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Crimson Desert beginner guide: how long to beat, controls, Denuvo, PC specs

October 19, 2026 · 6 min read

Crimson Desert beginner guide: how long to beat, controls, Denuvo, PC specs

How long Crimson Desert takes, what to do in the first hours, which controls to pick, what the Denuvo and language situation is, what your PC needs — and whether you can finish the story in a month of rental.

Crimson Desert from Pearl Abyss is an open-world action-adventure with a fighting system borrowed from action games. You play Kliff, a mercenary rebuilding the Greymanes after a night ambush. Later two more playable characters, Oongka and Damiane, join with their own combat styles. The world is big: according to a company spokesman, the continent of Pywel covers about 90 km², and riding from edge to edge takes roughly two hours.

Below is what to know before your first launch: how long it takes, how not to get lost at the start, which controls to choose and whether the game suits a rental.

Account rental · SteamCrimson Desertfrom 70 грнRent

How long it takes to beat

I could not pull figures from HowLongToBeat, so these are guide estimates (Beebom, TheGamesWiki, Icy Veins). They are approximate: authors' estimates, not a sample of players.

How you playHours (guide estimates)
Story only50–80
Story plus side content100–180
Everything at 100%150 or more

In 2024 the developers also quoted 50–80 hours for the story, but that is secondhand from a single source.

Controls: the game plays better with a gamepad

On Steam the game carries the "Gamepad Recommended" tag. The main complaint from players and critics is that one button does many things (jump, interact, pick up, mount a horse). Insider Gaming and allthings.how write that the keyboard is easier thanks to the number of keys and has remapping, while the gamepad has none (the workaround is Steam Input). The first hour with awkward controls is normal, so don't give up.

A view of the valley from the back of a giant creature
The world is huge, and much of it can be seen from above

The first hours: what to do

  • Don't burn all your stamina. One stamina bar covers attacks, dodges, blocks and sprinting. Attack in short bursts (Consolepulse, KeenGamer).
  • Build the counterattack. Both guides advise raising Keen Senses to level 3.
  • Progression is not XP. Skills are bought with Abyss Artifacts, found through Abyss puzzles and secret spots. Gear upgrades at the blacksmith also cost artifacts: don't push refinement past level 4–5 without a reserve.
  • Develop the Greymane camp early. Starting its development late is named as a typical beginner mistake (per one of the guides).
  • Go to a boss with food and Palmar Pills.
  • Check the journal and notifications often: the game explains new systems poorly.

Everyone praises the combat: Eurogamer, TechRadar and GameSpot call it the strongest side. Weapons (swords, spears, axes, dual blades, ranged) combine with kicks, punches and grabs; there are slides, dodges and counters.

A fight with a blue slash arc in a meadow
Combat mixes weapons, grabs and evasion

Difficulty and saving

There were no difficulty options at launch. Patch 1.04 (April 2026) added Easy, Normal and Hard (VGC, KitGuru). There are both manual saves and autosaves (the "Save Anytime" category on Steam, as well as Vulkk and the wiki). Sources disagree on how many slots there are and how often autosave triggers, so save by hand before you quit.

The 2.0 "Enhanced" update

Around 25 August 2026 the game received a free 2.0 update, and on Steam it is now called "Crimson Desert Enhanced". According to Steam and news reports, it added story scenes and expanded voice-over languages. The reviews and scores below were written for version 1.0 and may differ for 2.x.

The hero with an owl on his hand among mountains
Kliff with an owl against the mountains: the game likes surprising details

PC system requirements

MinimumRecommended
CPURyzen 5 2600X / Intel i5-8500Ryzen 5 5600 / Intel i5-11600K
GPURX 5500 XT / GTX 1060RX 6700 XT / RTX 2080
RAM16 GB16 GB
Storage150 GB, SSD required150 GB, SSD required

Windows 10 64-bit and DirectX 12 are required. 150 GB is a long download, so start it on the day you rent. DLSS and FSR 3.1 are available; according to DSOGaming, ray tracing barely dents the frame rate.

What to know before renting

  • There is no Ukrainian: no text and no voice-over. Text is in 15 languages, including Russian, and full voice-over is in English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Brazilian Portuguese. I could not get an independent second confirmation (PCGamingWiki); here we rely on the Steam page.
  • Denuvo is present. The Steam description states Denuvo Anti-tamper and a limit of 5 different PCs per day. For ordinary play on one computer this does not interfere, but launching on many machines in a short time can trigger it. You need internet for first-time setup and patches, after which you can play offline (so write Notebookcheck and Mein-MMO). So: sign in, download, launch once online, and only then switch Steam to offline mode (see how it works).
  • The game is single-player, with no multiplayer.
  • Scores: a 79 average on OpenCritic (75% of critics recommend), "Very Positive" on Steam (about 84%). Players praise the combat, the world and the freedom to explore, and criticise the story and characters, the controls and aggressive bosses. Individual outlets: IGN 6/10, GameSpot 7/10, PC Gamer 80/100.

Sources

Account rental · SteamCrimson Desertfrom 70 грнRent

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