Crimson Desert - Things Worth Noting

Steam Community guide by Tenoshii.

Initial Observations (Part 1)

#1 - Rolling into objects like crates and barrels doesn't appear to damage them.
#2 - Many abilities you get at first are "un-upgraded" and relatively basic in function. This means you'll need to invest points into them in order to improve the overall usefulness and utility of their effects.
#3 - You can harvest resources by hitting them with a tool equipped, or you can literally "attack" them with a weapon.
#4 - In order to pet a cat you need to pick it up first.
#5 - When petting animals, you can pet up to 5 times per day and gain +5 Trust each time. After that you won't increase Trust from petting them.
#6 - Your lantern will emit a blue glow if you are in range of a "Memory".
#7 - You need to sheathe your weapon in order to loot items ('T' key).
#8 - Not sure if there is a way to change the default setting for this, but when you are viewing the world map, I recommend clicking "All" in the top left so you can see more icons and information. Makes it easier to see where quests/tasks are located.
#9 - It's actually a bit easier than you might think to just jump in the water and swim around catching fish by hand.
#10 - Because of how high up the Abyss area is, the first few "free" teleporters you get there at the start of the game are a good vantage point to fly from in order to get to some of the locations on the map if you don't want to ride there on horseback.
#11 - Falling long distances can be mitigated if you land in the water.
#12 - Falling long distances on horseback will result in you being popped off the horse and still taking damage.
#13 - Gifting items to NPCs is a great way to improve their Trust very quickly. So far the "reward" I've gotten from just random NPCs has been cloth, hides, collectibles, and other miscellaneous basic items. Keep in mind though, not all NPCs can be gifted the same items. For example, while I was able to max Trust with a Noblewoman by giving her a bunch of collectibles, Guards and Freeswords prefer coin/food based items.
#14 - If you are interested in money, don't turn your fish into fillets (done by holding down spacebar in your inventory and choosing the "Clean" option). It drastically reduces the value as many fish only turn into a single fish fillet that is only worth 2 copper coins even though the fish might be 30+.
#15 - If you happen to knock an enemy back into a road and it ends up under horse hooves or the wagon, they will rapidly take physical contact damage and be killed.
#16 - Before purchasing an ability, make sure you have enough Stamina/Spirit for it. Don't be like me and purchase the 3rd upgrade for the grappling hook (Axiom Force) and then realize you don't have enough stamina to even use it (i.e. you need 200 and I only had 140 at the time).
#17 - Check shops you come across for new items to discover plus bag space you can purchase.
#18 - Upgrading tools via refinement to "level 1" actually works off duplicate copies of the tool. So don't be too shy about looting extra ones when you see them in the world! After that it takes ores and such.
#19 - The scroll image on the minimap is the location of a consumable recipe (i.e. food and potions).
#20 - The book image on the minimap is the location of a armor/weapon recipe.
#21 - Health upgrades are 75 each.
