Crimson Desert Controls Lists and Guide (PC and Consoles)

Everything you need to know about Crimson Desert controls setup for Keyboard and Mouse, and Controllers: settings, keybindings, customizations, tips and tricks.

Use the Table of Contents, located in the left panel (top left button on the mobile menu) to navigate through this long guide more easily and quickly.

Keyboard and Mouse Controls List

Below are the default controls for Crimson Desert while using Keyboard and Mouse.

Note: For Combat, Skill Inputs remain consistent between weapons, but perform different skills based on the actively equipped weapon.

Action	Classic	Default	Input	Type
Move Camera	Mouse	Mouse	Motion	Movement and Camera
Camera Zoom In/Out	Mouse Wheel Up/Down	Mouse Wheel Up/Down	Scroll	Movement and Camera
Lock-on	Control	MMB	Press	Movement and Camera
Move	WASD	WASD	Hold	Movement and Camera
Run	Shift	Shift	Double Press (Toggle)	Movement and Camera
Crouch	C	C	Hold	Movement and Camera
Slide	C	C	Hold (While Running)	Movement and Camera
Jump	Space	Space	Press	Movement and Camera
Precision Jump	Control + Space	Caps or MB4 + Space	Jump while holding	Movement and Camera
Double Jump (When Unlocked)	Space	Space	Press (While Mid-air)	Movement and Camera
Mantle	Space	Space	Press (Near Ledge)	Movement and Camera
Climb	Space + WASD	Space + WASD	Jump Towards Wall	Movement and Camera
Roll	Alt	Alt	Press	Movement and Camera
Evade	Alt	Alt	Double Press	Movement and Camera
(Sub) Evade	Mouse 5	Mouse 5	Press	Movement and Camera
Action	Button(s)		Type	Basic Controls
Quick Menu (Last)	Esc	Esc	Press	Basic Controls
Scroll Menu	Esc	Esc	Hold	Basic Controls
Inventory	I	I	Press	Basic Controls
Skills	K	K	Press	Basic Controls
Journal	J	J	Press	Basic Controls
Map	M	M	Press	Basic Controls
Use Gear	B	B	Press/Hold	Basic Controls
Force Palm	MMB	Q	Press	Basic Controls
Dismount / Put Down Held Item	R	R	Press	Basic Controls
Cancel	E	E	Press	Basic Controls
Comrade Quick Slot	F1	1	Hold	Basic Controls
Call Mount	H	1	Press	Basic Controls
Gear Quick Slot	F2	2	Hold	Basic Controls
Draw/Stow Weapon	T	2	Press	Basic Controls
Food Quick Slot	F3	3	Hold	Basic Controls
Loot Item / Enemy	E	E	Hold	Interaction
Interact	Control	Caps	Hold	Interaction
(Sub) Interact	Mouse 4	Mouse 4	Hold	Interaction
Interaction 1	E	E	Press (While Interacting)	Interaction
Interaction 2	R	R	Press (While Interacting)	Interaction
Interaction 3	T	T	Press (While Interacting)	Interaction
Inteaction 4	G	G	Press (While Interacting)	Interaction
Previous	Q	Q	Press	Interaction
Next	E	E	Press	Interaction
Lift Object	E	E	Press (While Interacting)	Interaction
Place Object	R	R	Press (While Interacting)	Interaction
Push	LMB	LMB	Hold	Interaction
Pull	RMB	RMB	Hold	Interaction
Light Attack	LMB	LMB	Press Repeatedly or Hold to Combo	Combat
Heavy Attack	RMB	RMB	Press Repeatedly or Hold to Combo	Combat
Punch/Kick	F	F	Press	Combat
Aim / Guard / Focus Light	Control	Caps	Press	Combat
Aim / Guard / Focus Light	Mouse 4	Mouse 4	Press	Combat
Fire	LMB	LMB	Press (While Aiming)	Combat
Focus	X	X	Press	Combat
Axiom Force	Tab	Tab	Press	Combat
Skill 1	RMB + LMB	RMB + LMB	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 2	RMB + Control	RMB + Caps	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 3	RMB + L. Shift	LMB + L. Shift	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 4	LMB + Alt	Space + RMB	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 5	LMB + Shift	Space + LMB	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 6	LMB+ Space	F + LMB	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 7	LMB + Control	F + RMB	Combo Press	Combat
Weapon Swap	Z	Z	Press	Combat
Grappling: Throw	F + LMB	F + LMB	Combo Press	Combat
Grappling: Lariat	F + RMB	F + RMB	Combo Press	Combat
Enemy Vault	Space + LMB	Space + LMB	Combo Press	Combat
Imbue Element	V	V	Press, During Skill Cast	Combat
Skill: Selected Element	1	4	Press	Combat
Skill: Flame	1	4	Press	Combat
Skill: Frost	2	5	Press	Combat
Skill: Lightning	3	6	Press	Combat
Skill: Wind	4	7	Press	Combat

