If you’ve spent even a few hours wandering Crimson Desert’s harsh, war-torn open world, you’ve probably already stumbled into more quests than you can track in your log. Some pop up when you help a stranded farmer, others land in your lap after you wipe out a band of raiders, and a few only unlock if you make very specific dialogue choices with NPCs. Navigating crimson desert online quests without a clear plan can leave you wasting hours running back and forth across the map, missing rare rewards, or even locking yourself out of hidden story arcs you’d otherwise love. I’ve put 70+ hours into the game since its full launch, and I’ve made every mistake possible when it comes to questing—from skipping prerequisite side missions to ignoring faction reputation requirements that locked me out of endgame content. This guide breaks down everything I wish I knew before I started, so you can spend less time confused and more time enjoying the game’s incredible story and loot.
Types of Crimson Desert Online Quests You Should Prioritize First
Not all quests are created equal, and picking the right ones to tackle first will save you dozens of hours of wasted travel and grinding. Most crimson desert online quests are marked clearly on your map, but you can toggle off low-priority ones in your quest log to avoid clutter. Main story (epic) quests are non-negotiable first picks, no matter how tempting it is to run off and explore the open world immediately. They unlock fast travel points, core combat abilities, and access to high-level regions you can’t reach any other way. I made the mistake of skipping three main story quests early on to explore a mountain area, only to find I couldn’t interact with any NPCs there until I finished the required story beats.
Next, prioritize side quests that give skill points or permanent stat boosts, even if they take a little longer to complete. A single skill point can unlock a game-changing combat ability that makes all future quests easier, so it’s always worth the extra effort. Faction daily quests are another top pick, especially if you plan to join a player guild later. Maxing faction reputation unlocks exclusive gear, discounted crafting materials, and access to guild-only quest lines that drop some of the best loot in the game. You can save generic fetch quests that only give small gold rewards for later, when you’re already traveling through an area for another mission.
Common Mistakes That Slow Down Your Quest Progression
Even experienced MMORPG players fall for these common traps when they first start playing Crimson Desert, and they can set your progression back by hours if you’re not careful. Always pay attention to NPC dialogue choices, because most of them have real consequences, not just flavor text. I once picked the wrong dialogue option with a blacksmith NPC, and I locked myself out of a 4-part quest line that gave a rare free weapon upgrade. You can reload a recent save if you make a choice you regret, but it’s easier to just slow down and read what NPCs are saying before you click a response.
Another big mistake is not keeping a stack of common crafting materials in your inventory at all times. At least 30% of side quests ask for items like healing herbs, iron ore, or cooked meat, and if you have them on hand, you don’t have to run all over the map gathering them mid-quest. I keep at least 20 of each common material in my storage, and it cuts my average quest completion time by almost 30%. You can also filter crimson desert online quests by reward type in your log, so you can quickly find the ones that give skill points or crafting materials if that’s what you’re looking for.
Don’t ignore quest difficulty ratings either. If a quest is marked as “extreme” and you’re 3 levels below the recommended level, you’re just going to waste time dying over and over and losing durability on your gear. Mark it as low priority and come back later when you’ve leveled up or found better gear. There’s no shame in putting a hard quest off for a few hours, and you’ll have a way easier time when you come back to it.
How to Unlock Hidden Quests and Exclusive Rewards
Some of the best content in Crimson Desert is hidden, and you won’t find these quests marked on your map no matter how much you explore. Hidden quests give unique cosmetics, rare mounts, permanent stat boosts, and even exclusive story arcs that add tons of context to the game’s main plot. A lot of hidden crimson desert online quests don’t show up on your map at all, so you have to actively look for them to find them. I’ve found 12 hidden quest lines so far, and these are the most reliable ways to unlock more:
- Interact with every “odd” object you find in the open world: cracked tombstones, locked chests in abandoned camps, and half-buried scrolls all trigger hidden quests more often than you’d think. I once unlocked a 5-part quest line for a legendary wolf mount just by picking up a torn hunting map in a random forest clearing.
- Max out your friendship level with key NPCs: every major town has 2-3 NPCs that give hidden quests once you reach max friendship, which you can build by giving them their favorite gifts or completing their small daily requests. NPCs that run crafting shops are almost always worth befriending first, since their hidden quests usually give rare crafting recipes you can’t get anywhere else.
- Complete specific world events at the right time: some hidden quests only unlock if you complete a world event (like a bandit raid on a village) during the in-game day or night, and only if you don’t kill any friendly NPCs during the event. Check your world event tracker regularly to catch these before they disappear.
- Make “unpopular” dialogue choices: most players pick the nice, compliant option when talking to NPCs, but picking the sarcastic or rebellious option often triggers hidden quest lines that align with rogue or mercenary faction paths. I once picked a dialogue option that made me steal a relic from a temple, and it unlocked a whole 10-hour quest line for a secret assassins' guild.
The rewards from hidden quests are almost always worth the extra effort of tracking them down. The legendary wolf mount I got from the hunting map quest is 20% faster than the default mount you get from the main story, so it makes all future quest travel way faster. Hidden quest rewards are almost always account-bound, so you can pass them to your alt characters if you don’t need them on your main.
Tips for Completing Endgame Quests Efficiently
Endgame quests work very differently from early and mid-game content, and the strategies you used to level up won’t work as well once you hit the level cap. First, stop trying to solo every endgame quest. Most endgame faction war and world boss quests are designed for 3-4 players, and you’ll just waste durability on your gear if you try to take them on alone. I usually team up with 2-3 friends from my guild for endgame daily quests, and we finish them in half the time it would take any of us to do solo.
Save your endgame daily quests for when you have an XP boost active, since they give 3x more XP than regular open world quests, so you can level up your battle pass way faster. I usually save all my daily quests for the weekend, when I get a 2x XP boost from the game’s weekly login bonus, and I can knock out a full level of battle pass progress in just a couple of hours. Don’t skip endgame side quests that give reputation with the merchant’s guild either. Maxing that reputation lets you buy endgame gear at 40% off, which saves you hundreds of thousands of gold that you would otherwise have to grind for.
Endgame crimson desert online quests also have a chance to drop rare crafting materials for endgame gear, so they’re worth doing even if you’re already at max level. I used to skip endgame side quests because I thought only raid content mattered, but once I maxed out my merchant guild reputation, I was able to buy a full set of endgame armor 2 weeks earlier than my friends who only did raids. A lot of endgame quests also have branching endings that affect the whole server’s world state, so your choices actually matter for everyone you play with.
At the end of the day, questing is one of the best parts of Crimson Desert’s open world, and you don’t have to rush through every mission to get the most out of it. Taking time to explore, talk to NPCs, and chase hidden objectives will make your experience way more rewarding than just blazing through the main story as fast as possible. If you keep these tips in mind as you work through crimson desert online quests, you’ll unlock more rare rewards, progress faster, and avoid most of the frustrating mistakes that new players make. If you have a favorite hidden quest you’ve found, drop it in the comments below to help other players find it too.