TL;DR
- You can get three pieces of Shadow Armor without fighting anyone
- The Hwando is a powerful two-handed sword hidden near Lioncrest Manor — grab it early
- Two free accessories are tucked inside Bluemont Manor strongboxes — but you need a Mask to steal them
- There’s a free Gold Bar inside Lioncrest Manor — don’t sell it, bank it
- All of these items are in Hernand, the starting province
Most of your early power in Crimson Desert comes from your gear. The stuff you pick up naturally isn’t bad. But it isn’t great either. The good news is that Hernand — the starting province — has some genuinely strong items hidden around it. You just have to know where to look.
This guide covers the best early items you can find before leaving the first region. No grinding needed for most of them. Just exploration.
Before we dive in, make sure you understand how gear upgrades work. Check our guide on how to reinforce equipment in Crimson Desert — even strong early items need refinement to carry you through later chapters.
Shadow Armor Set – Free and Better Than Shop Gear
The Shadow Armor set is the best free armor in Hernand. Three pieces of it can be grabbed without fighting a single enemy. All three are in the western mountain range of Hernand. You don’t need cold weather gear to get there, but expect a lot of climbing, hiking, and riding.
The stats are well above anything sold by Hernand’s blacksmiths. Worth the detour.
Plate Armor of the Shadows (Chestplate)
Stats:
- Defense: 13
- Refinement: 3
- Petrification Immunity
- Defense +3
- +2% Stamina Regen
Head to the Everfrost Watchtower area. Look for a small cave with a barred entrance along the crags nearby. There’s a brazier next to the entrance. Light it. The bars drop, and you can walk straight in to grab the chestplate from the chest inside.
Shadow Armor Cloak
Stats:
- Defense: 3
- Refinement: 3
- Fire Resistance Lv 7
Go south from where you found the chestplate. Cross the river and look for Hoenmark Ruins. You’re looking for a ruined building with a barred doorway. Don’t try the door — go to the roof instead. Find the stone segment on the floor that looks slightly different from the rest. Stand on it and hit it with Force Palm. You’ll drop straight into the building, right next to the chest with the cloak inside.
Plate Boots of the Shadows
Stats:
- Attack: 16
- Defense: 7
- Refinement: 3
- +10% Skill EXP Gain
- +2% Climb Speed Multiplier
These boots are unusual — they have a higher Attack stat than Defense, which makes them useful for offensive builds too. Head further south from Hoenmark Ruins to a waterfall marked as Frostclaw Cave on the map. Swim upstream until you see a small rock totem. That marks the cave entrance behind the waterfall. Stand in front of the waterfall and use a Stab attack to break through. The chest inside has the boots.
The +10% Skill EXP Gain is especially useful early on. If you want to level up fast, pair this with our guide on how to get skill points in Crimson Desert and our breakdown of best skills to level up first.
Getting the Helmet and Gloves
You can’t grab the full set right away. The helmet and gloves are locked until you finish Chapter 6. After that, return to Hoenmark Ruins, defeat the boss there, and you’ll receive a quest that leads you directly to both pieces.
Hwando – Best Early Two-Handed Weapon
Stats:
- Damage: 19
- Critical Rate 1
- Stamina Siphon 1
- Attack 1
The Hwando is a curved two-handed sword modeled after ancient Korean blades. It handles similarly to a katana. Damage 19 is strong for this point in the game, and the built-in Abyss Gear already gives it a power edge over most weapons you’ll find naturally.
It’s inside the storehouse next to Lioncrest Manor. Lioncrest is northwest of Hernand’s castle town. Enter through one of the second floor windows, then drop to the first floor. Find the gilded chest — that’s the Hwando.
We also have a full dedicated guide on how to get the Hwando two-handed katana in Crimson Desert if you want the exact map location. And if you’re thinking about dual wielding, see our how to dual wield in Crimson Desert guide.
