Wondering how to equip and craft Abyss Gears in Crimson Desert? As you navigate the world of Crimson Desert, you’ll come upon Abyss Gears, powerful orbs that can supplement your skills. Abyss Gears can be socketed into your weapons and armour for buffs, such as attack bonuses and elemental resistances, and they’re described in-game as “refined manifestations of the Abyss’s volatile and dangerous power.”
You’ll loot Abyss Gears early on from wandering throughout the world, felling foes, completing challenges and opening treasure chests, but you’ll need to wait a while before you can actually insert them into your equipment, let alone craft new ones.
In this guide, we’ll explain how to equip and craft Abyss Gears in Crimson Desert, so you can start using them to amplify your skillset ASAP.
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How to equip Abyss Gears in Crimson Desert
To equip Abyss Gears in Crimson Desert as soon as possible, you’ll need to progress the story until you reach Chapter 3. (See our guide to all main story quests for more info.) Chances are, you’ll have acquired a few Abyss Gears prior to this, but once Chapter 3 kicks in, you’ll receive the official tutorial on how to use them via a white crow who appears before you and presents you with a letter. Upon reading the letter, you’ll unlock The Hermit Witch quest in your journal.
This quest requires you to head to Shadow’s Whisper Cave, which is north of Hernand. This cave is home to Sylvia, a witch-in-training who will serve as your first Witch vendor. Sylvia gives you the following options:
- Embed Abyss Gears: This lets you stick Abyss Gears into open sockets on weapons and armour.
- Extract Abyss Gears: To remove Abyss Gears from your equipment, select this. An especially handy option if you’ve found a sword or other fighting implement that has Abyss Gear pre-socketed into it that you don’t really want.
- Create Socket: This will open up sockets in your equipment so that Abyss Gears can be slotted into them.
IMPORTANT: Sylvia was added to Crimson Desert via an early patch to make Abyss Gears accessible to players. (Previously, equipping Abyss Gears could only be done in Chapter 5 via Elowen, the witch described below.) As of this writing, Sylvia’s questline is buggy, and if you enter Shadow’s Whisper Cave prior to unlocking The Hermit Witch in Chapter 3, the quest will automatically complete, and she’ll be nowhere to be found – meaning that you won’t be able to access her wares, either.
How to craft Abyss Gears in Crimson Desert
To start crafting your own Abyss Gears, progress further in Crimson Desert’s campaign until you unlock the quest The Missing Seal, which occurs in Chapter 5. You’ll receive a letter from your usual white crow friend; examine it to learn about another witchy lady who needs your help. Her name’s Elowen, and after fending off a bunch of bandits in the Witchwoods, she’ll offer you her services.
Elowen provides the same options as Sylvia’s, but since she’s more experienced with her witch powers, she can also do the following:
- Craft Abyss Core: Make your own Abyss Gears. The process is similar to cooking, and you’ll need a selection of ingredients.
- Buy: Self-explanatory, but it’s worth noting that Sylvia sells a selection of Abyss Gear recipes to help you begin crafting immediately.
- Sell: Also self-explanatory, and a good way to offload anything you don’t want to make money for the Abyss Gears you need.
And now you know how to equip and craft Abyss Gears in Crimson Desert. If you’re having trouble with some of the other facets of Crimson Desert which aren’t quite as obvious as they should be, check out our guides on how to fish, how to rest and pass time, how to sweep the chimney in Hernand and how to open the door in the Polar Opposites quest.