Crimson Desert
- Released
- 20 March 2026Sold now as Crimson Desert Enhanced
- Platforms
- PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
- Developer
- Pearl Abyss
- Publisher
- Pearl Abyss
Player ratings read 28 September 2026
Pearl Abyss rewrote much of Crimson Desert’s opening hours in the weeks after the 19 March 2026 launch. This guide covers what to do first. Every fact comes from the patch notes or from our own play on the current build, and each patch number links to the notice.
Buy healing from Ronnie, the camp cook: from 27 Copper to 2.75 Silver
Ronnie, the Base Camp Cook at Howling Hill, sells provisions that restore Health. On patch 2.03.02 his menu ran from Battered Meat at 27 Copper to Harvest Soup at 2.75 Silver, with Grilled Meat Steak at 1.80 Silver for 460 Health, and his stock restocks on a timer. Pearl Abyss’s 1.00.03 note of 23 March cut camp restoratives from 10 Silver to 1 Silver and names Carl as the seller; neither the price nor the seller matches the current game. The same patch raised the Health that food and ingredients restore and added new dishes to the Hernand Tavern.
Use the Private Storage, and expand the camp to grow it to 1,000 slots
Private Storage was added in 1.00.03 at your first temporary lodgings in Hernand and at Howling Hill Camp. Patch 1.01.00 moved the Howling Hill chest into Kliff’s tent. It starts at 240 slots and grows with each of the five camp expansions (1.02.00):
- Start: 240 slots
- First to fourth expansions: +100 slots each
- Final expansion: +360 slots
- Total: 1,000 slots
Once the camp moves to Pailune later in the story, you receive the Private Storage as an item to place through housing mode (1.04.00).
Donate to the camp: 1 Copper gives 10 Camp Funds, 1 Silver gives 1,000
Since patch 2.01.00 on 4 September, Camp Funds from Silver donations are 10 times what they were. On patch 2.03.02 the donation screen shows 1.01 Silver giving 1,010 Camp Funds: 10 per Copper, 1,000 per Silver. The screen does not offer a flat 1 Silver; the lowest Silver amount it gives is 1.01. Carl also runs the Greymane Contribution Shop at the camp, added in 1.04.00 and restocked with more items in 1.08.00. Goods sold by Greymane NPCs are 10% cheaper since 1.04.00.
Mine bismuth with a pickaxe; you don’t need Lightning
Since 1.00.03, bismuth ore can be mined “using regular methods like a pickaxe, rather than requiring Lightning damage attacks”. Petrification applies by default as you approach the ore, so expect it and work through it.
Ore veins and collectibles also reveal themselves as you get close: regular ores from 8m away, and tools such as bonfires, special cooking tools and grindstones from 2m.
Destroy the Infirmary, Storage and Barracks before attacking a stronghold’s boss
Patch 1.00.03 gave each stronghold facility an effect when destroyed:
- Infirmary: wounded enemies no longer return to the fight.
- Storage: enemy max Health falls by 10%.
- Barracks: enemy Attack falls by 5.
Take the facilities down first and the fight that follows is easier.
Force Palm unlocks in Chapter 1; Focused Force Palm in Chapter 4
You only need to observe a skill once before you can use it (1.00.03). Force Palm itself is an unmissable unlock in Chapter 1, The First Encounter, during the quest “Abyss Without Balance”; Pearl Abyss moved it there in 1.00.03 so players “use it much earlier in the game”.
Focused Force Palm comes in Chapter 4, on the way to Scholastone in Hernand. It is observed from an apparition standing at a blocked road by a cave opening in the western Steel Mountains, on the road from Fort Perwin to Kharonso. Once you have learned it, the apparition is gone. Checked in house on 2.03.02.
Set fish traps: they catch fish since 1.08.00
Fish traps were fixed in 1.08.00 so that fish can be caught with them. Patch 1.08.00 also added a pond to Howling Hill and Pailune camp, built by completing the pond construction mission. Patch 1.12.00 stopped extra large fish such as the Striped Marlin appearing in traps, so don’t expect trophies from them.
Check the Witches’ shop every day
Certain items in the Witches’ shop reset daily (1.00.03).
Fast travel through Abyss Nexuses, even while mounted
Patch 1.00.03 added more Abyss Nexuses across Pywel. Since 1.03.00 you can teleport from one while mounted, falling, swimming or climbing, and 1.02.00 let you trigger one while moving slightly.
On PS5 and Xbox, turn V-Sync off or enable 120Hz in Balanced mode
Pearl Abyss’s own note from 1.00.03: in Balanced mode, V-Sync “may cause the frame rate to lock at 30 FPS when it fluctuates between 30 and 40 FPS”. Its advice is to enable the 120Hz option if your display supports it, or turn V-Sync off on a VRR display. The default output is 60Hz; 120Hz is a separate setting that needs HDMI 2.1 bandwidth. Our PS5 Pro review covers the display modes.
Starting again? A new game from an existing save begins with 1,000 Silver or more
Patch 2.03.00 on 18 September awards 1,000 or more Silver as stackable silver pouches when you start a new game from existing save data. It comes on top of the Abyss Links and currency carry-over covered in our updates since launch.
Last checked 30 September 2026 against patch 2.03.02. Sources: Pearl Abyss patch notes 1.00.03, 1.01.00, 1.02.00, 1.03.00, 1.04.00, 1.08.00, 1.12.00, 2.01.00 and 2.03.00, and our own play.