The highly anticipated action-adventure epic, Crimson Desert, is finally here, and it's a game that thrives in moments of exploration and puzzle-solving, encouraging players to think outside the box to get their hands on rewards.
There's plenty to discover in the continent of Pywel, with tons of content including multiple bosses, hidden caves, and items that are integral to both the main game and character progression.
If you've read my review, you'll know that the Abyss Artifacts fall into the category of critical items in terms of progression. They can be found in the world, or gained by completing quests, solving puzzles or defeating bosses. These Abyss Artifacts allow you to unlock new skills for the three playable characters in Kliff, Damiane, and Oongka.
Essentially, you'll need to graft to ensure you're progressing and expanding your skillset, and particularly spend those skill points on health and stamina upgrades, as you'll find that they'll come in very handy against fierce foes.
Developer Pearl Abyss provides a variety of options to earn skill points, catering for a wide range of players who wish to tackle the journey through Pywel in different ways. However, Crimson Desert has another easy way to earn those skill points – but be warned, you'll need to be patient with this one.
Fight as many enemies as you can
The alternative skill progression path is simple. Fight as many enemies as you possibly can, and the Artifact gauge will fill up, giving you an Abyss Artifact.
Think of this as the equivalent of getting experience points (or XP) for your kills to skill up. Note that this is quite possibly the slowest way to earn skill points if you're solely getting your Abyss Artifacts through combat. If you play Crimson Desert as I did, you could actively seek out Artifacts by completing puzzles while unlocking them inadvertently within numerous combat encounters.
Whether you're engaged in combat, open-world exploration, puzzle-solving, or powering through the main story, Pearl Abyss makes it clear that it wants to reward you for your time – and that's exactly the approach it's taken with arguably the game's most vital tool.
There are early game puzzles that I've still not figured out after 80 hours of playing, and while I enjoy the challenge of solving them, clearly it'd be frustrating to have no other means of finding Abyss Artifacts. However, if you're out to grab new gear, you'll almost certainly need to complete a wide range of puzzles.
I'd argue that the lack of hand-holding and guidance with the puzzles is what makes Crimson Desert great, so I won't suggest shying away from them. Solving a puzzle that you may have spent hours working on can feel like such a huge weight lifted off your chest, especially because those skill points, or that new gear you might find, could be a decisive factor in facing that next boss encounter or enemy ambush.
At any rate, it's great to see Pearl Abyss build a system that allows gamers to find their own ways to play, and I do not doubt that discoveries and puzzle solutions will still be a discussion months after Crimson Desert's launch.
