Crimson Desert Guide: Bypassing The Miserable Feline Grind With A Golden Carp
Begging a virtual cat for affection over multiple in game days is a humiliating waste of your time, but you can thankfully bribe them into instant loyalty with a ridiculously shiny fish.
The animal taming system in Crimson Desert is undeniably a massive time sink. While grabbing a dog is a relatively straightforward process, the felines demand an excruciating amount of patience. If you try to do things the legitimate way, you are forced to slowly build up their Trust meter by dropping basic food and sitting through incredibly long petting animations. You can only earn a limited amount of trust per day, meaning you have to remember which specific stray you were courting, hunt them down the next morning because they wander constantly, and repeat the tedious cycle. It is a punishing mechanic that actively discourages you from engaging with it.
I refuse to spend a week chasing an orange tabby through the mud just to get it to follow me. Thankfully, the developers left a backdoor open for those of us who value our sanity. There is a legendary item that entirely bypasses this exhausting progression system. The Golden Carp acts as an instant cheat code, automatically maxing out a cat's trust meter the second they take a bite.
I am going to walk you through exactly where to find this glowing monstrosity, how to snatch it out of the water without even touching a fishing rod, and the correct way to feed it so you do not accidentally lose your prize to a random raccoon.
The Pailune Pond Location
To find the Golden Carp, you need to head far to the north of Hernand. You are looking for a very specific, quiet body of water situated directly below the letter 'P' in Pailune on your world map. It is nestled right near the Snowgrass Heartright area.
This region is generally peaceful, but you need to watch your step on the approach. The legendary horse Royler hangs around the immediate vicinity of this pond. You can easily spot Royler by its bright white hide and distinct gold legs. If you are also hunting down legendary mounts for your stables, try not to sprint blindly through the brush and spook it into the next county. Keep a low profile as you move toward the shoreline.
Once you reach the water, spotting your target is practically impossible to mess up. The Golden Carp is absolutely massive compared to the standard marine life. It sticks out like a sore thumb, swimming lazily alongside a few smaller, completely unremarkable fish.
Forget The Fishing Rod
You might naturally assume you need to play a long, drawn out fishing minigame to pull a legendary catch out of the lake. You do not. The fishing mechanics in Crimson Desert are perfectly fine, but relying on the rod takes too long when you are standing right in front of your prize.
The fastest way to harvest fish in this game is to simply dive in and grab them with your bare hands. This aggressive strategy applies to every single fish in Crimson Desert, and it saves a ridiculous amount of time.
Get a clear view of the carp from the shoreline. You can use the elevated terrain or a nearby tree to perform a High Jump and glide down over the water. Drop directly next to the fish, or just take a running jump into the pond. As soon as you are treading water beside the Golden Carp, hold down the interact button (Square on a PlayStation controller or X on an Xbox controller) to snatch it right out of the pond. No bait required. You just wrestle a legendary creature into your pockets and swim away.
Buying Instant Loyalty
Now that you have the ultimate bargaining chip safely in your inventory, it is time to find a companion. Having a pet in Crimson Desert is actually incredibly useful, as they will actively run around and loot items dropped by enemies while you are busy fighting. You can sell all that scavenged junk for a solid pile of silver, so grabbing a cat early on is a smart economic move.
Pororin Village is my absolute favorite location for this final step because the muddy streets are practically crawling with strays. You have plenty of options to choose from.
Pick the exact cat you want to recruit. Do not just throw the legendary fish on the ground in the middle of the town square. Crimson Desert has an active, chaotic ecosystem. Other roaming animals, including hungry dogs, will absolutely steal the Golden Carp if they reach it first. Pick the cat up with the interact button and carry it away from the main thoroughfare. Find a quiet, isolated corner behind a building where you will not be interrupted.
Put the cat down and immediately open your inventory. Highlight the Golden Carp and choose the Discard option to drop it directly onto the dirt.
Fixing The Pathing Bug
There is a known quirk with the animal AI where things occasionally break. Sometimes you will drop a legendary feast directly in front of a starving animal, and it will simply ignore the food and start wandering away to sniff a fence post.
If the cat refuses to acknowledge the fish, do not panic and do not leave the area. Just pick the animal up again and pet it right next to the dropped item. This forced interaction usually resets the AI and prompts it to register the food sitting on the ground.
As soon as the cat takes a single bite of the Golden Carp, its Trust meter instantly skyrockets to a flat 100 points. You can immediately claim it as your pet. Taming animals should be a fun addition to your adventure, not a full time job. Bribing your way through the trust system with a giant glowing fish is simply the smartest way to build your roster.
