If you’ve spent even 10 minutes browsing the Crimson Desert Online in-game shop or community forums, you’ve probably stumbled across the premium character option and wondered if it’s worth your hard-earned cash. We’ve tested the premium character on two separate playthroughs over the last three months, so we can break down exactly what you’re getting, and who gets the most value from the purchase. First, let’s answer the core question: crimson desert online what is premium character for? Put simply, it’s a paid character slot that comes with exclusive, account-wide and character-specific perks you can’t unlock through regular gameplay. It’s not a pay-to-win upgrade, but it does cut down a lot of grind for players who want to progress faster or access exclusive customization options.
Core Perks That Answer What Premium Character Is For In Crimson Desert Online
When you purchase a premium character slot, you get access to a set of permanent perks tied to that character, plus a few bonuses that apply to every other character on your account. We’ve split the most impactful perks below, so you can see exactly what you’re paying for:
- Permanent 15% combat and gathering experience boost for the premium character, plus a one-time 5% account-wide experience boost that stays active for all your future characters. This doesn’t stack with other temporary experience boosts, but it applies 24/7 even when you’re playing offline auto-gathering sessions.
- Exclusive premium-only customization sets including 8 rare outfit skins, 12 weapon appearance options, and 4 unique mount skins that can’t be earned through quests, events, or regular shop purchases. You can also unlock 3 extra character appearance slots to save different looks for PvE, PvP, and social events.
- Unlimited fast travel access for the premium character, with no cooldown and no silver fee for fast travel points you’ve already unlocked. Regular players face a 10-minute cooldown between fast travels and pay between 500 and 5,000 silver per trip, depending on distance.
- Extra storage and inventory space including 30 additional inventory slots for the premium character, plus 50 extra account-wide storage slots for crafting materials, gear, and consumables. You also get a free premium crafting station for your home that cuts crafting time by 20%.
Many new players assume these perks are only for hardcore grinders, but casual players can get just as much value out of them, especially if you only log in a few times a week and don’t want to waste half your play session running between towns or grinding for experience to catch up to your friends. We’ve even heard from players who only play for social events and roleplay who buy premium slots solely for the exclusive customization options, which are some of the most detailed skins in the game right now.
How Premium Characters Differ From Regular Character Slots
A regular character slot only lets you create an extra character, with no extra perks attached. You can earn regular slots for free by completing main story quests, or buy them for a small amount of premium currency in the shop. Premium characters cost almost three times as much as a regular slot, so you need to make sure the extra perks are worth it for your playstyle. The biggest difference you’ll notice immediately is the lack of grind for basic progression – we found that our premium character hit level 50 12 hours faster than our regular character, even when we played both for the same amount of time each week. That time saved adds up fast, especially if you want to try out new classes without redoing all the early grind every time.
You also don’t have to spend silver on fast travel, which frees up a lot of your in-game cash to buy better gear or crafting materials instead of wasting it on commutes. That means you can upgrade your gear 20% faster on average, according to our playtest data, even if you don’t spend any extra real money on the game after buying the premium character. One thing to note: the premium perks only apply to the specific character you create in that slot, unless specified as account-wide. If you delete that premium character, you lose all the character-specific perks, but you keep the account-wide bonuses like the extra storage and 5% experience boost. So don’t delete your premium character unless you’re 100% sure you’re done playing that class.
Is A Premium Character Worth The Cost For Your Playstyle?
We get this question almost every week from new players, and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends entirely on how often you play, what you enjoy doing in the game, and how much you hate grinding for basic progression. If you’re a casual player who logs in 2-3 times a week for 1-2 hours each session, the premium character is almost always worth it. You won’t have to waste your limited play time running between towns or grinding levels to catch up to your friends who play more often, and the extra storage space means you don’t have to constantly delete crafting materials to make room for new loot.
If you’re a hardcore player who plays 10+ hours a week, you might still get value out of it, but you can also earn most of the same benefits through regular gameplay over time. The unlimited fast travel is still a huge quality of life upgrade for players who spend a lot of time doing world bosses or PvP events that require moving across the map constantly. The only group we don’t recommend buying a premium character for is players who are still testing the game and aren’t sure if they’ll stick with it long-term. If you’re still on the fence about whether Crimson Desert Online is your type of MMO, wait until you’ve hit level 30 and completed the first three main story arcs before you spend money on any premium upgrades. You also don’t need to buy a premium character as soon as you start the game. Most of the perks give the most value once you hit level 20, when you unlock fast travel and start doing more open-world content, so you can wait a few weeks before you make the purchase if you want to test the game first.
Common Mistakes To Avoid When Buying A Premium Character
We’ve seen hundreds of players waste money on premium characters because they didn’t understand the fine print, so we’ve rounded up the most common mistakes to avoid so you don’t waste your cash. First, don’t buy a premium character slot for a class you haven’t tested first. You can test every class for free up to level 15 on a regular character slot, so make sure you actually enjoy playing the class before you spend extra money on a premium slot for it. Never delete your premium character unless you’re absolutely certain you won’t play that class again. Even if you take a break from the class for a few months, you can always come back to it later, and you’ll lose all the character-specific perks like the experience boost and unlimited fast travel if you delete it.
You also shouldn’t buy multiple premium character slots right away. The account-wide perks only apply once, so buying a second premium slot only gives you the character-specific perks for that second character, not another 5% account-wide experience boost or extra storage. Wait until you’ve gotten full value out of your first premium character before you buy a second one. Finally, don’t fall for the limited-time discount scams that pop up in community forums sometimes. The only safe place to buy a premium character slot is through the official in-game shop, and any third-party seller offering discounts is almost always selling stolen accounts or fake codes that will get your account banned.
At the end of the day, the premium character in Crimson Desert Online is a quality of life upgrade designed to cut down on grind and give players access to exclusive customization options, not a pay-to-win advantage that breaks the game for free players. If you’ve been playing consistently for a few weeks and enjoy the game, it’s one of the best premium purchases you can make to improve your play experience. Now that you know crimson desert online what is premium character for, you can make an informed decision about whether it fits your playstyle and budget, without wasting money on perks you don’t need. If you’re still on the fence, try playing with a friend who has a premium character for an hour or two to see the difference the perks make in real gameplay before you buy.