This Crimson Desert Beginners Guide is the first chunk of a series where I give you guys my absolute best beginner tips, tricks, and information for Crimson Desert. As I do with all of my beginner’s guides, there will be no need for mid-game or end-game content or gear.
Please note that I play Crimson Desert on an Xbox Series S using the Xbox Controller.
Spoiler Warning
These guides contain minor spoilers.
Beginner’s Guides: Beginner’s guides are made to cover the basic concepts of the game. I take things a lot slower when covering these concepts.
Advanced Guides: These guides cover the more advanced gameplay mechanics. Expect these guides to build off of the beginner’s guide presented here.
Not every guide has a video, but as of April 2026, my goal has been to make sure every video guide gets written content.
I keep track of the Crimson Desert patch notes. The reason these are in the Beginners’ guide section is that these can change the early game for everyone.
- Patch Notes Version 1.00.02
- Patch Notes Version 1.00.03 2026/03/25 (Revised: 13:30 UTC)
- Patch Notes Version 1.00.04 (PlayStation Hotfix)
- Patch Notes Version 1.00.04 (Mac Steam Hotfix)
- Patch Notes Version 1.01.00
- Patch Notes Version 1.01.01 (All Platforms Hotfix)
- Patch Notes Version 1.01.02 (Steam Hotfix)
- Patch Notes Version 1.01.03 (All Platforms Hotfix)
- Patch Notes Version 1.02.00 (Revised: 2026/04/04 05:00 UTC)
- Patch Notes Version 1.03.00 (Revised: 2026/04/11)
- Patch Notes Version 1.03.01 (All Platforms Hotfix)
I wanted to include some information about the game here for those who are considering buying it.
What platforms are Crimson Desert available on?
Crimson Desert is currently available on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®5 Pro, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam (PC & Mac), Epic Games Store, Mac App Store, and GeForce NOW.
What are Crimson Desert’s PC, console, and Mac performance specifications and system requirements?
Information about Crimson Desert’s console, PC, and Mac performance and hardware specifications can be found in the Performance Specs notice. Please make sure your PC and Mac components meet or exceed the minimum requirements.
Does Crimson Desert support performance-enhancing technologies?
Crimson Desert supports FSR 3/4, DLSS 4/4.5, Intel Xess 3 on PC, Upgraded PSSR for PS5 Pro, and FSR 3 for the PS5 base model and Xbox Series X|S. It also features support for AMD FSR Ray Regeneration and NVIDIA DLSS Ray Reconstruction on PC versions.
Please note that frame generation is only supported on PC (FSR, DLSS, Intel XeSS) and Mac (MetalFX Upscaler, Frame Generation)
Should I use a specific driver version for AMD/NVIDIA graphics cards to ensure optimal performance?
We recommend using AMD driver version 25.9.2 or above and NVIDIA driver version 581.29 or above for optimal performance and stability.
Does Crimson Desert require an internet connection to play?
Players will need an internet connection to complete the initial setup (day 1 patch) and ensure they have the latest version of the game. Once installation is complete, the game can be enjoyed offline.We’re also committed to continually improving performance and enhancing the overall experience through future updates and patches. An internet connection will be required to download these updates beyond the initial setup.
Does Crimson Desert support cross-save between different platforms?
No, cross-save is not available for Crimson Desert.
What controllers are supported on the PC version?
Crimson Desert features support for Xbox controllers and the DualSense controller (USB only).I want to stream and/or capture Crimson Desert gameplay, but the capture quality appears unstable.
When using Windows duplicate display to capture gameplay, capture quality may appear reduced if DLSS MFG (Multi Frame Generation x3, x4) is enabled.
DLSS MFG can be enabled even at low base rendering FPS. However, if the base FPS is too low, input responsiveness and image stability may be affected. For the best experience, we recommend using this feature when a sufficiently high rendering FPS can be maintained.
And when using Multi Frame Generation, we recommend disabling vertical sync-related settings such as V-sync and G-sync.
Does Crimson Desert support Intel Arc?
We have added support for Intel Arc GPUs through patch 1.03.00. Compatibility and performance across various Intel GPUs will continue to be improved over time.
