Spend your early levels in Crimson Desert getting more health and stamina instead of fun new skills that you can get for free

Spend your early levels in Crimson Desert getting more health and stamina instead of fun new skills that you can get for free | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these Action How to get Bloodstone in Crimson Desert Action Crimson Desert can be overwhelming—do this one thing in each new city to make your life much easier Action I’ve spent over 100 hours in Crimson Desert—here are my top 20 quick tips to triumph in Pywel Action Can you store items in Crimson Desert? 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When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Pearl Abyss) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. 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From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter One of my favourite things about Crimson Desert is its massive skill tree, filled with meaningful upgrades like new attacks, combos, and even enhanced uses for your magic powers. There are no boring +5 attack nodes to be found at all.Unfortunately, I’m here to tell you that you’re best off spending your first few Abyss Artifact level-ups on upgrading your base stamina and health, instead of fun new toys.Firstly, after dying and coming back to life, Kliff isn’t exactly in the best physical state—he’s a little out of breath, so you have very little stamina to play with. Stamina is obviously used to run, climb, and fly, so increasing it gives you much more freedom when exploring. And trust me, you’ll appreciate the improvement when you can actually fly across a gap without falling to your death.Article continues below You may like The best early skills in Crimson Desert How to get Abyss Artifacts in Crimson Desert How to respec in Crimson Desert (Image credit: Pearl Abyss)Secondly, and arguably the most important, is how health and stamina play into combat. Of course, increasing your health lets you take more hits before you die. That’s handy in standard fights against bandits, but where it really comes in clutch is against early bosses like Marnie’s Excavatron, Hornsplitter, and Reed Devil. They’re tough, which surprised me coming from the developers behind Black Desert Online, where you’re usually wiping out enemies like it’s a Warriors game.You also use stamina to block enemy attacks (perfect block counterattacks are really strong) and perform all your special moves. Shield-charging enemies, whirlwind spins, that sort of thing—all the fun stuff that you can start using more often once you’ve actually got some stamina to play with. For example, Swift Stab costs 50 stamina, Charge eats 30 stamina per second, and Spinning Slash needs 30 stamina. They’re not cheap to pull off, so making elaborate, flashy combos isn’t possible without a little extra—not least because you often need to block a follow-up attack. (Image credit: Pearl Abyss)Plus, it’s also more cost-effective for your precious Abyss Artifacts early on since you can ‘Observe and learn’ many of the starting skills anyhow. A little exploration will help you unlock some of the best skills for free while sinking your Artifacts into upgrading Kliff’s base stats instead. It’s a win-win. Remember you can also respec your skill trees if you do regret any Abyss Artifacts you’ve spent, though.Crimson Desert characters: Unlock eachCrimson Desert respec: Swap your skillsHow to steal in Crimson Desert: Pilfer some lootHow to get pets in Crimson Desert: Furry friendsHow to tame horses in Crimson Desert: Mount u