PlayStation Controls List

Below are the default Controls for Crimson Desert while using a Playstation Controller.

Note: for Combat. Skill Inputs remain consistent between weapons, but perform different skills based on the actively equipped weapon.

Action	Classic	Default	Input	Category
Move Camera	RS	RS	Tilt	Movement and Camera
Camera Zoom In/Out	Trackpad	Trackpad	Press	Movement and Camera
Lock-on	D-Pad Down	D-Pad Down	Press	Movement and Camera
Move	LS	LS	Tilt	Movement and Camera
Run	X	X	Hold	Movement and Camera
Sprint	X	X	Double Press (Toggle)	Movement and Camera
Crouch	L3	L3	Press (Toggle)	Movement and Camera
Slide	L3	L3	Press (While Running)	Movement and Camera
Jump	☐	☐	Press	Movement and Camera
Precision Jump	L1 + ☐	L1 + ☐	Hold Control, then Press	Movement and Camera
Double Jump (When Unlocked)	☐	☐	Press (While Mid-air)	Movement and Camera
Mantle	☐	☐	Press (Near Ledge)	Movement and Camera
Climb	☐ + LS	☐ + LS	Jump Towards Wall	Movement and Camera
Roll	⭘	⭘	Press	Movement and Camera
Evade	⭘	⭘	Double Press	Movement and Camera
Quick Menu (Last)	Option	Option	Press	Basic Controls
Scroll Menu	Option	Option	Hold	Basic Controls
Force Palm	R3	R3	Press	Basic Controls
Dismount / Put Down Held Item	△	△	Press	Basic Controls
Use Gear	L2 + R2	L2 + R2	Press	Basic Controls
Comrade Quick Slot	D-Pad Up	D-Pad Up	Hold	Basic Controls
Call Mount	D-Pad Up	D-Pad Up	Press	Basic Controls
Gear Quick Slot	D-Pad Left	D-Pad Left	Hold	Basic Controls
Stow Weapon	D-Pad Left	D-Pad Left	Press	Basic Controls
Food Quick Slot	D-Pad Right	D-Pad Right	Hold	Basic Controls
Push	R1	R1	Hold	Basic Controls
Pull	R2	R2	Hold	Basic Controls
Loot Item / Enemy	☐	△	Press / Hold	Interaction
Default Interaction	L1	△	Press / Hold	Interaction
Interaction 2	⭘	☐	Press / Hold	Interaction
Interaction 3	☐	X	Press / Hold	Interaction
Interaction 4	△	⭘	Press / Hold	Interaction
Confirm	X	X	Press / Hold	Interaction
Cancel	⭘	⭘	Press / Hold	Interaction
(Reversed) Confirm	⭘	⭘	Press / Hold	Interaction
(Reversed) Cancel	X	X	Press / Hold	Interaction
Examine	L1	L1	Hold	Game Mechanic
Previous	L2	L2	Press	Game Mechanic
Next	R2	R2	Press	Game Mechanic
Mechanic Action 1	☐	☐	Press	Game Mechanic
Mechanic Action 2	△	△	Press	Game Mechanic
Light Attack	R1	R1	Press Repeatedly or Hold to Combo	Combat
Heavy Attack	R2	R2	Press Repeatedly or Hold to Combo	Combat
Punch/Kick	△	R1 + ☐	Press	Combat
Aim	L2	L2	Hold	Combat
Fire	L2	L2	Release (While Aiming)	Combat
Focus	L3 + R3	L3 + R3	Press	Combat
Axiom Force	L3	L3	Hold	Combat
Block/Parry	L1	L1	Press	Combat
Skill 1	R2 + R1	R2 + R1	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 2	R2 + L1	R2 + L1	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 3	R2 + X	R1 + △	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 4	R1 + ⭘	R1 + ⭘	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 5	R1 + X	R1 + X	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 6	△ + ⭘	△ + ⭘	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 7	X + ☐	X + ☐	Combo Press	Combat
Grappling: Throw	△ + ⭘	△ + ⭘	Combo Press	Combat
Grappling: Lariat	X + ☐	X + ☐	Combo Press	Combat
Enemy Vault	☐ + R1	☐ + R1	Combo Press	Combat

