How to Extract Materials in Crimson Desert

Crimson Desert‘s Extraction feature, added in Update 1.06.00, gives players a meaningful second chance on gear investments. If you refined a weapon or armor piece to a high tier and later found something better, you can now visit any Smithy, roll the item back to its original refinement level, and recover a portion of the materials spent.

This guide covers every Smithy where Extraction is available, the exact return rates, qualifying gear, and how to use the system most effectively.

1. What Extraction Does in Crimson Desert

Extraction allows you to revert upgraded gear back to its base level and reclaim the invested materials

The Extraction feature is a refinement rollback mechanic introduced in Update 1.06.00. Before this update, there was no way to recover materials once a piece of gear was refined. Pushing a weapon to Refinement 8 and then finding a better option meant you permanently lost those resources.

With Extraction, refined gear is no longer a permanent resource sink, though the refund rules still matter.

At any Smithy, you can now roll an item back by one refinement level at a time, or all the way to its base refinement level, the level the item had when you first obtained it. The refunded materials go directly into your inventory.

The item is kept and simply reset to whichever lower tier you selected. The system is most impactful once gear pushes past Refinement 4, where every level costs one Abyss Artifact.

2. Every Smithy That Offers Extraction

Turnali is the earliest Smithy you can visit to extract materials, available right from Chapter 1

Every Smithy in Crimson Desert offers the Extraction option. The feature appears in the Smithy’s standard interaction menu alongside Refinement and Crafting.

There is nothing extra to unlock at the Smithy. There are seven Smithies spread across the game’s regions, plus one dedicated blacksmith located at the Greymane Camp.

Greymane Camp Smithy

Alec is the resident Smithy at the Greymane Camp and functions identically to every other Smithy in the game. Since the camp serves as your central hub, having a Smithy there offers pure convenience.

You can extract gear immediately after deciding to switch builds without traveling back to a city. To unlock Alec, you must complete the Second Upgrade: Gathered Will camp quest.

Until then, his station remains inaccessible. The Turnali Smithy in Hernand is the best early alternative, as it is available from the start of the game.

3. How to Extract Materials Step by Step

Select the Extraction option at any Smithy to open the menu and choose your unequipped gear

Extracting in Crimson Desert costs no silver and requires no special items or unlock conditions beyond having a Smithy nearby. The full process takes under a minute.

1. Unequip the Item: Remove the item from your character. Gear that is currently worn will not appear in the Extraction menu.
2. Unlock the Item: Unlock the item in your inventory if it has been marked as locked. Locked items are automatically hidden from the Extraction list.
3. Travel to a Smithy: Visit any Smithy, such as Turnali in Hernand or Alec at the Greymane Camp.
4. Open the Service Menu: Interact with the Smithy and select the Extraction option.
5. Select Your Gear: Choose the item you want to unrefine from the provided menu.
6. Choose Target Level: Select whether to roll back by a single level or completely down to the base refinement level. The interface displays the exact materials you will receive.
7. Confirm the Extraction: Confirm the action to reset the item and send the refunded materials directly into your inventory.

4. Material Return Rates

Special materials like Abyss Artifacts are refunded at a 100% rate, meaning you never lose them during an extraction

Not all materials return at the same rate. Understanding the difference between common and special materials is key to deciding when Extraction is worth using.

Special Materials (100% Return)

Special materials return at exactly 100% with no penalties.

• Abyss Artifacts: Required for upgrading gear past Refinement 4.
• Aeserion’s Scale: Used in specialized endgame crafting.

If you spent three Abyss Artifacts pushing a weapon from Refinement 4 to Refinement 7, extracting back to Refinement 4 returns all three in full.

Common Materials (~70% Return)

Common crafting materials return at approximately 70%. This applies to standard gathering materials used during Refinements 1 through 4, including:

• Iron Ore and Copper Ore: Standard base metals.
• Bloodstones: Used to strengthen base durability.
• Hide: Including Thin Hide, Thick Hide, and their variants.
• Bones: Both Small and Large variants.

