TL;DR
- The Training Dummy is located southwest of the Greymanes Camp in Howling Hill
- It only appears after you upgrade your camp at least four times
- The camp becomes available at the start of Act 3
- You unlock camp upgrades by recruiting Comrades through the Grounds of the Sunrise faction quests
- The dummy has unlimited health and cannot be destroyed — it is purely for combat practice
A lot of players miss the Training Dummy completely. It is not handed to you at the start of the game. You have to earn it by rebuilding the Greymanes Camp in Howling Hill. Once it spawns, it becomes one of the most useful tools in the game — a safe place to test combos, weapons, and timing without anything fighting back.
Here is exactly how to unlock it.
When Does the Training Dummy in Crimson Desert Become Available?
The Training Dummy appears at your Greymanes Camp in Howling Hill. The camp itself becomes available at the start of Act 3, after you defeat the Hornsplitter boss at the end of Act 2.
Once you are in Act 3, you reconnect with Marius — a surviving Greymane. He helps you set up the camp in Howling Hill and spreads word to your lost comrades. From this point, the camp starts growing as you recruit more Greymanes and upgrade the base.
The Training Dummy does not appear right away. It shows up in a small fenced training yard just behind the Ranch area, southwest of the Abyss Nexus fast travel point. Most players report seeing it after the fourth camp upgrade, roughly around the same time the Ranch and Farm are unlocked.
How to Upgrade the Greymanes Camp in Crimson Desert
Upgrading the camp is the key step. Here is the full process.
Step 1 — Recruit Comrades Through the Grounds of the Sunrise Quest Chain
Open your Journal, go to Faction Quests, select Greymanes, and open the Grounds of the Sunrise tab. Look for quests that start with “A Rumor…” — these missions track down lost Greymanes hiding across Pywel.
Speak to Marius at camp regularly. He feeds you new leads as you progress. Every rumor you follow brings one or more Greymanes back to your camp. For help with this, check out our guide on how to get and level up Comrades in Crimson Desert.
Step 2 — Send Comrades on Camp Expansion Missions
Once you have enough Comrades, open your world map. Navigate to the Howling Hill camp icon. Press Inspect (Triangle on PS5 / Y on Xbox / left-click on PC) and go to the Missions tab. You will find Camp Expansion Missions listed there. These are large construction projects that physically level up the camp.
Each expansion requires a minimum number of Comrades and a set of resources. You can send Comrades out on Dispatch Missions to passively gather what you need, or donate resources directly to Carl at camp. For a full breakdown, see our guide on how to upgrade the Howling Hill Base Camp to Level 2.
One thing many players get wrong — Comrades do not have individual XP bars. You cannot level them up by grinding Dispatch Missions. Their skill levels are tied entirely to the camp upgrade level. Every time the camp advances, all Comrades advance with it.
Step 3 — Repeat Until the Training Yard Appears
Keep completing rumor quests, recruiting Comrades, and triggering expansion missions. The Training Yard appears around the fourth expansion. It shows up as a fenced area just behind the Ranch, southwest of the camp’s Abyss Nexus fast travel point.
If the Ranch is not built yet, you may need to unlock that first. See our guide on how to unlock the Ranch and Farm in Crimson Desert for more detail. You can also check out our guide on how to dispatch the Howling Hill expansion mission to make sure you are not missing any steps.
Where Is the Training Dummy in Crimson Desert?
Starting from the Abyss Nexus fast travel point at the Greymanes Camp, head southwest. You will see a small fenced yard with a wooden mannequin standing in the center. That is the Training Dummy.
If you do not see it, the training yard has not spawned yet. That means you still need more camp upgrades. Keep progressing through the Grounds of the Sunrise quests and it will appear once you hit the right expansion tier.
The yard sits just behind the Ranch. So if you have already unlocked the Ranch, walk past it heading southwest and you should spot the fenced area right away.
How the Training Dummy Works in Crimson Desert
Once you find the dummy, using it is simple. Walk up to it and start attacking. It will not fight back, it will not move, and it has unlimited health. You can stay there as long as you want.
A few things worth knowing before you start:
Axiom Force does not work on it. You cannot pull or push the dummy using Axiom Force abilities. Do not waste time trying.
It teleports back if knocked away. If you hit the dummy hard enough to send it flying out of the fenced yard, it will instantly teleport back to the center. You cannot lose it.
It is purely stationary. The dummy will never block, dodge, or counter. It is ideal for testing combo chains, checking skill timings, and figuring out which attacks flow well together.
This is the best spot to test your build before a tough fight. Check out our guides on how to parry, counter, and dodge in Crimson Desert, how to use elemental attacks, and how to use Axiom Force to sharpen your skills even further.
Tips to Unlock the Training Dummy Faster in Crimson Desert
If you want to get the Training Dummy as quickly as possible, here is what to focus on.
Set the Howling Hill Abyss Nexus as your fast travel point immediately. You will be going back to camp constantly. Having instant access saves a lot of time.
Always keep at least one Dispatch Mission running. Resources build up passively while you explore the world. Never leave your Comrades idle.
Prioritize the Grounds of the Sunrise quests. They are listed as faction quests, but they are among the most important progression systems in the game. Do not treat them as optional side content.
Donate excess gear to Carl. Weapons and armor you do not need are more valuable as camp provisions than sold for silver. Keeping Carl’s supply stocked speeds up your expansion missions.
Build the Ranch and Farm early. These structures contribute to your overall camp level and provide steady resources with minimal effort. See our guide on how to get Camp Funds in Crimson Desert to keep resources flowing.
For a full picture of how the camp system works, our Crimson Desert hub page covers every system in the game in one place.
Why Use the Training Dummy in Crimson Desert?
Crimson Desert’s combat is deeper than it first looks. There are combo chains, animation cancels, skill synergies, and timing windows that take real practice to understand. Trying to figure all of that out during a tough boss fight is frustrating and expensive in terms of healing items.
The Training Dummy gives you a pressure-free environment. You can try things, fail, try again, and build muscle memory without consequence. Spending even ten minutes at the dummy before a hard fight can make a noticeable difference.
If you are gearing up for a specific boss, practice the skills you plan to use on the dummy first. Check out our guides on how to beat the Forgotten General, how to beat Kutum, how to beat Stonewalker Antiquum, and our full all bosses locations guide to know what you are walking into.
For the best early skills to pair with your dummy practice, see our guides on best skills to level up first in Crimson Desert and best early build in Crimson Desert.
Crimson Desert is available on PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, and Epic Games. Visit the official Crimson Desert website for the latest updates from Pearl Abyss.
