How To Get The Vow Of The Dead King Halberd In Crimson Desert

There are a lot of cool weapons and armor you can easily miss while playing through Crimson Desert. From flashy-looking cloaks to powerful early-game weapons, it's easy to overlook a lot of the best items since you're never directed towards them.

One of these is the Vow of the Dead King, which is a two-handed weapon that not only dishes out some solid damage, but comes with some very strong Abyss Gear. While it's located in a region you won't visit for a while, you can actually grab this item fairly early on if you're confident in your ability to fight a horde of generally weak enemies.

Vow Of The Dead King Location

The Vow of the Dead King is located in the northern region of Pailune, just east of the Wayward Woods in the mountains. Hidden in Frostveiled Castle, you'll need to ride north and climb over some mountains if you want to reach this location. Now, the journey can be a bit treacherous, as there are packs of wolves roaming around and even some enemies that will ambush you in the Wayward Woods.

However, you can ride by most of these, and I recommend ignoring them if you have only been playing for a few hours. Also, it's important to note that the cold weather will also sap your stamina much faster. This can make climbing the mountains and rocky areas much trickier. Because of this, take your time and always keep an eye out for spots where you can stand to replenish your stamina.

You will be looking for a large ruined structure nestled between multiple mountains. Just head exactly to where my marker in the photo above and you'll find the castle.

How To Get The Vow Of The Dead King

Getting the Vow of the Dead King is going to be a little trickier than some of the other weapons and armor items you can rush to snag early on. When you arrive, you'll need to first clear out the area of a few dozen bandits that have taken over the castle ruins. Now, the bandits themselves are all fairly easy to kill, but their sheer numbers can make it difficult if you're new.

For reference, I went to this area around the mid-point of Chapter 3 and didn't have too much trouble dealing with all of them. Make good use of your kick and Force Palm to push back large waves of enemies in front of you. The Focused Repulsion ability is also great for this, since it hits all enemies around you in a 360-degree radius.

Once all the bandits are dead, look for a staircase that descends into the depths of the castle. Equip your lantern and walk slowly, as parts of the ceiling are unstable and will drop rocks onto your head if you're not careful. You will know when this is about to happen when your lantern glows red. If you see this, quickly move back in the direction you came to avoid being bonked on the noggin.

Your first obstacle will be several sets of spikes blocking your path. To avoid these, climb along either wall and shimmy across the gap so you can avoid them. So long as you don't run out of stamina, you won't fall into the pit. Don't worry about the torches either; they won't set you on fire even if you climb over them.

When you pass the spikes, continue down the stairs and avoid the falling rocks from above. Next, perform a double jump by pressing R3 after you jump to launch yourself into the air. Once you've gained enough height, just glide across the gap to the door on the other side.

You'll reach an area with two flame traps; the first you can duck under while the second can be jumped over if you get a running start. Alternatively, you can just sprint right through the fire as it actually doesn't do a lot of damage — especially if you have any fire resistance gear on.

Your last big obstacle will be two large rock worms. Unlike the bandits, these are much more dangerous and can kill you if you're not careful. Now, you can either avoid fighting these enemies by hooking a right the moment you enter the room with them and going through the door. If you want to battle these enemies, you'll want to be careful of their swipe attack as it does quite a bit of damage and will knock you down.

Focus on playing defensively until they launch their attack, then quickly move in for a few strikes before backing off. You can brute force them by just hacking away if you are a higher level, but if this is a weapon you're trying to get early on, I recommend just avoiding the worms altogether.

Finally, when you arrive at the end of the hall, you'll find an unlit lantern next to a set of metal bars. Light the fire in the lantern by approaching it and holding interact to lower the grate. Inside, you will find the Vow of the Dead King halberd, which you can pick up and immediately equip.

The Vow of the Dead King is a weapon with a base 16 Attack, Critical Rate level 3, and is refinement level 2. Where this weapon really shines is the Abyss Gear attached, as the 4% damage increase to humanoids, walkers, and mighty foes is a great damage boost. This makes it fantastic for fighting a lot of the enemies you'll encounter throughout the game, as humanoids are probably the most common enemy you'll encounter.

I do recommend refining the halberd as soon as possible to ensure that the base damage is increased so it can align with other two-handed weapons you will come across.