TL;DR
- Crimson Desert has no character creation — you can only customize pre-built characters, not build one from scratch.
- To change appearance, you need to unlock Eric’s Barber Shop in the Greymanes camp through the A Rumor at the Inksworth Bindery quest.
- The Barber Shop covers hair, beard, eyebrows, and tattoos for Kliff, Damiane, and Oongka.
- The Dyehouse lets you change armor, weapon, horse, and War Robot colors using dyes.
- Both the Barber Shop and Dyehouse let you preview changes before confirming — nothing is permanent until you accept.
- There is also an early Dyehouse near Hernand run by Theoric that you can access much sooner than Eric’s shop.
- Customization is purely cosmetic — it does not affect combat or stats in any way.
Crimson Desert doesn’t work like most open-world RPGs. There’s no character creator at the start. You play as one of three pre-written protagonists — Kliff, Damiane, and Oongka — and each one has a fixed face, body, and personality.
What you can do is personalize their look over time. Hair, beard, tattoos, armor color, horse armor, even the War Robot’s paint job — all of it is customizable. The catch is that most of these options are locked behind a questline that takes several hours to reach.
Here’s exactly how to change appearance in Crimson Desert, what you can and can’t change, and how to get there as fast as possible.
Does Crimson Desert Have Character Creation?
No. Crimson Desert does not have a traditional character creation system. You won’t find sliders for face shape, body proportions, or height. Facial bone structure, species, and voice are fixed for each character.
What the game offers instead is appearance customization — a way to add your own style to characters that already exist. Think of it like The Witcher 3, where you play as Geralt but can change his hair and beard. Crimson Desert works the same way, just with three characters instead of one.
To learn more about who those three characters are and how they play, check out our Crimson Desert all characters and companions guide.
How To Change Appearance in Crimson Desert
To change your character’s appearance, you need to visit a Barber Shop. The main one you’ll use for most of the game is run by a character named Eric, located in the Greymanes camp at Howling Hill.
On the map, Eric’s tent is marked with a scissors and comb icon. You’ll find it east of the ranch and farm area, near the general store.
Walk up to Eric and interact with him to open the customization menu. From here, you can change the appearance of whichever character you’re currently playing. To customize a different character, switch to them first, then return to Eric.
What Can You Customize at the Barber Shop?
Here’s a full breakdown of what Eric’s Barber Shop offers for each character:
Hair
Kliff has 6 different hairstyles to choose from, each with a wide color palette that goes well beyond natural tones. You can pick vivid colors like purple, green, and blue if you want something bold. Damiane and Oongka have their own separate hairstyle options.
Beard and Mustache (Kliff only)
Kliff’s facial hair can be adjusted in density and style — more beard, less beard, fuller mustache, trimmed mustache, or clean-shaven. This is one of the more noticeable changes you can make to his look.
Eyebrows
Eyebrow customization is available but limited mostly to color. Don’t expect major shape changes here.
Face and Body Tattoos
All three characters can have tattoos added or removed from their face and body. Tattoo colors are also customizable, so you can match them to other parts of your aesthetic.
Note: None of these changes affect combat performance or any in-game stats. They are purely cosmetic.
How To Unlock Eric’s Barber Shop
Eric doesn’t start in the Greymanes camp. You have to bring him there by completing the A Rumor at the Inksworth Bindery quest.
This quest is part of the Solid Foundation questline — which only becomes available after you finish the Gathered Will questline first. That’s a few layers of prerequisites, so here’s a clear breakdown of the path.
Step 1 — Complete the Gathered Will Questline
The Gathered Will quests form an early-to-mid-game questline centered around building up the Greymanes camp. To complete it, you need to:
- Build a farm and ranch at Howling Hill
- Complete Kamu’s and Ben’s requests, which teach you how the farm and ranch systems work
- Dispatch Freeswords on a mission to Howling Hill, which expands the camp
For help with the farm and ranch unlock, check our guide on how to unlock the ranch and farm in Crimson Desert.
Step 2 — Unlock the Solid Foundation Questline
Once the Greymanes camp is expanded, Marius becomes available and gives you information about old comrades scattered across Pywel. This opens the Solid Foundation questline, which sends you out to track them down.