#22 - Stamina upgrades are 20 each.
#23 - Raw materials like timber seem to be lootable inside most houses even if everything else counts as "stealing".
#24 - Keep in mind that there's a toggle on the world map to show you Abyss areas vs. normal Land areas.
#25 - You can get additional Trust per day with dogs by dropping food near them (up to 20, +10 per piece). Thanks to TritonWolf for mentioning this in the comments.
#26 - Ring the bells of church towers to reveal large parts of the map. You'll be amazed how much this helps. Thanks to Elon Mosque for mentioning this in the comments.
#27 - If you see a grindstone or anvil, don't forgot to interact with them for weapon and armor buffs, even though they are not permanent. Nice thing about armor, is that it adds a bonus to the different armor pieces that are equipped. So while from the weapon you get like +5 to overall offense, from armor you get 15+ to defense. In addition, grindstone/anvil works on weapons/armor in your inventory not just what is equipped!
#28 - Spirit is 10 points per upgrade.
#29 -After you latch on with Axiom force (grappling hook), if you double tap jump you'll pull yourself to the location. Makes it pretty easy to traverse good vertical distances once you get the hang of using it.
#30 - Not sure exactly how the behavior works, but I've noticed that once you get a pet, it seems to de-summon quite often. So it's worth checking periodically that it's there, especially if you rely on it to loot for you.
#31 - "Grouping" is an inventory mechanic that allows you to condense the default displayed items by linking them (I think by type) to other similar items in your inventory. You can tell if a displayed item is part of a group by the thick grey border around it. Using this can greatly reduce the amount of scrolling you would have to do in the main inventory portion of the screen (i.e. you don't need to look at a bunch of individual notes, letters, recipes, food ingredients, collectibles, etc). It does NOT however, add more total inventory space. Also note, items grouped like this will appear un-grouped when you go to sell things at a vendor. Thanks to Daniel_USA for mentioning "grouping" in the comments.
#32 - You might be wondering why you can't sell small collected critters like lizards. This is because the "Use" action (from inventory) allows you to butcher them for meat and bone. Generally speaking, it's worth double-checking the "Use" action options for any new type of item you collect.
#33 - There are many special "moves" or "abilities" you can use in combat that will make you invulnerable and unable to be stunned/knocked back when used against "normal/elite" enemies as long as the animation is in progress.
#34 - You can pull out the lantern and point it to see the name of NPCs from a considerable distance.
#35 - You can use the lantern to open up the option to "Untie" NPCs that have been captured (i.e. at the quarry).
#36 - Don't be afraid to kite enemies toward friendly NPCs that might be standing or wandering nearby as they have no problem aggroing enemies. They can of course die and are also lootable.
#37 - The small pouch icon on the mini-map represents something the player can loot, but requires the mask to be equipped as it is something you steal. Also reported as the location of a key. Thanks to ☥ Docdra ☥ and Mastodont for mentioning this in the comments.

