Crimson Desert Mount & Travel Guide: Fast Travel Unlock

Table of Contents

1. Preparation Checklist
2. Mount Types & Acquisition
3. Taming Mechanics — Wild, Purchase, and Theft
4. Mount Leveling & Skill Tree
5. Abyss Nexus Fast Travel System
6. Important Notes
7. Rewards & Milestones
8. Final Take
9. Needs Verification

---

Preparation Checklist

Mounts in Crimson Desert aren’t cosmetic — they’re your primary traversal tool, a combat platform, and the key to reaching collectibles that define 100% completion. The difference between a player who explores efficiently and one who spends half their playthrough riding in circles comes down to mount knowledge.

What you need before optimizing:

• Completed the prologue (Herspia auto-granted)
• At least Level 5 stamina for extended galloping
• Access to a stable (first stable available at Howling Hill camp)
• Guiding Light skill unlocked (required for Abyss Nexus discovery)

Priority order:

1. Tame a Priden as your primary mount (best all-around stats)
2. Unlock Abyss Nexus waypoints in your current region
3. Level your mount to Level 5 for double jump (unlocks vertical collectibles)
4. Hunt legendary horses for endgame traversal dominance

Practical note: I spent my first ten hours on the free Herspia before discovering wild Pridens. The handling difference is night and day — Herspia feels like driving a bus, Priden feels like riding a sports car. Switch early.

---

Mount Types & Acquisition

Herspia — The Starter Mount

Acquisition: Auto-granted after the prologue during the “Unknown Space” mission.

Stats:

• Baseline across all categories
• Functional but unremarkable
• Serves as your mount until you find something better

Verdict: Herspia gets you through the tutorial. Replace it the moment you encounter a wild Priden or reach a stable.

Priden — The All-Rounder

Stats:

Attribute	Value
Health	400
Stamina	195
Attack	10
Defense	60
Speed	1
Acceleration	1
Handling	2
Jump Power	2

Acquisition methods:

• Wild taming (recommended): Docile temperament — approach directly without startling. The taming minigame is straightforward compared to legendary horses.
• Stable purchase: Stables occasionally stock Pridens for silver coins. Not worth the cost when wild ones are free.
• Theft: Requires a mask. Increases wanted level. Only useful if you need one immediately and can’t find a wild spawn.

Key advantage: The Priden’s handling and jump power ratings (2 vs. 1 for other standard breeds) make it the only standard mount capable of the Level 5 double jump. This ability unlocks vertical collectibles that other mounts simply cannot reach.

Brianto — The Speed Demon

Stats: Higher speed and acceleration than Priden, but lower handling and jump power.

Acquisition: Damiane’s innate companion when she joins in Chapter 3. Wild variants also roam the map.

Best use case: Long-distance travel on flat terrain. If your priority is getting from point A to point B as fast as possible on roads, the Brianto wins. For everything else — exploration, combat, vertical access — the Priden is superior.

Legendary Horses

Stats: Significantly higher across all categories compared to standard breeds.

Acquisition: Wild encounters in remote locations. These mounts flee on sight and resist fiercely during taming. The minigame is substantially harder — the horse bucks violently, and you must maintain opposite-direction input for an extended duration.

Taming tip: Use a top-down camera angle during legendary taming. The erratic bucking movements are much easier to track from above. If you lose track of a legendary horse’s location, fast travel away and return — it will respawn.

---

Taming Mechanics

Wild Taming Process

Step-by-step:

1. Locate a wild horse (roams open plains, does not require stealth for standard breeds)
2. Position your camera directly behind the animal
3. Approach while holding backward (S key / left stick down)
4. Mount triggers the taming minigame
5. Push the control stick in the opposite direction of the horse’s head movement
6. Fill the taming meter to complete

Standard breeds (Priden, Herspia): Docile. Approach directly. Minigame is forgiving.

Legendary breeds: Flee on sight. Must chase and corner. Minigame features violent bucking with rapid direction changes. Top-down camera strongly recommended.

Stealing Mounted Horses

You can take horses from NPCs and thieves. This requires:

• Equipping a face mask (purchased from merchants)
• Accepting increased wanted level
• Potential hostility from nearby guards

Practical note: Stealing a mount in town triggers guards. If you’re not prepared for a fight, avoid this method. Wild taming is free, safe, and doesn’t affect your reputation.

Mount Recovery

Injured mounts can be healed through:

• Horse Tonic consumable (instant recovery)
• Force Palm: Healing ability (if your build includes it)
• Returning to stable (full recovery, free)

---

Mount Leveling & Skill Tree

How Leveling Works

Mounts gain experience passively as you ride them across the world. There’s no dedicated “mount XP” menu — just ride, and the levels come.

Critical rule: Experience does not carry over between mounts. If you switch from a Priden to a Brianto, the Brianto starts at Level 1. Choose your primary mount early and stick with it.

Skill Progression by Level

Level	Skills Unlocked
2	Sprint (movement speed boost)
3	Drift (high-speed sliding), Hind Kick (combat skill — strikes enemies behind you)
4	Gallop (extreme speed)
5	Swimming III (faster aquatic travel), Quick Start (rapid acceleration), High Jump, Double Jump

The Level 5 double jump is the signature ability. It allows a second leap mid-air, granting access to elevated platforms, cliff-side collectibles, and secret locations that are otherwise unreachable. This is the single most important mount skill for 100% completion.

