Crimson Desert’s launch is happening soon, and this is all the available information together to give the best overview of what to expect.
The Quick Facts
| Developer / Publisher | Pearl Abyss |
| Genre | Single-player Open World Action-Adventure |
| Platforms | PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S |
| Game Engine | BlackSpace Engine (Custom built) |
| Progression System | Gear and exploration-based (No traditional character leveling) |
| Monetization | Premium Game (No Microtransactions / No MTX) |
| Multiplayer / Co-op | Single-player at launch (Multiplayer considered for post-launch) |
World and Story
Pywel is full of many tales, factions, and, of course, locations to take in. Below are the parts of the story that have been revealed
Kliff and the Greymanes
Kliff is the protagonist of Crimson Desert, and the primary character we’ll be controlling. He is part of the Greymanes, a faction hailing from the region of Pailune.
The Greymanes are committed to keeping the peace and unity of their homeland, striving to protect the innocents of their region.
Due to the untimely death of the leader of the Greymanes, Jian, peace has swiftly turned to chaos and war. Now, the Greymanes are fighting fierce battles to uphold Jian’s will and maintain the peace against a new foe.
Known as the Black Bears, they seek to destroy any attempts at peace and do not share the vision once held by Jian for Pailune. Kliff seeks out what remains of the Greymanes, in hopes of reuniting his homelands once more.
The Abyss
The Abyss is said to be a realm that holds power beyond imagination. In turn, those with ill intentions seek it out to gain this power for themselves and their own benefit.
Fragments of the Abyss have been found scattered through the world, often falling into the hands of those seeking wealth or power, or those intent on spreading malice.
It will fall to Kliff, the Greymanes, and any other allies he happens upon to collect these fragments and restore balance to the world of Pywel, and prevent disaster should gates to the Abyss ever be thrown open.
Questing and Factions in Pywel
As Kliff follows the main story through Pywel and visits different locations, more quests and even playable characters become available.
Quests don’t follow a strict order of what to do or when, leaving the world open for exploration at will with many challenges and secrets waiting to be found.
Some quests will be lengthy, setting out to take on grander tasks or take on powerful foes.
Other Quests will offer a break to the action, helping ordinary folks with their day-to-day lives.
Many quests are tied to different Towns and Factions, with some quests being exclusively offered by those locations or factions as they begin to trust in Kliff more and more.
Some of these factions, however, are occupied by hostile forces and require that they be dealt with before these areas become open for quests and other activities.
In addition to opening up travel, liberating these areas from the hostile forces may award Gear or grant access to new materials with a variety of different uses.
Reputation
All actions we can take have the ability to impact our reputation, both positively and negatively.
Letting our Reputation go negative can also lead to punishment, like the Town Guard coming after us, or even locking us in Jail.
Exploration
As we progress deeper into the game, we’ll have access to a whole suite of abilities that open up a ton of mobility and exploration possibilities. From extra jumps, pushing off a climbing object, and even gliding to distant ledges, much of the exploration is free-form.
This even extends to Special Mounts that can be unlocked through progressing the story, such as a Mech or even a Dragon.
We may even come across Treasure Maps as we explore, pointing us to hidden sights and treasures.
Not all treasures are marked, though, leaving plenty left to be found through sheer exploration, puzzles, or other means.
There are also hidden Fast Travel Points, which make getting around the world that much faster.
Unlocking and Upgrading Abilities and Skills
Abyss Fragments and Artifacts
The primary way we’ll expand and even upgrade our Skillset is to locate Abyss Fragments, which are often found from exploration, taking on various missions, or even powerful foes.
These Abyss Artifacts and Fragments can also be used to upgrade our base stats, in addition to our skills.
Unlocking New Skills will allow us to build up our fighting style over time, giving us access toa wider variety of attacks and combos we can use in battle.
Observe and Learn
Not all skills we can learn are discovered this way. Some Skills, like Fishing, we’ll need to observe and Learn from the world and its people.
