Overview
There are five witches hidden across the world of Pywel in Crimson Desert. Each witch is disguised in a different form and must be discovered through specific actions. Finding all five grants access to the full Abyss Gear system, including trading, embedding, extraction, socket creation, and crafting. This guide walks through exactly where to find each witch and how to trigger her reveal.
Sylvia and Elo are encountered through the main quest line, while Barry, Lyselia, and the Witch of Strength require you to go off the beaten path. It is worth finding all of them as early as possible because the blueprints they sell provide a massive power boost.
Quick Reference
Witch | Title | Hidden Form | Location | How to Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tutorial Witch | N/A (quest-driven) | Shadow's Whisper Cave, north of Hernand | Automatic during main quest (tutorial phase) | |
Captive woman tied up in a cabin | Twin Clover Cabins, The Witchwoods | Chapter 5 main quest (The Missing Seal) | ||
Woman shivering under a tarp | Near Silverwolf Mine, north of Hernand | Light the brazier next to her | ||
Man hanging off a broken bridge | Near Bayern | Help the man dangling from the bridge | ||
Witch of Strength | Impoverished child | Town of Tomaso | Give the child one copper coin |
1. Sylvia (Tutorial Witch)
Sylvia is the first witch you encounter and is impossible to miss. She is part of the main quest line during the tutorial phase. After the White Crow sends a letter about Abyssers, the game directs you to Shadow's Whisper Cave just north of Hernand, right next to a fast travel point.
Step-by-Step Directions
Travel to the fast travel point near Shadow's Whisper Cave, north of Hernand.
From the fast travel point, go right while hugging the rock wall.
Continue along the cliff face until you reach a narrow opening in the rock.
Enter the opening to find Sylvia inside the cave.
What Sylvia Offers
Sylvia provides the basic Abyss Gear tutorial. She introduces the mechanic and explains how embedding works.
She has no quests, no recipes, and no shop inventory. She is purely a tutorial NPC.
Tip: Place a custom map marker on her cave. The cave does not have a witch faction marker on the map, so it is easy to lose her position later if you want to return.
2. Elo, the Witch of Wisdom
Elo is unlocked as part of Chapter 5 during The Missing Seal quest. She is found at Twin Clover Cabins in The Witchwoods, tied up inside a cabin. This is a mandatory story encounter, so you will not miss her during normal progression.
Step-by-Step Directions
During The Missing Seal quest, open your inventory and read the Unsealed Letter. This triggers a notification directing you toward a faction quest.
Open the Journal and navigate to Faction Quests. Under the Witches category, track the quest called Witch of Wisdom. This places a map marker.
Travel to Twin Clover Cabins in The Witchwoods. If you have the fast travel point from the Obsession and Madness quest, use it to get close quickly.
Defeat the enemies surrounding the hut. Look for the open roof window and climb through it to get inside.
Untie Elo, then collect the Abyss Artifact sitting on the table nearby.
Elo reveals her true form northwest of where you found her. Take the teleporter near the hut and fly straight to reach her home.
What Elo Offers
Elo introduces the full witch capability system. She is the first witch to offer the complete range of services:
Trading and buying/selling equipment
Embedding Abyss Gears into equipment sockets
Extracting Abyss Gears from equipped items
Creating new sockets on equipment
Crafting Abyss Gears using recipes (synthesis)
Selling recipes for Abyss Gear crafting
Introducing Sanctum quests
3. Barry, the Witch of Kindness
Barry is the first witch you have to go off the beaten path to find. She is not part of any main quest. Her hidden form is a woman shivering and freezing under a tarp near Silverwolf Mine, which is southeast of Waywood Woods and north of Hernand.
Step-by-Step Directions
Travel to the area near Silverwolf Mine, southeast of Waywood Woods, north of Hernand.
Look for a woman huddled under a tarp, shivering from the cold.
Light the brazier next to her. This reveals her true identity as Barry, the Witch of Kindness.
Barry's true home is located to the north, in the middle of a lake just south of Silverwolf Mountain. Travel there to access her full services.
Warning: Bring a coat. The area around her home is extremely cold.
What Barry Offers
Barry sells blueprints focused on speed and mobility:
Swift: Increases attack speed. A fully upgraded level 3 Swift makes two-handed greatsword attacks feel as fast as a rapier. This is one of the most impactful blueprints in the game for melee builds.
Ascent: Increases climb speed. Extremely useful for exploration and reaching hard-to-access areas faster.
4. Lyselia, the Witch of Humility
Lyselia is found by helping a man hanging off a broken bridge near Bayern. The main quest eventually takes you to Bayern, but you can go there earlier on your own. When you help the man, he says: "May humility be your truest strength."
Step-by-Step Directions
Travel to the area near Bayern. Go to the teleporter southeast of town.
From the teleporter, turn right and look for a man dangling from a broken bridge.
Help the man to trigger Lyselia's questline.
Lyselia's true home is a cozy cave near Gi Jong Temple, southeast of Demeniss.
From the fast travel teleporter at the temple, jump down onto the ledge beneath you.
Scoot left along the ledge until you reach her cave entrance.
What Lyselia Offers
Lyselia provides access to additional Abyss Gear recipes and Sanctum quests. Her blueprints focus on defense, making her essential for tank builds.
5. The Witch of Strength
The Witch of Strength is located far to the northeast in the Crimson Desert region. Her hidden form is an impoverished child in the town of Tomaso. She is arguably the most important witch for raw power.
Step-by-Step Directions
Travel to the town of Tomaso in the far northeast.
Find the impoverished child. Give the child one copper coin.
The witch reveals her hidden location after you give the coin.
Her hut is located northwest of the World's Navel, between two fast travel points.
Take the left teleporter. Use the pogo stick and forward thrust to climb up the cliff to reach her hut.
What the Witch of Strength Offers
The Witch of Strength sells the two most important recipes in the game for damage-focused builds:
Destruction: Increases raw alpha damage (attack power). The level 3 version provides a huge power jump that makes late-game and hidden bosses significantly easier.
Insight: Increases critical rate. Combined with Destruction, this creates the strongest offensive setup available. The level 3 versions of both blueprints represent a massive power spike for endgame content.
Many players consider the Witch of Strength the single most important witch for overall power. If you are struggling with difficult combat encounters, prioritize finding her and purchasing the Destruction and Insight recipes.
Tips and Recommendations
Find all witches as early as possible. The Abyss Gear blueprints they sell provide significant power boosts that make later content much easier.
For the best offensive setup, combine the Witch of Strength's Destruction (raw damage) and Insight (crit rate) with Barry's Swift (attack speed) on your weapon.
All witches beyond Sylvia provide the same core services: embedding, extraction, socket creation, and synthesis. Use whichever witch is most convenient for routine crafting.
Place custom markers on each witch's location. Some caves and huts do not have map icons, making them easy to lose track of.
Upgrade blueprints through synthesis at any witch's shop. Combine two level 1 Abyss Gears of the same type to create level 2, and two level 2 to create level 3.
Each witch has four sanctum quests (except Sylvia, who has none). Completing all sanctums for all witches unlocks the White Crow and the most powerful Abyss capabilities.