How to Beat Antumbra's Sword (Sanctum of Absolution) in Crimson Desert

The Sanctum of Absolution in Crimson Desert is one of the toughest Sanctums to cleanse early on, as players will need to fight and defeat Antumbra's Sword boss. However, it'll also be the most rewarding, as defeating the boss will not only liberate the Sanctum but also grant players one of the strongest swords in the game, called Vessel of Dark Pursuit. To make things easier, here's a quick guide on how you can cleanse the Sanctum of Absolution and defeat Antumbra's Sword in Crimson Desert.

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By Jake Fillery

Sanctum of Absolution Location in Crimson Desert

Sanctum of Absolution Location Puzzle Solution

The Sanctum of Absolution is in the Southwest of Hernand City, and is quite a bit far. It's directly south of Scholastone Institute, and there's an Abyss Nexus fast travel point in the area that you can activate and use to reach the location quickly (if you've explored the area before).

You won't be able to solve the Sanctum puzzles, including Absolution, until you reach Chapter 5 and unlock Elowen, the Witch of Wisdom.

The area will be covered with Umbra's forces, but you can simply ignore them and head to the main courtyard to face off against Antumbra's Sword boss instead. Even if you defeat every single enemy in the area, the Sanctum of Absolution won't be cleansed until you've defeated Antumbra's Sword.

How to Beat Antumbra's Sword in Crimson Desert (Sanctum of Absolution)

Sanctum of Absolution Antumbra's Sword Crimson Desert

Antumbra's Sword is one of the toughest optional bosses in Crimson Desert that you'll need to be a bit prepared to face. If you're early in the game, it's best to take your time collecting better gear before you head down to Sanctum of Absolution to face it.

Tips to Fight Antumbra's Sword

Here are a few essential tips you need to follow before you face Antumbra's Sword in Sanctum of Absolution to make the fight easier.

Make sure you have at least three Palmar Pills in your inventory to continue the fight if you get downed.
Refine/upgrade all your equipment (weapons and armor) to tier three or four.
Invest Abyss Artifacts into the focus node on the skill tree to unlock Focus level 3 (explained later).
Have a decent supply of food items to heal (clear soup is a good option).

How to Beat Antumbra's Sword (Fighting Strategy)

Antumbra's Sword Boss Parry Focus Three Crimson Desert

Once you start the fight with Antumbra's Sword, the only thing you need to do is wait for it to do a normal attack with its sword that you can parry. However, since you have unlocked Focus level 3, enter Focus mode by pressing the left and right sticks on the controller, or simply the X key on the keyboard.

As soon as Antumbra's Sword is about to hit you with its sword, keep spamming the block button (LB/L1/CTRL key) to get a guaranteed parry. This will stagger the boss for a while, allowing you to dish out a combo on it before re-entering Focus mode again. Eventually, the boss's poise bar will be filled, and it'll become vulnerable for a decent duration, allowing you to finish it off with multiple combos.

While this is a solid strategy to beat Antumbra's Sword, you'll need to time your attacks and enter focus mode correctly. Otherwise, a few hits from the boss can send you to the game-over screen quickly.

Antumbra's Sword Unblockable Attack Crimson Desert

Now that we've covered the main strategy (or the cheese method) for Antumbra's Sword, let's go over its two moves that you need to watch out for. As soon as you spot a red hue around the boss, it's about to do an unblockable attack that can't be parried. The first of these attacks is the sword slashes, which you can easily dodge while trying to go through the spaces between the vertical slashes.

Antumbra's Sword Clone Attack Crimson Desert

The second one is mainly executed when the boss is performing a circular slash, which will be followed by a series of attacks where it summons spectral clones. You'll need to spam the dodge button to get away from the flurry of attacks. However, you should enter the focus mode as soon as the boss is finished with the attack.

Reward for Defeating Antumbra's Sword Boss in Crimson Desert

Antumbra's Sword Vessel of Dark Pursuit Crimson Desert-2

Once you successfully defeat Antumbra's Sword in Crimson Desert, you'll receive an Abyss Artifact and the Vessel of Dark Pursuit two-handed sword. This is one of the best weapons you can get that can easily carry you through mid-game and even into late-game if you keep refining it.

There's also a special attack called Wound of Darkness that comes mapped to the Turning Slash with this sword, which will allow you to do the vertical slash move from the boss.

Sanctum of Absolution Puzzle Solution in Crimson Desert

Sanctum of Absolution Fusion Reactor Core Crimson Desert

Now that you've taken down Antumbra's Sword and liberated the Sanctum of Absolution in Crimson Desert, you'll need to solve its puzzle to cleanse it. To do that, head up the stone staircase and into the building just opposite the Antumbra's Sword arena. You'll come across a pile of clay pots that you can destroy to get the first Fusion Reactor Core. Simply grab it with Axiom Force and seal it inside your Kuku Pot.

Sanctum of Absolution Fusion Reactor Crimson Desert

Head forward by climbing the platform, and the ground will break, sending you into the lower section of the building. As soon as the ground breaks, watch out for the fire trap, and quickly go right into a room. You'll find the second Reactor Core floating on top, that you can grab and seal it in your Kuku pot.

Sanctum of Absolution Placing Fusion Reactor Cores Crimson Desert

Now, all you need to do is place the round pillar Reactor Core on top of one of the broken pillars. Once it's in place, simply climb on top of it and use an Aerial Force Palm to affix it in place (jumping and doing the Force Palm).

Now, take out the cube-shaped Reactor Core from your Kuku Pot, and insert it into the square-shaped hole in the main machine. Later, you'll need to use a Force Palm on it to fit it inside.

This will complete the Sanctum of Absolution Puzzle in Crimson Desert. You'll receive the blueprints for the Enhanced Kuku Pot and Kuku Spear for cleansing the Sanctum.

How to Enter the Treasure Chest Room in Sanctum of Absolution in Crimson Desert

Sanctum of Absolution Treasure Chest Room Crimson Desert

There's a locked-up room with a treasure chest in the Sanctum of Absolution in Crimson Desert that you can enter to get a special piece of equipment. It's located just above the area where you destroy the clay pots to get the first Reactor Core.

Sanctum of Absolution Treasure Chest Room Focused Force Palm Crimson Desert

To unlock the room, first you need to stand in front of its door and execute a Focused Force Palm. While you're charging it, aim for the square-shaped indent on the wall to flip it.

Sanctum of Absolution Treasure Chest Room Force Palm Crimson Desert

Now simply head to the other side of the cell from the exterior of the Sanctum. The location of the flipped wall is shown in the image above.

Sanctum of Absolution Treasure Chest Room Entry Crimson Desert

You'll be easily able to spot it since the flipped wall will be a few feet above the ground, which is a makeshift platform for players to stand on and do a Force Palm attack on the other part of the wall (directions marked in the image above).

Sanctum of Absolution Treasure Chest Reward Crimson Desert

Once you do this, the wall will flip again, sending players inside the locked room with the treasure chest. Open up the chest to get Sunset Reed Cloth Boots, which will come with an interesting set of Abyss Gears that you can either use as is or extract them to use on other equipment pieces.

To exit the treasure chest room in the Sanctum of Absolution in Crimson Desert, all you need to do is light up the stone lantern inside. This will open up the bars on the door in front of you, allowing you to exit.