How to Solve the Duskwood Waterside Ruins Puzzle in Crimson Desert

Crimson Desert is not a game that shies away from a good puzzle. It almost feels like no matter where you go in the game, you are bound to run into some sort of perplexing situation that you will need to use your abilities to solve.

One of the keys to the fast travel system in the game is to solve puzzles in ancient ruins. These will then unlock Abyss Cressets that you can teleport to in the future. One such Abyss Cresset can be found at the Duskwood Waterside Ruins.

Let's break down how to solve the Duskwood Waterside Ruins puzzle in Crimson Desert.​​​​​​​

Duskwood Waterside Ruins Location

The Duskwood Waterside Ruins are located in the northern part of Hernand. When trying to find these ruins, you can head west of the main town and follow the river.

Following the river will take you directly to the Waterside Ruins. If you want a faster means of reaching the location, you can fast travel to the Kilnden Workshop after the first part of chapter four.

During this time, you will fix the kiln and create a Kuku Pot. If you travel northwest of the Kilnden Workshop, you will come across the Waterside Ruins on the edge of the river.

You will know when you reach the Duskwood Waterside Ruins because the entire area will look similar to a checkerboard or a board for the game Go, complete with black and white stones covering the area.

Duskwood Waterside Ruins Puzzle Solution

The board is meant to represent the game called Go. In this game, the goal is to maximize the space your pieces have captured on the board.

When facing the puzzle and river directly, you will see that there is a line of white stones on the left side of the board. This line of white stones is broken up either by an empty space or by a crablike creature.

The first time we visited this location, there was a crablike creature with moss on its back taking up the space, but it was gone the second time. If the creature is there, you can simply kick it to flip it over and get it to scurry away. You can also take the opportunity to kill it.

With the crab creature out of the way, go to the back of the puzzle, near where the small pillars and Abyss Cresset are located. Here, you can find an extra white stone.

Pick up this stone and place it in the empty space where the line of white stones is. This will complete the puzzle. Additionally, you can complete the puzzle by picking up the white stone to the left of the line of white stones and placing it in the empty space.

Both solutions will result in the puzzle being completed. It is important to note that other stones will not result in the puzzle being completed. We tested a few stones, and it appears that only these two will complete the puzzle.

Once completed, you can interact with the Abyss Cresset near the river to unlock this location as a fast-travel point.