TL;DR
- There are three ways to pass time: sleep in a bed, rest at a bonfire/cooking pot, or use a quest-specific time skip.
- You can use any bed in the game — not just Kliff’s own.
- At a bonfire or cooking pot, press L1/LB to focus, then select Wait.
- You can skip 3, 6, or 12 hours at a time.
- There’s a rest cooldown — you can’t spam it. If the option is greyed out, go explore for a while first.
- In-game time moves fast — 1 real-life minute = 12 in-game minutes.
- Vendors restock at midnight (0:00) — useful to know for farming healing items.
Crimson Desert runs on a full day-night cycle. The world of Pywel doesn’t pause for you. Some quests only trigger at specific times. Certain NPC routines change depending on the hour. Vendors restock once a day. And at night? The world gets genuinely dark — dark enough that exploring without your lantern is a bad idea.
Knowing how to push the clock forward is one of the most useful skills you can pick up early. The game doesn’t explain it very clearly, so here’s everything broken down in one place.
How In-Game Time Works in Crimson Desert
Before getting into the methods, it’s worth understanding the pace.
1 real-life minute = 12 in-game minutes. That means a full in-game day passes in about 2 real-life hours. The clock moves fast — which is why time-skipping matters even if you’re actively playing.
The day-night cycle affects several things:
- Quests — Some quest segments and NPC appearances are time-locked. If you arrive and the NPC isn’t there, the game will often tell you to wait.
- Vendor restocks — All vendors refresh their stock at midnight (0:00) every in-game day.
- Camp dispatch missions — Once you unlock the Greymane Camp in Chapter 3, Freesword missions run on in-game time and can take 6 to 18 in-game hours to complete.
- Visibility — Nights in the wilderness are genuinely dark. Your lantern only lights a small area. Skipping to daytime is often just the practical move.
- Fatigue — Kliff builds up fatigue over time. Sleeping removes it and improves combat performance.
You can’t spam the time skip. There’s a rest cooldown built into the game. Once you’ve slept or rested, the option will grey out until Kliff has been active long enough to need rest again. Go out, explore, fight something, and the option will come back.
Method 1: Sleep in a Bed (Most Reliable)
The cleanest way to pass time is finding a bed and sleeping in it. Here’s the key thing most players don’t realize: you can use any unoccupied bed in the game, not just your own. Villagers in Crimson Desert don’t mind if Kliff borrows their beds.
How to sleep in a bed:
- Find any unoccupied bed in a settlement, camp, or building.
- Walk up to it and interact with it.
- Choose to sleep for 3 hours, 6 hours, or 12 hours.
- A short cutscene plays and time advances.
- Kliff wakes up fully rested — fatigue cleared, HP restored to full.
Tip: Just 3 hours of sleep fully restores Kliff’s HP. If you’re low on healing items before a boss fight, find a nearby bed and sleep it off rather than burning food items.
Where to find beds early in the game:
- Greymane Camp (Howling Hill) — Available from Chapter 3. The main tent in the center has a bed Kliff can use anytime.
- Kliff’s Personal Residence (Howling Hill) — Head east from the Greymane Camp. This is Kliff’s own home, which you can also decorate with items. The bed here works the same way.
- Settlements across Pywel — Most towns and villages have beds in homes and inns. Campsites tend to have the highest concentration since most NPCs sleep indoors.
Note that Kliff’s house does not have item storage. You can’t stash loot there, so manage your inventory elsewhere. Check our guide on how to increase inventory space in Crimson Desert if you’re running low.
Method 2: Rest at a Bonfire or Cooking Pot (Best for the Wilderness)
If you’re out in the open world and there’s no bed nearby, look for a bonfire, campfire, or cooking pot. These are scattered all across Pywel, and they work just like beds for time-skipping.
You can also use the cooking pot near Butcher NPC Renee in Hernand Town — it’s to the right of the meat vendor. Very convenient early on. For more on Renee, check out our guide on how to complete Renee’s Request in Crimson Desert.
How to rest at a bonfire or cooking pot:
- Approach the fire or pot.
- Hold L1 (PS5) / LB (Xbox) / CTRL (PC) to focus your lantern on it.
- A small menu appears. You’ll see options including Wait.
- Select Wait and choose 3, 6, or 12 hours.
- Time skips forward.
Note: At a bonfire you’ll also see Cook and Off options. Make sure you select Wait and not Off — turning off the fire just puts it out.
