The top 20 Crimson Desert gear items to prioritize recovering

Crimson Desert was released on March 19, 2026 and, let's be honest, the game doesn't hold your hand when it comes to equipment. Pearl Abyss has hidden a ton of weapons, armor, and useful items all over the continent of Pywel—behind waterfalls, in secondary caves, with vendors you might completely overlook. The issue is that without these items, some bosses will roll over you shamelessly .

We compiled the 20 most useful items for the early and mid-game. Some literally halve the difficulty (palm concentrates, anyone?), others give you weapons with abyssal effects from the first hours. And if you struggle to turn the game correctly, we also have a graphics card board lower and a benchmark Crimson Desert complete to find the GPU suitable for your setup.

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You can catch it literally in the first seconds of the game Just above Hernand Bridge, in the cliff, there is a small sanctuary that is not even on the map. Light the two candles on each side of the statue, the gate rises, and the chest is there. It's a one-handed sword with bonus attack speed - nothing crazy on paper, but it's a real step-up from the Grey Wolf sword at the beginning. It holds up well during the first two easy chapters.

You automatically recover this one by defeating the Horn Splitter boss at the end of chapter 2. It's a main quest, so impossible to miss. And it's a killer. The lord's sword comes with a abyssal core Wind Cut — concretely, your light attacks sometimes trigger a ground wind wave that pushes back and damages enemies around you. Very satisfying and very useful when you are surrounded in a bandit camp.

Let's get down to business. The Wondo is a large sword with abyssal cores already embedded - critical hit and attack speed increased, plus endurance regeneration on attack. The catch: you have to steal it. It is located in the Lyon Crest Manor, west of Hernand. Normally, the manor is locked until you have completed the side quests related to the family. But if you're impatient, you can bypass the building, find the small annex on the side, and climb through the window with the open shutter. Search the chest upstairs, and you're done.

Attention : to steal anything in Crimson Desert, you must first have unlocked the mask (we'll talk about it later). Without it, no crime is possible.

If you prefer one-handed weapons, the Empty Face is probably what you're looking for. It's a fast katana with abyssal cores oriented towards critical hit and attack speed. And unlike the Wondo, you keep the shield option. However, you have to go a little further to get it - to the south of the map, near a large pirate village. Spot the small elongated lake on the map, go all the way up, and you'll find a waterfall.

And that's where we get to something the game never explains to you: you cannot cross waterfalls normally You must use the breakthrough (Triangle + R1), the charged attack that breaks enemies' guard. It's the only way to get behind. Otherwise, you take damage and step back. Remember this - many game waterfalls hide caves with loot.

We are talking about a two-handed sword of rank 4 with a completely broken abyssal core: the Dark Injury . With each Rotating Strike (heavy + light attack combo), a wave of dark projectiles is triggered and ravages everything in front of you. Combine this with the Lord Stag's helmet for +35% damage on the Rotating Strike, and you become a crushing machine.

The issue: it unlocks in chapter 5 at the Sanctuary of Absolution. The boss on site uses exactly the same attack against you, and it hurts a lot. Plan a substantial stock of palm concentrates before going there.

A shield smaller than classic models, therefore less raw defense. But it compensates with +2 attack speed and two abyssal cores (defense and damage reduction). You obtain it by completing the Circus House quest in chapter 4, after defeating Lord Stag in the northwest of Hernand. It's a side quest, so remember to check the faction quests tab in your journal if you have unlocked it.

This helmet boosts your Spinning Strike by 35%. Perfect combo with the Dark Pursuit Ship. The only problem: it's frankly huge on Kliff's head. If aesthetics bother you, you can always extract its abyssal core from the witches (available in chapter 5) and stick it on a helmet you like better. It is located at the Sanctuary of Blessing, southwest of the ruins of Icemore Castle. You need to light the lantern of the statue to open a secret door.

This is not an object per se, but a piece of advice worth its weight in gold. As soon as you get your hands on a second one-handed sword, equip it in the shield slot. You will then switch to dual-wield mode — fast combos, high damage, and mobility that changes everything. This is the preferred setup for many players in advanced chapters. Attention : without a shield, your defense drops and blocked hits still hurt. Master counters and perfect parries first before diving in.