Plate Gloves of the Fallen Kingdom
Stats:
- Damage: 15
- Food Effect Lv +1
- Health +0.2 every 1 sec
These gloves are great for survivability. The passive HP regen ticks constantly, and the Food Effect bonus means any food you eat heals more. That combination makes tough fights much more manageable.
Find them in a waterfall cave west of Hernand. Follow the river west, then climb the ridges until you reach a ledge. There’s a small rock totem outside — same as Frostclaw Cave. Stab through the waterfall to enter. The gloves are in the chest inside.
If you want to maximize healing even further, check our guide on how to cook the best healing food in Crimson Desert.
Odeck’s Protector Plate Boots
Stats:
- Attack: 17
- Defense: 5
- Refinement: 3
- Movement Speed Lv 1
- Damage Reduction 1.0
Unlike the Shadow Armor boots, you can get these much earlier in the game. Head to the Sanctum of Temperance, southeast of Hernand — it’s south of the Goldleaf camp where you fight Hornsplitter in the main story.
At the Sanctum, look for a small entrance blocked by leaves next to a floating cube. The cube will show up on your minimap when you’re close. Go through the small opening. Inside is a small loot cache that includes these boots.
For more on what’s inside the Sanctum of Temperance, see our Sanctum of Temperance puzzle solution guide.
Oath of Darkness Earring – Best Accessory for HP Regen Builds
Stats:
- Defense: 1
- Refinement: 1
This earring looks weak at first glance. It is. But once upgraded, the passive HP regen bonus it unlocks stacks well with other regen sources like the Plate Gloves of the Fallen Kingdom above. It becomes a solid piece for survival builds as you refine it.
To get it, you need to crack open one of the strongboxes in Bluemont Manor. Specifically, the northern building. Look for the strongbox with the owl picture puzzle on it. That’s the one.
Important: You need to wear a Mask to steal from strongboxes. Masks can be bought from black market vendors, looted randomly from bandits, or earned for free by completing the Jeffrey bounty in Hernand.
For the full breakdown on how strongboxes work, see our guides on Bluemont Manor strongbox puzzle solution and how to steal items in Crimson Desert. For accessories in general, our Crimson Desert accessories guide has everything you need.
Finely Crafted Gold Necklace – Best Early Offensive Accessory
Stats:
- Attack: 1
- Critical Rate +1
Small but useful. The extra Attack Point and Critical Rate stack nicely with offensive builds early on.
From the northern Bluemont Manor building, head south to the neighboring building. Enter through the balcony or second floor windows. Inside, look for the strongbox with a tumbler lock puzzle. The necklace is in there.
Again, you need a Mask to steal it. Same rules as the earring above.
Free Gold Bar at Lioncrest Manor
There’s a Gold Bar worth 500 Silver sitting inside Lioncrest Manor. You’re already heading there for the Hwando, so grab it while you’re in the building.
Go to the first floor. The fireplace is on the opposite side of the main entrance. Put on a Mask first. Turn off the fire, then hold Ctrl on keyboard or L1 on PlayStation and inspect the fireplace. Hit the Steal prompt and the Gold Bar is yours.
Time it carefully. A guard patrols the first floor. Wait until he enters the hallway adjacent to the fireplace. That gives you just enough time to steal and let the Crime meter drop before he comes back.
Do not sell the Gold Bar. This is important. Take it to the Hernand Bank and invest it once you have at least 100 Silver to register your own Strongbox. It’s one of the best early money moves in the game. For more ways to grow your Silver, check our guide on how to make money fast in Crimson Desert.
What to Do After Getting This Gear
Once you have this gear, the next step is upgrading it. Refinement makes a bigger difference than most players expect early on. See our guides on how to upgrade weapons and armor and how to get better equipment as you progress.
Also worth reading:
- Best early build in Crimson Desert
- How to get max health in Crimson Desert
- How to get max stamina in Crimson Desert
- How to increase attack level in Crimson Desert
- How to increase defense level in Crimson Desert
- Spire of Insight puzzle guide
For everything else, the Crimson Desert hub page has all our guides in one place.
