Crimson Desert: Frozen Anguish Sword Location Guide (Spire of Frost)

TL;DR

The Frozen Anguish is a powerful two-handed sword hidden inside the Spire of Frost in Demeniss — available early in the game.
No story unlock required. You can go get it as soon as you reach the area, but the cold will punish you without Ice Resistance gear.
Light the first frozen lantern at the southern entrance to open the door. The chest with the sword is right under the staircase inside.
The sword comes with 25 base attack, Refinement Level 4, and Stamina Siphon — restoring stamina as you attack.
It has 5 Abyss Core slots — 3 pre-filled, 2 open for customization.
Completing all 7 lanterns is optional for the sword but rewards the Frostcursed Plate Boots and completes The Frostwarden side quest.
The sword pairs perfectly with the Frostcursed armor set found across northern Demeniss.

If you want one of the strongest two-handed weapons available in the early game, the Frozen Anguish is the answer. It’s sitting in a chest inside the Spire of Frost, waiting for any player brave enough to push through a freezing landscape packed with hostile enemies and brutal cold damage. The game doesn’t point you toward it. There’s no quest, no hint, and no reward screen. It’s just there — ready to be claimed.

This guide walks you through exactly how to find the Spire of Frost, how to enter it, where the chest is, and everything you need to survive the trip. For a full overview of other hidden weapons worth hunting down, check out our main Crimson Desert hub.

Table of Contents

What Is the Frozen Anguish?

The Frozen Anguish is a unique two-handed longsword once wielded by the Skull Knight. Its description reads: “A longsword once wielded by the Skull Knight. Its cold blue blade radiates a chilling frost. A symbol of darkness and death, this longsword instills fear and intimidation, granting the power to deal devastating blows to the enemy.”

Despite its icy name and appearance, it does not have frost elemental damage. It’s a raw physical damage weapon. What it does have is excellent base stats and a very useful passive that changes how you fight.

Here’s the full breakdown on pickup:

Stat	Value
Weapon Type	Two-Handed Sword
Base Attack	25
Refinement Level	4 (pre-built)
Abyss Core Slots	5 total
Pre-slotted Abyss Gears	Stamina Siphon Lv. 1, Attack Speed Lv. 1, Attack Lv. 1
Open Slots	2 (customizable)
Bonus Item in Chest	Refined Palmar Pill

The Stamina Siphon passive is the standout here. It lets you recover stamina as you land attacks on enemies. For a two-handed weapon — which normally hits hard but drains stamina fast — this completely changes your combat rhythm. You can chain combos more aggressively, dodge when needed, and keep the pressure going without running dry. The attack speed bonus stacks on top, so your heavy swings come out faster than you’d expect from a two-hander.

At 25 base attack at Refinement Level 4, this sword outperforms nearly everything you’d normally have at this stage of the game. Most standard two-handed swords need heavy upgrading to reach this tier. This one comes ready to go.

Where Is the Frozen Anguish? — Spire of Frost Location

The Frozen Anguish is inside the Spire of Frost, a tall icy tower located in the northern part of Demeniss, near the border with Beighen and Pailune. More precisely, it sits at the southeastern tip of Pailune, northwest of Deadfire Mountain.

How to get there:

Travel north from Hernand or east from Beighen village following the main roads. You’re looking for a tall, unmistakable frozen tower surrounded by snow and frost enemies. It’s visible from a distance due to its height. Fast travel to the nearest waypoint — usually near Beighen or the northern road — and follow the path north toward the frozen zone.

The area surrounding the Spire inflicts constant cold damage. If you don’t have Ice Resistance, your health will drain steadily, and your character can freeze in place for several seconds at a time. Come prepared before you go.

get frozen anguish sword in crimson desert

How to Prepare for the Cold — Ice Resistance

This is the most important part of the trip. The Spire of Frost punishes players who show up underprepared. Here’s what to do before you go:

Gear up for Ice Resistance. Cold immunity kicks in at level 5 Ice Resistance. Below that, the frost zone continuously damages you. Every piece of Ice Resistance gear you equip extends your survival window significantly.

Good early options include:

Reindeer Cloak — found at a research site south of Scholastone. It already provides level 5 Ice Resistance on its own, which gives you full cold immunity. This is the easiest single-item solution.
Frostcursed Plate armor pieces — scattered across northern Demeniss. These are part of the same set as the Frozen Anguish visually and provide stacking Ice Resistance. Our Frostcursed Armor Set location guide shows every piece.
Frostcursed Plate Cloak — found at the Sanctum of Expiation on the way to the Spire. Grabbing it en route adds 5 frost resistance before you even arrive.

Bring plenty of healing food. Even with some resistance, you’ll take damage on the outdoor sections. Stock up on cooked food and consumables before heading out. See our guide on how to cook the best healing food in Crimson Desert for the most efficient options.

Bring a fire weapon or fire-imbued attack. Every frozen lantern in the Spire needs to have its ice melted before you can light it. A fire-imbued weapon, fire arrows, or Blinding Flash’s Concentrating Light ability speeds this up significantly.

If you get frozen mid-fight: Keep pressing the dodge button repeatedly to break out of the freeze faster. Don’t stand still — you’ll take more cold damage while frozen.

How to Enter the Spire of Frost

The main door at the base of the Spire is blocked by ice. Here’s how to open it:

Approach the southern side of the Spire of Frost. You’ll see the doorway with a frozen stone lantern next to it.
Break the ice on the lantern. You can do this with:
- Turning Slash (R1 + R2 on controller)
- Blinding Flash — use Concentrating Light when prompted
- Any fire-imbued weapon, fire arrows, or explosive attack
Once the ice is gone, interact with the lantern to light it manually. The door opens immediately. This counts as lantern 1 of 7.

