This Crimson Desert Best Skills Guide details all the best skills you need to get first when you begin your adventure in the game. Crimson Desert doesn’t use a typical skill tree system, which can feel confusing at first. Instead of just earning skill points, you deal with Abyss Artifacts, sealed challenges, and even learning moves by watching NPCs. There are a lot of things to learn.
How to Unlock New Skills
In Crimson Desert, skills are mainly unlocked using Abyss Artifacts. Think of these as your skill points, but instead of leveling up normally, you collect them as items. Since you don’t get many of them early in the game, you have to think carefully before spending them. You can earn them by defeating enemies, buying them from vendors, or completing special challenges.
There are also Sealed Abyss Artifacts, which are a bit different. These come with specific challenges, like defeating enemies in a certain way or within a time limit. Once you complete the challenge, the item becomes active and can be opened to reward you with a usable Abyss Artifact and sometimes extra gear.
Another important item is the Faded Abyss Artifact. This lets you reset your entire skill tree and get all your spent points back. It is very useful if you want to change your build later. However, skills learned through observation won’t be removed when you reset.
Understanding the Skill Menu
When you open the skill menu, you will see a network of nodes. Each node represents a skill or stat upgrade. Some are simple upgrades like increasing health or stamina, while others unlock new abilities.
Early upgrades usually cost just one Abyss Artifact, but stronger skills later on will require more. Some nodes also have smaller branches inside them, meaning you can upgrade a skill multiple times before moving forward.
You will also notice that some skills are locked until certain conditions are met. This could mean unlocking another skill first, spending several artifacts, or learning something through observation.
Best Early Game Skills to Focus On in Crimson Desert
At the start of the game, your character is quite weak, so choosing the right skills early makes a big difference.
- Critical Path Skills
As you play through the main story, you will naturally unlock some essential abilities. These are part of the game’s progression, so you won’t miss them. One of the most useful early skills you get is the Fly ability, which works more like a glide rather than actual flying.
This ability lets you safely descend from high places, meaning you won’t take fall damage if you time it correctly. It is extremely helpful for exploration and movement. However, it doesn’t let you travel very far unless you upgrade your stamina, so keep that in mind as you progress.
- Basic Stats You Should Focus On
In the early stages, your gear won’t improve much, so your character can feel weak during tougher fights. To balance this out, it is a smart idea to invest some points into Health and Stamina early on. Stamina affects almost everything: how long you can fight, how much you can move, climb, sprint, and even how you traverse the world using movement abilities.
This small boost makes a big difference, especially when facing stronger enemies or large groups. The bosses in the next chapter can be quite difficult, and having extra survivability will help you stay in fights longer.
- Vault
Enemies with shields or high durability can be frustrating because they block most of your attacks. That is where the Vault skill becomes very useful.
Once unlocked, you can quickly jump over an enemy and attack them from behind. This gives you an easy way to break their defense and deal damage without wasting time. It is simple to use and works consistently.
- Clothesline or Lariat
At the start of the game, you already have a basic grab-and-throw move, but upgrading your grappling abilities unlocks much stronger options. Once you invest a point into this area or unlock the Clothesline skill, your grab attack becomes more aggressive, letting you slam enemies straight into the ground using a button combo.
There are two main variations of this upgraded grab. Lariat is the more controlled version. You use it while standing still, making it useful in situations where you don’t want to move around too much. On the other hand, Clothesline is designed for movement. It only works when you sprint toward an enemy.
This makes it especially useful against ranged enemies like archers, allowing you to rush them quickly and take them out before they deal too much damage.
- Blinding Flash Finisher
You learn Blinding Flash early in the game as a way to stun enemies. It is not only for fighting but also helps you during exploration and puzzle moments.
When you use it while exploring, it can highlight hidden details in the environment, like secret paths, faint objects, or special artifact locations that are hard to notice normally. Using it from a higher place gives even better results because you can see more of the surrounding area at once.
But if you unlock its finisher upgrade, it becomes much more powerful. After stunning enemies, you can follow up with a rapid combo that deals heavy damage while slowing down time. This move is especially useful when fighting multiple enemies at once, as it can hit several targets and even create a shockwave at the end of the attack.
- Force Palm
Force Palm is a very flexible skill because it helps in almost every part of the game. It is useful for fighting, exploring, and solving environmental challenges.
During exploration, it allows you to interact with objects in the world without needing tools. You can break barriers, activate mechanisms, or clear paths more easily, which saves time and keeps your progress smooth.
For movement, Aerial Force Palm is a better alternative to the double jump. Instead of relying on timing, you can push yourself upward using spirit energy, and even do it multiple times. This makes exploration and climbing much easier.
In combat, Force Palm is also helpful because it can stagger enemies and create openings for follow-up attacks. It activates quickly and fits naturally into combos, making fights feel smoother and more controlled.
- Only Stab
Only Stab is a strong early attack skill. At the basic level, it works as a normal strike with an option to charge it for extra damage.
When upgraded, it becomes much more powerful because it can break through enemy defense and unlock an aerial version of the attack. This allows you to jump toward enemies mid-air and hit them while closing the distance quickly, almost like launching yourself at them.
This skill works especially well when combined with movement abilities like Force Palm. Together, they give you better control of both vertical and forward movement, making it easier to stay aggressive in fights without losing pressure.
- Keen Senses
Keen Senses is one of the most important skills for staying alive in combat. Without it, fights can feel overwhelming, especially against stronger enemies or bosses.
This ability improves your defense options by giving you better timing-based actions. You can block attacks more effectively, dodge at the right moment to slow down time slightly, and also counter enemy moves when they come too close. These actions help you control fights instead of just reacting to them.
- Focus Skill
Focus Skill helps you manage your combat flow by slowing down time and improving how quickly you regain spirit energy.
At the basic level, it gives you extra breathing room during fights. You can use it to heal, reposition, or simply observe enemies more carefully without pressure. It also helps refill your energy faster, which is important because many strong skills depend on it.
When upgraded, it becomes even more useful. It can push nearby enemies away in all directions, giving you space when you are surrounded. This makes it a strong tool for handling chaotic fights and recovering control when things get difficult.
- Learning Skills by Watching (Observation System)
One unique feature is the Observation system. Instead of spending points, you can sometimes learn skills by watching NPCs train or fight.
For example, if you explore training areas or certain locations, you may see characters practicing combat. Observing them can unlock abilities like stronger attacks or counter moves. These skills are permanent and stay with you even if you reset your skill tree.
You can learn Forward Slash at Hovels Swordhall by seeing the second man fighting with the dummy. You will get Lioncrest Manor by bypassing jail. Similarly, you will learn Counter and Charged Shot.
Because of this, it is always worth exploring towns, arenas, and training grounds. You might unlock powerful abilities without spending anything.
That is all for this guide. Additional Crimson Desert guides are linked below:
- Crimson Desert Beginner’s Guide – Important Tips and Tricks to Know Before Starting the Game
- Crimson Desert Weapons Guide – All Types, Upgrade Weapons
- Things to Do First in Crimson Desert
- Things Crimson Desert Doesn’t Tell You
These are the skills we think that you should get first in Crimson Desert. Naturally, this list will be different for players who like a different playstyle. If you have a different preference on these skills, do let us know in the comments section below.