We start with the most accessible. In Hernand Castle, there is a contribution vendor that many players overlook at first. You exchange your contribution points (obtained through secondary quests and region bounties) for gear. Bolton's armor is the cheapest option: a few faction points are enough. It's decent heavy armor for the beginning, and above all, it doesn't cost you a single ingot Your silver coins are for something else.

Same seller, but more expensive in contribution. The breastplate, cape, gloves, and boots of the ceremonial guard offer better stats and a frankly classy look. You need to grind a few more side quests in the region, but it's worth it if you plan to stay in the Hernand area for a while. We recommend at least the breastplate and the cape.

Mathias is the first real boss of the game. Once you have defeated him, his full armor becomes available at Hernand's equipment merchant. It's Kanta's plate armor, and honestly, it can accompany you. during the half of the game if you have it regularly upgraded at the blacksmith. Level 7 of improvement, this is the threshold where you start wanting to change, but before that, nothing surpasses it in its price range. The only problem: it is quite expensive at the beginning. Hence the interest in starting with Bolton or the ceremonial guard in the meantime.

Head west from Hernand, at the end of the great river. Next to a teleportation point, you will find a multi-level waterfall. Look for the right level - see if there is a small stone cairn in front of the waterfall, it's a sign that a cave is hidden behind. Same technique as for the Empty Face: breakthrough (Triangle + R1) to cross. Inside, chests and a refined palm concentrate await you, plus these gloves with abyssal cores that increase the efficiency of care and add a regenerative effect . Frankly unbeatable at the beginning of the game.

Same logic, different location. Still to the west, just above the first N of "Hernande" on the map, near a small river. You will find a waterfall with a cairn, you pierce through, and you recover the boots in the cave. They boost endurance recovery and climbing speed (+2%, it's not crazy, but it's free). A refined palm concentrate also hangs around the corner. With the gloves, that makes two pieces of the Fallen Kingdom set without spending a penny — and it saves buying from the merchant.

Accessories are rare at the beginning of the game, and this one is obtained for free. You must go to Blummont Manor in Hernand, go upstairs, and find the safe in the bedroom. It is protected by an owl puzzle: you must turn the buttons so that the owl faces you. Once opened, you get the Oath of Darkness, an earring with bonus defense. Not enough to revolutionize your build, but it's free defense, and earrings are not common in the early chapters.

You will recover quite a few armors as rewards from main quests throughout the story. Many are less good in stats than what you already wear, but do not sell them especially Some have special effects - frost resistance, heat resistance, stealth bonus to infiltrate camps without being noticed. And storage chests are coming in a future patch (Pearl Abyss confirmed it was planned but not yet implemented). They will be available in your house, on the other side of the cliff from the camp. Until then, hold on and keep everything.

It is the most important object in the game . Final point. When you die against a boss, you have three options: give up, restart, or use a palm concentrate to return to 30% of your health and continue the fight. The thing is, these items are rare if you expect to find them in chests. But you can craft them. Unlimited.

The recipe is found in the cave of whispering shadows, accessible from a crevice in the cliff near the great bridge of Hernand. You will find a witch there (useful later in chapter 5) and especially the recipe. For the crafting, head to a witch's cauldron — there is one in the cave, another in Hernand's dye works. You need 3 waters and 15 natural resources. The trick: use horns. You collect dozens of them by hunting deer and goats for your food. Water can be bought from grocers, the stock is replenished daily. 50, 60, 70 concentrates — there is no limit. It completely changes the difficulty of the game.

Same concept, but better. The refined concentrate brings you back with much more life than a classic concentrate. You can't make it (no known recipe at the moment), but you can find it in the caves behind the waterfalls — especially those where you retrieve the gloves and boots of the Fallen Kingdom. Keep them preciously for the toughest bosses.

Without a mask, no crime is possible in Crimson Desert. It's as simple as that. To unlock it, do your first bounty hunt in Hernand. Jeffrey, a guy in town, steals coins from you when you get close to him. Tackle him, give him two punches, tie him up, and bring him back to the guards near the prison. Reward: money, contribution, and the famous mask. Once equipped, you can steal from chests, houses, mansions - anything that requires a bit of shady activity. Essential for the Wondo and the Oath of Darkness.

