True to its promise, Crimson Desert is a game where the campaign is only a small part of the overall experience (and considering it takes a while to complete, that’s saying something). There are dozens of different activities to partake in if you have the time, and that doesn’t even include everything that the game doesn’t explain, be it hidden mechanics or unique items. And while a good chunk of this could be pursued while going through the story, it’s not the worst idea to return and really devote yourself to them, either because Kliff is stronger, your inventory space is greater from helping out different townsfolk, and so on.
Regardless of when you choose to tackle these activities, here are 30 things to do after finishing Crimson Desert, starting with the most obvious…
Reassembling the Greymanes
While you could participate sparingly after establishing Howling Hill Camp, it’s best to take on the various requests that Marius and other Greymanes have to offer. Not only will they lead to new facilities – like a cook and gear store – but you can also send them out on missions to gather resources and other useful items. They can also be useful for clearing blockaded areas, making it that much easier to clean up any remaining locations teeming with enemies.
It’s a Simple Life
The most potent meals are those that require the most ingredients, but alongside purchasing them or sending out Greymanes on missions for the same, you can also raise animals and farm in your camp. It’s your main impetus for gathering plant seeds throughout Pywel, but being able to target farm all the required ingredients for specific meals is nice.
Rebuilding Pailune
Once you’ve completed Chapter 7, the Greymanes can begin the larger work to rebuild Pailune and restore its former brilliance. It’s a pretty sizable resource sink and will require donations alongside allocating Greymanes for various tasks. The benefits can be worthwhile, especially for the Institute, which contains its own research projects to unlock new blueprints and other benefits.
Slay the Spires
After conquering the Spire of Stars, various other Spires will start appearing as part of the main story. They offer up some interesting puzzles and platforming challenges, usually culminating in your crossing over to a key location in the Abyss. However, you may have to venture to some of them separately, like with the Spire of Clockwork, which you’ll only receive the key for after completing Chapter 8.
Into the Abyss
The Abyss is one of the more interesting elements of Crimson Desert because each island features unique puzzles and mechanics to overcome to reach the next. They can be especially useful for unlocking fast travel points across Pywel. Since Stamina requirements are heavily reduced in the Abyss, it’s much easier to glide to certain points before the map transition occurs.
Harness the Elements
While completing the Spires for completion’s sake is all well and good, they all lead to unlocking elemental attacks in the Abyss. Wind is found by entering the Spire of Clockwork by completing Riddle Square; Ice is located by entering the Spire of Ringing Truth and completing the Path of Trials; Fire is further down the same chain in the Tree of Slumber; and Lightning requires completing the Courtyard of Precision. You could technically complete the game without any of them, but for the post-game, you’ll want every advantage available.
Find Hidden Treasure
Fancy a treasure hunt? You’ll occasionally stumble upon maps with drawings of locations that can lead to some nifty rewards (including gear). Not every map is simply lying out in the open, like in Karin Quarry, so keep an eye out and check your minimap for any potential documents nearby. Of course, you can also find treasure in other unlikely locations, like The Singing Catfish, which contains a Pirate King Hat for detecting nearby treasure.
Bounty Star
As with many things, bounties open up fairly early on, whether on notice boards or random poles strewn throughout the world. And while they could fetch some decent money when you’re short, I recommend going after all of them after all the major cities are unlocked. The reason is that even in Hernand, you’ll find bounties for outlaws that are really far away, and transporting them back to the constabulary, even on horseback, will take a while. So go through the story first and then start apprehending each one with minimal fuss.
DO NOT STOP EXPLORING
Okay, this goes without saying, but Crimson Desert heavily rewards exploration. You never quite know what you’ll stumble upon next, whether it’s a hidden puzzle, a valuable item, a powerful piece of armor, or an engaging quest. In fact, the game’s refusal to constantly hold your hand is one of its biggest strengths, so make sure you explore it as thoroughly as possible. You may be surprised by just how much it has to offer.
