How to Respec in Crimson Desert – Faded Abyss Artifacts Guide

Table of Contents

TL;DR

To respec, open the Skills menu and hold F (PC) / Square (PS) / X (Xbox) — you need at least one Faded Abyss Artifact in your inventory.
Your first guaranteed Faded Abyss Artifact comes at the end of Chapter 1 as a quest reward.
You can also find them in treasure chests, from Sealed Abyss Artifact challenges, and by buying from Witch vendors (3 per visit, 2.85 Silver each).
You can craft them in Chapter 4 at Scholastone — they cost 1x Abyss Cell + 2x Mercury.
Updated in Patch 2.00.00: Resetting now resets only the character you are currently playing — Kliff, Damiane, and Oongka each have independent skill progression and can be respecced separately.
Also new in Patch 2.00.00: Spending Abyss Artifacts on Kliff now grants Abyss Links to Damiane and Oongka automatically — companions no longer draw from Kliff’s Artifact pool.
Skills learned via the “watch and learn” mechanic are kept permanently and are never reset.
Returning players: Patch 2.00.00 reset all skill progression across all characters on first login and refunded every spent resource. You are starting from scratch — see the notes below before reinvesting.

Last updated for Patch 2.02.00 (September 11, 2026).

Crimson Desert gives you a lot of freedom with your skill build. Three characters, three full skill trees, and dozens of abilities to mix and match. That freedom is great — until you realize you have spent your Abyss Artifacts on skills that do not suit your playstyle, or a tough boss is making it clear your current build is not working.

The good news is that you can respec in Crimson Desert. The not-so-good news is that it costs a rare consumable item called a Faded Abyss Artifact every time you do it. Knowing where to find them, how to craft them, and how to use them correctly will save you a lot of frustration.

This guide covers every source for Faded Abyss Artifacts, how the respec process works, and everything that changed with Patch 2.00.00 — including the major overhaul to how characters share (or no longer share) skill resources.

For a broader look at the game’s systems, check out our Crimson Desert review.

What Is a Faded Abyss Artifact in Crimson Desert?

There are three types of Abyss Artifact in Crimson Desert. It is easy to confuse them.

Item	What It Does
Abyss Artifact	The regular kind. Spent to unlock and upgrade skills in Kliff’s skill tree. Earning Artifacts on Kliff also grants Abyss Links to Damiane and Oongka (as of Patch 2.00.00).
Faded Abyss Artifact	Used specifically to respec — resets the selected character’s skill tree and refunds all Abyss Artifacts or Abyss Links that character spent.
Sealed Abyss Artifact	Found along roadsides and cairns. Completing their challenge rewards you with items, including Faded Abyss Artifacts.

Think of regular Abyss Artifacts as your skill currency. Faded Abyss Artifacts are the refund token. You spend one to get all your currency back and start over.

To learn more about the Sealed Abyss Artifacts and how to unlock their rewards, see our guide on how to open Sealed Abyss Artifacts in Crimson Desert.

How to Respec in Crimson Desert — Step by Step

Resetting your skills is straightforward once you have a Faded Abyss Artifact.

how to respec in crimson desert

Switch to the character you want to respec — as of Patch 2.00.00, each character’s skills are managed independently.
Open the Skills menu from the main interface.
Check the bottom of the screen for the Reset All prompt. If you have no Faded Abyss Artifact in your inventory, this option will be greyed out.
Once you have at least one, hold the button:
- PC: Hold F
- PlayStation: Hold Square
- Xbox: Hold X
Confirm the reset.
One Faded Abyss Artifact is consumed. All Abyss Artifacts (or Abyss Links, for Damiane and Oongka) spent by that character are fully refunded. The other characters’ skill trees are untouched.

You can now spend all your refunded Abyss Artifacts on whichever skills you want.

Major Change in Patch 2.00.00 — Per-Character Respec and Abyss Links

This is the most significant system change in the game’s post-launch history, and it directly affects how respeccing works.

Before Patch 2.00.00: All three playable characters — Kliff, Damiane, and Oongka — shared the same pool of Abyss Artifacts. Triggering a respec reset all three skill trees at once. If you had a perfectly tuned build for Damiane and only wanted to fix Kliff’s setup, you wiped Damiane’s tree too and had to rebuild all three characters manually.

After Patch 2.00.00: Each character’s skill progression is now completely independent. Resetting Kliff affects only Kliff. Damiane and Oongka keep their builds untouched. You can respec one character as many times as you like without touching the others.