The basic pickaxe does the job, but the miner's punch drill (The Mining Knuckle Drill) is a massive upgrade. It mines faster and gives a 10% chance of bonus ore — it goes up to 20% and then 30% if you upgrade it all the way. You need ore to upgrade all your equipment at the blacksmith, so every extra rock counts. You get it by completing the quest chain "The Distressed Estate" which starts in front of Blummont Manor (chapter 2), then sends you to Karen's Quarry north of Hernand to defeat the boss Exatron. Its drilling attack stings a bit, but nothing insurmountable.

Simple recipe: a fruit + a meat = braised meat. It restores health and spiritual energy, and it's the best healing/ingredient ratio at the beginning of the game. You can find meat by hunting (which you already do for palm concentrate horns) and fruits everywhere in nature. Make a good stock of it before each boss.

We group the three because they come from the same place and complement each other perfectly. The horse armor is purchased at Hernand's contributions shop (same seller as Bolton's armor). The stirrups and horseshoes are at the stableman's, in the stable just outside the town.

• Horse armor — makes your mount much more resistant. If your horse refuses to move forward, it's probably because it has taken too much damage.
• Stirrups — you regenerate life as you ride. No need to waste healing during journeys.
• Horseshoes — faster horse endurance recovery. You can gallop longer, farther, without a break.

Once purchased, remember to go to your horse's inventory (dedicated tab in your inventory) to equip them. It takes 30 seconds and radically changes your movements.

It is not an equipment in the strict sense, but it is too useful not to mention. You can adopt a dog in town by raising its friendship level to 100. Two methods: petting it every day (+25 max per day, so 4 days to reach 100) or placing meat on the ground to speed up the process. Once adopted, you will find it in the pet menu at the camp.

Ask him to accompany you and he will follow you everywhere — even in the main missions. The big advantage: he picks up the loot automatically . No need to search every enemy on the ground. The flip side is that it really picks up everything, including useless stuff. Your inventory will fill up at a crazy speed. Remember to sort regularly. Oh, and it is totally invincible — no enemy can attack or kill it. It's just a pure bonus.

Getting good equipment is good. Leveling it up is essential. The blacksmith in Hernand (and other cities later) allows you to improve weapons and armor by spending ore and some materials. Each tier increases the base stats - attack, defense, special effects. To find out if a found weapon is better than your current piece, inspect it and press again to see the upgrade progress chart. You can compare at the same tier and decide if the change is worth it.

The abyssal cores, on the other hand, become manipulable from Chapter 5 thanks to the witches. At this stage, you can extract a core from one equipment to put it on another, or combine effects together. Before that, you suffer the cores as they are — all the more reason to choose weapons that have good ones from the start.

Crimson Desert is a demanding game. If you struggle to maintain a decent framerate, especially in dense areas of the open world or during boss fights, take a look at our benchmark Crimson Desert to see how your config is doing. And if it's time to change GPU, here is the complete board of available graphics cards with the best prices.

The Lord's sword, obtained by defeating the Horn Splitter boss in chapter 2. It is a one-handed sword with an Abyssal Core Wind Slash that sends waves of wind at enemies. It is probably the best one-hand weapon from the beginning to the middle of the game.

Retrieve the recipe in the shadow whispers cave (near the great bridge of Hernand). Craft them on a witch's cauldron with 3 waters + 15 natural resources (goat horns or plants). No manufacturing limit — make as many as possible before each boss.

Use the breakthrough (Triangle + R1 on the controller), the charged attack that normally breaks enemies' guard. This is the only way to cross a waterfall in Crimson Desert. If you see a stone cairn in front of a waterfall, it's a sign that a cave is hidden behind.

You must first unlock and equip the mask, obtained by completing your first bounty hunt (the Jeffrey bounty in Hernand). Without the mask, it is impossible to commit any crime. Once equipped, you can open locked doors with universal keys and search the chests in houses.

Yes. Some quest armors have unique effects (frost resistance, heat resistance, stealth bonus) that are irreplaceable in certain areas. And storage chests are coming in the next patch to free up inventory space. Don't sell anything important in the meantime.

It depends on your resolution. Check our guide to the best graphics cards for Crimson Desert for a detailed top 3, or use our benchmark tool to see the performance of your current config.