Crimson Desert Resource Gathering Guide: Where to Find Iron, Copper, and Timber
Pywel doesn't hand you materials for free, and figuring out how to actually harvest Iron Ore, Copper Ore, and Timber takes more trial and error than the game lets on.
Looting bandit corpses gets you through the early hours, but it won't carry you into the mid game. Keeping your armor thick and your weapons sharp means stockpiling raw materials, and the game doesn't exactly walk you through how. I spent longer than I'd like to admit trying to chop down a tree with a broadsword before I figured out what I was doing wrong.
Tools Before Anything Else
Combat weapons don't touch a tree or a rock vein, so the first stop is Hernand, the starting city, and specifically the Provisioner's Shop down the road from the tavern where the arm wrestling competition happens. A Pickaxe runs 31 copper coins there, a Logging Axe costs 29.
If your pouch is light, talk to the Hernand blacksmith for a free logging axe, or complete Rhett's Request, an early side quest, for a free pickaxe. Still short on coin for everything else you'll want to buy along the way? I put together some faster routes to building up silver early that are worth a look before you write off a purchase entirely.
Once you've got either tool, open the equipment menu and cycle the top left slot, the same one holding your weapons and lantern, until it's equipped.
Iron Ore Is the One You'll Never Stop Needing
Iron feeds nearly every weapon and heavy armor upgrade in the game, so it's the resource you end up chasing constantly. Look for onyx black rock formations along cliffsides and mountains, especially around the Hernand starting area. Equip the pickaxe, hold aim until the targeting circle turns blue, and swing. A few hits crack the rock and drop ore on the ground, though on steep slopes the chunks have a habit of rolling away before you can grab them.
Mining not your thing? Rhett in Hernand typically stocks three Iron Ores for 18 coins each. For a bigger supply, liberate Cairn House and Karin Quarry, north and northeast of Hernand, to unlock Mineral Shops carrying six Iron Ores at the same price. Both restock every two or three in-game days, and sleeping at a campfire or bed fast-forwards that clock if you'd rather not wait it out in real time.
Copper Hides a Little Better
Copper veins sit on the same cliffsides as iron, but they blend in more. You're looking for a greenish tint layered over the mountain's base rock color rather than a distinct formation.
For a dependable spot early on, head south of Hernand to the Goldenfist Arena, then follow the northern side of the river just southwest of it. There's a copper vein about halfway up the cliff face there that's easy to reach and doesn't put you in any real danger while you work it.
Once iron and copper start piling up, the smithy is where that stockpile actually turns into upgrades.
Timber Means Learning to Read the Reticle
Shields and bows chew through wood fast enough that logging becomes a regular chore. Equip the Logging Axe, approach a tree, and hold the aim button. Blue means you're locked on. Red means reposition, or you'll just be swinging at air.
Three swings fells a standard tree, and you'll want to step back once it drops since the physics don't care if you're standing under it. From there, chop the trunk to break it into segments, then chop those segments individually to get actual Timber and Fine Timber. Wood is heavy and fills inventory space fast, worth keeping in mind before a long harvesting run.
The Shortcut That Skips All of This
Once you're far enough into the story, Force Palm and the ranged Force Current blast ore deposits and trees apart instantly, no three-step chopping animation involved. It costs stamina and spirit, but it turns a tedious gathering run into a few seconds of work.
Those abilities are worth having in your kit regardless of how you feel about mining and logging, and they're part of why I'd put them near the top of the skills worth unlocking early.
