The Leaping Kuku Bird was added to Crimson Desert as a permanent mount as part of Update 1.06.00. Here’s how to tame yours.
The taming process is unusual. You can’t just steal one from a member of The Blinding Arrows; those are the “Fleeting” version that have been in the game from day one. To get your own permanent Kuku Bird mount, you’ll need to hatch one from an egg.
Step 1: Get Egg
You can find a Kuku Bird’s Egg inside a tower at Bloodsteel Camp in the Steel Mountains near the south part of the border between Hernand and Demeniss.
The tower with the egg in it is right behind where you defeat the leader of the Blinding Arrows, Bradie Gu. There’s a little trapdoor that you have to Cling → Resist → Force Palm to open. If you’re playing as Oongka or Damiaine, the same input as Force Palm also works.
The egg is just lying there in a makeshift nest, but there’s also a Leaping Kuku Bird Research Journal on the table beside it that details the next step.
You may need to clear out the Blinding Arrows before you can get the egg or the journal.
Step 2: Reunite Egg with Nest
To hatch the Kuku Bird’s Egg, you have to take it to the nest where its mother laid it. That nest is beneath a dead tree near the cliff to the east of Bloodsteel Camp. You can see this location drawn in that research journal you picked up as well.
The nest is perfectly sized to incubate the Leaping Kuku Bird’s Egg and looks more well-built than the ones made out of sticks by smaller Kuku Birds up on Rocca’s Hill in Hernand.
It does not work to take the egg to any Kuku Bird nest; it has to be this one. It may matter that you place the egg in the non-scorched nest, let us know if you try it.
You can just press the Use button (A | SPACE | ✖) on the egg in your inventory to take it out. It will look like it got silently consumed, but don’t worry, when you exit your inventory, you’ll be holding it. You don’t need to go into the sub-menu and select the Take Out option like you normally would.
Parts of the egg should begin to glow faint red as soon as you place and eventually start wobbling a little bit.
Step 3: Hatch Egg
As you may know, sometimes, perfectly healthy birds and reptiles need a little help to get out of their egg. Since Leaping Kuku Birds are rather large, it’s time to whip out your Pickaxe.
Just kidding. Do not swing your Pickaxe (or any other weapon) at your fledgling Kuku Bird. When the egg is ready to hatch, you should see a prompt pop up to hatch the egg. It doesn’t take very long, but you do need to stand pretty close to the egg.
Upon hatching, the Leaping Kuku Bird is automatically registered as a Special Mount. You may need to unsummon and resummon them before they can take you for a ride.
The Leaping Kuku Bird hatches with the Egg Helm already equipped, but you can purchase a Kuku Bird Saddle for 28 Silver from the Calphade Saddlery after completing Chapter VI: Cracks in the Shield.
Devastatingly, the Egg Helm takes up the same equipment slot as the Saddle, so you have to make a difficult decision regarding the regalia your spring chicken will don. Somehow, the Kuku Bird Saddle provides a bit more Defense.
Regardless of your choice of attire, it’s worth noting that Leaping Kuku Bird is no roadrunner, but their li’l wings enable them to land with grace and poise after a fall from any height, making them an excellent choice for traversing mountains.
At the time of publishing, the Kuku Bird mount is only available in crimson, but smaller, non-adoptable (!) Kuku Birds do come in a rainbow of colors, so we can still hope for a brighter tomorrow.
