The Face Behind the Mask is a main story block in Chapter 3 of Crimson Desert. It has five quests in total and ends with one of the hardest boss fights in the chapter — the Reed Devil. This guide walks you through every step, from returning to Howling Hill all the way to defeating the Reed Devil and unlocking the next story block.
TL;DR
- The Face Behind the Mask is a Chapter 3 story block with five quests: Return, Traces in the Manor, Nonhuman, Seed of Unease, and Dance with the Devil.
- Start by talking to Marius at Howling Hill camp.
- Investigate Glenbright Manor, clear enemies, and speak to the wounded servant.
- Use your lantern to track the Reed Devil’s trail through the reed fields.
- Find Andrew and Naira by following the yellow tracking line.
- Examine the doll at the Mountain of Frozen Souls Hearth to trigger the final boss.
- Defeat the Reed Devil in a three-phase boss fight. Reward: Sunset Reed Cloth Gloves.
- Stock up on 50 to 100 Grilled Meat before the boss fight.
The Face Behind the Mask Quest List
This story block is part of Chapter 3 (Howling Hill) and contains five main quests in order:
- Quest 1: Return
- Quest 2: Traces in the Manor
- Quest 3: Nonhuman
- Quest 4: Seed of Unease
- Quest 5: Dance with the Devil
Completing all five unlocks the next story block in Chapter 3 called Pioneering. Defeating the Reed Devil also liberates Glenbright Farm, Emberwind Workshop, and Pollengarth Apiary on the map.
Quest 1 — Return
This is a short story quest. Your goal is simply to return to Howling Hill camp and speak with Marius.
- Fast travel to the Abyss Nexus near Howling Hill to save time.
- Head to the Greymane Camp at Howling Hill.
- Find Marius at the table in front of the tent and speak with him.
- Marius tells you he has heard nothing from Naira and Andrew. Duane arrives during the conversation, ending the quest.
Before moving on, use this moment to stock up on healing food. Buy Lean Meat from the Butcher in Hernand and cook Grilled Meat. You will need a lot of it before the final boss. The next few quests lead directly into a tough fight.
Quest 2 — Traces in the Manor
This quest sends you to Glenbright Manor in the south of the Hernand Highlands — the last known location of Naira and Andrew. It is about 1000 meters from Howling Hill, so mount up and ride.
Arrive at Glenbright Manor
As you approach the manor gate, a body gets thrown out in front of you. Draw your weapons. You will immediately be ambushed by Reed Devil minions — masked enemies that are faster and more aggressive than anything you have faced up to this point. Clear the area before entering.
Once inside, the manor is filled with dead nobles and servants. The place has been ransacked.
Find the Survivor
Head upstairs and check the north side study room. Just below the left window, you will find a wounded servant. Speak with him. He tells you that Naira and Andrew escaped, and reveals where the person responsible for the murders went. This advances the quest.
Find the Glenbright Manor Basement Key (Secret Room)
On the ground floor, in the entrance hall, look for a painting of two knights on horseback. Walk directly into the wall next to it — it is a hidden door. Push through to find a small room. Pick up the Glenbright Manor Basement Key and some money pouches.
Use the Daggers on the Fireplace
In the study room upstairs, find the fireplace. The mantle has two slots. Use your lantern to focus on them and insert the two daggers you find in the manor. The bookshelf beside the fireplace will slide open, revealing a ladder down to a secret basement room.
In the basement you will find:
- Cloudcart Blueprint — a new mode of transport resembling a hot air balloon. See our guide on how to unlock the Cloudcart.
- Alchemy Formula: Meliara’s Lesser Elixir — boosts max health and attack speed for five minutes. Unlock the small room with the Basement Key to collect it.
For a full breakdown of the basement puzzle, check our Glenbright Manor basement puzzle guide.
Use the Lantern to Track the Trail
After speaking with the servant and investigating the study, jump down from the open window on the second floor. Equip your lantern and hold it up — a yellow tracking line will appear on the ground. Follow it. This is how the tracking mechanic works in Crimson Desert. If you have not used it before, this quest is your first real introduction to it.
Quest 3 — Nonhuman
This quest continues directly from Traces in the Manor. You are now tracking the Reed Devil’s trail through the fields using your lantern.
Follow the Yellow Line
Keep the lantern raised and follow the yellow line. It will lead you out of the manor area and through the reed fields. You will be ambushed twice along the way by the Reed Devil’s minions. Fight them off and keep moving. Do not stop between ambushes — the path continues after each fight.
Find the Small House
The yellow trail eventually leads to a small house in the fields. A cutscene will trigger as you approach it. This completes the Nonhuman quest, and Seed of Unease begins automatically.
The house is where you find Andrew and Naira — they are alive. The quest objective is to locate them, and reaching the house fulfills that requirement.
Quest 4 — Seed of Unease
This is a short but important quest that sets up the final boss. You need to track the Reed Devil before he escapes entirely.
Head to the Mountain of Frozen Souls Hearth
Travel to the marked location: the Mountain of Frozen Souls Hearth. This is in the Hernand region. Use the Abyss Nexus for fast travel if the marker is far.
Interact with the Altar
At the Mountain of Frozen Souls Hearth, find the altar and interact with it. Use your lantern to focus on the doll placed on the altar — it will glow when your lantern is pointed at it. Examine it. This completes Seed of Unease and immediately starts Dance with the Devil — the final quest.
Quest 5 — Dance with the Devil
This is the climax of The Face Behind the Mask. You face the Reed Devil (Devil of the Reed Field) in a three-phase boss fight at the Mountain of Frozen Souls. This is the hardest fight in Chapter 3. Prepare carefully before triggering it.