The game tracks all discovered bonfires on your map, so once you’ve found one in an area, you always know where to go when you need to skip time nearby.
Method 3: Quest-Triggered Time Skip (Fastest When It’s Available)
This is the most situational method but also the most convenient when it applies. Some quests in Crimson Desert are time-locked — the NPC or event only appears at a specific hour of the day.
When you arrive at a quest marker at the wrong time, the game displays a message along the lines of “Wait for the right time” at the bottom of your screen.
What to do:
- Simply press ESC (PC) / Menu button (controller) when you see this prompt.
- Time automatically skips forward to the exact moment the NPC appears or the event triggers.
- No need to calculate how many hours to sleep — the game handles it precisely.
This avoids the problem of overshooting the time window by sleeping too long. Use this method whenever the game offers it.
Why You’d Want to Pass Time in Crimson Desert
Here’s a practical breakdown of when time-skipping actually matters:
Speeding up Freesword camp missions — This is probably the biggest reason. Once you unlock the Greymane Camp at Howling Hill in Chapter 3, you can send Greymane survivors on passive missions. These take between a few hours and over 18 in-game hours to complete and reward you with resources for camp upgrades. Sleeping 12 hours at a stretch is the fastest way to push these along.
Vendor restocks for healing items — All vendors in Crimson Desert restock their inventory at midnight (0:00) every night. The meat vendor is the most important one — food is your main source of healing during boss fights. If you drain the stock before a tough encounter, sleep past midnight, then buy everything again. You can stack up a large supply this way before major fights.
Quest timing — Several quest NPCs only appear or move during specific hours. Rather than wandering around waiting, use Method 3 above or sleep to the right window.
Visibility — Night in Crimson Desert is genuinely dark in wilderness areas. If you’re struggling to navigate or spot enemies, skip a few hours to reach daylight.
Rest Cooldown — Why the Option Is Greyed Out
You cannot spam time-skipping in Crimson Desert. The rest cooldown system requires Kliff to have actually been active — travelling, fighting, or just spending time in the world — before he can sleep again.
If the Wait or Sleep option is greyed out, it simply means Kliff isn’t tired enough yet. Go out and play for a while. Fight a few enemies, explore a new area, complete a side quest. The option will become available again once the cooldown passes.
This also means you can’t skip multiple days at once. One sleep per rest cycle, maximum.
Other Useful Crimson Desert Guides
- How to solve the Abyss Without Balance puzzle in Crimson Desert
- How to enter Hernand Castle in Crimson Desert
- How to fast travel in Crimson Desert
- How to upgrade weapons and armor in Crimson Desert
- How to steal items in Crimson Desert
- How to get iron ore in Crimson Desert
- How to get and use Palmar Pills in Crimson Desert
- How to get a dragon in Crimson Desert
- How to get Crimson Desert Twitch drops
- How to claim pre-order and Deluxe Edition items in Crimson Desert
- How to ascend Lioncrest Watchtower in Crimson Desert
- Crimson Desert Reunion Quest Walkthrough
- How to complete Rhett’s Request in Crimson Desert
- Crimson Desert Review
Where to Get Crimson Desert
FAQs
Q: How do I change the time of day in Crimson Desert?
A: There are three ways. Sleep in any unoccupied bed and choose 3, 6, or 12 hours. Rest at a bonfire or cooking pot by holding L1/LB/CTRL to focus on it, then selecting Wait. Or, when a quest tells you to wait for the right time, press Escape or the Menu button to auto-skip to the correct hour.
Q: Can I use any bed in Crimson Desert or only Kliff’s own?
A: You can use any unoccupied bed in the game. Villagers don’t react to Kliff borrowing their beds. Settlements, camps, and inns all have beds you’re free to use.
Q: Why is the sleep or wait option greyed out in Crimson Desert?
A: There’s a rest cooldown system. Kliff needs to have been active for a period of time before he can rest again. Go out and explore, fight some enemies, or complete a quest — the option will become available again once enough time has passed.
Q: How fast does time pass in Crimson Desert?
A: One real-life minute equals 12 in-game minutes. A full in-game day (24 hours) passes in about 2 real hours of play time.
Q: When do vendors restock in Crimson Desert?
A: All vendors restock their inventory at midnight (0:00) every in-game night. If you want to stock up on healing food before a boss fight, buy out the vendor, sleep past midnight, and buy again.