Around 30% of these materials are permanently consumed each time you extract. Repeated cycles of upgrading and extracting the same item will gradually drain your common material stockpile.

5. Eligible Gear Types

Every type of armor and weapon is eligible for extraction as long as you have refined it past its base level

Extraction in Crimson Desert works across a wide range of gear types and is not restricted by item quality or rarity. The core requirement is simply that the item has been refined beyond its original base level.

Items sitting at their base refinement level have nothing to extract. All of the following gear types are eligible:

• Melee Weapons: Swords, axes, spears, scythes, and two-handed weapons.
• Ranged Weapons: Bows, crossbows, and cannons.
• Armor: Chest, head, gloves, and boots.
• Shields and Accessories: Necklaces, rings, and earrings.

Socketed Abyss Gears are unaffected by Extraction. The system only changes the item’s refinement level, so embedded Abyss Gears remain in place and do not need to be removed before visiting a Smithy.

6. Limits and Rules You Need to Know

After you choose a target level, the game shows a confirmation screen before completing the Extraction

Extraction is flexible but comes with strict restrictions. Several rules define what the system can and cannot do, preventing surprises at higher gear tiers.

The Base Refinement Floor

You can only extract an item down to its original base refinement level—the level it had when you first obtained it. Items found or crafted at higher starting refinements carry that level as their permanent floor.

• Aeserion Gear: Crafted at Refinement Level 5 by default. Extraction cannot reduce these items below a Refinement Level of 5.
• No Exploits: There is no way to exploit the system to generate free Abyss Artifacts by repeatedly crafting and extracting high-tier gear. The floor always stops at the item’s original state.

Items Must Be Unequipped and Unlocked

Any item currently equipped on your character or locked in your inventory will not appear in the Extraction menu. This applies to every gear type without exception.

• Unequip Gear: Ensure the item is completely removed from your active loadout.
• Unlock Inventory: Remove the lock status that prevents accidental sales.
• Empty Menu Fix: If the Extraction list appears empty at the Smithy, always double-check that you have completed both steps.

No Cherry-Picking Specific Levels

You choose a target refinement level to roll back to, and the system refunds all materials spent between your current level and that target.

• Proportional Refunds: You cannot selectively remove one level from the middle of a refinement chain.
• Recent Tier Removal: To remove only the most recent tier, set the target exactly one level below your current refinement.
• Full Reset: To fully reset an item, set the target all the way down to its base level.

7. When and Why to Use It

A completed Extraction for the Shackle of Might sword

Before Update 1.06.00, committing Abyss Artifacts to a weapon was permanent, making experimentation highly expensive. Extraction changes that calculation significantly.

Recovering Abyss Artifacts From Old Builds

The most common use for Extraction is recovering Abyss Artifacts from gear you no longer use. Because the game balances gear evenly, real power comes from socketed Abyss Gears rather than base stats.

• High-Tier Recovery: Every refinement tier above Level 4 costs one Abyss Artifact. A weapon at Refinement 8 has four Artifacts embedded in its upgrade costs.
• Immediate Funding: Extracting that weapon back to Refinement 4 returns all four Artifacts immediately, letting you fund a new weapon instantly.
• Practical Example: If you spent months pushing a weapon to Refinement 9, extracting it recovers five Abyss Artifacts in full.

When Extraction Is Not Worth It

Extraction still costs you common materials over time. Repeatedly cycling the same item through upgrades and extractions will severely erode your material stockpile.

• Common Material Loss: Refinements 1 through 4 rely on standard materials such as Iron Ore, Copper, and Hides, which return at only 70% of their value.
• Artifact Abundance: Abyss Artifacts are not scarce in the long run. They drop from enemies, Abyss Puzzles, Ancient Ruins, and quests.
• Strategic Use: Farming new artifacts is often faster than holding old gear just to extract it. Use Extraction as a targeted tool when switching builds, not as a farming loop.

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