Iron Chef
Recipes abound in almost every corner of Pywel, and even after learning them, they’ll continually drop (which can net some decent Copper after selling). So why not go out of your way and find every single one? Some of them will simply restore health, Spirit and Stamina, but others can bestow high-level resistances for a short period. The same goes for Alchemy – there are some pretty strong recipes out there which will increase your max health, damage and much more.
Collecting All the Pets
As we’ve said before, pets can be quite useful if you don’t want to loot every single corpse that mysteriously fell down some stairs in your presence. And while it may not seem practical, nothing is stopping you from earning the trust of just about every canine and feline friend out there to add to the roster.
Toll the Bells
When traveling to specific inhabited locations, whether it’s Hernand, Scholastone or even Calphade, you can surmount clock towers and ring their bells to clear the map’s fog of war. Besides making it easier to explore the surrounding region, they also contribute to yet another faction quest for Priorin Forest Guardians.
Buy High, Sell Low
If you’re looking to generate some additional funds for camp (or just don’t want to keep wasting Greymanes to accrue money in dispatch missions), then try getting into trading goods. After progressing enough to help the Goldleaf Merchants Guild, you can package goods and load them into a wagon (which is tied to the “Grounds of the Sunrise” Greymane quest) to deliver. Caveats abound, however, starting with the cost of packaging goods. You also need a minimum of 25 goods, and can’t dismount from the wagon for any reason, or risk losing all the goods. If you can get around all that and don’t mind a relaxing ride, then trading may just be for you.
Natural Born Collector
The quest for knowledge in Crimson Desert is never-ending, and that includes learning about every animal, plant, and what have you. It may seem inherently pointless (beyond using them as ingredients), but there are several Challenges associated with them if you have the corresponding Sealed Abyss Artifact. Collecting all the different mushrooms, medicinal herbs and poisonous herbs, for example, will award an Abyss Artifact and Abyss Core.
Weapon Mastery
In the same vein, you’ll discover Sealed Abyss Artifacts with various combat challenges tied to specific weapon types. Sword of Trials 1, for example, requires defeating three enemies within 30 seconds with a sword. These award Abyss Artifacts with later trials, even awarding Abyss Cores, and if nothing else, they’re great for mixing up combat and trying out new techniques.
Min-Max Abyss Cores
Finding heaps of Abyss Cores is great, but you know what’s even better? Fusing them for higher tiers and even Greater Abyss Cores with unique skills. The odds of the latter are low, but if nothing else, earning Tier 3 Abyss Cores for better passive benefits to your attack, defense, critical rate and healing can be worth the investment.
Beat the Arm Wrestling Champ
Arm wrestling is only one of the first mini-games that you’ll engage in, and you probably noticed a little notification pop up about beating three opponents in a row. Don’t leave the table after that because the fourth opponent is usually the champion. Beat them for bragging rights and then venture out to find even more champions to conquer.
Challenges and Changes
Another subsection of the Challenges tied to Sealed Abyss Artifacts seems dedicated to nigh impossible feats that only a Greymane could achieve – like jumping from the Abyss and hitting the ground in 30 seconds, finding 20 allies, expanding Howling Hill, and even traveling two kilometers without actually moving. Once again, they’re worth it for the Abyss Cores, Artifacts and Faded Artifacts, and are more unique than the usual mastery challenges.
Damiane and Oongka
As additional unlockable characters, Damiane and Oongka don’t figure as heavily in the story as Kliff (they each have dedicated sections, but that’s it). However, you’re free to play them at any time outside of it, as long as they’re not currently embroiled in a quest. With how Artifacts and gear work, min-maxing their set-ups can provide dozens of additional hours of gameplay. You can also just summon them by your side for questing, and have some much-needed backup.
Go Fish
Who doesn’t like fishing in video games? It’s relaxing, therapeutic and downright essential for survival. No, not in a “teach a man to fish” kind of way, but because several recipes outright require their meat. So if you’re not interested in raising animals in Pywel, maybe spend some time on the shore. You may even discover a rod that can auto-reel, thus significantly speeding up the process.
