Crimson Desert: How to Destroy Battle Weapons in the Hidden Fangs Quest

TL;DR

Hidden Fangs is the 78th main quest in Chapter 6: Cracks in the Shield, right after the In Ashes quest.
You need to destroy 5 Black Bears’ battle weapons — dome-shaped wooden tanks that fire cannons at 360 degrees.
Do not try to use melee or regular arrows — they do nothing to these tanks.
The method: equip Whistling Arrows (hold Left D-Pad, select at the bottom), aim your bow with Precision Aim, and fire. One arrow calls an artillery strike that destroys a tank instantly.
All 5 tanks patrol the southern half and center of the red search area on your map. Tanks 1 and 2 are close together.
If you run out of Whistling Arrows, ride to any Support Post (friendly encampment) on the map to restock for free.
After destroying the last tank, a cutscene triggers automatically and the quest ends.
Pro tip: Farm Abyss Artifacts here before finishing — enemies respawn and this area gives roughly one skill point every 5 minutes.

Hidden Fangs is one of those quests in Crimson Desert where the game suddenly switches up its mechanics and doesn’t fully explain what you’re supposed to do. You’ve been cutting through Black Bear soldiers all chapter, and then suddenly you’re staring at dome-shaped armored tanks rolling across the battlefield while cannon fire shreds your HP. Melee doesn’t work. Regular arrows do nothing. Players sit there confused while getting blasted.

The answer is simple once you know it — but the game doesn’t spell it out. This guide covers everything: how to destroy the battle weapons, where all five tanks are, how to refill your Whistling Arrows, and what to do before you finish the quest.

Table of Contents

What Is the Hidden Fangs Quest?

Hidden Fangs is the 78th main quest in Crimson Desert. It’s part of the Turning Tides arc in Chapter 6: Cracks in the Shield, and it follows directly after the In Ashes quest where you capture the Black Bears’ base.

The quest description reads: “You’ve discovered why the Black Bears are so emboldened. Their devastating war machine was behind the ruthless shelling that leveled their own camp. Seek out the weapon and reduce it to scrap.”

The Black Bears have deployed their heavy artillery — round, dome-shaped wooden tanks that fire cannons in a full 360-degree arc. Getting close to these vehicles without the right approach is a death sentence. Kliff needs to deal with five of them to complete the objective and advance the story.

Chapter: 6 — Cracks in the Shield Sub-Chapter: Blazing Beacon / Turning Tides Quest Number: 78 Prerequisite: Complete the In Ashes quest Reward: None listed — the quest advances the Turning Tides storyline

For context on the quest that comes immediately before this one, see our Crimson Desert In Ashes quest walkthrough.

What Are the Battle Weapons?

The Black Bears’ battle weapons are round, wooden, dome-shaped vehicles that function like mobile armored tanks. They patrol the open fields rather than staying in fixed positions — they move around, so their exact location shifts.

Here’s why players get stuck on them:

They fire cannons at 360 degrees, meaning there’s no safe angle to approach from
Kliff’s regular melee attacks and standard arrows do absolutely nothing to them
They shrug off everything in your normal combat toolkit
They move around and blend into the chaos of a battlefield already full of Black Bear soldiers

The game gives you a specific tool for these during the earlier Fire Support subquest, which rewards you with 10 Whistling Arrows. If you used those arrows on infantry without realizing they’d be needed here, don’t worry — you can restock.

How to Destroy the Battle Weapons — Step by Step

The method is always the same for every tank. One Whistling Arrow, fired with Precision Aim, calls an aerial bombardment that destroys the vehicle in a single hit.

shooting whistling arrows at battle weapons hidden fangs quest crimson desert

Step 1 — Equip Whistling Arrows

Hold the Left D-Pad (controller) to open your item/equipment wheel. Navigate to your arrow types and select Whistling Arrows at the bottom of the menu. On PC, use your assigned hotkey to navigate to secondary munitions and switch to Whistling Arrows.

You should already have these from the Fire Support subquest earlier in Chapter 6. If you’re out, jump ahead to the Resupply section below.

Step 2 — Ride toward a battle weapon on horseback

Stay on your horse throughout this quest. It keeps you mobile, lets you dodge cannon fire, and makes moving between tanks much faster. You do not need to dismount to fire Whistling Arrows — you can fire from horseback.

Approach the tank but keep your distance. Don’t ride directly into its cannon range. Stay back enough that you can aim and fire before it blows you up.

Step 3 — Draw your bow and use Precision Aim

Draw your bow and hold L2 / LT to enter Precision Aim mode. This is the same as your standard bow aim. You don’t need a special stance — just bring up your bow as you would normally.

equip whistling arrows hidden fangs quest crimson desert

Step 4 — Shoot a Whistling Arrow at the tank

With the battle weapon in your sights, release L2 / LT to fire the Whistling Arrow. On PC, use your standard release input after aiming.

The arrow marks the target. A moment later, an artillery bombardment drops from above and obliterates the tank in one hit. A brief explosion confirms the kill. No follow-up needed.