Initial Observations (Part 2)

#38 - There is a small grey/gray icon in the shape of a 'x' on the mini-map when there is a corpse nearby that can be looted. Thanks to ☥ Docdra ☥ for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#39 - When using the weapon light reflection ability, you may notice from time to time that the shining lights off in the distance (abyss cubes, fast travel nodes, puzzles, etc) may disappear as you incrementally move toward them even though you aren't at their location yet. This is likely because the new vantage point you are looking from no longer has line of site with the given POI. This is typically less of a problem when using the ability from high vantage points. Thanks to mopserdak for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#40 - Using the "stab" melee attack ability can allow you to pass through and get behind waterfalls. Thanks to shlickle for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#41 - Completing the first Witch quest enables the ability to socket your gear. However you do have to defeat one of the early bosses in order to get this quest. Thanks to Ant for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#42 - If you find yourself almost out of stamina while gliding via crow wings but you are not high enough to free fall and generate enough stamina to glide again, just stop moving and you will "slow fall" from where you are straight down to the ground with zero stamina cost.
#43 - You can capture insects and small critters while sprinting provided you maintain the appropriate distance with them while moving. There's actually a cool dive roll catch that your character will you do when trying this on ground critters.
#44 - You can see enemies located on the main map at a distance farther away than they will show up on the mini-map. For example, if you see a camp off in the distance and NPCs standing around but aren't sure if they are hostile, you can switch to the main map and see if there are any red diamonds.
#45 - When you use force palm after jumping it will target the ground below you allowing for additional "jumps" at the cost of spirit. Depending on how far you have upgraded force palm this can allow for five total "boosts" in height. Mix this with upgrade crow wings and you can force a glide of considerable distance even from flat ground!
#46 - If your companion gets "downed" you can walk over to them and interact to revive them, though it does take several seconds to do so. However, if you die while they are downed you can't go back to revive and they will be on "cooldown" for 10 minutes as a result of being injured and can't be summoned to fight with you. You'll get a popup to the right of your character when the companion can be summoned again so you don't have to worry about periodically checking the radial menu to see if they are ready.
#47 - It can be dangerous running through towns and small villages with low wooden fences at high speed as your horse can easily trample them and commit "vandalism" crimes.
#48 - You can activate an Abyss waypoint teleporter while mounted.
#49 - When you have a companion traveling with you, their lantern will glow blue when near a memory just like yours does.
#50 - The Greymane faction quest line "Scattered Embers" includes many objectives that will cover a variety of in-game features and mechanics much like a "tutorial" would. Thanks to Ant for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#51 - There are dispatch missions that will automatically repeat until you cancel them ("Estate Security", mining, farming, etc). This is a great way to keep a constant stream of resources coming in without having to constantly come back and resend your faction members on the same dispatch mission. Thanks to Ant for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#52 - As it relates to in-game vs. real life time conversion: 1 in-game hour ≈ 2.5 real minutes | 1 full in-game day (24h) ≈ 60 real minutes. Thanks to Ant for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#53 - Maxing out Trust with certain NPC Shops may result in additional items being available for purchase. Thanks to Koaleszenz for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#54 - While there are a lot of "trash" items you can loot littered across abandoned camps, broken wagons and other mini-POIs and decorative-ish structures, over time you will learn to recognize the ones with cooking ingredients (including oil and water) laying around as well as chests/crates full of fresh meat/vegetables. These are fantastic for keeping you stocked on the materials to cook food. Plus there's almost always a campfire or cooking pot nearby these areas so you don't have to go out of your way to find a place to cook meals.
#55 - If you use the grappling hook on a tent it will destroy it instead of simply latching on.
#56 - Be careful when trying to traverse over the top of spiked wooden walls/palisades. If you touch near the top around the spikes you'll take damage and get knocked back. The game is quite generous with the hitbox so you don't even need to be touching the spike itself!
#57 - In order to execute combos that trigger from pressing the same key (i.e. light and heavy attack), you can just hold said key down to complete the combo instead of pressing it repeatedly.
#58 - You can "pass time" in-game by using the lantern menu on a campsite or cooking pot.
#59 - In order to unlock the ability to "dispatch" allies from the Greymane Camp to go on missions, you need to defeat the "Reed Devil" as part of the Chapter 3 main story.
#60 - Ringing the small bells you find throughout the world is intended to reveal a significant amount of the nearby world map area. However, until you have rung the one in Hernand, none of the others will actually reveal any map area. Thanks to Ant for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#61 - The only lantern interactions that require it to be lit is when you are trying to detect and learn memories. When off, your character will simply point instead. Can be helpful when you aren't interested in being blinded by light in already quite well lit areas! Thanks to Sengralon for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#62 - Don't be afraid to destroy wooden towers and buildings in order to help deal with their enemy occupants. I particularly enjoy doing this to archers atop wooden towers as it helps me save arrows shooting at them or time spent climbing the ladder (but it works for other buildings too). Be warned though, if you manage to be in the path of falling rubble, you'll take a bit of damage! Thanks to Sengralon for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#63 - For some reason the Greymane Camp Provisioner (Carl) doesn't appear to retain any Trust that you build with him. In addition, when I did max it out I didn't notice any benefits.
#64 - The "rumor" related quests you get from Marius will allow you to find and add more Greymanes to your camp. Some of them can go on dispatch missions while others will "unlock" additional capabilities in the camp (cooking vendor, wagon area, blacksmith, etc).
#65 - If you haven't already, check out the patch notes (version 1.00.03) that dropped on March 22nd, 2026 at 8PM CST. The highlights are enemy nerfs, food buffs, and additional camp storage.