Step 3 — Complete A Rumor at the Inksworth Bindery
This quest within Solid Foundation leads you to three returning Greymanes members: Connor, Oliver, and Eric. Once you bring all three back to the camp, each sets up their own stall:
- Connor — Dye stall
- Oliver — Accessories store
- Eric — Barber Shop
After the quest, Eric’s tent appears in camp and you can use the Barber Shop whenever you want from that point forward.
Be prepared — getting to this quest takes a significant amount of time. For most players, it’s a multi-hour investment before the Barber Shop becomes available.
How To Change Armor and Weapon Color (Dyehouse)
Changing your character’s clothing, armor, and weapon colors is handled separately at the Dyehouse — not the Barber Shop.
The good news is you can access a Dyehouse much earlier than Eric’s shop. There’s one near Hernand, southeast of town, run by a merchant named Theoric. This becomes available early in the game, long before the Gathered Will quests are done.
How the Dyehouse Works
The Dyehouse uses a per-section system, meaning you can dye individual parts of a piece of armor separately rather than applying one color to everything at once. This gives you a lot of control over how your gear looks.
You can dye:
- Individual armor and clothing sections
- Horse caparison and horse armor
- War Robot paint and body sections
- Weapon finishes
How To Get Dye in Crimson Desert
Before you can dye anything, you need dye in your inventory. Theoric sells a few dyes directly — look for the “buy” option on his menu rather than the “dye” option. But there’s one important step: once you buy or find a dye, you have to press “Use” on it in your inventory to register it. It won’t appear in the Dyehouse menu until you do this.
Other ways to get dye:
- Finding bottles in the world — most are owned, so you’ll need to wear a mask to take them without bounty. See our guide on how to steal items in Crimson Desert and how to remove bounty in Crimson Desert.
- Crafting at a Cauldron — dye is made using insects and flowers. You’ll find cauldrons in towns like Hernand. Even without a recipe, you can select “Improvise” and experiment with ingredients.
- Dye recipes — found throughout the world alongside meal recipes. A few confirmed examples: Dark Yellow Dye uses Dunbaria, Beetle, Longhorn Beetle, and Stag Beetle. Bright Yellow Dye follows a similar mix with adjusted ratios.
Both the Barber Shop and Dyehouse let you preview your changes before accepting them. Nothing is final until you confirm. This makes experimenting risk-free.
What You Cannot Change
It’s worth knowing the limits upfront so you’re not surprised later:
- Face structure — bone structure, jaw, nose, and eye placement are fixed per character
- Body proportions — height, build, and body type cannot be changed
- Species — each character is what they are
- Voice — voice acting is tied to each character permanently
Kliff will always look like Kliff. But with the right hair, beard, tattoos, and armor dye combination, your Kliff can look noticeably different from anyone else’s.
Customizing Damiane and Oongka
Every character has their own separate appearance options. Damiane and Oongka each have their own hairstyles, tattoo options, and armor dye slots.
To customize them, switch to the character you want and then visit Eric at the camp. The Barber Shop menu will load that character’s specific options. The same applies at the Dyehouse — switch characters first, then dye.
You don’t have to unlock each character separately for customization. Once Eric’s shop is in camp, all three characters can use it freely.
Quick Tips for Character Customization
- Always preview before confirming. Both Eric and the Dyehouse show you exactly what the change looks like first.
- Unlock the Hernand Dyehouse early — it’s available long before Eric’s shop and lets you start customizing armor right away.
- “Use” dyes in your inventory before visiting the Dyehouse or they won’t appear in the color selection menu.
- Tattoo colors can be matched to your armor dye for a cohesive look across the whole character.
- If you want to push through to Eric’s shop faster, focus on completing the Gathered Will quests as early as possible.
More Guides to Help You Along the Way
While you’re working through the Gathered Will questline to unlock the Barber Shop, these guides will help you make progress faster:
- How to unlock camp in Crimson Desert
- How to unlock the ranch and farm in Crimson Desert
- How to get skill points (Abyss Artifacts) in Crimson Desert
- Best skills to level up first in Crimson Desert
- Crimson Desert all main story quests and chapters
- How to fast travel in Crimson Desert
- How to upgrade weapons and armor in Crimson Desert
- Crimson Desert review
Where To Get Crimson Desert
Crimson Desert is available now on:
Visit the official Crimson Desert website for news and updates from Pearl Abyss.