Before the Fight — Preparation
Before heading into the arena, look for a small camp near the rocky outcrops to the east of the arena (close to the cliffs). You will find a bonfire, a grindstone, and some supplies there. Pick up the meat and cook as much food as you can.
- Stock up on 50 to 100 Grilled Meat minimum. The fight is long and you will burn through food fast.
- Upgrade your armor if you have not already. The Reed Devil can kill you in one or two hits if your gear is underleveled. Farm iron and copper ore to reinforce your equipment. See our guide on how to reinforce equipment.
- Set Grilled Meat on your food wheel (D-Pad Right on controller) before the fight starts. You can eat mid-combat even during light attacks, so keep healing throughout the fight.
- Check the best early build guide if you feel underprepared.
Reed Devil Phase 1
The fight begins after a cutscene where Kliff calls out the Reed Devil to claim the bounty. The Reed Devil is a fast swordsman who uses quick-draw iaijutsu sword techniques. He retreats into the surrounding reeds between attacks, making him unpredictable.
Key tips for Phase 1:
- Do not attack head-on. His attack speed is faster than most enemies you have faced.
- Wait for him to finish an attack combo, then get behind him and strike. A couple of strong hits from behind can take out a large chunk of his health.
- Use Force Palm followed by a Forward Slash — this combo works well in this phase.
- He takes long pauses after attacking. Those pauses are your windows.
- Keep your stamina up and avoid being staggered into a follow-up combo.
Deplete his first health bar to move into Phase 2. For more tips, see our full Reed Devil boss guide.
Reed Devil Phase 2 — Destroy the Totems
Once the first health bar is depleted, the Reed Devil becomes invulnerable. He activates demonic magic and four Reed Devil Totems (reed poles) spawn around the arena.
You must destroy all four totems to remove his invulnerability and make the true Reed Devil reappear.
- Dodge and sprint between the totems as fast as you can. Multiple Reed Devil copies may attack you during this phase.
- Do not try to fight the copies — focus entirely on destroying the totems.
- Once all four totems are destroyed, the real Reed Devil becomes vulnerable again.
Reed Devil Phase 3 — Learn Swift Stab
The third phase introduces new mechanics and increased aggression. This is the hardest phase of the fight.
During Phase 3, you can learn the Swift Stab skill by observing the Reed Devil’s attack pattern:
- Keep a safe distance from the Reed Devil. This lures him into charging at you and following up with his signature stab-and-follow combo.
- Let him perform this attack three times. After the third successful observation, a popup will confirm you have learned Swift Stab — a subversion of the standard Stab skill.
- Use Swift Stab heavily in this phase. It is effective against the Reed Devil’s own attack patterns.
Continue to attack from behind after his combos. Survive Phase 3 and the fight ends. The Reed Devil escapes just before the final strike lands, leaving behind a cryptic message. The quest completes regardless.
Reward
Completing Dance with the Devil gives you the Sunset Reed Cloth Gloves. The story block The Face Behind the Mask ends here. The next story block, Pioneering, begins with six new quests.
What Unlocks After The Face Behind the Mask
Finishing this quest block does more than just advance the story. Three map areas are liberated:
- Glenbright Farm
- Emberwind Workshop
- Pollengarth Apiary
These locations become safe to explore without Reed Devil minions attacking. Side quests, collectibles, and NPCs in these areas become accessible after the story block ends.
Tips for The Face Behind the Mask
- Use fast travel via the Abyss Nexus to jump back to Howling Hill at the start. Do not ride the whole way.
- If the Jindo is not at its usual spots after all the action in Hernand, fast travel forces a respawn — the same trick works for finding the Jindo (Shiba Inu dog) in Hernand Town if you want a pet companion before tackling this quest block.
- Do the secret basement rooms in Glenbright Manor during this quest. The Cloudcart Blueprint and Meliara’s Lesser Elixir are easy to miss if you leave and the enemies respawn.
- The lantern tracking mechanic introduced in Nonhuman is used in many quests later. Get used to holding it up and reading the yellow trail early.
- Do not panic in Phase 2. Ignore the Reed Devil copies and sprint to each totem.
- Learn Swift Stab in Phase 3 — it is a genuinely useful skill you will keep for later combat. Let the Reed Devil attack you from a distance three times intentionally.
- If you need better gear before the boss, check our best armor guide and best weapon guide.
- For cooking tips before the fight, see how to cook the best healing food in Crimson Desert.
Quick Reference — All Five Quests
- Return: Go to Howling Hill, talk to Marius, meet Duane.
- Traces in the Manor: Ride to Glenbright Manor, clear enemies, speak to the wounded servant, find the Basement Key in the secret room, use daggers on the fireplace, collect the Cloudcart Blueprint and Elixir recipe, then track the trail with your lantern from the open window.
- Nonhuman: Follow the yellow tracking line, survive two ambushes, reach the small house to find Andrew and Naira.
- Seed of Unease: Travel to the Mountain of Frozen Souls Hearth, interact with the altar, examine the doll with your lantern.
- Dance with the Devil: Cook and prepare food first, defeat the Reed Devil across three phases (fight → destroy four totems → fight again and learn Swift Stab), collect Sunset Reed Cloth Gloves.
For the full story walkthrough and all quest guides, visit our Crimson Desert guide hub. You can also see all main story quests and chapters for an overview of where this quest block sits in the full campaign. If you are struggling with the boss fight itself, our dedicated Reed Devil walkthrough goes into even more combat detail.
Crimson Desert is available on PC via the official site, Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation Store, and Xbox.
