Crimson Desert: What to do first

Wondering what to do first in Crimson Desert? Stepping into the immense world of Pywel in Crimson Desert is an intimidating affair - there's so much to see and so much to do, and you can easily spend the first few hours as Kliff meandering about the countryside, taking in the majesty of Hernand or running after local wildlife. This isn't even accounting for the many combat skills at Kliff's disposal, his Axiom Force abilities, platforming, crafting, looting objects, and so on!

To help you make sense of Pywel, the Axiom Archive, and everything else in this gargantuan experience, we've assembled an easy list of 10 things to do first in Crimson Desert. While by no means comprehensive, these pointers will go a long way toward making the start of Pearl Abyss' massive game a little more manageable.

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1. Complete Chapter 1

While you might be tempted to run off and explore with Crimson Desert's many systems as soon as Kliff gets fished out of the river by a friendly merchant, it's highly recommended that you follow the main questline, at least until the end of Chapter 1. This will see you exploring the sewers and taking to the skies as you navigate the magical tech realm known as the Axiom Archive. It'll also unlock a number of skills that are vital for the remainder of the game, including Axiom Force and the ability to Fly.

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2. Stock up on food

Food items help you heal in Crimson Desert, and stockpiling hearty meals so you can scarf them down before an upcoming stressful combat is a perfectly viable strategy. (Kinda like real life, eh?) You'll pick up recipes throughout the game, and there's a Cooking Pot in northwestern Hernand, past the alley behind the Inn.

Each recipe requires a variety of ingredients to mix it to life, and this is where Crimson Desert's old MMO roots shine through. Scour the countryside, collect cooking materials, learn how to fish, and hunt plenty of animals for good cuts of meat. You can also rely on vendors, like the nearby Hernand Butchery and Hernand Grocer's Shop, to sell you this stuff if you don't feel like gathering it all yourself.

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3. Get a Mask so you can start stealing

You'll have the ability to Steal dangled in front of you at the start of Crimson Desert whenever you stand in front of a pilferable item, but it'll be greyed out. Check out our how to steal guide for the exact details, but in short, you need a Mask. Wearing one "allows criminal behavior," to quote the game.

In order to get a mask, you can speak with the Hernand Guard Captain at the start of the game to receive your first Bounty - tracking down a miscreant named Jeffrey. Bounties are a great way to get rewards throughout the game, and the Mask that you get from this Bounty is a nice means of acquiring loot without having to pay for it. Just watch out for bystanders when you're stealing stuff!

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4. Look out for Abyss Nexus fast travel points

While you can get everywhere in Crimson Desert on foot or by horse, fast travel via Abyss Nexus portals is much easier. You'll likely encounter the first of these blue, glowing portals by completing Chapter 1, and you can find other ones typically by exploring the large question marks on your map.

For more info on Abyss Nexuses and getting from point A to point B, take a peek at our guide on how to fast travel in Crimson Desert. We've also got a guide on how to activate a very specific Abyss Nexus point nestled near the Greymane Camp you get access to later in the game.

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5. Ring Bell Towers to unfog your map

You might notice that your world map is shrouded in fog at the start of the game. Exploring Pywel's contours is the obvious way to unfog it, but you can speed this process up a bit by climbing eight Bell Towers that loom tall over Crimson Desert's settlements.

After completing Chapter 1, you should see a Bell icon on your map in Hernand. This leads to a Bell Tower that you can ring. Doing so unfogs a portion of your map, making it much easier to figure out the lay of the land without putting in the footwork. There are eight towers throughout Pywel, and we've got a guide on all Bell Tower locations for your convenience.

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6. Know that everything is climbable

Crimson Desert has some similarities with other big name open world games, and one of the most notable comparisons for me is how you're able to climb just about everything in the world, a la Link in the recent Zelda games for the Switch. Whether it's a rock or a mountain, Kliff can tackle it as long as his Stamina is high. If that Stamina metre runs out halfway through a huge climb, however, you'd best be ready for a fall.

Climbing walls and cliffsides is a decent way to make yourself inconspicuous and evade attackers, especially if you're like me and decide to spend a lot of time running to areas on the map filled with hostiles that you aren't prepared for yet. To ensure that your Stamina stays up to par, follow our next tip below when it comes to upgrading your stats.

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7. Prioritise the right Skills

Crimson Desert doesn't hold back with its hefty Skill Tree, making the entirety of it available to you from the get-go. In our best Skills to get early guide, Ollie offers up some great suggestions to guide you on your way. In short, focus on mobility and survival skills, prioritising Stamina (needed for running around this huge playground of a world) and Health (needed for surviving enemy swipes). There's a Double Jump that's also great, and if you want to use Axiom Force to swing yourself around, the Aerial Swing Skill is a must.

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8. Use Palmar Pills to revive

It's a dangerous world out there, and you're going to die frequently, which means you'll get sent to the nearest checkpoint. These checkpoints are sometimes vast distances from each other, which can be annoying if you're trying to navigate cross country to a new region.

To prevent this, and to stay in the arena for a bit longer during boss battles, keep a good supply of Palmar Pills, which are handy when you don't have enough food for healing purposes. This medicine will automatically resurrect you with 30% of your health intact. Later in the game, once crafting recipes are at your disposal, you can craft Palmar Pills - along with other medicinal remedies - by utilising a Cauldron and gathering 15 Medicinal Herbs and 2 Waters. But you can get one pretty easily by scaling the Bell Tower in Hernand and searching the alcove.

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9. Reinforce and refine your gear

Crimson Desert has weapon degradation under its hood, with your fighting implements becoming blunter the more you use them. This can make or break you during violent encounters, so keep your weapons razor sharp by sitting down at a Grindstone. Prior to getting a Camp, you can usually find these by Blacksmiths in cities and towns, and there's one by Rhett the Blacksmith in Hernand. While you're there, you should also visit the armourer Turnali, who's just next door and offers a service called Refinement, which is essentially weapon/armour upgrading.

You should also pay attention to the Reinforcement status of your gear, which measures how effective they are. I If this stat ever gets too low, know that sitting at a Grindstone is a nice way to bump all of your combat tools back up to max.

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10. Pet the dogs and pick up the cats

NPCs are truly alive in Crimson Desert, and each possesses a Trust meter that measures how much they like you. This is especially notable when it comes to animals like the many dogs and cats that roam the world. Try going up to the first few dogs and cats that you see in Hernand and interacting with them. Kliff will pet the dogs and pick up the cats, which is of course adorable, but more importantly, their Trust levels will rise each time you do so.

Once you reach 100 Trust with these cuddly critters, you can make them a summonable pet who will follow you around. On a more useful note, however, pets can also auto-loot enemies and grab other resources for you, such as wood.

And that's a wrap on our beginner's tips for what to do first in Crimson Desert. For more useful intel, we've also got a main quest list. And if you're struggling with some of the early tasks in Crimson Desert, check out our guides on how to fish, how to rest and pass time, how to sweep the chimney in Hernand and how to open the door in the Polar Opposites quest.