These Life SKills, or recipes for them, can even be from Books and other parchments, not just watching working folks.
This also extends to Combat Skills as well, offering unique options we may not otherwise have access to.
Once unlocked, they should be able to be upgraded with Abyss Artifacts and Fragments like other skills.
Unlocking and Upgrading Gear
Crimson Desert also has many ways to unlock and upgrade our gear to better fit our playstyle.
Equipment Shops
Equipment Shops are the most basic way of obtaining weapons we have. They’re a simple pick and item and pay for it.
Tailoring Shops
Tailoring Shops are to Armor what the Equipment Shops are to Weapons, a simple pick and buy shop that offers a small selection of new armor pieces.
Hidden Treasures
Scattered around the World are plenty of equipment. Whether it be from Quests (as shown further above), Exploration, or even formidable bosses, plenty of gear waits to be found in Pywel.
The Smithy
The last way we can acquire gear is to have it crafted at the Smithy. This requires us to bring the required materials to the Smithy and have our weapon forged. Opening our Map will allow us to locate the Smithy in town, if one is present.
The Smithy can also upgrade our gear, granting it higher stats.
Abyss Gears
The last avenue we have for upgrading gear is to socket Abyss Gears. Doing so will provide our gear with various bonuses.
Weapons and Combat Styles
While we don’t have full details on all the styles and weapons available, here’s what we’ve found and what we’re expecting from each.
Axes
Axes seem to be a highly aggressive weapon, mixing powerful melee blows with area devastating Slam Attacks.
Bows
Bows are one of many ranged options. Capable of firing arrows with various effects, including calling down a bombardment on a location.
Dual Blades
These are never shown in combat, but they are likely to be a fighting style that focuses on fast attacks and high mobility to avoid damage rather than taking it head-on.
Greatsword
Greatswords appear as though they’ll be trading the typical defense of Sword and Shield for more powerful and wider range attacks.
Martial Arts
From basic punches and kicks to the various techniques we may be able to learn from the world, this style focuses on powerful, unarmed blows and grappling to take down opponents.
Musket
Likely a stronger and slower alternative to the Bow as a ranged option. Having to prepare each shot takes a bit longer, but it appears to pack a stronger punch that can send enemies recoiling.
Magic
Magic can be used to enhance just about any style of combat, empowering different skills with Elemental Power.
Rapier
Appears to be very closely linked to Magic Skills, as it’s not shown dealing melee hits, but the stance of the weapon highly suggests it is a Rapier.
Spear
The Spear is shown to be more focused on a combination of quick, longer-range melee strikes and parrying incoming attacks to create an advantage.
Sword and Shield
The humble Sword and Shield, which offers a balance between offense and defense. capable of blocking incoming blows and retaliating.
Greymane Camp
After previously mentioning earlier that Kliff seeks to rebuild his homeland, what better way to start than with a new Greymane Camp in Hernand? This camp will start small, but we can upgrade it and customize it to our liking by using the available Life Skills to bring resources to the camp.
We’ll start with a modest camp, and post by post, building after building, the Greymane Camp will come to life. This will slowly give us access to new shops, equipment, or even places to use our Life Skills for our good as well as the camp.
Freeswords
As part of the Greymane Camp’s expansion, the Greymanes can also be sent to do a variety of tasks. This includes the various Life Skills, as well as whittling down enemy forces that may have taken over the different areas of Pywel.
Each Freesword has a different specialization, allowing them to excel at different tasks. Sending the right freeswords to the right jobs will be critical to get the most out of this system.
The Life Skills
Not all of these have been fully shown or detailed, but there are enough details available to get an idea of what is available.
Alchemy
Alchemy makes use of Plants and Bugs collected in the world to make salves and Potions. These will likely complement meals from Cooking, especially in combat.
Cooking
Cooking allows us to prepare meals. These meals provide benefits ranging from recovering health and other resources to stat boosts.
