Cracking the Duskwood Hill Ruins Puzzle in Crimson Desert

The Duskwood Hill Ruins puzzle in Crimson Desert is one of the trickiest Mysterious Energy trials you’ll encounter. Nestled in the northern Witchwoods, this challenge can be quite frustrating as you grapple with the controls while trying to position all the pillars correctly. It can feel like a real headache.

However, knowing the solution can make things much smoother. Here’s a breakdown of how to tackle the Duskwood puzzle so you can avoid the same struggles I faced.

When you first approach the Duskwood Hill Ruins, the puzzle will be obscured by vines. Use nearby fires to ignite an arrow or employ Blinding Flash to burn away the vines and expose the puzzle mechanisms. If you’ve already started messing around with it, I suggest reloading a previous save to reset the puzzle.

Your objective is to align all five pillars to the same height, using the left-most pillar as a reference since it can’t be moved. Once they’re aligned, one of the pillars will glow yellow. Each pillar is divided into tiered sections, which can help guide your adjustments.

To adjust the pillars, use the stab attack to create a handle for the dial with your sword—each notch on the dial will move a different set of pillars. You can execute the stab attack by pressing shift and right-click (RB and triangle/Y on a controller).

From your starting position facing the five pillars (which I’ll label 1 through 5 from left to right), move the dial as follows:

If things aren’t aligning, you may have miscalibrated the first or second step, so go back to that notch, stab it, and make slight adjustments to those pillars. If you find yourself confused, don’t hesitate to reload your save and give it another shot—this puzzle can be quite finicky.

Once you complete the puzzle, you’ll earn an Abyss Cresset, which grants you an Abyss Artifact—essentially a skill point.