My screen looks blurry on PlayStation/Xbox. How do I fix this?
Your screen might look blurry if your HDMI cable doesn’t support HDMI 2.1. For the best picture quality, we highly recommend using an HDMI 2.1 cable
Understanding the UI
There are a few UI parts that are easy to miss, so I’ll break these down for you—starting with an explanation of your HUD.
The first portion of the HUD includes your health, which is the red bar at the bottom.
Above your health, you can see what looks like a green flower, which is your Spirit. As you use moves that require holding R3 (on Xbox) that will drain. Once you unlock the ability, you can recharge your Spirit by holding L3 and R3 together.
On the right side of your map, you can see a bar that has different colors. That bar is your temperature. When your character gets too hot or cold, they will experience a side effect. For example, when you get too cold, your Stamina will deplete faster. Temperature is negated by certain foods and gear. For example, a hot tea will give you Ice Resistance.
That golden bar on the left side of the map? That is your XP bar. When it reaches the top, you’ll get an Abyss Artifact to use in the Skill Tree, which I’ll cover in just a bit.
Holding the Right directional button will allow you to equip a food item, those are used to heal. Pressing the Right directional button will make your character heal. Below that, you can see an icon with a little mask. This icon is appearing for me because I have my character wearing a mask under his helmet.
How to equip a mask in Crimson Desert
Holding the Left directional button will bring up a new menu. We are only focusing on the mask portion of this menu, and to equip one, make sure you have a mask in your inventory, or this won’t work. Use the Right stick to hover over the square that you’ll see in the image below. Use LT and RT to cycle through your options. You need to have a mask on to commit criminal behavior.
Continuing with our UI exploration
Quick tip!: Hold the Start button and use the D-pad to navigate a mini menu, which is much faster to navigate than the bigger menu.
First, I am going to give you a cursory glance at the Map. The map is divided into a few different sections:
- All: Which will show you every icon on the map.
- Quests: Which will only show you where quests are on the map.
- Environment which shows you things like fast travel points, ore, and more.
- Factions: Shows you faction information and faction-specific icons.
Navigating the map is done with both the Left stick and the Right stick. The Left stick allows you to move around the map, while the Right stick allows you to pan in and zoom out.
Your inventory is extremely important, and you must manage your inventory slots early. This guide does not cover everything within this menu on an item level, but there are some important things to note. First, your inventory space is at the bottom of the screen on the right side. You can see that I am at 77/100. I am also carrying 16 Key items.
What are Key items? These are quest-specific items, such as the Scales of Fairness and Justice item that I have in my inventory. These can’t be sold.
Hold the R stick to sort your inventory. If you hover over an item, meaning having the square highlighted, and hold down the Left stick, you can make a group of items. This is how I keep my inventory organized. On the left side of the screen, you’ll see the equipment that you’re currently using and your stats. If you press RT, you can see the inventory that your horse has.
The Journal Explained
The Journal is how you’ll be tracking your quests, challenges, knowledge, and all of your notifications.
The first section of the Journal contains all of your Main Quests broken up by chapter. Faction Quests show all of your well…faction quests. Press A to click into these and press A again to pick a quest that you’d like to do. Now that the quest marker will appear on your map.
Challenges are important; they give you unique rewards and help you unlock the Sealed Abyss Artifacts. Make sure to check this section often to see what challenges you have left to complete.
Knowledge is the game’s encyclopedia. If you click into this, it will give you more information about the world around you. Be aware, this game employs environmental storytelling, which means not all of the information is found in the Knowledge section.
Understanding the Skill Tree
Crimson Desert has 3 playable characters, and they all use a different Skill Tree. Even if you don’t plan on using the other characters, I highly suggest allocating a few Abyss Artifacts to them because the other characters can fight with you.
Don’t forget that you can click on the bigger icons to upgrade those base skills.
The Skill Tree is currently divided into three different sections, with each of the bigger circles focusing on Stamina (blue), Health (red), and Spirit (green). You get an Abyss Point every time you level up. Pressing RT will let you flip through the Skill Tree. One last thing I want to call out is that some skills allow you to flip into them further. Further upgrading a skill will give you unique benefits.