Alongside this, companions no longer draw from the same Artifact pool as Kliff. When Kliff spends Abyss Artifacts to learn a skill, the game automatically grants an equal number of Abyss Links to Damiane and Oongka. Those characters spend their own Abyss Links independently. When you respec a companion, only the Links that character spent are refunded — Kliff’s pool is not affected.

In practical terms, this means you no longer need to hold back Artifacts from Kliff’s build to cover the other characters later. Invest freely into Kliff, and the companions benefit automatically.

One-time forced reset for existing saves: The first time players launched the game after Patch 2.00.00 (August 25, 2026), all skill progression across all three characters was automatically reset and every spent resource was refunded. If you have not played since before that date, your old builds are gone but your Artifacts and Links are back in your inventory ready to reinvest.

Skills That Are NOT Reset

There is one exception to the full wipe. Skills unlocked through the “watch and learn” mechanic are kept permanently after a respec.

As you explore Pywel and fight enemies, you will sometimes get the option to observe a specific move or maneuver. Learning it this way does not cost an Abyss Artifact. Because no Artifact was spent, the game does not refund it — and the skill stays with you through every reset.

This is actually very useful for build planning. Treat your “watch and learn” skills as a free permanent foundation, and plan your paid skills around them.

All Ways to Get Faded Abyss Artifacts in Crimson Desert

Faded Abyss Artifacts are rarer than regular Abyss Artifacts. Here is every source, ranked from earliest to latest.

1. Chapter 1 Quest Reward — Your First One

You do not have to look for your first Faded Abyss Artifact. At the end of Chapter 1, after completing the main story quest “Woman in White”, one is automatically dropped into your inventory.

There is also a chest inside Hernand Castle during the Chapter 1 main quest “Trace” — inside the room opened by the mysterious key — that contains a Faded Abyss Artifact. This is the earliest you can get one in the game.

Do not waste either of these. Wait until you have a clear plan before spending them.

If you need help getting into Hernand Castle first, see our guide on how to enter Hernand Castle in Crimson Desert.

2. Sealed Abyss Artifact Challenges

Sealed Abyss Artifacts are glowing cube-shaped objects scattered along main roads and hidden near rock cairns across Pywel. Picking one up adds a challenge to your Journal. Complete the challenge, and you earn rewards — including Faded Abyss Artifacts.

One example is the challenge “Keeping Balance on the Wind”, found at a roadside marker southeast of Hernand. Completing it rewards a Faded Abyss Artifact.

Check your Journal: Challenges tab regularly to track which ones reward them.

3. Treasure Chests in the Abyss

Treasure chests hidden in the nooks and floating islands of the Abyss sky areas have a high chance of containing Faded Abyss Artifacts. These chests are not marked on the minimap, so you have to physically explore to find them.

Keep your eyes open when you are doing Abyss content. The floating islands are worth scouring thoroughly.

For help with Abyss-related puzzles, see our guide on the Crimson Desert Abyss Without Balance puzzle solution.

4. Buy from Witch Vendors

This is the most reliable on-demand source, unlocked during Chapter 3 of the main story.

Witch’s Lair vendors sell 3 Faded Abyss Artifacts per transaction for 2.85 Silver each. That is an extremely reasonable price. Once you unlock Witch vendors, you essentially have an unlimited supply of respecs — as long as you have Silver.

Track down your nearest Witch vendor early and note its location. It is the best failsafe when you suddenly need a respec before a difficult boss.

5. Main Story Quest Rewards

Several main story quests reward Faded Abyss Artifacts as you progress. These are scripted drops — the game gives them to you automatically when you hit certain story milestones. Just keep progressing the campaign and you will accumulate a few naturally.

Check your Journal whenever you complete a major quest, as rewards are not always announced loudly on screen.

6. Craft Them at a Cauldron (Chapter 4)

Once you reach Chapter 4 and visit the Scholastone in western Pywel, you can unlock the crafting recipe for Faded Abyss Artifacts.

How to get the recipe:

Visit the Scholastone Research Institute and find the Research Vendor, Grunvar.
Complete Grunvar’s Research Requests.
Start the research project: “Research on the Abyss Energy Restoration Phenomenon”. This costs 12 Silver and takes 8 real-world hours to complete.
Once finished, you receive the Blueprint: Faded Abyss Artifact.

Crafting cost (per Faded Abyss Artifact):

Material	Amount	Where to Find
Abyss Cell	1x	Dropped by Abyss-corrupted creatures near Abyss Nexus teleporters
Mercury	2x	Found in freezing pools in Hexe Sanctuary (northern Demeniss) and Silver Wolf Mountains (northern Pailune)

Craft at any Witch’s Cauldron once the blueprint is learned. This gives you a permanent self-sustaining supply for the rest of the game.

