How to Get Fated Shadow & Greysoul Howling in Crimson Desert

TL;DR

Fated Shadow is a hidden one-handed sword found in the Nest of Valor Abyss area near Dry Valley — no quest, no marker, no hint.
You can only get it after defeating Goyen in the “Unwavering Steps” main quest in Chapter 9.
Head to the central podium in Nest of Valor, turn right, find the cave with a staircase, and go deeper inside.
The sword comes pre-upgraded to Refinement Level 6 with 25 base attack — zero investment needed.
Greysoul Howling is pre-slotted into the sword. Activate it with R1 + R2 (RB + RT on Xbox) to summon Goyen’s phantom for a sweeping shadow strike.
Don’t sell it. The sword + ability together are far more valuable than the coin.
You can extract Greysoul Howling via the Witches’ Extract Abyss Gear service and move it to another weapon if needed.

The Fated Shadow is one of the best weapons in Crimson Desert — and most players walk right past it. There’s no quest pointing to it, no NPC who hints at its location, and no reward screen when the chapter ends. Pearl Abyss simply placed it inside a cave in the Abyss and left it there for curious players to find. It’s a true hidden weapon that rewards exploration.

What makes it special isn’t just the raw stats. The sword comes pre-upgraded to Refinement Level 6 with 25 base attack, and it arrives with the Greysoul Howling Abyss ability already slotted in. You pick it up and it’s ready to use immediately — no farming, no upgrading, no socketing. For where you are in the game when you find it, this thing is genuinely overpowered.

This guide tells you exactly what you need to do before it appears, where to go, and how to get the most out of both the sword and its ability.

Table of Contents

What Is the Fated Shadow?

The Fated Shadow is a one-handed sword that belonged to the boss Goyen. Its in-game description reads: “Goyen’s Sword. Traces of time it endured can be seen all over, yet its edge is honed sharper than any other blade. Some things only grow tougher the more they’re worn.”

Here’s the full stat rundown when you pick it up:

Stat	Value
Weapon Type	One-Handed Sword
Base Attack	25
Refinement Level	6 (out of the box)
Abyss Gear Slots	3 (Greysoul Howling pre-slotted in one)
Sell Value	46.06 silver

The refinement level is the big deal here. Most weapons at this stage of the game need significant resource investment just to get to Refinement Level 6. The Fated Shadow skips all of that. You can redirect the materials you’d normally spend on upgrading into other pieces of your gear instead.

Requirements: What You Need Before Getting Fated Shadow

The Fated Shadow is locked behind story progression. You cannot pick it up no matter how early you wander into the Nest of Valor. Two things need to happen first:

1. Defeat Goyen in “Unwavering Steps” — Chapter 9

This is the hard requirement. Goyen is a main story boss fought in the Abyss during the Unwavering Steps quest in Chapter 9: The Sage of the Desert. The sword won’t appear at the location until this fight is complete. There’s no workaround — it’s tied directly to Goyen’s defeat, which fits the lore since Greysoul Howling literally summons Goyen’s phantom.

Once the fight ends, you’re left in the Abyss area. From that point on, you can fast travel back here any time.

2. Complete the Spire of the Sun Puzzle

Getting to the Nest of Valor also requires completing the Spire of the Sun puzzle inside the Abyss. This puzzle can be tricky to navigate without help. If you’re stuck on it, our Spire of the Sun puzzle solution guide walks through every step.

Once both of those are done, you’re clear to go grab the sword.

Where to Find Fated Shadow — Nest of Valor Location

The Fated Shadow is inside the Nest of Valor, an Abyss area near Dry Valley in the northeast of Crimson Desert (Forebearer’s Barrens region).

fated shadow secret op sword in crimson desert

How to get there:

Open your map and press R3 (or the equivalent button on your platform) to switch to the Abyss layer of the map.
Look for the fast travel point on the small island next to Dry Valley in the northeast. This is the closest travel point to the cave.
Fast travel there and head into the Nest of Valor on foot.

Finding the sword once you’re inside:

From the entrance, make your way to the central podium in the Nest of Valor.
From the podium, turn right.
You’ll see a small cave with a staircase and a light source near the entrance. Head down.
When you enter, you may spot a recipe for Fishball Soup on the ground. Don’t stop — keep going deeper into the cave.
Near a bucket and some scattered objects on the cave floor, look for the interaction icon. The sword blends into the surroundings and can easily look like background clutter. Watch for the icon to appear.
Interact with it. The Fated Shadow is added to your inventory immediately, fully upgraded with Greysoul Howling already slotted.

There’s a short cutscene when you pick it up. No enemies guard the weapon — this is purely an exploration reward.

What Is Greysoul Howling?

Greysoul Howling is the Abyss Gear ability pre-slotted into the Fated Shadow. It’s the main reason this sword gets so much attention, and it cannot be obtained from any other source in the game.

How to activate it: Hold R1 + R2 (or RB + RT on Xbox). This consumes a portion of your Spirit gauge.

What it does: Summmons the phantom of Goyen, which unleashes a sweeping strike of shadow energy across the target area in front of you. The phantom adds hits to your Turning Slash combo, applying physical stagger independently from your main weapon swing. It works well against single targets and is especially powerful in mob situations — the sweep can connect with multiple enemies in one activation.

