Two weeks after the release of Crimson Desert, many players are still hanging around the starting area of the open-world adventure. One player now thinks it’s time to see the world.
Why do players spend so much time in the first area? Crimson Desert establishes Hernand as the starting area right at the beginning of the game, along with many quests that can help the residents and factions there. Building up your own faction, including a base, can also keep players busy for dozens of hours.
Accordingly, few players are dedicating themselves to the campaign. Looking at the Steam achievements, only 8% of players had completed Chapter 7 of Crimson Desert as of April 2, 2026, at 9:00 AM. This means that 92% are still primarily engaged in Hernand in terms of the story.
However, despite Crimson Desert offering so much in the first area, one player warns to venture into the other regions before it’s too late.
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Beware of Gaming Burnout
What does the player warn about? When you spend hundreds of hours in a game, everything eventually feels very familiar. Especially with large open-world games, many players never make it to the end because they can get lost in the thousand little details.
On Reddit, a gamer warns exactly about this phenomenon in Crimson Desert. Before players set the open-world adventure aside, they should, according to itsthatdudelmao, definitely venture into the other regions on Reddit.
Not only does Crimson Desert already bear an important region in its name, but the variety that the game world offers outside of the very classically shaped fantasy landscape of Hernand is, according to the player, beautiful.
For this reason, he shares pictures he took while traveling through the other regions of Crimson Desert.
How does the community respond to the player’s request? Players know exactly what the warning user is talking about and are somewhat weighing themselves in excuses:
- HOPewerth: “I will do it, I swear! I just need to finish these last few quests….”
- Frosty-Cap3344: “Just one more waterfall I need to check……”
- Sea-Split-3996: “I have been wandering around, doing side quests, exploring, building my camp, I’m now at 40 hours in Chapter 5”
Player echolog explains on Reddit when the best time is to leave the starting area: “The answer is: Chapter 7. Everything before that serves to prepare you for the rest of the game, teach you the game mechanics, introduce you to the world, and so on. Every chapter from Chapter 7 leads you into a new zone and unlocks the rest of the world for you. Have fun!”
Just the name Crimson Desert tells players that there is more to discover than just Hernand. The scope of the title is simply massive, and those who put the game down without seeing the world outside of Hernand are truly missing out. The story also sends you on journeys: “Kliff” reveals the truth behind the story of Crimson Desert, explaining: Without him, things would have been even worse