Initial Observations (Part 3)

#66 - If you look closely you can actually see the amulet and rings the player has equipped.
#67 - Looks like they've increased the amount of healing of each food item by 40 points. Thanks Patch 1.00.03!
#68 - Items that you haven't "read" for the purposes of acquiring knowledge are now marked with a white diamond icon in the top left that has a question mark inside it. Feels so good not having to memorize which letters and recipes I've already read so I can easily get rid of them.
#69 - I've found that it's a lot easier to land a throw without getting hit in melee first if you realize that your character can initiate a throw outside of melee range and will charge a short distance and then execute the grapple. This way you don't have to run up manually to get in "melee range" and then press the button combination and wait the short delay before the grapple animation starts. Initiating it "too far" away and letting your character move in range and automatically do the grapple feels much nicer.
#70 - Destroying the cages of captured animals as part of trying to defeat enemies from a Fort is a good way to get a "free ally".
#71 - Power cores show up on the mini-map as purple icon pentagrams. Needs Kuku Pot to collect them? Not far enough to know what that is and where to get it though.
#72 - Unfortunately you can't cook/craft in camp with ingredients and materials that are in "Private Storage".
#73 - Confirmed you can gift recipes to the Tavern Lady (Dahlia) in Hernand. Increasing Trust with her yield additional recipes as well as a "Food Contract" that allows you to purchase additional types of food from within Greymane Camp.
#74 - Purple Pentagram icon can also represent a clue for a quest.
#75 - If you see white dots on the mini-map it means there's an NPC there that has specific dialogue to share, sometimes resulting in you getting a new Knowledge entry.
#76 - If you grab a mounted enemy using Axiom Force it will hold them in the air while the mount runs away.
#77 - You can use the lantern and point in water to see if there are any fish nearby. If there is, you'll see the name of it when you've successfully pointed at it.
#78 - There is fall damage when trees are damaged and fall over on another object. I was sprinting toward this enemy then did a grapple around his throat and slammed him to the ground. However I also collided with a nearby small tree and it fell on me while I was getting up from the grapple and killed me (already had low health).
#79 - The Blinding Light ability can be used to cook food on the ground by pointing at it and "focusing" the light (i.e. think using a magnifying glass IRL). Thanks to IchigoMait for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#80 - The armor tab of the Weapons/Armor radial menu can be used to adjust hoods and visors. Simply highlight it in the menu and then close it. Thanks to IchigoMait for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#81 - You'll notice in the inventory screen there's a "Key Items" counter to the left of the current/max inventory capacity. These key items don't take up inventory capacity. In addition, some of them will become non-key items after they've served their purpose (i.e. quest is done or knowledge has been gained). Thanks to IchigoMait for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#82 - Holding up the lantern will show Abyss Seals on altars as a yellow glowing light. Thanks to IchigoMait for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#83 - There appears to be some additional depth to the Trust gaining mechanic for feeding pets. Thanks to Daniel_USA and IchigoMait for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#84 - When you get the Kuku Pot and start sealing abyssal items in it you can take them out by interacting with the pot in your inventory and "discard" the item in the pot. This will put it next to you. Not sure why its discard and not the grayed out "withdraw" button though. Thanks to Latnoziroh for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#85 - Pay attention to which size and type of coin pouch you use as a "gift". Every pouch I've found only gives 5 Trust. So obviously giving away silver pouches for 5 Trust is not a good deal when you could use copper pouches instead (see below).
#86 - The game does a great job at taking a specific combat ability and performing a visual variation of it depending on where you are positioned in reference to the target and whether you are stationary, sprinting, jumping, etc.
#87 - While I'm not sure I fully understand how it works, I think if you move too far away from an abandoned but functional wagon it will despawn. Most recently I was slowly following the road in an unexplored area and would periodically get off the wagon to loot and fight nearby. After a while I noticed the wagon vanished.
#88 - You can mine while climbing as long as you have the appropriate tool equipped. The game will indicate what keybind to use in the bottom right of the screen.
#89 - There are a variety of useful items and objects that can only be obtained through the "Production" dispatch missions (the ones with the gear symbol). It's worth periodically checking the map or Ross at the Greymane Camp as you explore and unlock new sites just to check on what's possible.
#90 - Surprisingly enough, sliding into an enemy does NOT appear to have any effect on them. I was hoping it would be a low stamina knockdown, but no such luck.

Initial Observations (Part 4)

#91 - Note some interesting gear based observations below. Thanks to IchigoMait and Daniel_USA for mentioning this topic in the comments.
#92 - When using precisio