TL;DR
- The Forgotten General is one of three Overwhelming Beings — one of the hardest bosses in the game
- She is found in the General’s Tomb in the far northwest of Pailune — locked behind the Slumbering Soul quest
- Equip Frostcursed Armor for Ice Resistance and prioritize Stamina Regen Abyss Gears over raw defense
- Fire imbuement and Turning Slash is your core attack loop — she is highly vulnerable to fire stagger
- When she taps her spear on the ground, jump and triple Force Palm to fly over the ghost soldier charge
- Cheese spot: use Force Palm to reach the wooden beam above the arena and rain explosive arrows down
- Note: the beam cheese may be patched on PS5 version 1.01 — check before relying on it
The Forgotten General is widely called the hardest boss in Crimson Desert. Some players describe her as the game’s equivalent of Malenia from Elden Ring. She hits in two to three shots regardless of your defense, has a massive health pool, and includes an invulnerability phase that floods the arena with ghost soldiers.
She is absolutely beatable. But you need the right loadout, a clear understanding of her two main mechanics, and ideally a strategy ready for when things go sideways.
This guide covers everything — how to unlock her, the best gear to bring, the standard fight strategy, the beam cheese spot, and what you get for winning.
For a look at every boss in the game, see our Crimson Desert all bosses locations guide.
Where to Find the Forgotten General
The Forgotten General is located inside the General’s Tomb, in the furthest northwest point of Pailune.
She does not simply spawn there by default. You have to unlock her through a chain of faction quests:
- Complete all Crossroads of Succession quests under the Pailune Militia faction
- This unlocks the Skoghorn Tribe faction questline — complete it
- This then unlocks the Longleaf faction quests — complete those too
- Longleaf unlocks Odeck’s faction quests
- Inside Odeck’s questline, take on the Slumbering Soul sub-quest — this leads you directly to the Forgotten General and triggers the boss encounter
If you arrive at the tomb and find it empty, it means your faction progress is not far enough yet. Go back and work through the Pailune faction chains.
Best Loadout for the Forgotten General
Defense alone will not save you here. She is tuned to kill you in two to three hits regardless of how much armor you have. The goal is to survive long enough to keep pressure on her — and that means prioritizing stamina, focus, and damage over raw defense stats.
Weapon: Two-Handed Sword (Vow of the Dead King) A heavy two-handed weapon is the best choice for this fight. It has a high innate Critical Rate and each heavy hit contributes more to her stun meter than lighter weapons. One-handed swords can work, but the fight takes much longer.
Armor: Frostcursed Armor (or any Ice Resistance set) The General’s Tomb is cold. Without Ice Resistance, you will gradually pick up a Frozen debuff that slows your movement — which is a death sentence against a boss this aggressive. The Frostcursed Armor handles this cleanly. For all piece locations, see our Crimson Desert Frostcursed Armor Set all locations guide.
Abyss Gears: Critical Rate, Stamina Regen, Focus Regen These are more important than any defensive Abyss Gear for this fight. More Stamina means more Force Palm uses — which you need to survive her ghost soldier phase. More Focus Regen means more slowdown windows to dodge and counter. Critical Rate directly doubles your damage output when it procs.
Abyss Gears for Cheese: Infinite Arrows III and Infinite Arrows II If you plan to use the beam cheese strategy (covered below), these are essential. They are obtained through the Witch’s Special Synthesis tab under Craft Abyss Gears via random chance. Paired with Explosive Arrows from the Back Alley Shop in Demeniss, one arrow lasts forever.
Consumables:
- Explosive Arrows — Back Alley Shop in Demeniss (bring at least 1,000 if cheesing)
- Hearty Meals — cook meat before heading in; bring as many as you can carry
- Palmar Pills — if you die, a Palmar Pill lets you revive without resetting the boss’s health
Quick tip on cooking: place meat on the ground and use the Blinding Flash ability to cook all of it at once. For a detailed food guide, see how to cook the best healing food in Crimson Desert.
How to Beat the Forgotten General — Standard Strategy
Core Attack Loop: Fire Imbuement + Turning Slash
The Forgotten General is highly susceptible to fire stagger. This is the fastest and most reliable way to break her stun meter and create finisher windows.
Your basic attack loop:
- Use Turning Slash (R1 + R2)
- Apply Fire Imbuement (L2 + R2)
- Repeat until her stun meter fills
- Perform a Finisher (R1 + R2 when stun is full)
- Reset and repeat
Stay aggressive. The more you keep her staggered, the fewer chances she has to run her most dangerous attack patterns. If you back off and give her space, she starts using wider AOEs that are much harder to deal with.
