How to Get Thick Hide in Crimson Desert

TL;DR

Thick Hide drops from large mammals only — rhinos, elephants, and bears. You must skin the body after killing to receive it.
Best farm spot: Rhino herd near the Abyss Nexus above the “C” in Crimson on the world map — northeast corner of the map.
Use the Faction tab spawn reset trick to respawn the rhino herd instantly without fast-traveling.
Early-game alternative: Bears southeast of Unicorn Cliff in Hernand — solo bear in a clearing, fast to reset.
Buy from Hernand Tannery (Bran) for 20 Copper each — stock of 3, restocking every 5 in-game days. Not all Tanneries carry Thick Hide — the Delesyia Tannery does not.
Rhinos and elephants also drop Ivory when skinned — useful bonus crafting material.
Equip the Goblin King’s Treasure Dagger or Ceremonial King’s Dagger for a 10% bonus hide chance on every skin.
Stack Blessing of the Beast Abyss Gear for an additional 10% to 30% hide yield on top.

Thick Hide is the most demanding of the three hide types in Crimson Desert. Unlike Thin Hide which comes from small animals all over the world, Thick Hide only drops from large, tough mammals — and those animals do not pack together as neatly. Knowing exactly where to go and how to reset spawns is the difference between a productive farming session and a frustrating one. This guide covers every method, every location, and every trick to stock up fast.

If you also need Thin Hide, check our companion guide on how to get Thin Hide in Crimson Desert. For the full crafting and resource hub, visit the Crimson Desert guide hub.

Table of Contents

What Is Thick Hide Used For in Crimson Desert?

Thick Hide is a crafting material used primarily for refining and upgrading heavy leather armor and jewelry at the blacksmith. Take it to any blacksmith and choose the Refinement option. Thick Hide is required at mid-to-high upgrade tiers — demand starts small and climbs steeply the further you push your gear level. If you are working toward max gear, having a large stockpile ready before you start upgrading saves a lot of backtracking.

Beyond refinement, Thick Hide also appears in:

Advanced crafting recipes for equipment at the Smithy — including tools like Olvald’s Expert Logging Axe, which requires Sturdy Hide and Ivory alongside other materials
Camp upgrade and dispatch requirements at higher levels of Howling Hill
Trade goods — Thick Hide is worth a decent amount of silver if you have surplus after upgrading

For the full breakdown of how reinforcement works and what each tier requires, see our equipment reinforcement guide.

All Animals That Drop Thick Hide

Thick Hide only comes from large mammals. Here is the full confirmed list:

Rhinoceros — found in the northeast Crimson Desert region near the northern main road Abyss Nexus. Best overall farm animal for Thick Hide due to herd size and spawn density.
Elephant — found further north in the Crimson Desert, slightly west of the main road leading to Varnia. Every kill is a guaranteed drop but they take longer to kill than rhinos.
Bear — found in Hernand Highlands (primary) and Mistwind Stepped Hillside (secondary). Best early-game option before the northeast Crimson Desert region is accessible. Bears occasionally drop a Bear Hide Cloak as a bonus item when skinned.

A critical rule to remember: you must skin the body after killing the animal. Thick Hide does not fall on the ground as loot. Walk up to the carcass and press the interact button to skin it. No skin, no hide — the material will not appear in your inventory without this step.

Method 1 – Rhino Farming at the Northern Abyss Nexus (Best Overall)

This is the fastest and most efficient method in the game once you have access to the northeast Crimson Desert region. A herd of rhinos spawns reliably near the Abyss Nexus located right above the “C” in Crimson on the world map. Here is exactly how to run this loop:

Travel to the northern Abyss Nexus in the Crimson Desert region — look for it directly above the “C” of Crimson on the map.
From the Nexus, look southeast. A small herd of rhinos stands in an open field below. You should see them clearly from the elevated Nexus position.
Head down and kill every rhino in the herd. Rhinos are aggressive and hit hard — use a bow from a distance to open fights safely, or engage on horseback to maintain mobility.
Skin every carcass immediately after clearing the herd. Press the interact button on each body.
Trigger the spawn reset (see below) to bring the herd back instantly.
Repeat as many times as needed.

Why rhinos over elephants? Rhinos die faster, spawn in a tighter group, and are easier to reset efficiently. Elephants are guaranteed Thick Hide drops per kill and are great if you want Ivory at the same time, but the extra time per kill makes them slower for pure Thick Hide volume. Rhinos are the better choice for bulk farming speed.

