15 Beginner Mistakes to Avoid - New Player Guide
Updated 2026-08-06 - 12 min read
Do Not Make These Mistakes
Every new player makes mistakes. That is normal. But some mistakes waste hours of time or thousands of gold that could have been easily avoided.
Here are the 15 most common beginner mistakes in Crimson Desert and how you can avoid them.
1. Skipping the Tutorial
Biggest mistake number one. Players skip the tutorial and then struggle with basic combat for the next 10 hours.
Fix: Do the tutorial. Pay attention to dodging, parrying, and skill combos. These are not tutorial-only mechanics.
2. Not Upgrading Your Weapon
So many players run around with a level 0 weapon because they are saving their stones for "later." This is a huge mistake.
Fix: Upgrade your weapon to level 5 immediately. It is 100% success rate and doubles your damage. There is no reason to wait.
3. Wasting Skill Points
New players often spread their skill points everywhere, unlocking a little bit of everything. This leaves you with a bunch of weak abilities instead of a few strong ones.
Fix: Focus your skill points. Pick 3-4 core abilities and max them first before branching out. A maxed skill is way better than 5 level 1 skills.
4. Ignoring Parrying
A lot of new players just dodge everything and never learn to parry. This works for early game but falls off hard later.
Fix: Practice parrying on weak enemies from the very start. The earlier you build the habit, the easier everything becomes.
5. Selling Everything
New players love to vendor every item they pick up. Then later they need those exact items for crafting or quests and have to farm them again.
Fix: Keep at least one stack of every common material. Storage is cheap. You will thank yourself later when a crafting quest needs 50 iron ore and you already have it.
6. Not Using Consumables
Many players hoard potions and food, saving them for "when they need it." Then they die with 50 potions in their inventory.
Fix: Use your consumables. That is what they are for. If you are fighting a tough enemy, pop a buff potion. If you are low on health, use a potion. They are meant to be used.
7. Trying to Do Everything at Once
Open world games give you infinite things to do. New players often get overwhelmed trying to do every side quest, every crafting profession, every activity.
Fix: Focus. Do the main quest first. Pick one gathering profession. Explore one area at a time. You do not need to do everything right now.
8. Ignoring the Skill Tree
The skill tree is deep and complex, so a lot of new players just ignore it entirely and use default skills.
Fix: Spend 10 minutes reading through your skill tree. Understand what each skill does. Experiment with different builds. The skill tree is where most of your power comes from.
9. Not Repairing Gear
It is easy to forget about gear durability when you are having fun. But broken gear gives zero stats, and you will notice the difference immediately.
Fix: Get in the habit of repairing every time you visit town. It is cheap and takes 10 seconds. Never go out with broken gear.
10. Underestimating Defense
New players love to stack pure damage. Then they get one-shot by every boss and wonder why.
Fix: Balance your stats. Some defense and HP goes a long way. A dead character does zero damage. Aim for a build where you can survive at least 2-3 hits from bosses.
11. Not Using Mounts Efficiently
Many players get a mount and then never use it because they forget it exists or think it is slower than running.
Fix: Bind your mount to a quickslot and use it for any travel longer than 10 seconds. It is way faster than running, and you can loot from horseback too.
12. Skipping Side Quests
Some players only do the main quest and skip everything else. They end up underleveled and undergeared.
Fix: Do side quests, especially town quests. They are quick, give great rewards, and often unlock useful features and NPCs.
13. Not Learning Enemy Tells
Beginners just mash buttons and hope for the best. Then they get hit constantly and think the game is too hard.
Fix: Slow down. Watch enemy animations. Every attack has a tell. Once you can read tells, you can dodge or parry almost everything.
14. Hoarding Gold
Some players never spend any gold, just hoarding it for "later." Meanwhile they are running around with garbage gear because they will not buy upgrades.
Fix: Spend gold on things that make you stronger. Weapon upgrades, better gear, skill books. Gold is meant to be spent to make more gold.
15. Rushing to Endgame
A lot of new players just want to get to max level as fast as possible. Then they get to endgame and realize they do not know how to play their class.
Fix: Take your time leveling. Learn your class, practice combat, explore the world. The journey is the best part, and you will be a much better player when you reach endgame.