How to get into Hernand Castle in Crimson Desert

Hernand Castle and the Alchemist's Chamber in Crimson Desert — (Image credit: Pearl Abyss)

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How to enter Hernand Castle
How to find the alchemist's chamber

Getting into Hernand Castle and finding the alchemist's chamber in Crimson Desert is one of the first story objectives this massive open-world game gives you, and probably the first that might leave you scratching your head looking for a solution. But fear not, the next steps don't take too long to complete.

Gaining entry into the castle is as easy as performing a quick costume change, and finding the alchemist's chamber after that just involves a little trial and error by trying to open a bunch of doors. Even if it seems like there's one very specific guarded door you have to enter instead. To help you clear this quest as soon as possible and continue the main story (or try your hand at the many other activities available in the game), here's exactly how to get into Hernand Castle and find the alchemist's chamber.

How to enter Hernand Castle in Crimson Desert

You have to equip the Hernandian Attire armor before talking to the guards to get into Hernand Castle in Crimson Desert. This is the upper armor you get after helping the distressed villagers by cleaning the chimney, right before you get the task to go to Hernand Castle. When you're ready to equip the armor, simply open the main menu, tab over to Kliff's inventory, then locate the Hernandian Attire and press the equip button. To help distinguish it, the armor is marked as a key item with a purple background.

If you're not already there, now you can follow the objective marker to reach the first entrance to Hernand Castle, north of where you find yourself after helping the distressed villagers with their chimney situation. The exact location is shown in the map image above.

Now that Kliff passes the "You don't look like a bad sort" test, walk up to the guards by the gates of Hernand Castle. They will give Kilff a little inspection, then open the gate and let him in. Keep the Hernandian Attire on and follow the path up and to the right to find another gate, and another set of guards to go along with it. As long as you still have the Hernandian Attire armor on, they'll give Kliff one last look over before letting him through. (It's amazing what one not-that-different-looking shirt will do for a man's reputation.)

Now go up the stairs and follow the path forward to enter the inside of Hernand Castle, past the well and a group of guards. You can have a little peek at what's on this floor, if you're not in a rush, but to get to your next objective and clear the 'go to Hernand Castle' task, you have to go up the stairs on the right as you enter the inside of the castle (pictured above). At the top of the stairs, go through the entrance in front of Kliff and take a right to enter a big room and obtain the 'Find the alchemist's chamber' task.

How to find the alchemist's chamber in Crimson Desert

To find the alchemist's chamber in Crimson Desert, you have to go through the first door on the left as you enter the room that gives you the 'find the alchemist's chamber' task. We've marked the correct door with a circle in the picture above, and provided the exact location of the room in the map picture.

Although it may seem like the guard in the middle is blocking the entrance into the alchemist's chamber, that's not where the next story objective lies, so you can ignore them for now. That said, you might want to stand in front of the guard long enough before you enter the correct door, until they start talking about the Marquis, as this will unlock the 'Alan Serkis' Prominent Resident entry in the Knowledge tab.

Once inside the alchemist's chamber, examine the shining treasure chest on the floor to add the 'Faded Abyss Artifact' to your inventory. This opens the Abyss Gate inside the same room. All you have to do now is go through this Abyss Gate to complete the overarching 'Mystical Key' quest, and start the 'Polar Opposites' quest to make your way towards the Abyss Cell puzzle.