Crimson Desert: how to farm golden apples and craft gold ingots

3 weeks. It took 3 weeks after the release of Crimson Desert for someone to finally find the famous golden apples. It was Orefer 1991 who discovered the exact spot, and since then, the community has been on fire.

Why was everyone looking for them? Because these apples allow you to craft gold ingots much faster than the classic method — you know, going pickpocket the nobles of Deminis and getting fined for each failed attempt. With the golden apples, it's cleaner, faster, and above all much more profitable.

The recipe is simple: 1 golden apple + 3 gold ores = 1 gold ingot And ingots, you need them for everything - platinum, endgame equipment crafts, or just to spend money at merchants without spending 4 hours farming ores.

Heading to the territory of Deminis , to the northwest. More precisely, you are looking Grey Rock Dock — a small fishing village with a house and NPCs hanging out on the left. There are several teleporters in the area: one on the other side of the river, another one up high. Otherwise, the abyss does a great job of getting there by air.

First thing to do: free the territory if Wolf Trackers are occupying the area. As long as it's not done, hedgehogs won't spawn properly. Once the camp is cleared, you can start.

The exact spot is the path around the fisherman's house. Hedgehogs appear on this small road, between the pumpkin field and the intersection near the dock entrance. It's completely random — sometimes you come across two at once, sometimes you drive for 3 minutes without seeing anything. No confirmed hourly pattern for now, it's pure RNG.

The concept is quite crazy when you think about it. Golden apples grow on a tree invisible to humans — only hedgehogs can see them. So, these little creatures walk around with a shiny golden apple on the back You spot it by a luminous reflection above the hedgehog. Be careful, there are also mice and other critters around - don't mix them up.

Now, to retrieve the apple, you have several options depending on your play style:

Take out your bow and activate it focus mode at the same time. It slows down time and allows you to aim calmly at the hedgehog on the ground — because yes, these things are tiny and move fast. However, you need the skill Focused shot in the green skill tree. To unlock it, you will need the Concentration level 2 and of the Archery Level 2 A small investment that is well worth it if you plan to farm regularly.

You pick up the hedgehog by hand, throw it on the ground, and it remains still for a few seconds. During this short period of time, you draw your bow and shoot. It's less clean than the focused shot but it works. Even better if you use some explosive or poisoned arrows — no need to aim right at its head.

Possible but honestly a pain. The apple is tiny on the hedgehog's back. Reserved for sharpshooters or those who are too lazy to pick up the critter.

Small strange detail: once the apple on the ground, you have to steal (yes, even if the hedgehog is dead). This triggers a red circle on the minimap. Just run outside the area to avoid the fine.

Tip: the Great Thief's Glove guarantees you at least one flight without reputation loss if someone sees you. Handy for securing the first apples.

Some suggest going all the way up the path on the right to force the hedgehogs to respawn, then come back down. Honestly? It's too long. The most effective method is to run in a loop around the fisherman's village house . You pass on one side, you turn the corner, you come back on the other side. The hedgehogs spawn nonetheless while you turn.

Here is the loop:

1. Start from the dock entrance, follow the path to the pumpkin field
2. Go around the house looking carefully at the ground at each corner
3. Return to the intersection — creatures respawn during your loop
4. If really nothing spawns after several turns, make a round trip to the nearest Abyssal Nexus

It's completely random - you need to know that. Sometimes you chain several hedgehogs in a row, sometimes it's desert for a good 3 minutes. But over a 15-20 minute session, the performance remains excellent.

Keep your bow equipped at all times. Hedgehogs are small, fast, and disappear into the bushes in two seconds.

Once you have your apples in your pocket, you need the recipe for the gold ingot If you don't already have it, one of the most accessible places is located near Fleecy , in the witch's lair nestled in the mountains. You spot the steps just before the entrance, you go in, and on the right there are recipes. But the formula for the gold ingot is all the way back, on the back shelf — use your lantern to spot it. It's easy to miss if you don't dig well.

Once the formula is retrieved, go see any witch. In the menu Manufacturing of equipment , section all the way back, you will find the recipe:

• 1 golden apple (closed on hedgehogs)
• 3 gold ores (gold ore — easy to mine just about anywhere)
• = 1 gold ingot

In 5 minutes of crafting, you can produce 8 gold ingots effortlessly. It's incomparable to the pickpocket method among the nobles.

The gold ingot is expensive, but honestly reselling it directly is a bit of a waste. You will need it to craft some platinum ingots — and platinum is the lifeblood of endgame equipment. Some crafts require several platinum ingots, so it's best to store and convert them as needed.

Otherwise, if you just want quick cash, resell everything and go around the merchants to buy the materials you don't want to farm yourself.

Before the discovery of golden apples, the reference was the pickpocket at Demise Wildlife Park - going to steal ingots directly from the nobles. It worked, but it was annoying. Constant fines, tight timing, and if you get caught twice in a row, the punishment stings.

Golden apples change the game for several reasons:

• Higher performance - 8 to 12 ingots per hour compared to 3 to 5 in pickpocket
• Less risk — the red circle disappears quickly, no guard chasing after you
• Accessible early — no need for a monster level, just a bow and arrows
• Scalable — hedgehogs respawn in a loop, you can farm as much as you want

In short, if you're struggling to accumulate gold in Crimson Desert, this is probably the technique you need.

It's completely random. Sometimes you come across two at once, sometimes you turn for 3 minutes without anything. On average, in a 15-20 minute session around the house, you get about ten. If nothing spawns, a round trip to the Abyssal Nexus resets the respawns.

The ideal is to have Concentration in the green tree (Concentration level 2 + Archery level 2). It slows down time and allows you to easily aim at hedgehogs. Without this skill, the "catch-release" method also works but it is slower.

One of the simplest spots: the witch's landmark near Pelou, stuck to the mountains. Enter, go all the way to the back on the right, and look for the alchemical formula on the shelf at the back with your lantern. Easy to miss if you don't search well.

Several hundred silver for resale. But its true interest lies in crafting platinum ingots, essential for endgame equipment.

Not really. The red circle disappears quickly once you leave the area. The Grand Thief's Glove also protects you from reputation loss if an NPC sees you. It's not comparable to pickpocketing nobles that gives you a serious bounty.