Crimson Desert: 8 Best Skills to Unlock First

Starting out in Crimson Desert’s Pywell can feel overwhelming. The game quickly introduces lots of different things to do – like gathering materials, improving your gear, and exploring the world. But it doesn’t always explain which skills are most important to learn first.

Okay, so I’ve learned the hard way that starting Crimson Desert with the wrong skills can make the beginning really tough. But if you grab the right skills early on, especially when you first get to Pywell, it makes everything so much smoother and way more fun. Seriously, picking the right skills at the start makes a huge difference!

Feeling lost in Crimson Desert’s huge skill tree and unsure how to spend your Abyss Artifacts? We’ve got you covered! Read on to discover eight of the best skills to unlock early in the game.

8. Flight

Glide Away

In Crimson Desert, exploring the world is key to making your character stronger. You’ll need to search carefully to find Abyss Artifacts, which are used to improve your weapons, health, stamina, and unlock new abilities. To explore efficiently, prioritize unlocking the Flight ability in the skill tree – it will help you get around much faster.

Okay, so in Crimson Desert, you can unlock this ability called Flight, and it’s a total game changer. Basically, instead of having to carefully climb down every cliff, you can just jump and glide safely to the bottom! It makes getting around so much faster – I’ve been able to explore way more of the world, find hidden areas, and snag some cool loot that I probably would have missed otherwise. Seriously, I’m using Flight constantly, so I’d recommend unlocking it as soon as you can. It’s a must-have!

7. Forward Slash

Strong Starting Attack

In battles, you can attack normally or use a heavy attack. To really maximize your heavy attack, unlock the Forward Slash ability. This turns it into a powerful Spirit attack that does a lot of damage. There are three upgrades for Forward Slash, and I suggest getting all of them to bring it to level 3. This will increase its range and make it much more effective overall.

During my 100 hours playing Crimson Desert, I used the Forward Slash attack more than any other. It does a lot of damage, effectively stuns groups of enemies, and is simple to use – you just hold down the heavy attack button. If you want to get good at combat quickly, unlock Forward Slash as soon as possible.

6. Force Palm: Proficiency

One, Two, Three Punches

In Crimson Desert battles, you’ll frequently face many enemies at once. To handle this, mastering crowd control is key, and the Force Palm: Proficiency skill is a great way to do it. You’ll unlock the basic Force Palm as you play through the story, but you’ll need to specifically unlock the ‘Proficiency’ version of the skill in the skill tree.

If you fully upgrade Force Palm, you can use it three times in a row, and the final hit will unleash a laser that pushes back all nearby enemies. It’s been incredibly useful for managing groups of enemies, letting me create space and control the fight. Just be aware that it uses a lot of Spirit energy, so bring items to restore it!

5. Aerial Force Palm

Reach Greater Heights

The single most useful skill in the game is Aerial Force Palm. It lets you use Force Palm while airborne, launching Kliff higher to access elevated areas quickly. This makes getting around much easier – you can scale mountains faster, clear tall obstacles, and even attack enemies from above.

If you want to fully explore the game and reach all its hidden areas, getting the Aerial Force Palm skill is a must. Without it, climbing is much harder because your stamina drains quickly, and upgrading stamina takes time. Since finding important items and progressing in the game requires exploration, Aerial Force Palm helps you travel faster and more efficiently.

4. Nature’s Echo

Add an Additional Attack

In Crimson Desert, unlocking the Nature’s Echo skill early on is a great advantage. It boosts your damage output by effectively doubling your attacks – each time you use a move like Forward Slash, it’s performed twice. This makes defeating enemies much faster and easier.

Nature’s Echo is a really useful ability throughout the game, particularly for quickly defeating enemies in bandit camps and dealing damage to bosses. It gets even better once you unlock special items called Abyss Cores, which you can add to your gear. Certain Cores add an extra attack whenever you swing your weapon, and Nature’s Echo will combine all of those attacks – up to three total – for the highest possible damage.

3. Keen Senses (Parry, Dodge, Counter)

Cover All Defenses

To beat the tough bosses in this game, you’ll need to unlock and fully upgrade Keen Senses to level 3. Once you do, you’ll be able to parry, dodge, and counter attacks – skills that are essential for avoiding damage and making combat much more enjoyable.

In Crimson Desert, dodging is highly effective, parrying works like deflecting attacks in games like Dark Souls, and countering lets you unleash a powerful attack after a successful parry. These three skills are essential for successful combat, and becoming proficient with them is crucial. I especially relied on the Keen Senses ability to make progress in the game.

2. Blinding Flash

Stun The Enemy

As a player, I’ve found Blinding Flash to be a lifesaver in combat! It’s awesome because it briefly stuns enemies, giving me a chance to attack. What I really love is how simple it is to use – it doesn’t even cost any Spirit or Stamina! It’s perfect for getting out of sticky situations when you’re swarmed by multiple foes.

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Okay, so I love using Blinding Flash in this game. But the best part? There’s this upgrade you can get, called Blinding Flash Finisher. It makes Kliff do massive damage right after he blinds someone! If I use Blinding Flash, then immediately hit them with the Finisher, it creates this awesome shockwave that knocks all nearby enemies back. Seriously, it buys me enough time to regroup and get ready for the next wave – it’s a lifesaver.

1. Stab

A Necessity for Puzzles

Okay, so I gotta tell you, the Stab ability isn’t about dealing tons of damage. It’s super important to unlock early because you need it for a bunch of puzzles in Crimson Desert. Seriously, there are these big objects you have to move or rotate to solve things, and Stab is the only way to do it. If you skip it, you’ll miss out on some awesome rewards – usually Abyss Artifacts that help you power up your character. Trust me, don’t skip Stab!

Stab is a powerful attack that deals a lot of damage, making it useful in one-on-one fights, especially against tough bosses. While it doesn’t excel at controlling groups of enemies or pushing them away, you can combine it with attacks like Turning Slash or Sweeping Slash to achieve those effects. Ultimately, Stab is a solid choice for quickly reducing a single enemy’s health.

2026-03-20 01:13