Controls summary:

Platform	Equip Whistling Arrow	Aim	Fire
PS5	Hold Left D-Pad → R2 to select	Hold L2	Release L2
Xbox	Hold Left D-Pad → RT to select	Hold LT	Release LT
PC	Hotkey / Tab → navigate to arrows	Right-click	Release

Step 5 — Repeat for all five tanks

Ride immediately to the next battle weapon after each kill. Ignore the Black Bear soldiers surrounding each tank — they’re not your objective and fighting them wastes time and Whistling Arrows. Stay mobile, stay on horseback, and pick off all five tanks one by one.

Once the fifth tank is destroyed, a cutscene triggers automatically and Hidden Fangs is complete. You don’t need to do anything else.

battle weapons destroyed hidden fangs quest crimson desert

Where to Find All 5 Battle Weapons

The tanks are mobile — they patrol and drive around the open fields rather than sitting in fixed spots. Because of this, use the red search area on your map as a zone reference, not a pinpoint marker.

Track the quest first. Open your Journal and enable tracking on Hidden Fangs. This keeps the red search area visible on your map and minimap at all times. The tank markers appear on your map but are faint — zoom in carefully if you’re struggling to spot them.

General tank positions:

All five battle weapons are in the southern half and center of the red search area. None of them appear in the northern portion of the zone.

Tanks 1 and 2 — These two patrol the same open field close together in the southern area. You’ll often destroy both without needing to ride far between them.
Tanks 3, 4, and 5 — These three are spread across separate locations in the southern half and center of the search zone. Each requires a short ride to reach.

The fastest approach is to ride in on horseback, fire one Whistling Arrow at the tank from mid-range, then immediately ride away toward the next target. Zigzag on your horse if cannon fire is incoming to avoid getting hit while lining up shots. For tips on getting the most out of mounted travel, see our horse guide for Crimson Desert.

How to Get More Whistling Arrows — Support Post Locations

Whistling Arrows are limited. If you burned through yours on infantry during earlier Chapter 6 quests — or simply ran low during this quest — you can restock completely for free at any Support Post.

Support Posts are the friendly encampments scattered across the battlefield. They appear on the map as flag icons. Riding to one automatically:

Restocks your Whistling Arrow supply fully
Fully heals Kliff and his horse
Provides healing items

There are three Support Posts in the Hidden Fangs area. The most commonly referenced one is in the southwest of the red search area. Any of the three will do — ride to whichever is closest when you need to restock.

Critical reminder: Don’t waste Whistling Arrows on regular Black Bear soldiers. Every arrow spent on infantry is one fewer for the tanks, and each tank requires one arrow to destroy. Keep your supply reserved exclusively for the battle weapons.

What Happens When You Finish Hidden Fangs

The moment you destroy the fifth and final battle weapon, a cutscene triggers automatically. You don’t need to return to an NPC or confirm anything. The questline moves forward on its own.

Hidden Fangs wraps up the Turning Tides portion of Chapter 6 and pushes you deeper into the Cracks in the Shield storyline. The Calphade battle sequence is largely complete at this point, and the story transitions to the next phase of the main quest.

There is no listed reward for completing Hidden Fangs itself — the payoff is story progression.

Farm Abyss Artifacts Before You Finish

This is the most important tip in this entire guide — don’t destroy the fifth tank until you’re done farming.

The Hidden Fangs battlefield is one of the best Abyss Artifact farming spots in Chapter 6. Here’s why:

Enemy Black Bear soldiers respawn continuously in this area
The yellow bar next to your minimap fills as you kill enemies, rewarding an Abyss Artifact each time it maxes out
You can farm roughly one skill point every 5 minutes with the right approach
Once the last tank is destroyed and the cutscene plays, the area transitions and this farming window closes

Best farming method here:

Use the Tauria Curved Sword (obtained from the Chapter 5 Crowcaller boss fight) — its heavy attack fires homing crows that sweep through groups of enemies for excellent area damage. Alternatively, you can lure clusters of Black Bear soldiers together and fire a Whistling Arrow into the pack for an instant mass kill — though this does burn through your special arrow supply faster.

Destroy tanks 1 through 4 first, then farm as long as you want before taking down the fifth. For more on skill points and how to spend them, see our guide on how to get skill points in Crimson Desert and best skills to level up first.

Chapter 6 Tips — Making the Most of the Battlefield

Don’t engage tanks up close. At close range, their 360-degree cannon fire will shred your HP before you can land a single swing. The Whistling Arrow method exists specifically because melee is not viable against these targets.

Zigzag on horseback while approaching. The tanks begin firing as you enter their range. Keep moving laterally rather than riding straight at them — this makes most cannon shots miss.

Ignore the infantry. Black Bear soldiers are everywhere in this zone. They’re not your objective and fighting them wastes time. Blow past them on horseback, fire on the tank, and ride away.

Keep your health topped up. Even with a horse, you’ll take some hits. The Support Posts heal you for free, so swing by one whenever you’re low — not just for arrows. Our guide on how to cook the best healing food in Crimson Desert is also worth reading if you want a consumable backup.

Track the quest at all times. The red search area on your minimap is the only reliable way to stay oriented on the battlefield. Keep tracking active so you never lose sight of where the tanks are patrolling.

Related Chapter 6 & Main Story Guides

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