The phantom’s damage sits at roughly 0.65x your main-hand hit, which sounds modest on paper. But the real power is in the stagger value. The phantom registers its own hit, separate from your primary attack, which can interrupt enemy attacks and create damage windows that wouldn’t exist otherwise. Against enemies with super armor, this extra stagger source can make a real difference.

Spirit management matters. Because Greysoul Howling consumes Spirit, you need to time your activations during longer fights. Don’t spam it mindlessly — learn when to use it and your Spirit will stay manageable. For help keeping your resources up, see our guide on how to get Soul Spear in Crimson Desert for another top-tier weapon option to compare.

Best Ways to Use Fated Shadow and Greysoul Howling

Use It as Your Primary Weapon

For most players at this point in the game, equipping Fated Shadow as your primary one-handed sword is the strongest immediate choice. It has excellent base attack, it’s already at Refinement Level 6, and Greysoul Howling is immediately active. You don’t need to do anything else to make it work.

Pair It with Dual Wielding

Because Fated Shadow is a one-handed sword, it fits naturally into a dual-wield setup. Running it alongside another one-handed weapon doubles your combo potential and keeps Greysoul Howling active. The phantom’s sweeping strike becomes even more disruptive when your main-hand hits are already chaining fast. If you’re using Damiane, check out our best skills for Damiane guide to see how to build around a dual-wield setup that complements this weapon.

Stack It with Momentum Abyss Gear

The strongest build around Fated Shadow pairs Greysoul Howling with the Momentum Abyss Gear. Momentum gives a flat +35% damage boost to Turning Slash and slots into an armor piece rather than a weapon socket — meaning it stacks directly on top of Greysoul Howling without taking up your remaining weapon slots. This combination creates the highest single-ability damage output available in the game at this stage. Grab Momentum from the Sanctum of Benediction in Hernand if you haven’t already.

Stack It with Spirit Judgement

Greysoul Howling also works well alongside Spirit Judgement, another Abyss Gear with a similar phantom-summoning mechanic. Because they both trigger on weapon attacks, they can stack together for a very high burst damage window during combo chains.

Fill the Remaining Abyss Gear Slots

Greysoul Howling uses one of the Fated Shadow’s three Abyss Gear sockets. You have two more slots free. Good options to fill them with include Destruction II for extra damage and Gale II for attack speed improvement. Both complement Greysoul Howling’s timing-based playstyle well.

Should You Keep the Sword or Extract Greysoul Howling?

This is the key decision once you have the weapon. You have two options:

Option 1: Keep Fated Shadow and use it as-is

This is the recommended choice for most players, especially early after Chapter 9. The sword’s stats are excellent, Greysoul Howling is already active, and you save the time and resources you’d spend upgrading another weapon to the same tier. Keep it equipped and enjoy the free power spike.

Option 2: Extract Greysoul Howling and move it to another weapon

If your preferred build centers on a different weapon type — say a greatsword, spear, or a specific dual-wield configuration — you can visit the Witches and use their Extract Abyss Gear service to pull Greysoul Howling out of Fated Shadow. This lets you slot the ability into any compatible weapon that better fits your playstyle.

For how to unlock and use the Witches’ Abyss Gear services, see our unlock Witches Abyss Gears guide.

One thing to avoid: Don’t sell the Fated Shadow for its coin value. The sword is listed at 46.06 silver and Greysoul Howling extracts for 7.50 silver — neither figure comes close to the combat value you’d lose.

Fated Shadow vs Other Top Weapons

If you’re comparing Fated Shadow to other strong weapons in the game at a similar stage, here’s how it stacks up:

Weapon	Type	Base ATK	Refinement	Notable Ability
Fated Shadow	One-Handed	25	Level 6 (pre-built)	Greysoul Howling
Soul Spear	Two-Handed	27	Standard	Spectral projectile AoE
Vessel of Dark Pursuit	Two-Handed	25	Standard	Wound of Darkness

The Soul Spear has the highest raw attack stat in the game, but requires you to locate and pick it up through a different route. See our how to get Soul Spear guide if you want both weapons in your arsenal. Fated Shadow wins on accessibility — it comes fully upgraded and ready with no extra effort.

Things to Watch Out For

The cave blends in. The Fated Shadow sits on the cave floor and looks like background clutter. Don’t run past the bucket area — slow down and look for the interaction icon to appear.

The Fishball Soup recipe will confuse you. It’s sitting right near the cave entrance and might make you think you’re in the wrong place. You’re not. Keep going deeper.

Greysoul Howling needs Spirit. If you’re running low on Spirit in long fights, the ability becomes unavailable. Keep an eye on your Spirit gauge and manage it actively. Check out how to get max stamina in Crimson Desert to help with overall resource management.

Go immediately after Goyen falls. After the Chapter 9 fight wraps up, the game leaves you in the Abyss area. Head straight to the Nest of Valor right then. The longer you wait, the closer you’ll be to finding other gear that starts to match its power level. Get it early and enjoy the advantage for the remaining chapters.

More Crimson Desert Weapon & Gear Guides

Crimson Desert is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox, Steam, and Epic Games Store. Visit the official Crimson Desert website for the latest news and updates.