For help finding materials around Pywel, see our guide on how to get Iron Ore in Crimson Desert for a primer on resource gathering.

Tips for Using Faded Abyss Artifacts Wisely

Save your game before every respec. Open the pause menu and make a manual save. Then respec and test your new build on some low-level enemies. If you hate the results, reload the save and your Faded Abyss Artifact is returned. This is the smartest way to experiment without waste.

Don’t respec on a whim. These are rare items early in the game. Use one when you genuinely need to fix a build or adapt to a tough challenge — not just because you saw a skill that looks cool.

Plan your rebuild before you reset. Once you reset, you have a blank slate and a pile of Abyss Artifacts. Without a plan, it is easy to make the same mistakes again. Spend a minute thinking about which skills you actually need before you click anything.

You can now respec one character at a time. Since Patch 2.00.00, resetting Kliff leaves Damiane and Oongka completely untouched. There is no longer any need to screenshot or write down companion builds before resetting — only the character you are currently playing is affected.

Use Witch vendors to top up before boss fights. When a tough boss is blocking your progress and your current build is not working, buy two or three Faded Abyss Artifacts from a Witch vendor, respec into a stronger combat loadout, and try again.

What Respec Is Actually For in Crimson Desert

Respeccing is not just a mistake-fixer. It is a genuine strategy tool.

Certain critical combat skills — like Blinding Flash Finisher and Evasive Slash — require an Abyss Artifact to unlock. If the game’s difficulty spikes and you find yourself locked out of these skills because you spent your points elsewhere, a respec lets you reclaim those Artifacts and put them exactly where they need to go.

Think of it as a strategic pivot. You are not undoing a mistake — you are adapting your loadout to meet a new challenge.

Since Patch 2.00.00, this is even more flexible. With per-character respec, you can fine-tune one character’s build in response to a specific challenge without disturbing the others. If a boss fight is demanding a different approach from Kliff, reset Kliff, rebuild for the fight, and Damiane and Oongka stay exactly as you left them.

To understand how each character plays and which skills are worth prioritizing, check out our full Crimson Desert review and all main story quests and chapters guide.

Related Crimson Desert Guides

Crimson Desert is available on PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, and Epic Games. Visit the official Crimson Desert website for the latest updates.

FAQs — How to Respec in Crimson Desert

Q: How do you respec in Crimson Desert?

A: Open the Skills menu for the character you want to reset and hold F (PC), Square (PlayStation), or X (Xbox) to trigger the Reset All option. You need at least one Faded Abyss Artifact in your inventory for the option to be available. One Faded Abyss Artifact is consumed, and all the Abyss Artifacts or Abyss Links that character spent are fully refunded. As of Patch 2.00.00, only the active character’s skill tree is reset — the other characters are unaffected.

Q: Where do you get Faded Abyss Artifacts in Crimson Desert?

A: There are several sources. Your first comes from a chest in Hernand Castle during the Chapter 1 quest “Trace,” and another drops as a reward for completing Chapter 1. After that, you can find them in treasure chests in the Abyss, buy them from Witch vendors (unlocked in Chapter 3) for 2.85 Silver each, earn them from Sealed Abyss Artifact challenges, and craft them at a Cauldron once you unlock the blueprint in Chapter 4.

Q: Does respec reset all characters in Crimson Desert?

A: No — not since Patch 2.00.00. Each playable character (Kliff, Damiane, and Oongka) now has independent skill progression. Resetting one character leaves the others completely untouched. Previously, all three trees were wiped simultaneously, but this was changed in the August 2026 update.

Q: Are any skills kept after respeccing in Crimson Desert?

A: Yes — skills unlocked through the “watch and learn” mechanic are permanent. Since these skills never cost an Abyss Artifact, they are not refunded and stay with your characters through every reset.

Q: How do you craft Faded Abyss Artifacts in Crimson Desert?

A: You need to unlock the blueprint first. In Chapter 4, visit the Scholastone Research Institute and complete the research project “Research on the Abyss Energy Restoration Phenomenon” with vendor Grunvar. This takes 8 real-world hours and costs 12 Silver. Once learned, craft them at any Witch’s Cauldron using 1x Abyss Cell and 2x Mercury.

Q: What are Abyss Links and how do they relate to respeccing?

A: Abyss Links are a new resource added in Patch 2.00.00. When Kliff spends Abyss Artifacts to learn skills, Damiane and Oongka each automatically receive an equal number of Abyss Links. Companions spend their own Links to learn skills independently. When you respec a companion, only their Links are refunded — Kliff’s Artifact pool is unaffected.