Xbox Controls List

Below are the default Controls for Crimson Desert while using a Playstation Controller.

Note: for Combat. Skill Inputs remain consistent between weapons, but perform different skills based on the actively equipped weapon.

Action	Classic	Default	Input	Category
Move Camera	RS	RS	Tilt	Movement and Camera
Camera Zoom In/Out	View	View	Press	Movement and Camera
Lock-on	D-Pad Down	D-Pad Down	Press	Movement and Camera
Move	LS	LS	Tilt	Movement and Camera
Run	A	A	Hold	Movement and Camera
Sprint	A	A	Double Press (Toggle)	Movement and Camera
Crouch	RS	RS	Press (Toggle)	Movement and Camera
Slide	RS	RS	Press (While Running)	Movement and Camera
Jump	X	X	Press	Movement and Camera
Precision Jump	LB + X	LB + X	Hold Control, then Press	Movement and Camera
Double Jump (When Unlocked)	X	X	Press (While Mid-air)	Movement and Camera
Mantle	X	X	Press (Near Ledge)	Movement and Camera
Climb	X + LS Tilt	X + LS Tilt	Jump Towards Wall	Movement and Camera
Roll	B	B	Press	Movement and Camera
Evade	B	B	Double Press	Movement and Camera
Quick Menu (Last)	Menu	Menu	Press	Basic Controls
Scroll Menu	Menu + D-Pad Up/Down	Menu + D-Pad Up/Down	Hold	Basic Controls
Force Palm	RS	RS	Press	Basic Controls
Dismount / Put Down Held Item	Y	Y	Press	Basic Controls
Use Gear	LT +RT	LT + RT	Press	Basic Controls
Comrade Quick Slot	D-Pad Up	D-Pad Up	Hold	Basic Controls
Call Mount	D-Pad Up	D-Pad Up	Press	Basic Controls
Gear Quick Slot	D-Pad Left	D-Pad Left	Hold	Basic Controls
Stow Weapon	D-Pad Left	D-Pad Left	Press	Basic Controls
Food Quick Slot	D-Pad Right	D-Pad Right	Hold	Basic Controls
Push	RB	RB	Hold	Basic Controls
Pull	RT	RT	Hold	Basic Controls
Loot Item / Enemy	X	Y	Press / Hold	Interaction
Default Interaction	X	Y	Press / Hold	Interaction
Interaction 2	A	X	Press / Hold	Interaction
Interaction 3	Y	A	Press / Hold	Interaction
Interaction 4	B	B	Press / Hold	Interaction
Confirm	A	A	Press / Hold	Interaction
Cancel	B	B	Press / Hold	Interaction
(Reversed) Confirm	B	B	Press / Hold	Interaction
(Reversed) Cancel	A	A	Press / Hold	Interaction
Examine	LB	LB	Hold	Game Mechanic
Previous	LT	LT	Press	Game Mechanic
Next	RT	RT	Press	Game Mechanic
Mechanic Action 1	X	X	Press	Game Mechanic
Mechanic Action 2	Y	Y	Press	Game Mechanic
Light Attack	RB	RB	Press Repeatedly or Hold to Combo	Combat
Heavy Attack	RT	RT	Press Repeatedly or Hold to Combo	Combat
Punch/Kick	Y	RB + X	Press	Combat
Aim	LT	LT	Hold	Combat
Fire	LT	LT	Release (While Aiming)	Combat
Focus	LS + RS	LS + RS	Press	Combat
Axiom Force	LS (Press)	LS (Press)	Hold	Combat
Block/Parry	LB	LB	Press	Combat
Skill 1	RB + RT	RB + RT	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 2	LB + RT	LB + RT	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 3	RB + Y	RB + Y	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 4	RB + B	RB + B	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 5	RB + A	RB + A	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 6	Y + B	Y + B	Combo Press	Combat
Skill 7	A + X	A + X	Combo Press	Combat
Grappling: Throw	Y + B	Y + B	Combo Press	Combat
Grappling: Lariat	A + X	A + X	Combo Press	Combat
Enemy Vault	X + RB	X + RB	Combo Press	Combat
Skill: Element (Quick Slot)	RT+ Y	RT + Y	Combo Press	Combat
Skill: Flame	RT+ Y	RT+ Y	Combo Press	Combat
Skill: Frost	RT + X	RT + X	Combo Press	Combat
Skill: Lightning	RT + B	RT + B	Combo Press	Combat
Skill: Wind	RT + A	RT + A	Combo Press	Combat

