The world of Pywel is massive, filled with hundreds of secrets, enemy camps, and collectible items to discover. Crimson Desert’s massive open world is broken up into five regions, each with its own distinct biomes and quest chains.
Hernand serves as the game’s opening region. A good chunk of the main story takes place in Hernand, so players should expect to remain in this starter region for dozens of hours at least. While you’re working toward reassembling the Greymanes, be sure to explore every inch of Hernand to uncover valuable items, fast travel locations, and more. Our interactive map should give you a head start.
This map is currently being worked on. Check back often for new updates.
Navigating Pywel
Crimson Desert is a massive game that doesn’t hold your hand at all, which can make navigating Pywel a little confusing when first starting out. Our interactive map has a ton of categories to sort through, so let’s quickly explain the most important ones.
Belltowers
Belltowers are a cheat code to exploration in Crimson Desert. Ringing a belltower will lift a significant chunk of the map’s fog of war, revealing nearby points of interest. When you’re first starting your playthrough, it’s wise to focus on ringing these belltowers to reveal as much of the map as possible.
Abyss Nexus
Fast travel is handled through the Abyss Nexus, a series of circular plates you can find scattered throughout the world. You’ll find nearly every Abyss Nexus in Pywel itself, usually veiled as “Mysterious Energy” on the map. Once you find a plate, stand on it for a few seconds to activate it, allowing you to fast travel to that Abyss Nexus whenever you see fit.
Some Abyss Nexus plates are found in the Abyss itself, a series of floating islands you’ll periodically visit during your playthrough.
You can shift the map to the Abyss level by pressing L3 on the controller or the mouse wheel on M&K.
Abyss Artifacts
Scattered throughout Pywel are Abys Artifacts, cube-shaped objects that function as skill points. You may use them to upgrade your character’s stats, unlock new skills, or enhance high-quality gear. Needless to say, you’ll want to obtain as many Abyss Artifacts as possible.
There are three ways of obtaining Abyss Artifacts:
Complete quests and defeat enemies.
Find Sealed Abyss Artifacts and complete their respective challenge.
Activate an Abyss Cresset.
Important Vendors
Crimson Desert has over a dozen vendor types you can find. Vendor names make it fairly clear what services they offer, but there are a few merchants that are more important than one might expect.
Blacksmith: Vendors that can upgrade your weapons, armor, and jewelry.
Confessional: Allows you to pay off criminal bounties.
Stable: Offers equipment upgrades for your mount.
Witch: Craft and socket Abyss Cores into your gear. Abyss Cores offer powerful passive traits to your character.
Witches become accessible from Chapter 5 onward.
Points of Interest
Pywel has more than farmland and ruins to discover. There are many different types of locations you’ll find during your Crimson Desert playthrough.
Sanctum: A difficult puzzle you can complete for rewards. Most sanctums are locked behind story progression.
Spire: A platforming, puzzle, and/or boss challenge. Some are tied to the main story, but you’ll have to find most on your own.
Outpost: Territory held by a particular faction.
On our interactive map, blue outposts are friendly; red outposts are enemy territory you must capture.
Crimson Desert
Released
March 19, 2026
ESRB
Mature 17+ / Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language
Developer(s)
Pearl Abyss
Publisher(s)
Pearl Abyss
