You’ll need gold in Crimson Desert if you want to start making serious money, though like with much else in Pywel, the game isn’t too keen to tell you how it all works. Gold ore, for example, is a means to an end. Gold bars are what’ll make you money – if you invest, anyway.
Below, we explain where to find gold ore in Crimson Desert and how to get gold bars.
Gold ore locations in Crimson Desert
Crimson Desert has a handful of gold ore mines, though as they tend to be spread further apart and in harder-to-find areas compared to more standard ore, we’re still tracking them down. The map below will be updated as we find more.
Anvil Hill is your best bet for early-game gold ore farming, as the mine there has about 20 pieces of ore. However, we also found a small deposit of about eight to 10 pieces of gold ore in the far north of Demeniss and west Tashkalp, north of Deadfire Mountain. It’s behind a waterfall, which you have to access using the stab skill to pierce through the water and Force Palm to bust the rock blocking the way. It is, in other words, not a convenient location, though an Abyss Nexus fast travel point to the north makes returning a little less of a hassle.
In our experience, gold ore respawns at the same rate as other minerals – once every seven in-game days. One in-game day takes about two real-world hours, so that’s 14 hours for gold to respawn. You can rest at a bed to pass some time, though there’s a lengthy period afterward where you can’t sleep again. If you can leave the game running idle while time passes, that’s one way to move forward quickly.
How to get gold bars in Crimson Desert
You’ve got a couple of ways to get gold bars, though most of them aren’t exactly legal. The above-board way is to get the gold bar recipe from the Spire of Insight and then have a blacksmith create a gold bar using 100 pieces of gold ore. That’s a lot of ore, though, so it’s not an ideal method.
You can get one gold bar from the fireplace on the first floor of Lioncrest Manor northwest of Hernand Town. It’s thievery, though, so you’ll need to wear a mask. Enter a window on the second floor, avoid being spotted by guards, and approach the fireplace on the ground floor. Extinguish the fire, then shine your lantern on it. The “open” option will still be greyed out, but you’ll have the option to steal instead, and that’s what gets you the gold bar.
The better way to get gold bars in Crimson Desert, though, is stealing them. There’s a chance any “noble” NPC will be holding a gold bar, and you can then pickpocket them to obtain it. However, it is just a chance. There’s no way to guarantee nobles will spawn with gold bars in their possession. There is a way to give yourself more opportunities, though.
South of Demeniss City is the Wildlife Park, and every day and night, the park is full of noble visitors wearing rabbit and ram hats. Any of them has a chance to be carrying a gold bar. It might take a while before you spot one, but this location is the best place to try your luck getting gold bars and means you don’t have to spend any ore. There’s an Abyss Nexus fast travel point at the north end of the park, so make sure to activate that. When you teleport back to it, it seems to “reset” the NPCs.
If you invest one gold bar at the bank in Hernand, you can open an investment account. Choose the “medium risk” option for the best chance of earning high interest without losing much money.
For more help in Crimson Desert, check out our Dragon Stone Chamber puzzle solution guide, along with how to clear the fog from Crimson Desert’s map. We’ve also got tips for tracking down the Blix bounty and Bianca bounty, if you’re struggling with those.