'Abyss Without Balance' quest walkthrough in Crimson Desert

The "Abyss Without Balance" quest in Crimson Desert starts on a floating island. From there, you must visit the Axiom Archive and restore balance to the Abyss, which is easier said than done. Jumping across tiny floating platforms to follow the Ethereal Pathway is one thing, but using abilities like Axiom Force and Force Palm to lift objects and activate lanterns is surprisingly tricky.

Here's how to complete the "Abyss Without Balance" quest and solve the first Abyss puzzle in Crimson Desert.

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How to open the Axiom Archive in Crimson Desert

You will encounter Crimson Desert's "Abyss Without Balance" quest in Chapter 1 of the main story, "The First Encounter." After passing through the shining gate in Hernand Castle, you'll find yourself on a floating island with a locked Axiom Archive tower in front of you. As part of the "Polar Opposites" quest, you must find a way into this building.

To solve the "Polar Opposites" puzzle, use the Axiom Force ability to grab and turn the two round tiles in front of the door. If you're using a controller, press and hold the left stick to aim. When you've grabbed a tile with Axiom Force, use the right stick to rotate it. If you're using a mouse and keyboard, use Tab to aim Axiom Force and the mouse for rotation.

When you grab the tile on the right (be sure to grab the outer portion of the circle), the lines pointing upward and to the right will turn blue. Your goal is to connect the pipe system through this blue line. This means you must turn the wheel 90 degrees counterclockwise. When that's done, do the same for the wheel on the left. The connection should look like this:

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How to restore the Abyss in Crimson Desert

After solving the Axiom Archive puzzle, you'll meet Alustin, who will ask you to restore balance to the Abyss as part of the Crimson Desert "Abyss Without Balance" quest. The first step is to pass through the triangle behind the tower and open the skybridge. To do so, use Axiom Force on the "alignment device" (the small pillar with the round button) and turn it.

When you hear a sizzling sound, and the stone emanates a white, lightning-like light (as shown in the picture below, left side), let go of the alignment device. A skybridge will form behind it, leading to the floating islands ahead.

Jump from platform to platform, but, if you're having a hard time reaching higher platforms, make sure to aim your jumps by holding the left bumper on the controller or Ctrl on the keyboard. When you've seemingly hit a dead end, wait for the floating platform to arrive; it'll take you to a higher island. At the end of the path, you must solve the Ethereal Pathway Abyss puzzle by removing the wall blocking the floor.

The first step is to grab the blue cube floating in the center of the puzzle area with Axiom Force, and drag it to the deactivated lantern (the stone pillar). This will remove the floor.

Drop down and grab the floating tile with Axiom Force. Drag it to the blue slot on the wall, and let go when it's roughly in the right spot. It doesn't have to be an exact fit yet. This creates an Abyss Cell.

Now, observe the shadowy figure to learn the Force Palm ability. Use Force Palm (press the right stick on a controller, or the middle mouse button on PC) on the tile you just placed on the wall to, per the "Abyss Without Balance" quest objective, combine the Abyss Cell.

When the "Abyss Without Balance" quest asks you to hang on the middle of the powered device, it's referring to the large, circular doorway. Climb to the center, then use Force Palm to activate it. This will complete Crimson Desert's "Abyss Without Balance" quest.

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'Abyss Without Balance' quest rewards

Completing the "Abyss Without Balance" quest and the subsequent "speak with the woman in white" objective will reward you with a faded abyss artifact, used to upgrade skills, and a palmar pill, which can be used to instantly revive your character when you're downed. You will also unlock flight (although it's more akin to gliding), allowing you to safely return to Hernand. Note that you may return to the Ethereal Pathway Abyss anytime using Crimson Desert's fast travel system; from there, you can solve more Abyss puzzles and unlock new skybridges.

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Just starting out in Crimson Desert? We have guides to help you learn the basics and refresh your memory on how some of its systems work. The world of Pywel is huge, so you might have a hard time deciding where to go first, but you can make your journey a little easier with the help of our interactive map. Along the way, make sure to learn a few life skills like fishing, logging, cooking, and mining, all of which can help you make money.

We also have walkthroughs for main story quests like "Familiar Curses," and puzzles in the Abyss like the Root's End.