Similar to other crafting Life Skills, we’re even able to expand the options we have by finding recipes, and likely through some observation.
Farming
Farming allows us to grow various plants that can be used for Cooking and Alchemy. Once established in the Greymane Camp, it seems they will also passively help tend to the farming.
Fishing
Fishing is one skill we’ll need to Observe and Learn. Once learned, we’ll be able to catch fish, primarily used for Cooking, but possibly other Skills as well.
Hunting
Hunting the wildlife of Pywel will net us various resources, from Meat for Cooking, to reagents used for other skills.
Logging
Logging will allow us to fell trees for lumber. Lumber can be used to craft Tools and Weapons, but also to upgrade the Greymane Camp.
Mining
Mining allows us to collect various minerals used in Smithing, as well as improving the Greymane Camp.
Ranching
Ranching involves tending to farm animals, collecting their resources ranging from Milk, Meat, and others.
Smithing
Smithing allows us to craft Weapons and Tools better than those we may be able to otherwise purchase.
Character Customization
Outside of their body shape, we’re able to change the looks of Kliff and the other playable characters as we see fit. We’re able to style and color their hair as well as change their Tattoos.
This even includes making and using Dyes to Dye Armor, Mount Armor, or even Mounts themselves.
This gives us plenty of options to work with and make the character truly ours, and make them fit our style.
Minigames
Throughout Pywel are other activities that we don’t need to actively participate in, but offer extra things to do. This can range from games of chance to combat-related activities.
It’s currently unknown what rewards these offer, besides the more obvious monetary gains.
Why Crimson Desert’s Open-ended Exploration and Progression Matters
I’ve always found exploration and traversal in games to be just as important to me as their combat systems. Crimson Desert appears ready and willing to deliver the best of both worlds, which is what has drawn me to the game.
While many games have a similar openness to them, Crimson Desert appears to be far less restrictive. No barriers, (hopefully) minimal story walls, and a wide range of mobility options to get around the world of Pywel.
Most other titles tend to have a far more restrictive feeling to them. Often requiring certain abilities to progress, explore, and even fight. Here’s hoping Pywel is truly as open as what’s promised, and that we can access all of the necessary abilities to freely explore and take on the challenges it offers very early on to give a solid open-world experience.
Game Editions
Crimson Desert is available on PC (Steam and Epic), Mac, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. It is also available as Digital and Physical, as well as a Standard, Deluxe, and Collector’s Edition.
| Standard | Digital Deluxe | Physical Deluxe | Collector’s |
|---|---|---|---|
| 70 USD | 80 USD | 90 USD | 280 USD |
| Base Game | Base Game | Base Game | Base Game |
| Pre-Order Bonus | Pre-Order Bonus | Pre-Order Bonus | Pre-Order Bonus |
| Exclusive Bonus (PS5) | Exclusive Bonus (PS5) | Exclusive Bonus (PS5) | Exclusive Bonus (PS5) |
| Kairos Plate Set | Kairos Plate Set | Kairos Plate Set | |
| Balgran Shield | Balgran Shield | Balgran Shield | |
| Exclaire Horse Tack Set | Exclaire Horse Tack Set | Exclaire Horse Tack Set | |
| Letter from the Developer | Letter from the Developer | ||
| Greymane Brooch Pin | Greymane Brooch Pin | ||
| 3 Patches | 3 Patches | ||
| Map of Pywel | Fabric Map of Pywel | ||
| 3 Character Photo Cards | |||
| Tormented Soul Bow / Derictus Spear / Sielos Longsword | |||
| Shroud Lantern | |||
| Hyperion Horse Tack Set | |||
| Exclusive Diorama |
Our Crimson Desert Editions Guide will give you more in-depth look at the various items and perks included in each edition for each platform.
Catch up on the latest reveals: Crimson Desert has no difficulty, no leveling, and no microtransactions
