Table of Contents

TL;DR

Build trust by greeting merchants daily (+5 Trust per day), completing their Requests, or giving them gifts from your inventory
Maximum trust = 100 points, takes roughly 20 daily greetings to reach
Max trust unlocks supply contracts, trade agreements, price discounts, and sometimes exclusive location info
The trust meter is visual: red = disliked actions, green = liked actions
Coin Pouches from bandits are the best renewable gift source — recipes and books work too but are one-time items
Trade agreements are used from your inventory and expand the corresponding camp vendor’s inventory — centralizing stock at Greymane Camp
Trust also lowers item prices at that merchant once you reach higher levels
Companion trust works differently from merchant trust — raised through shared meals, gifts, and Dispatch missions, not daily greetings
Animals (dogs) can also build trust — pet them to unlock companion pets later in the game

Understanding the Trust System

Trust in Crimson Desert governs your relationship with every NPC in Pywel — merchants, townspeople, Greymane companions, and even animals. It’s a two-directional meter: the green side fills when you do things an NPC likes, and the red side grows when you do things they dislike, such as stealing in front of them or treating them poorly.

For merchants specifically, trust is a numerical value from 0 to 100. Reaching 100 (maximum trust) is what unlocks supply contracts and trade agreements. But even partial trust has benefits — prices at that vendor start to drop as your relationship improves.

There are two separate trust tracks worth understanding:

Merchant Trust — applies to shopkeepers, innkeepers, and traders. Built through greetings, gifts, and Requests. Unlocks trade agreements, price discounts, and map information.

Companion Trust — applies to your Greymane comrades (Luke, Ronald, Naira, and others). Built through shared meals at camp, gifts, companion quests, and Freesword Dispatch performance. Unlocks Echoes of the Past flashback missions, better dispatch results, and story content.

This guide focuses on Merchant Trust. For more on your comrades and how Dispatch performance scales with trust, see our All Characters & Companions Guide.

How to Trigger Merchant Interactions

Before you can greet or gift a merchant, you need to open the interaction menu. Two ways to do it:

Method 1 — Stand in front of them. Walk up close to any merchant and a context-sensitive button prompt will appear.

Method 2 — Hover your lantern. Hold L1 (PS5) / LB (Xbox) / Q (PC) to raise your lantern, then aim it at the NPC. This lets you trigger the interaction from a short distance without walking directly up to them.

The interaction menu will show options like Buy, Sell, Greet, Gift, and Requests.

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Method 1: Daily Greetings

The simplest and most sustainable way to build trust. Select “Greet” from the merchant interaction menu once per in-game day for +5 Trust per greeting.

At maximum trust of 100, you need roughly 20 greetings to reach the cap — about 20 in-game days of consistent visits.

Tips for grinding greetings faster:

Change the time of day at your camp bed or by passing time at a campfire to cycle in-game days faster. See our how to change time of day guide for exact instructions
Fast travel between merchants on the same day. You can greet multiple merchants in a single session. See our fast travel guide to move quickly between towns
You can only greet the same merchant once per in-game day — doing it more often doesn’t stack

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Method 2: Completing Requests

Merchants occasionally post Requests — short side quests tied specifically to them. When you complete a Request for a merchant, you receive a trust reward displayed in a popup immediately after. The trust gain is usually higher than a single greeting.

Requests appear as commission board tasks tied to specific NPCs. They typically ask you to bring materials, deliver items, or complete a nearby task. Check the Request Board in each town regularly.

Completing Requests also increases your regional Contribution EXP alongside the trust gain — double benefit. See our contribution points guide for how Contribution connects to faction rewards.

Method 3: Giving Gifts

Gifts give a one-time trust boost and are the fastest way to hit max trust early in the game. Select “Gift” from the merchant interaction menu and choose an item from your inventory.

Before confirming, a preview box on the left shows how much trust the item will grant. Not all items are accepted by every merchant — some have specific preferences. Items that appear greyed out or show a low trust value aren’t a good match for that NPC.

Best gift items:

Gift Type	Trust Gain	Renewable?	Notes
Coin Pouches (from bandits)	Moderate	✅ Yes	Best all-around gift — always drops from bandits
Recipe pages	Moderate–High	❌ No	One-time use per recipe; save for merchants with high preferences
Books	Moderate–High	❌ No	Same as recipes — good boost but finite supply
Flowers / crafting materials	Low	✅ Yes	Weak trust gain per item but free to gather

The Coin Pouch strategy: Coin Pouches drop from bandits constantly — Shabby, Light, Heavy, and Bulging variants. Instead of opening all of them for the coins inside, keep a stack and use them as gifts for merchants you want to reach max trust with. This is a fully renewable method and costs you nothing except the coins you’d otherwise collect.

If you need the money, open the pouches instead. If you’re focused on trust, gift them. Don’t feel pressured to choose one or the other — by mid-game you’ll have more pouches than you need. See our how to make money fast guide for other ways to stay financially comfortable.

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What You Unlock at Maximum Trust

Once you reach 100 Trust with a merchant, several rewards become available depending on the NPC.