Where to Find the Frozen Anguish Chest

This is the part most players miss. The chest is right at the base of the tower — you don’t need to climb at all to grab the sword.

Immediately after entering the door:

Walk straight in and look under the winding staircase in front of you. The treasure chest is tucked underneath, surrounded by icicles. Crouch if needed and interact with the chest to claim the Frozen Anguish sword and a Refined Palmar Pill.

That’s it. No boss fight, no puzzle completion required. The sword is yours the moment you open the chest. If all you want is the weapon, you can turn around and leave right after.

All 7 Lantern Locations — Complete the Spire of Frost (Optional)

Lighting all 7 lanterns is not required to get the Frozen Anguish, but completing the full Spire puzzle rewards you with the Frostcursed Plate Boots and finishes The Frostwarden side quest. It also liberates the area for the Greymanes faction and unlocks the Passage of Malice Abyss branch.

Every lantern is frozen and must be thawed with fire or Blinding Flash before you can light it. The process is the same for each one. Here’s the full sequence:

Lantern 1 — Southern entrance doorway. Light this to open the Spire. Grab the Frozen Anguish chest under the staircase after entering.

Lantern 2 — Climb the spiral staircase inside. The second lantern is on the first staircase to the right. Break the ice and light it, then continue up.

Lantern 3 — Head up the staircase until you reach an exit in the wall. Go outside and take the outer staircase that wraps around the tower. The third lantern is on this outer path. Move fast out here — the cold is more intense outside.

Lantern 4 — Use your Axiom Force grapple to seal the Abyss Cell embedded in the wall on the outer steps before heading back inside. Re-enter the tower through the wall opening. The fourth lantern is just inside the opening to the left before going further up.

Lantern 5 — Continue up the interior staircase. The fifth lantern is at the end of the second interior section, straight ahead before the next outdoor exit.

Lantern 6 — Head back outside via the second outer staircase. The sixth lantern is along these exterior steps. Light it as fast as possible — this is the most exposed section and the cold drains health quickly here. There’s a second Abyss Cell in the ice near the wall opening leading to lantern 4 — grab it on your way if you missed it.

Lantern 7 — Re-enter the tower at the top. The final lantern is in the chamber near the top of the tower, in the middle of the room. Light it to trigger a short cutscene and complete The Frostwarden side quest.

Reward: Frostcursed Plate Boots + quest completion. The Passage of Malice Abyss branch also unlocks. For the full Passage of Malice walkthrough, see our Passage of Malice puzzle solution guide.

Abyss Cells on the Way Up

Two Abyss Cells are embedded in the ice along the exterior staircase sections. Use your Axiom Force grapple to pull them free, then seal them into your Kuku Iron Pot. Don’t run past them without grabbing both. If you’re not sure how to collect Abyss Cells, see our guide on how to get Abyss Cells in Crimson Desert.

is the frozen anguish sword worth it in crimson desert

How to Use the Frozen Anguish Effectively

Stamina Siphon Changes Everything

The Stamina Siphon passive is what elevates this weapon above a standard two-handed sword. Normally, two-handed weapons drain stamina fast — each swing costs more than lighter weapons, which means you need to pause your offense regularly to recover. Stamina Siphon flips that dynamic. Landing hits returns stamina, so your aggressive combos actually sustain themselves. You spend less time backing off to recover and more time in the enemy’s face.

This pairs especially well with skills that extend combo chains. The more hits you land in a sequence, the more stamina you get back. See our guide on best skills to level up first in Crimson Desert to see which abilities chain best with this kind of aggressive playstyle.

Two Open Abyss Core Slots — Fill Them Well

The Frozen Anguish has 5 Abyss Core slots. Three come pre-filled with Stamina Siphon Lv. 1, Attack Speed Lv. 1, and Attack Lv. 1. That leaves two open slots for you to customize. Good options include:

Destruction II — increases overall damage output
Gale II — improves attack speed further, stacking with the built-in bonus
Crow’s Pursuit — summons crows on heavy attacks for passive crowd damage

Visit a Witch NPC to embed your chosen Abyss Cores. For help using Abyss Gear, see our unlock Witches Abyss Gears guide. If you want to swap out the pre-filled cores for something stronger later, Witches can extract them for you.

Pair It with the Frostcursed Plate Set

The Frozen Anguish is the weapon that matches the Frostcursed Plate armor set — a full 5-piece heavy armor collection scattered across northern Demeniss. Every piece is in a treasure chest, no boss required. The complete set provides strong Ice Resistance, which makes the Spire of Frost and other cold zones far more manageable, and the combined aesthetic gives Kliff the look of an undead warlord. It’s a natural pairing with this sword both stat-wise and visually.

No Story Lock — Grab It Early

Unlike the Fated Shadow which requires you to defeat Goyen in Chapter 9 before it appears, the Frozen Anguish has no story prerequisite. You can attempt the Spire of Frost from early in the game. The challenge is purely about surviving the cold and the enemies — not about where you are in the main story. Getting it early gives you a major power spike that carries you well into the mid-game.

If you die from the cold, just respawn and try again. Bring more food next time.

Quick Recap — Step by Step

Equip Ice Resistance gear. Reindeer Cloak (level 5) is the easiest single-piece solution.
Stock up on healing food and bring a fire weapon or fire-imbued attack.
Travel to the Spire of Frost in northern Demeniss, east of Beighen village.
Approach the southern entrance. Break the ice on the frozen lantern with Turning Slash or Blinding Flash.
Light the lantern. The door opens.
Walk inside and look under the staircase immediately in front of you.
Open the chest. Collect the Frozen Anguish and Refined Palmar Pill.
Optional: Light all 7 lanterns for the Frostcursed Plate Boots and The Frostwarden quest completion.

More Crimson Desert Weapon & Gear Guides

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