Control Remapping and Recommendations

At the current time, Control Remapping is only available for Keyboard and Mouse Controls. Outside of a few select inputs, remapping is not possible on Consoles, except for the use of the Xbox Elite or PlayStation DualSense Edge Controller Software.

To access the Control Remapping in Crimson Desert, you’ll need to open the pause menu and head to the “Others” Section. Once here, select the Options Sub Section.

From the Menu below here, select the Settings button and navigate to the Input Section.

At the top of this section are the options for “Keyboard/Mouse Customization Preset” and “Controller Customization Preset”. These can be opened using these inputs:

PC: Double-Press LMB or Press F
PS5: Press ☐
Xbox: Press X

By clicking a Control you want to change, you will be prompted to Pick a New Key Mapping.

If this overlaps with an existing Key Mapping, you will be prompted to overwrite the existing bind. Some Existing Mappings already overlap, forcing a reset to default to restore them if overwritten, so be careful.

After making all desired changes, press Space once again to apply and save them.

Console Recommendations

As far as Console Controls go, for those who own PlayStation Dualsense Edge or Xbox Elite Controllers, the only swap I’d make is to Run and Jump. Additionally, using the extra rear buttons offered by both controllers, and save your sticks the pain.

Keyboard and Mouse Recommendations

It may be a good idea to give the built-in keybinds a chance to shine. If you can’t get used to them, we have a few remapping alternatives you will most likely be more comfortable using.

There are a bit of a weird remapping restrictions due to initial overlaps, it’s hard to remap multiple controls comfortably.

That said, the main controls we recommend that you remap to an alternative keybinding are Evade (Alt by Default), The majority of keybinds involving CAPS (Caps Lock), and Axiom Force (Tab by Default). These are in fairly awkward locations to press for when they’re needed.

To make them more comfortable, I made the following Swaps. Give them a try for yourself. Or experiment to find other combinations that work for you.

Action	Starting Key	Remapped Key
Keybind with CAPS	CAPS	CTRL
Evade	Alt	Mouse 5
Guard / Aim (Alt)	Mouse 4	Unbound
Axiom Force	Tab	R
Dismount	R	Y
Interaction 2	R	5
Skill 4	LMB + Alt	LMB + Mouse 5
Blinding Flash	Ctrl + LMB	Mouse 4

If you remap Blinding Flash to a single key, you may not be able to complete some of the tricky puzzles that require perfect timing between activating and stopping the light beam (such as the Sanctuum puzzles).

