Upgrading your equipment in Crimson Desert is called Refinement — not enhancement, not upgrading. Keep that in mind when searching menus. The system covers weapons, armor pieces, shields, and jewelry, and every single item has 10 Refinement levels to work through.
Refinement is not optional. Your base stats in Crimson Desert are directly tied to the gear you’re wearing, not to a character level. If bosses are killing you in two hits, your armor isn’t refined enough — it’s that simple. Spending time refining early is one of the best investments you can make before tackling any tough encounter.
1. Blacksmith Location
Blacksmith location
The first blacksmith you’ll have access to is Blacksmith Turnali, located in the center north district of Hernand, the starting town. Look for him on the map and interact with him to access the Refinement menu. He’s your primary upgrade hub for the early and mid-game.
As you progress through Pywel, you’ll encounter blacksmiths in other towns and settlements. They all offer the same core Refinement service, but some sell exclusive materials or weapon blueprints not available elsewhere — worth checking each one you find.
Tip: The blacksmith at your Greymane Camp, once upgraded through camp expansion, eventually offers Refinement services equal to any city blacksmith. Investing in your camp early pays off later.
2. How to Upgrade Weapons and Armor
Gear Upgrade at Blacksmith
- Head to any Blacksmith and select the Refinement option from the menu.
- Pick the weapon or armor piece you want to upgrade.
- Check the required materials — these are displayed before you confirm.
- Confirm the upgrade. Refinement costs materials only, no silver or currency.
- Repeat for each level up to 10.
To plan ahead, open your inventory, select any item, hit Inspect, then click Refinement Information. This shows all ten Refinement levels and their full material costs at a glance — extremely useful before a farming session so you know exactly what to collect.
2.1. All Refinement Tiers
Refinement levels
The Refinement system is split into two distinct phases, which require different resources for both weapons and armor upgrades.
Gear Refinement Tiers are broken accordingly:
- Levels 1–4 — Basic Materials Only These first four levels are affordable and accessible. They only require standard gathering materials — ores, timber, hides, or bones depending on the gear type. No special currency needed. This is where you should focus early in the game.
- Levels 5–10 — Abyss Artifacts Required From Level 5 onward, the blacksmith starts requiring Abyss Artifacts on top of the usual raw materials. This is where the resource management gets serious, because Abyss Artifacts are also the currency used to unlock skills on the Skill Tree.
Tip: Stop at Level 4 during the early and mid-game. Push past it only once you have a surplus of Abyss Artifacts and have already unlocked the skills you need most. Refining gear you’ll replace in a few hours wastes Artifacts that could go into permanent skill unlocks.
3. What Materials Does Each Gear Type Need?
Armor upgrade
Different equipment types draw from completely different material pools, so knowing what to farm before you visit the blacksmith saves a lot of time.
| Gear Type | Primary Materials | How to Get Them |
|---|---|---|
| Weapons | Iron Ore, Copper Ore | Mine rock deposits on mountainsides and cliffs using a Pickaxe (sold at the Provisioner’s Shop in Hernand). Also available from most merchants. |
| Plate Armor | Iron Ore | Same ore nodes as weapons. Plate armor is one of the best early options — buy it from the vendor directly in front of Turnali and start refining it immediately. |
| Metal Shields | Ore + Gems | Ore from mines, Gems from crystal deposits in mountainous terrain and caves — look different from standard ore veins. |
| Wooden Shields | Timber | Fell trees using a Logging Axe (also sold at the Provisioner’s Shop). Keep hitting the fallen trunk to break it into collectible pieces. |
| Leather Armor | Hides + Bones | Hunt animals across Pywel. Small animals drop small bones and hides, large animals drop large bones and hides. Skin them after killing. |
| Soft Armor / Cloaks | Cloth Pieces + Fleece | Buy from the Provisioner’s Shop across from the blacksmith. Also drops from bandits and enemies. |
| Jewelry | Gems + Hides + Bones | Crystal deposits for gems, hunting for hides and bones. |
Tip: Ore nodes stay marked on the map once mined and regrow over time. For ore in hard-to-reach places, use the Charged Shot skill or climb up and use Force Palm to knock it down.
4. Upgrade Gear With Duplicate Item Trick
You don’t always need raw materials to refine gear. Crimson Desert lets you sacrifice an exact duplicate of an item to pay the Refinement cost instead of spending materials. If you loot two identical low-tier swords from a bandit camp, you can melt one down to refine the other rather than spending timber or ore.