Tip if rhinos are not spawning: If the field looks empty when you come back out of the map, you are likely standing on top of their spawn zone. Move a short distance away from the center of the clearing and try the reset again. Stepping off the exact spawn point allows the animals to register.

Method 2 – Elephant Farming (Guaranteed Drop per Kill)

Elephants are found further north in the Crimson Desert, slightly west of the main road leading to Varnia. Every elephant kill is a guaranteed Thick Hide drop with no RNG — you will always get at least one hide per skin. They also drop Ivory consistently, which is a valuable secondary material used in high-tier crafting.

Elephants are tougher and slower to kill than rhinos, so they are not the most efficient option for pure Thick Hide speed. However, if you need both Thick Hide and Ivory at the same time, an elephant route doubles your material haul per run. Check our guide on how to get Ivory for more detail on that material and its uses.

Use the same Faction tab spawn reset trick described below to reset elephant spawns between runs.

Method 3 – Bear Farming in Hernand (Early-Game Option)

If the northeast Crimson Desert region is not yet accessible, bears in Hernand are your best early-game source of Thick Hide. The most efficient single bear farm spot is in a field southeast of Unicorn Cliff, reached from the Abyss Nexus that overlooks a large open clearing in that area. Here is how to use it:

Head to the Abyss Nexus southeast of Unicorn Cliff in Hernand. The nexus overlooks a wide open clearing below.
Look into the clearing — you will see a lone bear standing in a field of white flowers.
Head down, kill the bear, and skin it for Thick Hide.
Trigger the spawn reset using the Faction tab to bring the bear back immediately.
Repeat.

Bears are aggressive and hit significantly harder than deer or foxes. Come prepared with healing food and a solid weapon before starting your bear farming run. Our guide on how to cook the best healing food will help you stock up. If you want to fight bears more efficiently from a distance, a bow setup is recommended — our OP archer build guide covers strong ranged options.

Bears also sometimes drop a Bear Hide Cloak as a bonus when skinned. This cloak is a useful cosmetic and can be equipped early in the game.

There is also a second bear spot at Mistwind Stepped Hillside if you want to rotate between two locations during the same session.

How to Reset Animal Spawns Instantly

This is the most important trick for fast Thick Hide farming. Instead of waiting for the natural respawn timer or fast-traveling away and back, you can force animals to respawn immediately using the Faction tab in the map menu. Here is the step-by-step process:

First, make sure “View 3D Stronghold Details on the Map” is turned on. Go to Others → Options → Language and Gameplay and confirm it is set to On. The trick does not work without this setting enabled.
Kill and skin all the animals in the farming area.
Open the world map and go to the Factions tab.
Select any visible faction icon near your location.
On PC, double-click the left mouse button to open its 3D render. On controller, press Triangle (PlayStation) or Y (Xbox).
Close the 3D render and exit the map entirely.
The animals you killed will have respawned in their original positions.

This reset works back-to-back with no cooldown. You can chain it as many times as your inventory space allows. Fast-traveling to the nearby Abyss Nexus also resets spawns but takes longer than the map method. The Faction tab trick is faster and should be your standard reset during any farming session.

Method 4 – Buy from the Tannery

Thick Hide can be purchased from select Tannery merchants across Crimson Desert for 20 Copper each. Look for the animal hide and needle icon on the map to find Tannery locations. However, there is an important caveat: not every Tannery in the game stocks Thick Hide.

how to buy thick hide in crimson desert Buy from the Tannery

The Hernand Tannery run by Bran reliably carries Thick Hide. The Delesyia Tannery, by contrast, does not. Before making a trip specifically to buy Thick Hide, check whether that region’s Tannery actually carries it.

Stock and restock details for Tanneries that do carry Thick Hide:

Stock per Tannery: 3 Thick Hides at a time
Restock timer: Every 5 in-game days (around 10 real-time hours). Some sources note the Hernand Tannery specifically resets at in-game midnight.
Fastest restock method: Sleep at an inn or campfire to advance time to midnight and trigger the restock without waiting in real time.

Buying from the Tannery is best used as a quick top-up when you need a few hides to finish an upgrade — not as a primary farm method. With only 3 per shop and a lengthy restock window, you cannot rely on vendors alone for serious quantities. For tips on managing vendor stock efficiently, see our guide on when merchant shops restock.

hunt rhinoceros thick hide farming method in crimson desert 2

How to Maximize Thick Hide Yield Per Hunt

Use a Hide Dagger – Goblin King’s Treasure Dagger or Ceremonial King’s Dagger

Both of these daggers share the same passive ability: a 10% chance to obtain an additional hide every time you skin an animal. Equip either one in your dagger slot before skinning — the bonus triggers at the moment of skinning, not at the kill. You can swap back to your main dagger immediately afterward.