Faction Quests
Progressing through the story and helping out the various factions, especially across the set-piece liberation missions, can unlock new quest chains that revolve around them. For example, helping Count Roberts in Hernand will lead you to the Karin Quarry, where you must clear out the Bleed Bandits and take on Marni’s Excavatron, then return later to operate a crane. Other faction quests abound (even for the Greymanes), and they’re worth completing for resources, gear, Contribution, and building alliances.
Optional Bosses
Beyond simply wandering into occupied quarries, camps and other locations, laying waste to the enemies, and then taking out the boss (see: The Crimson Nightmare), some are far less obvious. The Staglord is a good example. As part of House Serkis’s faction quest, it involves venturing to the Icemoor Castle Ruins, searching for Marshall Middler and eventually taking on the Staglord. Other such opponents can emerge as part of requests – like taking out the three Lunar Reapers in Demesis – so keep an eye out when they emerge.
Decorating Your House
Since it’s not enough that you can farm, fish, and raise animals, Crimson Desert also gives Kliff a house to decorate. Located just away from the road leading into camp, you can purchase furniture from vendors and set about arranging it however you’d like. It may not have much practical use initially, but purchasing a Cauldron will allow for crafting elixirs, which can provide an edge in battle.
Research Projects
For all the MMO elements in Crimson Desert, it shouldn’t be surprising that there are various projects to research, which can unlock blueprints and other benefits. The Pororin are probably the earliest encountered and can provide benefits such as the formula for crafting regular Palmar Pills, revealing the location of areas for gathering their ingredients, and even further increasing Spirit. Each project requires hefty amounts of Silver, and you’ll need to wait a certain number of hours (which can be skipped by waiting or sleeping). Also, return to the researcher if a project suddenly stops – they may need your help.
Cleansing the Sanctums
After meeting Elowen the witch, you can start clearing out the various Sanctums adorning the regions. These require taking out enemies and then “cleansing” the core structure, either by inserting power cubes or repairing the pillars. Once done, you’ll unlock Kuku blueprints for crafting new tools like the jetpack for Oognka and the laser helm. Cleansing further Sanctums requires meeting other witches, including Lyselia, Bari and Areciel, so keep an eye out for anyone who might need help.
Clearing Abyss Cressets
Abyss Cressets are about as curious as they are bewildering. You’ll discover some out in the open world, and interacting will award an Abyss Artifact. However, others require completing devious puzzles within ancient ruins, which can vary wildly in terms of difficulty. Nevertheless, they’re worth at least attempting, especially since the Cresset also serves as a new fast travel point when cleared.
Resist and Disorder
Donning a mask and stealing from all and sundry? Been there and done that. Being an actual public nuisance and getting rewarded? Now that’s worth pursuing a life of crime for. Some Sealed Abyss Artifacts will have some morally onerous demands, including destroying Banner Pikes at night undetected, selling three wagons to the fence, pickpocketing in major cities, and more. You might not amass the largest fortune, but the Abyss Artifacts and Cores are well worth it.
I Fought the Law
Alternatively, you can do what every Skyrim player has done at least once in their playthrough – wreak havoc and fight the guards. It will tank your Contribution in a region and put a bounty on your head – which can grow to exorbitant amounts – but it’s not the worst way to test your skills. Just don’t fail that QTE when grappled, or it’s all over.
All You Need is Kill
Even if you’re not doing any of the activities above to earn Abyss Artifacts, venturing out into the world and getting into fights can still be worthwhile. See that yellow bar to the left of your mini map? It constantly increases as you slay enemies and will award an Abyss Artifact when full. When there’s nothing else left in the post-game, or you’re just tired of requests, then take solace in mass slaughter.
Maxing Out Trust
An underrated element that you should be doing throughout, but still worthwhile even after the story is complete. Talking to NPCs will gradually increase your trust with them; gifting them will raise this even further (save those Copper Pouches for just such an occasion). Once maxed out, the NPC in question can offer different benefits, including secret inventories and deeds for buying their stock at Howling Hill. You may even get some hints about legendary mounts (sadly, only horses) to tame and add to your stable.