How Long Is Crimson Desert – Campaign Length And Mission List Guide

Are you curious about how long it takes to beat Crimson Desert? Pearl Abyss’ magnum opus takes you to the massive open-world locales of Pywel, with lands that are filled with threats and secrets. There’s also the Abyss, the sky realm consisting of floating islands shrouded in mystery. Yes, this whole trek might seem daunting at first–and it really is–so you might want to prepare for what’s to come. This article has all the information that you need, but there are a few spoilers ahead.

Rushed playthrough: Main story-only

Those who want to focus solely on the main story can expect to beat Crimson Desert in roughly 60 to 100 hours. Yes, we know what you’re thinking: That 40-hour range certainly is huge.

But here’s the thing: A strict main story-only playthrough might be hard to do given how progression and exploration work. First, there’s the skill unlock system:

• The game doesn’t have a traditional leveling system. Instead, you unlock skills and increase attributes by spending Abyss Artifacts. These come from various sources, such as defeating enemies, completing quests, solving puzzles, and clearing challenge tallies.
• You can get a few Abyss Artifacts as you progress through the main story, but your stats and skills will be sorely lacking once you face tougher bosses. There are also sections of the campaign where a minimum value of an attribute is required or you’ll fail the task.
• You will need to do extra questing and exploration just to have the means to upgrade your character further.

Second, there’s an issue with how information is relayed to the player:

• There are instances where the information shown on your screen is either incorrect or downright cryptic to a fault.
• We’ve also experienced a few bugs that impacted progression, as well as generally confusing moments that caused us to spend more hours than necessary.
• If you plan on playing without any guidance, then you might run into problems down the line.

Lastly, the fast travel system also poses an issue:

• The vast majority of fast travel points are not in town squares. Instead, they’re in the wilderness, either in the forests or on top of hills and mountains.
• Certain fast travel points known as Abyss Cressets/Ancient Ruins can only be unlocked once you solve a puzzle.
• There are actually chapters in the game where you don’t come across a single fast travel point along the main path or in areas with objectives.
• There’s a camp feature, but you won’t unlock the Howling Hill fast travel point until you complete seemingly unrelated requirements.
• As such, you have to go off the beaten path periodically just to tag teleporters. Otherwise, you’d have to make the trek on foot or on horseback just to return to a location that you’ve already visited.

Standard playthrough: Main story and side content

A standard playthrough of Crimson Desert can take anywhere from 100 to 180 hours. This includes not just beating the campaign, but also tackling various side/optional content to further boost your character or gain nifty functions. Here are some examples:

• As mentioned earlier, you need to tackle quests and complete tally challenges to earn additional Abyss Artifacts. If you actively engage with these mechanics, your character should have a decent build and high attributes near the end of the campaign.
• The Greymane Camp at Howling Hill can be fully built and upgraded. It offers nifty functions, such as vendors, provisions, and trading wagons. You can even build a farm and a ranch. The camp also lets you send your comrades to dispatch missions to earn resources needed for construction and crafting projects.
• Various quest chains lead to powerful loot and even encounters against legendary creatures.
• Your mount isn’t just limited to a trusty horse. There are all sorts of vehicles and animals to find in the game world.
• Certain bosses are overtuned, which means you have to do farming runs or shopping runs to have enough food.
• The sky realm known as the Abyss holds many secrets, and each island has its own unique puzzle.

Completionist playthrough: Everything under the sun

If you really want to complete everything that Crimson Desert has to offer, then you might just spend forever in Pywel. Okay, we’re kidding. Maybe not forever, but it’s certainly going to be a long time. Here’s what you can expect from Faction Quests:

• The Greymanes faction has three quest categories. These have 34, 38, and 27 quests, respectively. Some of these steps are relatively short and straightforward though.
• The city of Hernand has the following factional categories: House Celeste, House Roberts, Goldleaf Merchant Guild, Scholastone Institute, Pororin Forest Guardians, Witches, Hernand Requests, Hernand Commissions, and Hernand Politics. Some of these quest chains are ridiculously complex and lengthy, too.
• There are four more major regions in the game, and each one has multiple quest chain categories depending on the faction.
• All in all, you’re looking at hundreds of quests, some of which have confusing and cryptic hints.