Supply Contracts and Trade Agreements

The main reward most players are after. The merchant will now offer a Supply Contract for purchase. Buy it — the cost varies by merchant and contract type.

Once you own it, use it from your inventory to activate the trade agreement. This expands a camp vendor’s stock without requiring you to travel to that merchant again.

Example:

Dahlia (Hernand Inn innkeeper) at max trust offers the Hernandian Cooking Supply Contract
Before activation, Ronnie at Greymane Camp sells only Chewy Rice Cakes and Meat and Vegetable Porridge
After using the contract, Ronnie also stocks Pickled Vegetables, Braised Fish, and Pan-Fried Rice Cakes
Dahlia still sells her own full inventory — the contract doesn’t remove her stock, it copies part of it to Ronnie

This is most valuable for food and healing items since you’ll constantly need them. Centralizing food supply at camp saves a lot of riding time. See our healing food cooking guide for what to stock up on.

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Price Discounts

You don’t have to wait for max trust to see a price benefit. As your trust level climbs, the merchant gradually lowers their prices for you. By the time you reach maximum trust, their items cost noticeably less Silver than they did when you first arrived.

This is especially valuable for merchants who sell upgrade materials, horse gear, or food supplies that you buy in bulk.

Exclusive Information (Map Rumors)

Some merchants at max trust will share exclusive information — rumors about hidden locations, uncharted areas, or secrets in their region. These act as hints that can point you toward treasure, collectibles, or points of interest not otherwise marked on your map.

Think of these as player-facing clues for exploration. It’s a minor reward but a nice bonus on top of the supply contracts.

How to Use Trade Agreements

Once you’ve purchased a supply contract from a max-trust merchant, using it is simple:

Open your Inventory
Find the contract item (e.g., “Hernandian Cooking Supply Contract”)
Press:
- PS5: Square → Use
- Xbox: X → Use
- PC: Right-click → Use
The corresponding camp vendor’s inventory expands automatically — no further steps required

The contract is consumed on use. The expanded inventory is permanent for that playthrough.

Faction-Gated Merchants and Liberation

An important detail most guides skip: merchants in occupied settlements are unavailable until you liberate those areas.

Settlements under enemy control have limited or no vendor access. As you progress through the story and liberate territory through faction quests, new merchants unlock in previously inaccessible areas.

This means your options for building trust early on are limited to Hernand and nearby towns. Don’t worry — the game’s pacing ensures you’ll unlock more merchant relationships as the story progresses.

Special Merchants Worth Prioritizing

Dahlia (Hernand Inn)

Your first and most important trust target. She’s in the Hernand Inn — one of the earliest buildings you can enter in town. Her Hernandian Cooking Supply Contract expands Ronnie’s camp food shop, which saves constant trips back to Hernand for food and healing items.

Haldwin (Hernand Castle — Contribution Shop)

Not a trust merchant, but important enough to mention alongside the vendor system. Haldwin sells the Bolton Plate Set for 17 Contribution Points total — widely considered the best early-game armor in the game. Unlock him through Contribution rank, not trust. See our contribution points guide for how to unlock access.

Shakatu (Goldleaf Merchant Guild — Late Game)

After completing a specific quest line with the Goldleaf Merchant Guild, Shakatu the goblin merchant takes over as the Guild’s specialty vendor. He stocks rare items not available anywhere else in Pywel. Worth pursuing once you’ve reached Chapter 5 and beyond.

Inn Owners (All Regions)

Meet the inn owner in every settlement across all regions for the “Meeting Inn Owners” Trade Challenge. These visits count toward the 5 Trade Challenges in the Life category — completing all five unlocks the Golden Merchant trophy and achievement. Inn owners are marked with “?” icons on the Environment tab of your map.

Vendor Tips That Tie Into Trust

Small Bags for Inventory Expansion

As you build trust with merchants, you get easier access to their full stock — including Small Bags. These cost about 50 Copper each and grant one additional inventory slot per bag. They restock every in-game midnight (0:00). Buy every Small Bag from every merchant you visit. Over time, this significantly expands your carry capacity without spending Contribution.

See our inventory space guide for all methods of expanding your inventory.

The Repurchase System as Makeshift Storage

Crimson Desert has no storage chests. You can use the repurchase tab at any vendor as temporary storage — sell items you want to keep, then buy them back within a couple of in-game days (the window is roughly 2–3 days before they disappear permanently). Items can only be repurchased from the same vendor you sold them to, so remember where you sold what.

This is especially useful when your inventory fills up mid-exploration and you don’t want to permanently lose items.

All Vendors Offer the Same Sell Prices

You receive the same Silver amount for any given item regardless of which merchant you sell it to. There is no benefit to shopping around when selling. Sell to whoever is nearest.

Building Trust with Animals

One detail nearly every guide misses: trust isn’t just for merchants and companions. Animals around Pywel also have a trust system.

Walk up to a dog in any town and you’ll see a “Pet” interaction prompt. Petting them consistently raises their trust level. Reaching maximum trust with certain animals — particularly dogs — can unlock them as companion pets you can bring with you on your travels.

This is a small but charming system. If you enjoy the companion aspect of Crimson Desert, see our full All Characters & Companions Guide for every companion in the game.