Crimson Desert Garden of Trials Guide: How to Unlock It, How It Works, and How to Clear All 10 Groups

Pearl Abyss's official launch trailer for Charting the Unknown, the DLC that adds the Garden of Trials.

Crimson Desert Enhanced key art with Kliff holding a sword and shield — Crimson Desert Enhanced key art. The Garden of Trials is part of the Charting the Unknown DLC, not the base game.

Guide details

DLC: Charting the Unknown, $24.99, released October 29, 2026 with the free base-game patch 2.04.00.
Unlock: finish the main-story finale, Journey's End. No other quest is required.
Location: near the Axiom Archive in the Abyss, past the archive's main building.
Format: 10 groups of previously encountered bosses, fought one after another.
Party: alone, or up to 3 characters in an order you choose. Food cannot heal inside. Each cleared group enhances one existing skill.

Quick answer

Yes, if you own the DLC and finished the story. The Garden of Trials is a boss-rush arena in the Charting the Unknown DLC. Finish the main-story finale Journey's End, then go to the Axiom Archive Abyss. Inside are 10 groups of bosses you have already met. You can fight alone or bring Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane in any order you choose; when one falls, the next takes over. Food cannot heal you inside, and each group you clear enhances one of your existing skills.

1. How to unlock the Garden of Trials

The Garden is DLC content, so it is gated twice: once by owning the expansion, and once by story progress. There is no way to enter it from the base game alone, and no side quest opens it early.

Buy and install Charting the Unknown ($24.99) and update the base game to patch 2.04.00 or later. The expansion launched on October 29, 2026, and the Garden arrived with that patch.
Finish the main story. The finale quest is Journey's End. Finishing it also unlocks the three new character quests, Beyond the Margins for Kliff, Forged Resolve for Oongka, and From the Ashes for Damiane, so the Garden opens at the same point in your playthrough.
Head to the Axiom Archive Abyss. The Garden sits near the archive, past its main building, and a White Raven cutscene points the way once you are close.

2. Where it is and how to get there

The Garden of Trials is located near the Axiom Archive in the Abyss. Go past the Axiom Archive's main building and follow the White Raven cutscene that points the way. The location is fixed, and it stays available once unlocked.

Kliff standing before floating golden ruins with ancient stone architecture — The Garden of Trials sits near the Axiom Archive in the Abyss, past the archive's main building. A White Raven cutscene points the way.

3. How it works: the rules

The Garden is a straight boss rush with a relay twist. Every group is made of bosses you have already encountered in the story, fought one after another. The challenge is not learning new enemies, it is beating familiar ones back to back with limited recovery.

Swipe horizontally to view all columns.

Rule	What it means
10 groups	Ten groups of previously encountered bosses, fought one after another.
Party size	Enter alone, or bring up to all three characters: Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane.
Entry order	You choose the order your characters enter. If one falls, the next continues the battle.
No food healing	Food cannot be used for recovery inside the Garden.
Skill reward	Clearing a group enhances one of your existing skills.

The entry order is the main decision you control. Put your strongest character first to clear early groups cleanly, or save your strongest for later groups and let the others absorb the opening fights. Either way, a fallen character does not end the run, the next one steps in, so the Garden rewards having all three characters ready rather than one overpowered main.

Kliff fighting a black feathered boss with glowing red blades in a ruined arena — Every group in the Garden reuses a boss you have already met in the story, so the fights are about execution, not learning a new enemy from scratch.

4. Before you go in: preparation

Prepare all three characters, not just Kliff. Any of them may have to finish a fight alone after the others fall, so a character you never geared up becomes the weak link that ends the run. Bring your best weapons, armor, and skills for each of them before your first attempt.

Relearn the bosses before you commit. Every group reuses a boss from the story, so the attack patterns are ones you have already seen. Several of the DLC's new bosses can also be fought again with Memory Fragments outside the Garden, which is a good way to practice without spending a Garden attempt. And since food cannot heal you inside, do not plan around eating mid-fight; your survival depends on your build, your dodges, and the order you send your characters in.

One more reason not to wait: each group you clear enhances one of your existing skills, so the Garden makes your characters stronger as you go. Even if you cannot clear all 10 groups yet, the groups you do clear pay off immediately in the rest of the game.

Kliff facing a huge mechanical dragon boss in a burning ruined arena — Bring your strongest setup for all three characters. If one falls, the next has to finish the fight.

5. The 10 groups: what is known so far

Pearl Abyss has confirmed the structure, 10 groups of bosses you have already met, but has not published a per-group roster. Community lists of which boss sits in which group are still being checked, so this guide does not list them. What is confirmed is in the table below, and the table will be updated as the roster is verified.

Swipe horizontally to view all columns.

What	What is verified
Groups 1-10	Bosses you have already met in the story, fought one after another. No per-group roster published by Pearl Abyss.
Reward per group	Clearing a group enhances one of your existing skills. Exact enhancement values are not published.
Clearing all 10 groups	Players in English and Korean communities report a two-handed Lumen sword. Pearl Abyss has not confirmed this reward as of October 31, 2026.

FAQ

Do I need the DLC to enter the Garden of Trials?

Yes. The Garden of Trials is part of Charting the Unknown ($24.99), not part of the free 2.04.00 patch. The base-game patch adds other changes for every player, but the Garden itself needs the expansion installed.

Can I enter alone, or do I need all three characters?

You can enter alone. You can also bring up to all three characters, Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane, in an order you choose. If one falls, the next continues the battle, so bringing all three gives you more chances in a single attempt.

What do I get for clearing all 10 groups?

Each group you clear enhances one of your existing skills, that part is confirmed. For clearing all 10, players in English and Korean communities report a two-handed Lumen sword, but Pearl Abyss has not confirmed that reward as of October 31, 2026, so treat it as unconfirmed until the studio says so.

Does the Garden of Trials count toward achievements?

Yes. The Garden is one of the four challenge families behind the DLC achievements, alongside voyages, swimming, and management. The full breakdown is in our DLC achievements and collectibles guide, linked below.

Which version is this guide for?

Patch 2.04.00 and the hotfixes through 2.04.08 (November 6, 2026). Hotfix 2.04.06 added a way to restore a Lumen Sword that was destroyed. If a later patch changes the Garden's rules or publishes the per-group roster, this guide will be updated.