How to beat the Crowcaller boss in Crimson Desert

The Crowcaller boss in Crimson Desert may look intimidating in his black feathery costume, but if you use an unconventional weapon to smack him in the face, he won’t stand a chance against you. It’s still wise to bring a comically large stack of grilled meats, though.

Here’s how to beat Crowcaller, also known as the Crow boss, in Crimson Desert, including a secret way to “cheese” this boss.

How to prepare for the Crowcaller boss in Crimson Desert

As always, make sure you’ve got plenty of food (we recommend at least 20 hearty grilled meats) and palmar pills on hand to restore your HP and revive yourself during the fight. You don’t need to pour many skill points into HP or spirit, but try to boost stamina to level 4 at least.

As for weapons, we recommend using a one-handed weapon like The Grove’s Thorn or Sword of the Lord (whichever you’ve upgraded most). Combine them with a shield like the Sydmon Kite Shield or even the default Grey Wolf Wooden Shield, so it’s easier to block incoming damage. See if you can get some Hernandian Honor Guard gear from the contribution shop at Hernand Castle, and, unless you’ve gathered even better armor, fill the remaining gear slots with pieces from the Canta or Bolton sets (available at the Hernand equipment and contribution shops, respectively).

No matter the type of gear, it’s highly recommended to refine each piece to at least level 5 before you take on the Crowcaller. Don’t forget to slot your best abyss cores into your armor (visit a witch to help you with that); extra attack power, attack speed, defense, or damage reduction would be great.

The following combat skills work well against the Crowcaller, but take special note of Nature’s Grasp, which is the best “cheese” method against this boss:

• Nature’s Grasp: This may seem weird, but the Crow’s Nest is full of trees, which means it’ll be littered with tree trunks in no time. You can use Nature’s Grasp to pick them up and slam Crowcaller in the face — it’ll cost him his full HP (yes, really!).
• Grappling: It’s a great move to interrupt the rather evasive Crowcaller and deal amazing damage in the process. Try to upgrade this skill as much as possible; obtaining at least the Lariat variation (Grappling level 2) is highly recommended.
• Turning Slash, Spinning Slash or a similar fairly quick melee attack works well against Crowcaller.
• Shield Bash is fairly easy to pull off against Crowcaller’s standard attacks.

How to beat Crowcaller in Crimson Desert

When you enter the Crow’s Nest, after crossing the Crescent Skybridge, you must defeat a group of Crow Brother minions first. When they’re down, a brief cutscene will play, introducing the Crowcaller. Be ready to raise your shield as soon as this cutscene ends.

Like previous Crimson Desert boss fights, the battle against Crowcaller consists of three phases. During phases one and three, you can use Nature’s Grasp to instantly deplete Crowcaller’s HP, leaving phase two as the most difficult part of the boss fight.

See the trees in the boss arena? Lure Crowcaller to the trees so he attacks and breaks them, then use Nature’s Grasp on a tree trunk and choose “slam” while aiming at Crowcaller. You will sweep the tree from right to left, so as long as he’s in front of you, and not too far away, you’ll hit him.

Be careful not to damage the tree trunks any further; if Crowcaller hits them a second time, they’ll break into timber pieces, rendering them useless as a weapon.

Handy “cheats” aside, the best strategy against Crowcaller’s standard red slash attacks (see picture below on the left) is to keep your guard up. Try parrying them as much as possible, but it’s also fine to just hold your shield and wait for the attack to finish, then unleash your own attacks immediately after.

A dangerous special attack to look out for in this phase is the dive bomb. If you see Crowcaller crossing his swords, as shown in the picture below on the right, he’ll fly up, move to the left, and dive bomb right through your shield. You must dodge roll as he starts the descent to avoid damage. Wait for him to go up, left, and then dodge. If you accidentally dodge too early, a second dodge roll may still save you.

Image: Pearl Abyss via Polygon

From phase two onward, Crowcaller will gain a teleport ability. This isn’t especially dangerous for you, but it’ll be harder to hit him, so it’s more important to parry, shield bash, or grapple and throw him. Furthermore, Crowcaller will be able to use his dive bomb twice in a row and gain a grabbing attack — again, making it important to parry and throw him, so he won’t get the opportunity to grab you.

In phase three, Crowcaller can use dive bomb three times in a row, but he’ll occasionally swap out the third attack for a dashing Stab. Remember, you can use Nature’s Grasp again in phase three, allowing for an instant victory against Crowcaller. As a reward for beating the Crimson Desert Crowcaller boss, you’ll receive the blackwing leather armor, blackwing mask, and tauria curved sword. Your victory will also conclude the “Toward the Nest” quest and start Chapter 6.

Just starting out in Crimson Desert? We have guides to help you learn the basics and refresh your memory on how some of its systems work. The world of Pywel is huge, so you might have a hard time deciding where to go first, but you can make your journey a little easier with the help of our interactive map. Along the way, make sure to learn a few life skills like fishing, logging, cooking, and mining, all of which can help you make money. We also have walkthroughs for puzzles in the Abyss like the Root’s End and Precipice of Truth, as well as ancient ruins like the Dragon’s Stone Chamber.