Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown walkthrough: ships, diving

Crimson Desert's first expansion, Charting the Unknown, is out now, and this Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown walkthrough walks you through it in the order the game unlocks things. The short version: finish "Journey's End" in the main story, set up your Greymane camp at Howling Hill, and the sea, the housing system, the new quests and the Garden of Trials open up one after another. Below you will find every unlock condition Pearl Abyss lists in its official notes, plus the patch fixes that matter while you play.

Official DLC launch trailer. Video: Crimson Desert.

What Charting the Unknown adds

The expansion is for Crimson Desert, the open-world action-adventure set on the continent of Pywel. According to the official Steam store page, it is built around three ideas: a sea to sail and dive, a richer everyday life in Pywel, and fiercer enemies on land and at sea. The launch announcement lists Steam, the PlayStation Store, the Xbox Store and the Epic Games Store as release platforms, and Pearl Abyss shipped a base-game update at the same time. It asks everyone to update before starting the DLC so that the base game and the new content work together.

Two warnings from the official notes are worth knowing before you load a save. First, save files created while the DLC is installed cannot be loaded, or used for cross-save, on a game version that does not include the DLC. Second, Mac players on Steam and the Mac App Store needed a one-time full-size download because of technical adjustments to the Mac build.

Unlock order: what to do first

The expansion does not throw everything at you in one go. Most features sit behind a story beat or a camp upgrade, so doing things in the wrong order mostly means "nothing happens yet". This is the order that follows the official unlock conditions:

1. Finish "Journey's End"This main-story quest gates the three new character quests, the Garden of Trials and the first castle reward.
2. Reach Howling Hill and set up campCamp setup at Howling Hill is required for the upgraded housing system.
3. Complete "Howling Hill" and expand the campOnce the main-story quest "Howling Hill" is done and your Greymane camp is above a certain level, the ocean quest "A Wider World" begins.
4. Do Luke's RequestIt is one of the Greymane faction quests under "Grounds of the Sunrise" and unlocks Free Construction housing.
5. Open the Journal for the character questsOne individual quest each for Kliff, Oongka and Damiane appears there after "Journey's End".
6. Take your first shipBuild one through a dispatch mission or buy one from a fleetmaster, then start pioneering uncharted islands.

The three new character quests

The official notes describe the new stories as "an ominous presence in the desert and a dangerous political conflict," plus "a journey beyond time and an ancient secret beneath the waves." Each playable character receives one individual quest, and all three are found in the Journal once "Journey's End" is complete. We will not spoil the plots; here is what the patch notes and later hotfixes tell us about each.

Because the three quests run on different characters, play order is up to you. If you like to see one storyline through, switch to the character whose quest you want and stay with them; the early patch history shows many of the first bugs were around quest gates, and those have since been fixed.

Ships, diving and uncharted islands

The headline feature is the ocean. Your first goal is the quest "A Wider World," which starts after "Howling Hill" and a camp expansion. From there the sea content opens in layers.

• Ships are a new mount. Construct one through a dispatch mission or buy one from a fleetmaster. Customisation parts are sold by fleetmasters in Demeniss and Delesyia.
• Maritime trading. Ships can carry trade goods, and new goods were added for this purpose.
• Diving. A breath gauge now exists. Refine your diving suit to raise your maximum breath, and eat the new food items that restore breath temporarily.
• Underwater gear. Equipment is available that lets the A.T.A.G operate underwater when equipped.
• Underwater mounts. Depending on type they can be subdued or fed to raise Trust, and once Trust is high enough you can register them as mounts.
• Islands and treasure. Several uncharted islands can be pioneered through new missions, and multiple treasure maps send you after hidden loot.

Pioneering without the busywork

Pioneering is how you open up uncharted islands. Patch 2.04.02 made it much friendlier: when you enter an area that is available for pioneering, a notification now appears in the menu on the right so you can start the mission directly. Later hotfixes cleaned up edge cases, such as pioneering not completing when a ship sat near the anchorage (2.04.06) and the camera freezing during pioneering (2.04.08). Two pioneering missions sent out at once could also block an earlier mission from finishing, and that was fixed as well.

Ship behaviour fixes to know about

Naval content got a lot of attention in the hotfixes. Ships that would not move, crew members who failed to appear, and a ship's wheel that would not turn while steering are all listed as fixed. If you started the expansion in the first days and met any of these, an update will cure them.

Strongholds, castles and housing

"A Richer Life in Pywel" is the expansion's builder side, and it ties to the stronghold liberation you may already know from the base game. Strongholds owned by the Greymanes now appear in light blue on the map, and a new "Facilities" tab collects your management buildings.

Management facilities

You can rent a stronghold and run a restaurant, sawmill, smithy or tailor's shop. The facilities keep operating while you are away, special guests may drop in, and completing management content earns rewards. Pearl Abyss fixed an issue in 2.04.02 where facility earnings could rise abnormally in certain situations, and one in 2.04.06 where the level 5 management popularity reward was not applied to every character.

Two decorative castles

Free Construction

The upgraded housing system opens after Luke's Request and camp setup at Howling Hill. You reach it via Home Decoration, then Layout, then Free Construction, and you can place structural elements such as walls and windows yourself. Newer objects include paths, trees, flowerbeds, cat watchtowers (from the new Cat Watchtower Merchant) and puppy cushions. Because this is the most bug-prone feature, note three fixes: houses disappearing in certain situations (2.04.08), the screen staying black when entering Free Construction (2.04.06), and an "Undo Changes" bug that removed indoor objects (2.04.08). The game also now asks for confirmation before you delete a room.