Here’s what you can expect from the Challenges tab:

• There are over 100 challenges related to Abyss island puzzles, Ancient Ruin puzzles, Cresset fast travel points, Forgotten Sanctums, Towering Spires, and other tasks that we do not want to spoil here.
• There are over 150 Sealed Abyss Artifact challenges. You pick up these objects while exploring and they each have a unique tally or tasks that you can complete.
  • Some of these tasks are easy, such as defeating enemies with a sword without taking damage.
  • Others are hilariously difficult or time-consuming, such as riding your horse from the southern edge of the map to the northeastern edge. You must also stay on the road and you must complete the task within 40 minutes.

Along the way, you’re bound to do the following:

• Fully upgrade your Greymane Camp and other related locations.
• Discover every settlement, point-of-interest, and landmark.
• Complete all research projects.
• Acquire all unique loot and unlock all unique abilities for Kliff, Damiane, and Oongka.
• Discover hidden treasures and unique gear.
• Eliminate more than 70 bosses.

Note: The next section of our Crimson Desert campaign length guide has a list of all the chapter names and main missions. Be forewarned that some might be a little spoilery.

Mission list

We’ve listed all the main story missions and chapters in Crimson Desert below. The numbers in the parentheses are the sub-tasks for each quest chain.

• Prologue: Dead of Night
  • Ambush (2/2)
  • Unknown Space (2/2)
• Chapter 1: The First Encounter
  • Trials of Kindness (5/5)
  • Traces (4/4)
• Chapter 2: The Golden Greed
  • Unexpected Gift (3/3)
  • Hernand in Chaos (8/8)
  • The End of Greed (5/5)
• Chapter 3: Howling Hill
  • Homestead (6/6)
  • The Face Behind the Mask (5/5)
  • Pioneering (6/6)
• Chapter 4: The Price of Knowledge
  • Mysterious Pot (4/4)
  • Daily Life (2/2)
  • Forbidden Knowledge (7/7)
• Chapter 5: Guest Unbidden
  • Uninvited Guest (4/4)
  • Black and White (6/6)
• Chapter 6: Cracks in the Shield
  • Blazing Beacon (3/3)
  • Below the Banners (3/3)
  • Turning Tides (4/4)
  • The Unyielding Shields (5/5)
• Chapter 7: Homecoming
  • Morning Mist (5/5)
  • Dawn (6/6)
  • Decisive Battle (6/6)
  • Twisted Fate (2/2)
• Chapter 8: Blood Coronation
  • Ashen Steps (4/4)
  • Demeniss Bound (9/9)
  • Traitor (2/2)
• Chapter 9: The Sage of the Desert
  • The Calling (2/2)
  • Shattered Ties (2/2)
  • Thinning Blade (2/2)
  • Six Statues and the Beast (6/6)
  • Veiled Witch (3/3)
  • Enlightenment (4/4)
• Chapter 10: Counterattack
  • Secret Weapon (5/5)
  • Great Firepower (4/4)
• Chapter 11: Truth and Reality
  • Brave New World (5/5)
  • Foreboding Shadow (3/3)
• Chapter 12: The Abyss
  • The Final Battle (4/4)
  • The Void (2/2)
• Epilogue: Journey’s End
  • Journey’s End (8/8)

That does it for our guide on how long it takes to beat Crimson Desert. Whether you’re just looking to finish the main story or you’re in it for the long haul, you’re going to spend a lot of hours exploring Pearl Abyss’ open-world adventure game. If you’re about to dive in, we encourage you to check our beginner’s guide.