This is especially useful when clearing enemy camps that drop a lot of identical, low-value gear you’d otherwise just sell.
Abyss Artifact
Abyss Artifacts are the most important progression currency in Crimson Desert. They power two completely separate systems at the same time:
- Skill Tree — Most abilities require at least one Artifact to unlock or rank up.
- Gear Refinement — Required for every upgrade from Level 5 onward.
Because both systems draw from the same pool, mismanaging your Artifacts early creates a real bottleneck. The best approach is to push all gear to Level 4 using basic materials first, then carefully balance Artifact spending between skills and high-priority gear refinement as you accumulate more.
5.1. How to Farm Abyss Artifacts
Just check out our guide on How to Get Abyss Artifacts in Crimson Desert for a complete breakdown of all methods and locations.
- Combat XP Bar — A yellow progress bar sits next to your minimap. Every enemy you kill fills it. Once full, you receive one Abyss Artifact. This bar has no cap and resets after every reward, making it the most consistent farming method throughout the entire game.
- Main Quests & Boss Fights — Story progression rewards guaranteed Artifacts at key milestones.
- Sealed Abyss Artifacts — Found on roadside altars across Pywel. Each one comes with a specific challenge (e.g., “Kill 3 enemies with a sword in 30 seconds”). Complete the challenge to unlock the Artifact.
- Greymane Rumor Quests — Faction quests that pile up at settlements. Check the Faction Quests tab every time you return to a town.
- Secret Shop (Patrigio) — A roaming merchant found on the road, first spotted near Springtide Mill at the start of Chapter 3. Sells Artifacts at 28.5 silver per unit — expensive, but useful when you’re one or two short of a skill unlock.
6. Abyss Gear — Second Upgrade Layer
Destruction II Abyss Gear
Once you’re done refining the base stats of your gear, Abyss Gear is where real build customization begins. These are stat modifier orbs that slot into sockets on your weapons and armor, providing bonuses like Attack Speed, Critical Hit chance, elemental damage, life steal, or even active combat abilities.
Abyss Gear has the following key mechanics:
- Every weapon and armor piece has up to three Abyss Gear slots.
- Abyss Gear is managed by Witch vendors — not blacksmiths. Witches are found on the outskirts of major cities and settlements across Pywel. You’ll meet Elowen the Witch through the story in Chapter 5, who handles this for your loadout.
- Abyss Gear comes in two types: Stat Gears (passive bonuses like +Attack Speed or +Critical Rate) and Ability Gears (active combat skills that trigger on specific inputs or conditions).
- Cores can be freely swapped at any Witch, letting you reconfigure your loadout for different encounters without cost.
- You can Synthesize two identical low-level cores into one higher-tier version (two Level 1 cores combine into one Level 2 core).
- Always inspect gear before selling or dismantling it. If a piece contains an Abyss Gear, extract it first — selling without extracting permanently destroys the core inside.
6.1. How to Get Abyss Gear
Golden-knotted ancestral bow abyss gear
- Drops from Elite Enemies (look for enemies with a unique icon above their head)
- Boss weapons and armor often arrive with Abyss Gears already socketed
- Sealed Abyss Artifact challenge completions
- Scattered chests across Pywel and items on tables inside bandit camps
- Crafting via Elowen once she becomes available in Chapter 5
7. Temporary Upgrades — Grindstones and Anvils
Using Grindstone
One detail many players overlook: Grindstones and Anvils found in the environment provide temporary stat buffs. Interacting with a Grindstone sharpens your weapon for a raw damage boost. An Anvil does the same for your armor’s defense. Both effects last a short time. If you see one near a boss arena entrance — use it. It costs nothing and can make a measurable difference in tough fights.
8. Tips for Upgrading Gear
- Refine your primary weapon and amulet first — these give the biggest damage increase per level.
- Focus on plate armor for defense — it provides higher protection than leather or cloth, and there is no weight or movement penalty system in Crimson Desert.
- Give your secondary weapon moderate investment and your tertiary weapons only leftover resources. One fully refined primary weapon beats three under-upgraded ones every time.
- Always refine your main weapon before a major story boss — check the material requirements a couple of quests ahead so you have time to farm what you need.
- Don’t refine gear you’re about to replace. Hold off on heavy Refinement investment until you have equipment you plan to keep for multiple chapters.
