TL;DR
- Desperate Rescue is a Sealed Abyss Artifact challenge — pick up the artifact north of Reedwind Valley
- The game says “heal 3 allies” but what it really means is revive 3 fully downed allies
- Healing a low-HP ally does nothing — only a full revival from a downed state counts
- Unlock Healing Force Palm from Kliff’s skill tree first or the challenge cannot be completed
- Fastest method: summon Damiane, chop a tree, use Nature’s Grasp to slam the trunk onto her, then revive with Force Palm Healing
- Controller input: Hold R3 → press L3 → release R3
- PC input: Hold Middle Mouse Button → press Tab → release MMB
- Repeat three times — you can use the same ally all three times
- Reward: 1x Abyss Artifact + 1x Faded Abyss Artifact (used to respec Kliff’s skill tree)
Let’s be real — this challenge is poorly explained. The Desperate Rescue artifact says “heal 3 allies using Force Palm Healing” and sounds simple. Then you spend twenty minutes pressing Force Palm on your injured companions and nothing happens. You are not doing it wrong. The game just never tells you the truth about what this challenge actually requires.
Here is what it really wants from you.
Where to Find the Sealed Abyss Artifact
The Desperate Rescue Sealed Abyss Artifact sits on a pile of rocks by the side of the road directly north of Reedwind Valley — the area where you fight the Reed Devil boss in Chapter 3. The path is lined with Reed Devil minions, making it hard to miss once you are in the right area.
Pick up the artifact to activate the Desperate Rescue challenge and add it to your challenge log. You need to physically collect it before any progress starts tracking.
If you haven’t tackled the Reed Devil yet, our Reed Devil tracking and combat guide covers the whole thing. You will pass right through this artifact location during Chapter 3 anyway.
The Truth About This Challenge
Here is what the description actually means, stripped of the confusion.
The game says “heal.” What it means is revive. Completely revive. An ally who is lying on the ground, knocked out cold, unable to stand. That is the only state where Force Palm Healing registers any progress.
If your companion has one sliver of HP left but is still on their feet — Force Palm Healing does nothing for the counter. You could spam it a hundred times and the number stays at zero.
The ally must be fully downed. Only then does the revival count.
Before You Start: Unlock Healing Force Palm
You cannot complete this challenge with basic Force Palm. The Healing Force Palm is a separate skill node in Kliff’s Spirit skill tree.
Find it in the Force Palm upgrade branch and invest an Abyss Artifact to unlock it. Without this node purchased, the healing variant of Force Palm will not activate at all. Check your skill tree before heading out.
If you need more Abyss Artifacts to unlock it, see our guide on how to open sealed abyss artifacts in Crimson Desert and how to get skill points to build up your resource pool.
The Fastest Method: Tree Slam
Forget waiting for enemies to slowly wear down your companion. This is the quickest way.
What you need: Damiane or Oongka unlocked (Chapter 3+), Nature’s Grasp skill, a forested area with trees.
Step 1 — Summon your companion
Hold D-Pad Up on controller or press F1 on PC to open the character radial menu. Select Damiane (or Oongka) and choose the Gather/Summon option to bring them to your side.
Step 2 — Chop down a tree
Go to a forested area nearby. Use a heavy attack to fell a medium-sized tree. The trunk will drop to the ground.
Step 3 — Use Nature’s Grasp on the trunk
Grab the fallen trunk using Nature’s Grasp:
- PC: F + Left Click
- Xbox: Y + B
- PS5: Triangle + Circle
Position Damiane directly in front of you. Aim the reticle at her feet.
Step 4 — Slam the trunk onto your ally
Bring the trunk down onto Damiane. It may take two or three slams depending on her current health. Watch the health bar carefully — the moment it goes grey and she collapses to her knees, stop. Do not keep hitting or she may retreat from the field entirely.
Step 5 — Use Force Palm Healing to revive her
Stand close to the downed ally. Use Force Palm Healing with the following input:
Controller (PS5/Xbox):
- Hold R3 (right stick click) — activates base Force Palm
- While still holding R3, press and hold L3 (left stick click)
- Release R3 while continuing to hold L3
That three-part sequence is what triggers the healing. Getting the release order wrong will silently fail the input. Most misfires happen because players release L3 instead of R3 at the end.
PC:
- Hold Middle Mouse Button
- Press Tab while holding MMB
- Release MMB while holding Tab
Kliff will perform a golden-green healing animation. Your ally stands back up with roughly 30% health. That counts as one successful revival.
Step 6 — Repeat twice more
Knock Damiane down again with the tree trunk and revive her two more times. You do not need three different allies. The same person downed and revived three times counts perfectly. Once the third revival completes, the challenge finishes and the artifact unseals.
Alternative Method: Bandit Camp
If the tree slam feels messy or you are having trouble controlling the damage, take your companion to a small bandit camp instead.
Hang back and let the enemies target your ally. They will deal damage and eventually knock them down. Once your companion hits the ground, rush in and use Force Palm Healing to bring them back up. Repeat three times.
This method is safer on paper but takes longer in practice. AI companions in Crimson Desert are decent at staying alive, and low-level bandits may not deal enough damage quickly. The tree method is simply faster.
A good place to do this is near any roadside camp in the Hernand region. If you need the best camp locations, take a look at our all bosses locations guide for reference on which areas have dense enemy presence.
The Prisoner Method
This one is easy to miss. When you clear bandit camps or enemy-held areas, you sometimes find captured prisoners or refugees in a downed state. These NPCs count as allies for the Desperate Rescue challenge.
If you find a prisoner collapsed on the ground, walk over and use Force Palm Healing on them. It registers as a valid revival. This can complete one or even multiple counts of the challenge naturally as you explore — no setup required.
What No Longer Works
A few older workarounds for this challenge have been patched out. You can no longer knock allies down inside camp areas using trees or explosive barrels — Force Palm and attack actions are now restricted in camp boundaries. Do not waste time trying these methods in camp. The challenge needs to be completed out in the open world.
Spirit Running Low? Use Focus
Force Palm Healing consumes Spirit. If your Spirit is depleted mid-run, you will not be able to activate the heal.
To recover Spirit quickly, press both sticks simultaneously on controller (L3 + R3) or press X on PC to enter Focus mode. This restores your Spirit so you can continue. Hold it for a second and then proceed with the healing input.
Why This Challenge Is Worth Completing
Beyond unlocking the Sealed Abyss Artifact itself, Desperate Rescue rewards you with a Faded Abyss Artifact as well. Faded Abyss Artifacts are the currency used to respec Kliff’s skill tree — which means this challenge directly funds build flexibility.
Once you understand that “heal” means “revive fully downed,” the whole thing wraps up in under five minutes. The tree method takes one or two tries to get the feel for, but once you nail the Force Palm Healing input sequence, it becomes muscle memory fast.
For more challenge guides and skill point farming, check out our best skills to level up first in Crimson Desert guide and the full Crimson Desert hub page for everything else.
Also worth reading if you are building your traversal and combat kit: the how to get and use Focused Force Palm guide and our Pirate King Hat guide if you want a great exploration tool to go alongside your artifact hunting.
Play Crimson Desert on your platform: Official Site | PlayStation Store | Xbox | Steam | Epic Games