We’re simply shifting around the less comfortable controls here and rebind other things to make space. Dismount and Interaction 2 aren’t critical controls to have super quick access to, so we remap them to allow Axiom Force to use R instead, as it’s part of several attacks and skills and needs to be accessible.

I found Axiom Force on R is a great choice, as we can easily move the mentioned functions above with no combat impact. Blinding Flash was moved to Mouse 4 for ease of use in combat and treasure hunting.

With changes in Update 1.00.03, Evade now has an extra default mapping to Mouse 5, but it’s still worth noting that the evade attack still should be rebound to match. This means we can move something else to Alt and not actually have to remap manually. This also means mapping Blinding Flash to Mouse 4 will unbind the new secondary control for Guard / Aim. The UI will replace this if not bound elsewhere and viewing the menu again, but the chosen bind will take priority.

Additional Control Settings

Update 1.04 added a handful of new options in terms of controls, adding Classic and Default Control Schemes as well as some secondary settings.

Classic and Default Control Schemes

Added in Update 1.04, there are now two different control schemes for both Keyboard and Mouse, and Controllers. Their differences are arguably minimal, but you can decide for yourself which you prefer.

The immediate differences are that the preset will swap the controls for Aim/Guard, Lock-on, Force Palm, and Quick Slots for PC, as well as Skill: Element for both PC and Console. Console also gets Punch/Kick moved to a single-button command.

At least for PC, the Classic Controls are very close to our own manual recommendations above, except having Blinding Flash on Mouse 4 and Axiom Force on R.

As for the Skill: Element input style, this is mostly a non-change, as you can freely swap between using the Element from the Quick Slot, or having them individually bound. In most cases, you’ll want them individually bound on PC, which still aligns with the Classic control scheme.

PC also gets the ability to have the Quick Slot Button share a bind with other actions, such as Comrade Quick Slot calling your Horse, Equipment Quick Slot also being Stow/Draw Weapon, and Food Quick Slot doubling as Consume button. Classic Default this to individual binds, which is our recommendation as well.

Secondary Control Options

This handful of options allows you to slightly adjust the inputs for actions that share a common button, like Roll and Evade, for example. Below are the options and what they do.

Lock-On Camera Rotation

A Simple On/Off Setting. With this setting Off, you can freely adjust your camera while Locked-On to a target. With the Setting On, your Camera will always be focused on your Locked-On target instead.

Evasion Control

Evasion Control swaps how Roll and Dash work. With the Repeatedly Press option selected, a Single-Press will roll while a Double-Press will Dash. With the Hold Option selected, the initial Press will Roll, while holding it after will perform the Dash.

Reverse Roll and Dash Input

This is a simple On/Off setting. This will swap the input for Roll and Dash, both bound to your Evade Button. When set to Off, Roll will be the single-press action. While set to On, Roll will instead be the secondary action, using Double-Press or Hold based on the Evasion Control Setting above.

Helpful Tips

On a PC, you can exit the game directly by pressing ALT+F4. It will bring up a confirmation dialogue asking if you really wanted to exit. This allows you to bypass exiting to Title Screen first and waiting for a couple of animations to play out.

When you have to interact with important NPCs to progress a quest or pick up a new one, you will get a prompt in the bottom right corner when you are near the NPC. On the screen, you will also see a larger circle on the NPC.

Make liberal use of both your Lantern (CTRL / L1 / LB while out of combat) and Blinding Flash (CTRL + LMB / L1 +R1 / LB +RB at any time) to spot nearby points of Interest. This will require line of sight and only works within a limited range. When using the Lantern, an Orange Glow will be seen on the point of interest.

For Blinding Flash, this glow is Blue instead.

There are additional interactions available in various menus and screens. Pay attention to what the game has to offer when you hover over an object on the map or in the world.

