You don't even need to play Crimson Desert It's a big game with countless things to know at this point. Before its launch, it gained a reputation as “too good to be true” because of how much players could do in the game, from flying jetpacks and dragons to fishing, cooking, mining and logging. Not only is its open world incredibly large, but what many things in that world can be interacted with, it makes it feel even bigger at the end of the day. If that wasn't enough, even within a few hours Crimson DesertYou'll start to realize how much it loves throwing side quests at you relentlessly, because there are so many they never seem to end.
Given how packed with content the game's open world is, there's a big chance players will miss certain elements. Actually, there's a lot going on Crimson DesertThat I'm willing to bet most players won't see everything it has to offer. Because of this, it's worth highlighting its best — and perhaps most useful — content so players won't miss it. it turns out, Crimson Desert's best quest line is almost entirely skippable, because even though it counts as something not worth skipping in my eyes, you can get through the game's story without seeing it to its full potential.
Crimson Desert Review: A remarkable open world that often asks too much
Crimson Desert offers one of the most impressive worlds in gaming, but the deeper you go, the more it asks you to meet it on your own terms.
Don't skip the Crimson Desert's Greymen Camp-Building quest line
It didn't take long Crimson DesertYou'll be introduced to a series of quests that see the Greymen establish a foothold in Pywel for story reasons that I won't spoil here. In those quests, you're tasked with building a camp in the Hernand region that turns into something similar. Red Dead Redemption 2Van der Linde Camp. At first, it seems like something simple that you can skip if you want, but the end result is something that I promise you will regret.
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Ultimately, the Greymane camp becomes a one-stop shop with everything you need throughout the game, from various traders to a wagon you can use to sell merchandise. At some point, you'll have your own bonfire for cooking, an anvil and grindstone to improve the effectiveness of your gear, multiple opportunities for side quests that, when completed, can increase your inventory space, and more. If you are dedicated enough to build relationships with other merchants throughout Pywel, the camp's merchant stock can also increase. To maximize your bond with a vendor, you will have the option to add part of their stock to your merchants back in the camp, which can really maximize the efficiency of your home base.
Crimson DesertThe Greymane camp-building questline will introduce you to your own furnished home at some point, though you can technically use it before that quest.
There is also an aspect of the Greymane camp that seems like something straight out of a casual game Stardew Valley. If you build up your camp enough, you'll open fields and farms where you can grow crops and raise animals and livestock, respectively. In fact, this is one of the most beneficial parts of this whole thing, as you can also grow plants from Abyss Seeds that provide you with the Abyss Artifacts you need to progress your gear, skills, and status in the game. Also, the products you get from your animals are great for cooking delicious meals or selling for some decent funds.
Down the line, you'll be asked to expand the Greymane camp beyond its borders, and that's when things get even more interesting. At that point, the Greymane clan is not only trying to survive on the outskirts of civilization but is actually firmly integrated into it. It's one of the most satisfying conclusions to a very long, drawn-out build, but it ultimately makes it all worth your time.
Greymane Quests have an unfortunate downside
Now, I use the adjective “best” a bit loosely when describing the Greymane camp-building quests because even though they're extremely rewarding in the end, they're also the most boring, monotonous quests in the game. I've had my fair share of fetch and kill side quests in open-world games, and sure, they're often mindless, I'll admit. but Crimson DesertGreymane quests are usually at different levels.
First, many of them are really quests, even though you're not fetching items—you're fetching people. As your camp grows, Marius, one of your fellow Greymane, will frequently inform you of rumors of other Greymane found elsewhere in the world. From there, you're told to “investigate the rumor,” which usually means you're going to visit a location marked on the map, witness a cutscene where Cliff and the once-lost-but-now-found Gremenes exchange some dialogue, and then rinse and repeat. That part isn't really the worst of it.
Ultimately, the Greymane camp becomes a one-stop shop with everything you need throughout the game, from various traders to a wagon you can use to sell merchandise.
It's true that most of these side quests see you following an NPC (usually on horseback) around a location, and for some reason, they insist on walking as slowly as possible. Crimson Desert It has a semi-auto-follow function where you can hold a button/key to automatically follow an NPC, but it's also a bit buggy, since your character's speed doesn't match the NPC you're following, so you might as well do it manually. Aside from that, though, is the fact that many of these follow quests don't just force you to move at an incredibly slow pace, but NPCs often lead you to a location and then turn back at the last second, making the fact that you followed them all seem like a complete waste of time.
Needless to say, if you take my advice and decide to prioritize the Greymane camp-building quest line, you'll have to do your best to put up with its pacing, because it's terrible at times. The interactions between the characters can be fun, and even funny at times, but I can't help but feel it. Crimson Desert I could show those things so that it felt less like it was encroaching on my time in the world and that it actually mattered. Nevertheless, I encourage you to make these discoveries, because they are worth a lot of it, if only from a material point of view.
- issued
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March 19, 2026
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood, drug references, intense violence, strong language
- developer(s)
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The Pearl Abyss
- publisher(s)
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The Pearl Abyss
