Best Kliff Abilities and Weapons in Crimson Desert

There are three playable characters in Crimson Desert: Kliff, Damian, and Oongka. Each of these characters have their own unique skill trees, armor, and weapons.

For the majority of your playthrough, you will be playing as Kliff, the main protagonist of the game. In fact, it's mandatory to play the main quest as Kliff, with some exceptions in the second half of the game. The further you get into the game, the more difficult it gets, so it's important to have the best Kliff build so you're ready for the challenge ahead.

This guide will explain how to make the best Kliff build in Crimson Desert as it will explain the best skills to unlock, which Abyss Cores you should socket into your equipment, and which weapons and armor offer the most attack power and defense.

Best Skills

Crimson Desert offers a very diverse skill tree, making it confusing to know which ones to unlock first. There are a handful of skills that are an absolute must to make Kliff as efficient as possible in combat. You will want to unlock the following:

• Nature's Echo: Creates an illusion that replicates your attacks.
• Forward Slash: Take a strong step forward and deliver a powerful slash.
• Shield Bash: Strike your opponent with your shield and block oncoming attacks.
• Turning Slash: Perform a spinning overhead strike that sends enemies flying.
• Keen Senses: Unlocks the ability to Counter, Parry, and Perfect Dodge.

There are many more skills on Kliff's skill tree, but these five are mandatory to make him excel in all combat situations. The most important here is Keen Senses, which unlocks Parry, Dodge, and Counter, all skills that are crucial against the game's difficult bosses and hordes of enemies.

Additionally, you want to make sure that you're focusing on leveling Kliff's Stamina, Spirit, and Health periodically as you collect Abyss Artifacts. Out of the three, upgrading Health is the most important.

Best Equipment

When it comes to equipment, you'll want to equip one of the weapons you receive from defeating the game's main bosses. Boss weapons are the strongest in the game and can even come with special abilities that will add additional attack patterns to your moveset.

Out of all the boss weapons I have acquired in Crimson Desert, I found the Ignir Sword to be the absolute best. This can be acquired by defeating Ludvig during the "Time to Face Justice" quest of Chapter 7.

The Ignir sword has strong base stats of 20 attack power and can be leveled up to reach a whopping 45 attack power. It also comes equipped with a whopping five Abyss Core sockets.

When it comes to armor, you will do just fine with the Bolton Plate Helm and Canta Plate Armor, which is available for purchase at the Contribution shop in Hernand. While these two pieces can be acquired pretty early in your playthrough, by spending Contribution currency, they're strong enough to last you the entire game. The helm has one Abyss Core socket, while the armor has three.

As for a shield, I recommend acquiring the Lifsoth Large Shield. This shield has a great starting defense stat of 12, can be upgraded to 35, and has two available Abyss Core sockets to make it even stronger. You can find this at the Witch's House in Hernand, through the second floor's balcony door.

As for a Cloak, I've been using the Paulenese Cloak (acquired from the Contribution shop in Pailune) because it comes equipped with Ice Resistance Lv 3, which is crucial in the second main region of the game. However, any cloak will do as they all have pretty much the same defensive stats.

Lastly, the Plate Gloves of Cursed Soul and Odeck's Protector Plate Boots are a solid choice to finish off your equipment. They both come with two sockets for Abyss Cores. Then, of course, make sure to equip any earrings and rings for a little boost in attack power and defense.

Best Abyss Cores

When it comes to Abyss Cores for Kliff in Crimson Desert, you want to focus on increasing Speed, Attack Power, and Defense. This can be done through the Swift, Destruction, and Fortification Abyss Cores, respectively.

Besides those, you also want to make sure you have the Crow's Pursuit Abyss Core socketed into your weapon, which can be acquired by defeating Crowcaller during the main story. This skill allows you to deal passive damage with every swing, as it sends out crows flying toward your opponent and dealing additional damage. You don't even have to aim the crows, they just automatically find their targets.

Also, I recommend equipping the Groundsurge Abyss Core, which adds another skill that erupts large rocks and lava from the ground. This Abyss Core can be acquired by defeating Myurdin in Chapter 7 of the main quest, and it can be very useful for crowd control. The Abyss Core can be extracted from the weapon you receive for defeating him.

Personally, I don't recommend wasting an Abyss Core slot on Haste, an Abyss Core that increases movement speed. I never used this Abyss Core and I haven't had any trouble moving around the battlefield.