Slot Abyss Gear (socket items) into your weapons and armor to gain bonus effects that strengthen your build in Crimson Desert.
How to unlock Abyss Gear
You cannot use Abyss Gear until you unlock the Witch of Wisdom questline. The questline becomes available after completing Chapter 5 – Exposed Plot. During the first quest you will meet Elowen, the NPC who handles all Abyss Core services.
Once you have access to Elowen, the process is:
- Talk to Elowen and select Create Socket to add sockets to a piece of equipment (costs Silver; price increases per additional socket)
- Collect the Abyss Core you want from drops or vendors
- Return to Elowen and Embed the core into the socketed gear
- To swap cores, use the Extract option to remove an embedded core without destroying it
Note that Cloaks and Accessories cannot receive sockets.
Max sockets per equipment slot
| Item type | Max slots |
|---|---|
| Two-Handed Weapon | 5 |
| Ranged Weapon | 5 |
| One-Handed Weapon | 3 |
| Body | 3 |
| Off-Hand | 2 |
| Gloves | 2 |
| Boots | 2 |
| Head | 1 |
All Abyss Gear
| Core | Effect | Compatible gear |
|---|---|---|
| Aegis I | Damage Reduction 1.0 | Armor, Shields |
| Breath of Life I | Health +1/sec | Armor |
| Crow’s Pursuit | Summons a murder of crows to viciously attack nearby enemies | Melee Weapons |
| Destruction I | Attack +1 | Weapons, Gloves, Footwear |
| Destruction II | Attack +2 | Weapons, Gloves, Footwear |
| Fortification I | Defense 3 | Armor, Shields |
| Fortitude I | Guard Stamina Cost -3.0% | Shields, Gloves, Footwear |
| Frostward I | Ice Resistance Lv 1 | Armor |
| Gale I | Attack Speed Lv 1 | – |
| Gale II | Attack Speed Lv 2 | – |
| Gourmet III | Food Effect Lv +3 | Armor |
| Haste I | Movement Speed Lv 1 | Armor |
| Howling of Chaos | Emits a sonic shockwave that applies Confusion to nearby enemies | Melee Weapons, Shields |
| Insight I | Critical Rate Lv 1 | Weapons, Gloves, Footwear |
| Momentum | +35% Turning Slash Damage | Armor |
| Rampaging Insight | Critical Hit Chance +10 | – |
| Shockward I | Lightning Resistance Lv 1 | Armor |
| Slashing Reeds | Scatters a deadly flurry of reeds, dealing damage to enemies hit | Armor |
| Spirit Transference | Spirit Siphon Lv 1 | Weapons |
| Stamina Transference | Stamina Siphon Lv 1 | Weapons |
| Swift I | Attack Speed Lv 1 | Weapons, Gloves, Footwear |
| Vigor I | Stamina Regen +2% | Armor |
| Vitality I | Health +0.2 every 1 sec | Armor |
| Wind Slash | Unleashes forward a blade of wind that cuts through enemies | Melee Weapons |
Best Abyss Gear picks
For early game, prioritize these four:
| Core | Effect | Why it’s good |
|---|---|---|
| Wind Slash | Unleashes forward a blade of wind that cuts through enemies | Free AoE damage skill on your melee weapon |
| Momentum | +35% Turning Slash Damage | Directly boosts a core attack pattern |
| Vigor I | Stamina Regen +2% | Keeps stamina available for dodges and combos |
| Gourmet III | Food Effect Lv +3 | Amplifies healing and buffs from all food items |
These honorable mentions are also strong depending on your playstyle:
| Core | Effect | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Swift I | Attack Speed Lv 1 | Stack to Lv 5 for a significant DPS increase |
| Aegis I | Damage Reduction 1.0 | Reliable passive survivability |
| Vitality I | Health +0.2 every 1 sec | Consistent passive healing |
| Frostward I | Ice Resistance Lv 1 | Swap in against cold-environment or ice-type enemies |
Pro tip: Always extract cores before upgrading or discarding old gear. Cores are not consumed on extraction and can be re-slotted into your next piece of equipment for free.
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