Leveling Strategy

Fastest path to Level 5:

1. Set your chosen mount as default immediately after taming
2. Use it for all travel — no switching to other horses
3. Complete equestrian quests when available (bonus XP)
4. Explore aggressively — distance traveled is the primary XP source

Estimated time: Reaching Level 5 takes approximately 8-10 hours of active riding. Players who prioritize exploration over fast travel level mounts faster because they cover more distance.

Stable Upgrades

Visit any stable to equip gear:

• Saddles — improve stamina efficiency while galloping
• Horseshoes — boost speed or handling depending on type
• Armor — increases mount defense (reduces damage taken during combat)

Gear is purchasable from stables or obtainable as loot drops. Higher-tier gear requires the camp’s mercenary management system to produce through specialized workshops.

---

Abyss Nexus Fast Travel System

Network Overview

The Abyss Nexus consists of 46 circular stone pads distributed across all five regions of Pywel. Once activated, they form a free fast travel network with no currency or energy cost.

Before activation: Blank white markers on the map After activation: Sapphire blue icons — permanently unlocked

How to Find and Activate

Step 1 — Scan with Guiding Light: Your sword’s Guiding Light skill highlights nearby Nexus pads with a distinct azure aura. Without this scan, the pads are nearly invisible in the environment.

Step 2 — Locate the physical pad: Follow the aura to the stone disc. They’re typically placed at elevated positions, crossroads, or near points of interest.

Step 3 — Stand and wait: Remain motionless on the disc for 2-3 seconds. The pad activates and the map icon changes color.

Troubleshooting:

• If activation fails, move approximately 50 meters away to reset any hidden enemy aggro, then retry
• Some pads are guarded by enemies — defeat them first
• Certain end-game pads require story progression to access

Travel Restrictions

Fast travel is blocked during:

• Active combat (must disengage completely)
• Swimming (must reach shore)
• Certain narrative sequences (follow the story prompt)
• Mounted on a horse (must dismount first)

Integration with Mount System

The most efficient traversal strategy combines mounts with fast travel:

1. Fast travel to the nearest Abyss Nexus to your destination
2. Mount your horse for the remaining distance
3. Explore the area on foot for collectibles
4. Return to mount and ride to the next Nexus point

This hybrid approach eliminates the 15-minute cross-continent rides while maintaining the exploration benefits of mounted travel.

Hot Air Balloon (Late Game)

At Tier 4 of the camp upgrade system, you unlock a hot air balloon that functions as a mobile fast travel point. This connects to the Grey Mane camp and provides aerial access to locations that even double-jump mounts can’t reach.

The Wyvern Sanctum is one of the key destinations accessible through this expanded travel network — combining fast travel access with unique rewards.

---

Important Notes

Mount permanence is a community pain point. Players have requested that mounts become permanent companions rather than requiring re-summoning. As of the current version, your tamed horse persists but can be lost if killed in combat. Keep armor equipped and avoid riding into high-level enemy zones.

The Brianto vs. Priden debate comes down to one question: Do you value straight-line speed or all-around capability? For exploration and 100% completion, Priden wins because of double jump. For players who mostly travel on roads between quest markers, Brianto’s speed advantage matters more.

Legendary horses are worth the hunt. Their stat advantage over standard breeds is significant — but the taming difficulty means you should attempt it with a saved game nearby. Failed taming attempts spook the horse, and it may not respawn immediately.

Swimming III at Level 5 is underrated. Most players focus on double jump and ignore the swimming upgrade. But several Abyss Nexus points and secret locations require crossing water. A mount that swims at full speed saves enormous detour time.

Stable gear matters more than you’d expect. A Priden with a speed saddle and handling horseshoes outperforms a stock Brianto in most scenarios. Don’t skip stable upgrades — they transform a good mount into a great one.

---

Rewards & Milestones

Traversal milestones:

• First mount tamed — basic mobility upgrade
• All Hernand Nexus points unlocked — regional fast travel
• Mount reaches Level 5 — double jump unlocks vertical collectibles
• All 46 Nexus points activated — complete fast travel network
• Legendary horse tamed — best-in-slot mount stats
• Hot air balloon unlocked — camp-based aerial travel

Exploration rewards tied to mount access:

• 15+ secret locations require double jump to reach
• 8+ Abyss Nexus points are in elevated positions needing mount mobility
• Several Witch Sanctum shortcuts require galloping speed to access before quest timers

---

Final Take

Mounts and fast travel are the arteries of Crimson Desert’s open world. The Abyss Nexus network eliminates tedious cross-map rides, while the mount leveling system rewards players who invest time in their equine companion.

Get a Priden early. Set it as your default and never switch. Level it to 5 for double jump — this single ability opens up 30% more collectible locations. Then unlock every Abyss Nexus point in each region before moving on.

The players who master traversal early spend less time riding and more time fighting, exploring, and progressing. The map is huge. Your time isn’t. Optimize both.

---