You can use the new feature Extract in Crimson Desert to get a portion of the normal and all special materials back. This guide will tell you everything you need to know.
What is Extraction
The Extraction feature allows you to lower a previously upgraded weapon, armor or accessory in Crimson Desert and get back some of the crafting materials and other resources you have spent in the process.
This feature was added with Update 1.06.00. It is available to all players and works on all kinds of gear items that you have upgraded at a Smithy before.
How to use Extraction
To use Extraction, visit any Smithy. They are usually located in major cities in each of the regions. You can also do this at your Greymane Camp, by talking to Alec, who will be available after you complete the Second Upgrade: Gathered Will.
Here is the process in steps:
- Talk to a Smithy
- From the Menu, choose Extraction
- Select an Item you want to unrefine.
- From the left panel, choose a Refinement Level
- On the right, you will see the materials you will get in return.
Requirements and Limitations
For an item to be eligible for Extraction, it needs to be in your inventory. If it’s locked or you have it equipped, it will not show up as available.
The items can be of any level, any quality, any type of gear, including Armor, Accessories, Melee Weapons, Ranged Weapons, and Shields.
You can only Extract items down to the original Refinement of the item when you first obtained it. Later in the game, you will find items that start from higher Refinement levels, such as 3, 4, and even 5 (Aeserion Gear).
You are not able to lower the Refinement below the level at which you got the item. For example, if you craft Aeserion Gear (endgame crafting recipes), the items come at Refinement Level 5. You cannot unrefine them below 5using the Extraction feature to get free Abyss Artifacts.
Abyss Artifacts are easy to earn. There are plenty of sources in Crimson Desert: Abyss Puzzles, Ancient Ruins, Exploring to find Abyss Cressets and Sealed Artifracts, defeating bosses, completing quests. You will never feel starved for Abyss Artifacts, no need to look for a way to “farm them” and risk ruining your fun with the game by repeating a tedious task countless times.
What Materials You Get Back from Extraction
When you use Extraction, you will get ~70% of the amount of normal crafting materials spent upgrading the weapon previously, and 100% of the special items you may have used.
- Normal Crafting Materials are items like Iron Ore, Copper, Hide, Bones.
- Special Items are things like Aeserion’s Scales and Abyss Artifacts.
The main reason you would want to unrefine a gear piece is to get back the Abyss Artifacts in most cases. After Refinement 4, each item requires various crafting materials + 1 Abyss Artifact per level. This gets very expensive if you want to experiment with cool new items you find.
Reminder: Gear in Crimson Desert is evenly balanced and you can use whatever you think looks cool. The true power comes not from the item’s stats (with a few notable exceptions), but from the Abyss Gears you insert into its slots.
Extraction Feature FAQ
This is a synthesized information that will, hopefully, answer all of your remaining questions. If you have any more left after, please, use the comments section below.
The most common reason is to recover Abyss Artifacts. After Refinement 4, upgrading costs 1 Abyss Artifact per level on top of regular materials, which adds up quickly when you want to try out new gear.
No. Extraction works on any quality and any gear type, including Armor, Accessories, Melee Weapons, Ranged Weapons, and Shields.
You will get exactly 100% of your Special Items back (such as Abyss Artifacts and Aesirion’s Scales). However, you will only receive ~70% of your Normal Crafting Materials back (such as Iron Ore, Copper, Hide, and Bones).
Double-check that the item is sitting in your standard inventory. If the gear is currently equipped on your character or if you have it “locked” to prevent accidental selling, it will not appear in the Extraction menu.
No. You can only extract an item down to its original, base Refinement level. Because items like Aesirion Gear are crafted at Refinement Level 5 by default, you cannot extract them down to Level 1 to farm the materials.
No, there is no flat currency fee to use the feature. The “cost” of Extraction is simply the ~30% loss of the normal crafting materials you originally spent to upgrade the item.
Extraction is available at Smithy NPCs. You can access it by talking to the Smithy in Hernand, so very early in the game. Alternatively, you can use your own camp’s smithy after you complete the “Second Upgrade: Gathered Will” quest to unlock Alec.
Extraction only lowers the Refinement level of your gear to refund upgrade materials.
No. After Extraction, you keep the item. It is simply returned to the chosen lower Refinement level. You can re-upgrade it later if you wish.
