Crimson Desert: Shape Your First Run Through Pywel
Use this hub to pick how you want to approach Crimson Desert on your first playthrough, from story-driven runs to pure exploration and large-scale combat.
Crimson Desert is an open-world action-adventure game set in the vast continent of Pywel, where Kliff, a warrior of the Greymanes from the northern region of Pailune, sets out in the aftermath of a shattered peace to reunite his companions and reclaim their homeland as the entire continent is drawn into conflict and supernatural danger.
The threat comes from the Abyss, a mysterious realm sending fragments crashing into Pywel while some factions attempt to exploit them, and Kliff’s journey to restore balance takes place across seamless regions that include sprawling wilderness, bustling cities, ancient ruins and diverse landscapes filled with hidden treasures, ancient mechanisms, puzzles and points of interest designed to reward curiosity and discovery.
The game is scheduled for a global release on March 19, 2026 on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Mac and additional PC storefronts, with details and pre-orders available through the official Crimson Desert site and the launch notice from Pearl Abyss.
Story-first run: follow Kliff and the Greymanes
Start by following Kliff’s main quest as a warrior of the Greymanes from the northern region of Pailune, where the story begins after a fragile peace is broken and he works to reunite the Greymanes and reclaim their homeland while discovering that the entire continent of Pywel has been drawn into the crisis.
Focus on faction-driven quests, character-focused missions and key story battles tied to the Abyss fragments, which fall into Pywel from a mysterious realm and are sought by people who want to exploit them while Kliff’s party attempts to restore balance and stop that exploitation.
As the story progresses, unlock two additional playable characters who each have distinct combat styles, skills and weapons, expanding how you can approach encounters while still moving through a single canonical storyline that supports different play experiences depending on where you go and what you choose to tackle next.
Explorer run: traverse the continent of Pywel
Move through Pywel’s seamless open world at your own pace, travelling on horseback, climbing terrain, gliding across long distances and later accessing advanced traversal options such as a missile-firing mech and a dragon to cross the continent quickly while still taking time to investigate new regions.
Visit sprawling wilderness, bustling cities, ancient ruins and diverse regions including Hernand, Pailune, Demeniss, Delesyia and the Crimson Desert, looking for hidden treasures, ancient mechanisms, puzzles and hand-crafted points of interest that are designed to reward curiosity and discovery wherever you head first.
Along the way, take on side activities like cooking, fishing, crafting, hunting and helping characters across Pywel, turning exploration into a way to build resources and learn more about the world between major conflicts and story developments.
Action run: large-scale battles and physics-heavy combat
Head straight for large-scale battles, fortress sieges and high-intensity encounters against enemy soldiers, sorcerers, beasts and machines, using flashy sword combos, wrestling-style moves, ranged tools and magic while taking advantage of Crimson Desert’s physics-driven interactions that were highlighted in early gameplay demonstrations.
Experiment with the swift female warrior who wields a gigantic claymore-style sword and a flintlock pistol or the bruising male fighter who uses an arm-mounted cannon and a massive axe, switching between their different combat styles once they become available as playable characters during the story.
Use traversal tools such as multiple mid-air jumps, a grappling hook, the huge dragon that lets you soar high above Pywel and the missile-firing mech so you can move quickly between combat hotspots instead of only crossing the map on foot or horseback.
This section grouped Crimson Desert’s story setup, world structure, traversal options, combat focus and planned release information into simple paths so players can quickly see different ways to spend their first hours in Pywel.