In some menus, you have the option to hold the ESC on keyboard (Option on PlayStation, Menu on Xbox) button to directly return to the game world and skip the main menu screen. The example shown below is form the Journal screen where you have the option to hold ESC (on keyboard) to close all menus and exit back into the world. Note that this functionality is not always available.

You can press and hold the button to collect an item when there are multiple items nearby. Your character will keep collecting all items in range one after another.

You can rest on pretty much any bed you find, not only in your camp. But you can also spend some resting time around a bonfire. When you approach a bonfire, press the modifier key (CTRL on keyboard) to see the extended list of options. The “Wait” option would appear there. It allows you to choose from the same resting times as sleeping – 3, 6, 12 hours.

You can toggle on and off the visor of your helmet (if it has a moving one) or the hood of your cloak. Open the Armor wheel menu, then hover over the headgear or cloak slot. When you release to close the wheel menu, your character will perform an animation of toggling on or off that item’s position.

Changelog

Below are the key changes made to the game’s base controls sourced from Patch Notes. The list is shortened, slightly rewritten and modified for simplicity. To check the full changes from these udpates, visit the link at the bottom of each section.

Update 1.00.03

Improved the response speed of the interaction UI.
Improved the responsiveness of jump inputs.
Fixed aiming to target the center of the screen when using a Lantern or while unarmed.
Improved the Equipment Quick Slot so that re-selecting your current equipment will stow it.
Improved the responsiveness of the Main Menu UI.
[Keyboard/Mouse] Improved the responsiveness of character movement controls.
[Keyboard/Mouse] Added shortcuts to open and close Inventory, Skills, Journal, And Map.
[Keyboard/Mouse] Added default control options for Guard/Aim (Side Button 1) and Evade (Side Button 2).
[Keyboard/Mouse] Changed controls to maintain movement input when using Axiom Force.

Find out what else was updated, improved or added in Update 1.00.03.

Update 1.01.00

Movement speed increases by holding down the running key.
Movement speed increases by tapping the running key once.
Movement speed for the player character and horse will no longer decrease even if the running key is not held continuously.

Find out what else was updated, improved or added in Update 1.01.00.

Update 1.02.00

Added a “Movement Controls” option.
- The option can be selected via Main Menu > Others > Settings > Input > Movement Controls, and offers two options: Basic and Classic.
- Detailed descriptions can be found in the in-game options menu.
- Basic movement controls: Hold the sprint key to accelerate.
- Classic movement controls: Repeatedly press the sprint key to accelerate.
With Basic movement controls, holding the sprint key on mounts consumes stamina at set intervals.
With Classic movement controls, stamina is consumed each time the sprint key is pressed while mounted.

Find out what else was updated, improved or added in Update 1.02.00.

Update 1.04.00

Added a preset feature for both keyboard/mouse and controllers.
Added a feature where, when the interaction key is pressed, the corresponding action is performed immediately.
Added the “Evasion Control” and “Switch Roll and Evasion Input” options.
Improved the controls for aiming. Added ability to switch on or off the lantern on the move.
Added the “Using Skill: Element” option. Selecting “Quick Slot Option” allows you to use the selected elements assigned for each individual input.
Vault can now only be used by pressing Jump while performing a different attack.
Changed all interactions so that they are executed continuously while the button is held down.
“Dismount/Drop” and “Cancel” keys/buttons have been combined.
[Keyboard/Mouse] Expanded the range of customizable key bindings.
[Keyboard/Mouse] Changed the Escape key used while under status effects to match the Evade key.
[Controller] Improved the map so that it can be opened by holding the DualSense touch pad or the Xbox controller’s View button.
Slightly increased character movement speed.

Find out what else was updated, improved or added in Update 1.04.00.

Update 1.04.01

[Controller] Changed the button used to change the names of pets and horses from (R3/RS) to (L3/LS).
[PlayStation/Xbox] Changed the “Change Preset” option to be displayed the same way as on PC.

Find out what else was updated, improved or added in Update 1.04.01.

Getting Started

Abilities

Game Systems

Keyboard and Mouse Controls List

PlayStation Controls List

Xbox Controls List