To get the Fire Imbuement, use the flame from the Tree of Slumber. The Volcanic Eruption ability from the Scorchflame Plate Gloves is another strong option for building stagger fast. For more details, see our guide on how to use elemental attacks and imbue elements in Crimson Desert and how to get Flame Strike from the Tree of Slumber.
When Your Spirit Bar Runs Dry
If your spirit bar empties mid-fight, back off and trigger Focus (L3 + R3). This slows down time and lets you use L1 to counter or Circle to dodge while your bars recover. Do not just stand there swinging on empty — that is when she lands the hits that kill you.
The Ghost Soldier Phase (Most Dangerous Moment)
This is the part of the fight that kills unprepared players instantly.
At certain HP thresholds, the Forgotten General will tap her spear on the ground. When you see this animation, she becomes invulnerable and ghost soldiers charge from both ends of the arena simultaneously. If you are standing on the ground, you are likely dead.
How to survive it:
- The moment she taps the spear, jump and use triple Force Palm to gain significant height
- Deploy your wings and glide in a wide circle above the arena
- Stay airborne until the ghost soldiers finish their charge and disappear
- When she fires an explosive at you during this phase (the only attack that can reach you in the air), use Force Palm again to dodge higher
If you land early and cannot get back into the air, time your evasive dodges every 1.5 seconds to get through the ghost swing attacks.
Never let your Stamina bar hit zero during this fight. If it does, you cannot Force Palm out and the ghost charge will kill you.
The Beam Cheese Spot
If you want a slower but much safer way to beat her, there is a structural exploit in the arena.
How it works:
- Bring at least 1,000 Explosive Arrows and equip Infinite Arrows Abyss Gears
- After the opening cutscene, immediately use Force Palm
- Jump and use triple Force Palm to fly up to the wooden beam above the arena
- Position yourself on the far right side of the beam
- From up here, use Focused Shot / Focused Multishot to rain explosive arrows down on the Forgotten General
- Watch her stun meter — when it fills, drop down, perform a Finisher, then immediately Force Palm back up to the beam
- Repeat until she is dead
From this position, her melee attacks and the ghost soldier charges cannot reach you. The only attack that can hit you while on the beam is the explosive she fires during her invulnerability phase. Watch for the red indicator under your feet — if you see it, jump and glide immediately or you will fall down into the ghost charge.
Important patch note: Reports indicate this cheese has been patched out in PS5 version 1.01. Attempting to reach the beam gives a notification that you are straying too far from the arena. If you are on a recent patch and the beam is blocked, use the standard fire stagger strategy instead.
Key Tips at a Glance
- The Frozen debuff from cold weather is a death sentence — always wear Ice Resistance gear
- Stay aggressive; passive play gives her room to use her deadliest long-range AOEs
- Stamina Regen Abyss Gear is not optional — you need Force Palm available at all times
- Keep Hearty Meals and Palmar Pills on your quick-slot at all times
- If you die, use a Palmar Pill immediately — it lets you revive without the boss recovering health
- One-handed sword can work but expect the fight to take significantly longer
- Never chase her too far during recovery — reset your spirit and reapply pressure cleanly
For more help with combat fundamentals like parrying and dodging, see our guide on how to parry, counter, and dodge in Crimson Desert.
Rewards for Beating the Forgotten General
Defeating the Forgotten General drops:
- Odeck’s Protector Armor — the Protector version comes pre-slotted with legendary Abyss Gears, unlike the craftable version
- Mysterious Gift — a unique key item; as of April 2026 it appears to be a collectible likely tied to future content
Note: You can collect most of the standard Odeck armor set without beating the boss at all through high-level Faction crafting in Pailune. But the Protector version with the pre-slotted Abyss Gears is exclusive to this fight. For all piece locations of the standard set, see our Crimson Desert Odecks Protector Armor Set all locations guide.
Related Guides
- Crimson Desert all bosses locations
- How to beat Beloth the Darksworn — another Overwhelming Being
- How to beat Ator Archon of Antumbra — the third Overwhelming Being
- How to beat the Reed Devil
- How to get Focused Force Palm
- Frostcursed Armor Set all locations
- How to get and use Palmar Pills
- How to get max health in Crimson Desert
- How to get max stamina in Crimson Desert
- How to get Camp Funds in Crimson Desert — upgrade your camp to unlock better dispatch missions and resources for fight prep
- Crimson Desert review
Where to Play Crimson Desert
The Forgotten General is a genuine test of everything the game has taught you. Get your Ice Resistance sorted, keep Fire Imbuement cycling, never let your stamina hit zero, and always have a plan for the ghost soldier phase. Beat her clean or cheese the beam — either way, the Odeck Protector set is yours. For more Crimson Desert help, head to our Crimson Desert guides hub.
