack and Defense boosts they provide are free and can make a meaningful difference.

• Carry at least 100 servings of cooked food (such as Grilled Meat) before attempting difficult bosses. Food can be consumed freely during combat with no cooldown.

• Spirit regenerates by hitting enemies, so staying aggressive is the best way to keep Spirit-consuming abilities available. Retreating to play defensively will starve your Spirit pool.

• Pay attention to the temperature indicator. Equipping climate-appropriate gear before entering extreme regions prevents Stamina penalties that make exploration and combat significantly harder.

• Armor Penetration is extremely valuable against bosses and elite enemies. The defense mitigation formula uses diminishing returns, so reducing an enemy's effective defense before the formula runs yields disproportionately large damage increases.

• There is no equipment weight system in Crimson Desert. Wearing heavy plate armor has no movement penalty, so choose armor based on defense value and climate needs.