Goblin King’s Treasure Dagger: Found in a hidden chest beneath Mudridge Cabin in Pororin Forest, near Unicorn Cliff in Hernand. See our Goblin King’s Treasure Dagger guide for the exact location.
Ceremonial King’s Dagger: Found in an underground chamber north of Pailune City at the Totemfelt enemy camp. Find the gravestone in the area and hit it with Force Palm to reveal a hidden underground entrance. The dagger is in a chest at the bottom.

Both daggers give the same 10% bonus. Get whichever one you can reach first — having either one equipped during every skinning action compounds over a long farm session into a meaningful number of extra hides.

Stack Blessing of the Beast Abyss Gear

On top of the dagger bonus, certain Abyss Gear properties grant additional hide yield per skin. The Blessing of the Beast property comes in three tiers:

Blessing of the Beast I: +10% additional hide chance
Blessing of the Beast II: +20% additional hide chance
Blessing of the Beast III: +30% additional hide chance

This stacks directly on top of the 10% from the dagger. With a Goblin King’s Treasure Dagger and Blessing of the Beast III equipped simultaneously, you have a 40% chance of getting a bonus hide on every single skin. Over a full rhino farm run, that is a substantial boost to your total yield. Check our Abyss Gears list for the full property breakdown and how to obtain specific gear properties.

Use Horseback Combat Against Rhinos

Rhinos can knock you around if you fight them on foot. Engaging from horseback lets you stay mobile, control the range of the fight, and reposition quickly between animals in the herd. Land your attacks and move away before the rhino charges back. This keeps the pace of each kill up and reduces time lost to recoveries from knockdowns. For horseback combat tips, our horse guide covers combat riding mechanics.

Clear Every Body Before Resetting

Do a full sweep of the farming area before you open the map and trigger the spawn reset. If you leave any bodies unskinned before the reset, they may despawn and you lose those hides. This is easy to miss in dark conditions or when rhinos scatter during a fight. Check the minimap for any remaining interact prompts before resetting.

Thick Hide vs Thin Hide vs Short Hair Hide

Crimson Desert uses three different hide tiers for different purposes at the blacksmith and crafting bench. Here is the full breakdown so you know exactly which animal to target for each material:

Thin Hide — From small mammals (foxes, baby deer, raccoons, rabbits, weasels, etc.). Used for upgrading light leather armor and jewelry at lower tiers. Full guide: How to Get Thin Hide.
Short Hair Hide — From medium mammals (adult foxes, adult deer, moose, goats, cows). Used for medium armor upgrades and certain crafting recipes. Adult foxes and deer often share territory with baby versions, so both Thin and Short Hair Hide can be farmed in the same area.
Thick Hide — From large mammals (rhinos, elephants, bears). Used for heavy leather armor and high-tier jewelry upgrades. Requires traveling to the northeast Crimson Desert region or the Hernand Highlands for reliable supply.

Unlike Thin and Short Hair Hide which can often come from the same woodland areas, Thick Hide requires a dedicated trip to a different part of the map. Plan your farming sessions accordingly — if you need all three types, do Thin and Short Hair Hide runs in Hernand first, then head north for your Thick Hide run.

Tips and Common Mistakes

Always skin — always. This cannot be said enough. The hide is not in your inventory until the skinning animation completes. Do not run to the next rhino without skinning the current one first.
Enable the Faction 3D View setting first. Without it, the spawn reset trick does not work. Check under Others → Options → Language and Gameplay before your first farming session.
Not all Tanneries sell Thick Hide. If you travel to a Tannery expecting to buy it and find nothing, the issue is that the specific Tannery you visited does not carry Thick Hide. Stick to the Hernand Tannery run by Bran for a reliable vendor source.
Move off the spawn zone before resetting. If animals do not appear after triggering the Faction tab reset, you are standing too close to their spawn point. Move to the side of the clearing and try again.
Pair Thick Hide runs with Ivory collection. Since rhinos and elephants both drop Ivory when skinned, every farming run simultaneously gives you both materials. Do not waste the trip — skin everything and collect both. Check out our Ivory guide for what it is used for.
Swap in the dagger before skinning, not before killing. The 10% bonus triggers during the skinning action. Equip your Goblin King’s Treasure Dagger or Ceremonial King’s Dagger right before you press interact on the carcass, then swap back to your combat dagger.

More Crimson Desert Farming and Crafting Guides

Crimson Desert is available on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. For the latest news and updates, visit the official Crimson Desert website.