Trust, romance and marriage

The NPC interaction menu was rebuilt: "Chat" and "Gift" now sit beside ordinary "Interact" actions. Through Chat you share Knowledge to earn trust, and new books teach you residents' preferences. After you raise trust with a given interaction, a cooldown shows when it can raise trust again.

1. Build trust normallyChat, gift and share Knowledge. Patch 2.04.03 lets you select several gift items at once and set quantities.
2. FlirtSelect Interact, then Flirt, to raise the additional trust level. Each interaction type can raise it once a day.
3. Reach 100 and proposeAt 100 you can propose. Flirting as one character lowers that NPC's trust with the other two playable characters.
4. Pick a home17 residences were added and can be built through dispatch missions. Your spouse lives in the one you designate.

After marriage your spouse's icon shows on the world map and minimap, you can travel together, and they may give you gifts. You can change your spouse's appearance at barber shops, which now exist in major cities. A break-up is possible but costs you. Spouse behaviour bugs (not giving gifts, acting oddly in combat, following you into water) were handled in 2.04.02 and 2.04.03.

Garden of Trials and the new bosses

The Garden of Trials opens after "Journey's End" and sits near the Axiom Archive Abyss. It has 10 groups to challenge. You can send all three characters, Kliff, Oongka and Damiane, and choose the order they enter. If one falls the next takes over, and food cannot be used to recover inside the trials. Completing each group enhances one of your existing skills, so it is real progression and not just a score chase.

The notes also promise several powerful bosses, some of which can be fought again with Memory Fragments, and a new Relic Collector NPC who trades items for relics found during exploration. Later notes mention bosses by name: the sea monster Leviakan (its scale is now a reward on defeat, as of 2.04.08), the Phantom Ship and the Drunken Catfish. Patch 2.04.06 notes that rewards were not being granted for the Phantom Ship and the Drunken Catfish, so a missing drop was a known problem rather than something you did wrong. Mac players also had a crash after defeating Leviakan fixed in 2.04.08.

New gear and quality-of-life changes

The expansion adds new armour, weapons, mount and pet equipment, Abyss gear and other equipment. A few other changes affect how you play every day:

• Combat tools. Life skill tools can be used in combat: Frying Pan, Ladle, Frying Pan Lid, Jar Lid and Kitchen Knife.
• Combat tuning. The Counter animation and effects were improved, and startup time was reduced for Oongka's Scatter Shot and Damiane's Shield Toss.
• Map. Trade routes always show, maximum zoom-out is larger, and icon colours now show region status: red for blockaded, light red for reconstructing, yellow for incident and grey for uncharted.
• Graphics. Upscaling and Frame Generation can be selected separately, so you can combine DLSS upscaling with FSR Frame Generation.
• Storage. Item stack sizes increased overall, and there is a dedicated storage box for insects, with three new legendary insects.
• Wagons. Wagons can be equipped, and a new wainwright works from the port area.

Patch status: what has been fixed since launch

Pearl Abyss has pushed a hotfix almost every day. The 2.04.00 patch notes describe the DLC, and the follow-ups, versions 2.04.02 through 2.04.08, mostly fix quest gates, ship behaviour, housing and crashes. The most recent, 2.04.08 on November 6, also improves framerate drops in certain areas and says more work on this is coming. It is live on Steam for PC and Mac.

One small but welcome fix: in 2.04.06 the Lumen Sword can be restored if it was destroyed. For the full per-version lists, read the official notes on Steam. If you want the newest patches explained as they land, follow our walkthroughs and news pages.

Tips for a smooth run

• Update first. Install the latest base-game patch before starting the expansion, as Pearl Abyss asks.
• Back up saves. DLC saves will not load on a build without the DLC.
• Raise your breath. Refine the diving suit early and carry breath-restoring food before diving into caves.
• Plan the party. In the Garden of Trials, put your most durable character first, since food cannot be used.
• Keep a clear gate list. "Journey's End" unlocks characters, castle and trials. "Howling Hill" plus camp growth unlocks the ocean.
• Compare with other games. If you like boss-heavy action RPGs, see our Phantom Blade Zero walkthrough and the Elden Ring Nightreign Nightlord walkthrough.

FAQ

How do I start the Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown DLC?

Complete "Journey's End" from the main story to unlock the three character quests in the Journal. For the ocean quest "A Wider World," finish "Howling Hill" and expand your Greymane camp above a certain level.

How much does Charting the Unknown cost?

The Steam listing shows $24.99. It launched on October 29, 2026, on Steam, the PlayStation Store, the Xbox Store and the Epic Games Store.

Can I use DLC saves without the DLC installed?

No. Pearl Abyss states that saves created while the DLC is installed cannot be loaded or used for cross-save on a game version without the DLC.

How do I unlock Free Construction housing?

Complete Luke's Request, a Greymane faction quest under "Grounds of the Sunrise," after setting up camp in Howling Hill. Then open Home Decoration, Layout, Free Construction.

What is the Garden of Trials?

It is a new combat challenge near the Axiom Archive Abyss with 10 groups of enemies. You can use Kliff, Oongka and Damiane, and each completed group enhances one of your existing skills.

Jules Rivera Souls specialist

Has finished every FromSoftware game at level 1. Writes the boss guides and checks them on every patch.