You don't even have to play Crimson desert knowing at this point that this is a massive game with countless things to do. Before its launch, it earned a reputation of being “too good to be true” simply because of how much the game allows players to do, from flying jetpacks and kites to fishing, cooking, mining and logging. Not only is its open world incredibly vast, but so much of what's in that world can be interacted with that it feels even bigger at the end of the day. If that wasn't enough, even in a few hours Crimson desertyou begin to realize how much he loves to relentlessly throw side quests at you because there are so many of them that it seems never ending.
Due to how content-packed the game's open world is, there is a greater chance that players will miss out on some elements. In fact, there is so much going on Crimson desertthat I'm willing to bet most players won't see everything it has to offer. For this reason, it's worth shining a light on its best – and perhaps most useful – content so that players don't miss out on it. As it turns out, Crimson desertThe best quest line is almost completely skippable, because even if it counts as something not worth skipping in my eyes, you can go through the game's story without seeing its full potential.
Crimson Desert Review: A remarkable open world that often asks for too much
Crimson Desert offers one of the most impressive game worlds, but the deeper you go, the more it asks you to experience it on your own terms.
Don't skip the Crimson Desert Greymane camp building quest line
Not long Crimson desertyou'll be introduced to a series of quests that show Greymanes establishing a foothold in Pywel for story reasons that I won't spoil here. In these quests, you are tasked with building a camp in the Hernand area that will turn into something that looks like it Red Dead Redemption 2Camp Van der Linde. At first it seems like something simple that you could skip if you wanted to, but the end result is something that I promise you will regret skipping.
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Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)
Eventually, the Greymane camp becomes a one-stop-shop for almost all the equipment you'll need throughout the game, from various traders to a wagon you can use to sell trade goods. At some point, you'll have your own fire to cook your meals, an anvil and grindstone to improve the efficiency of your equipment, numerous opportunities for side quests that can increase your inventory when completed, and much more. The camp merchant population can even increase if you are dedicated enough to building relationships with other merchants throughout Pywel. After maxing out your bond with a vendor, you'll be able to add parts of their inventory to your merchants back at camp, which can really maximize the efficiency of your home base.
Crimson desertGreymane's camp-building questline will even introduce you to your own provisioning house at some point, although you can technically use it before this quest.
There's even one aspect of the Greymane camp that looks like something straight out of a cozy game Stardew Valley. If you build up your camp enough, you'll unlock a farm and ranch where you can grow crops and raise animals and livestock. In fact, this is one of the most profitable parts of the whole thing, as you can even grow plants from Abyss Seeds to give you the Abyss Artifacts you need for your game progression, skills, and stats. In addition, the products you get from your animals are great for cooking tasty meals or selling for good money.
Far 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 isn't just trying to survive on the fringes of civilization, it's actually firmly integrated into it. It's one of the most satisfying conclusions to a very long and drawn-out build, but it's all worth your time in the end.
Greymane Quests have an unfortunate drawback
Now, I use the adjective “best” somewhat loosely when describing the Greymane camp building quests, because while they are ultimately immensely rewarding, they are some of the most boring and monotonous quests in the game. I've had my fair share of loading and killing side quests in open world games, and sure, they're often brainless, I'll admit. But Crimson desert's Greymane quests are generally on another level.
First, a lot of them are really fetch quests, even though you're not picking up items, you're picking up people. As your camp grows, Marius, one of your fellow Greymans, will often inform you of rumors of other Greymans being spotted out in the world. From there, you're told to “investigate the rumor,” which usually means you go visit a marked location on the map, witness a cutscene where Kliff and the once-lost-but-now-found Greymanes exchange some dialogue, and then rinse and repeat. But this part is not the worst part.
Eventually, the Greymane camp becomes a one-stop-shop for almost all the equipment you'll need throughout the game, from various traders to a wagon you can use to sell trade goods.
It's really the case that most of these side quests see you follow an NPC (usually on horseback) to a location, and for some reason they insist that you move as slowly as possible. Crimson desert it has a semi-auto-follow feature where you can automatically follow NPCs by holding down one button/key, but it's also a little buggy because your character's speed won't match the NPCs you're following, so you can do it manually anyway. Beyond that, though, is the fact that many of these follow-up quests not only 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 the way feel 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 struggle to put up with its pace, as it is sometimes horrendous. The interactions between the characters can be fun and sometimes humorous, but I can't help but be impressed Crimson desert he could show those things in a way that felt less like it interfered with my time in the world and more like it actually mattered. Still, I encourage you to buckle down and do these quests, as they are very much worth it, if only from a materialistic point of view.
- Released
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March 19, 2026
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developers
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Pearl Abyss
- Publishers
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Pearl Abyss
