Beloth the Darksworn is the wraith king at the center of the House Lanford faction quest Wraith in the Frost, found in the frozen Hoenmark Ruins. He is one of Crimson Desert's Overwhelming Beings, a small group of bosses built to push your combat preparation as hard as your reflexes. Heavy armor, a slow-filling stagger meter, and a permanent blizzard around the arena make him a grind if you walk in unprepared.
Quest overview and location
Wraith in the Frost is a faction quest tied to House Lanford. The objective list is short: slay Beloth, the Darksworn, and obtain the artifact from his body. Rewards are a Frost Spike Abyss Gear and one Abyss Artifact.
The fight takes place inside the Hoenmark Ruins, an arena ringed by stone pillars in a snow-locked region in Hernand. Approaching the area triggers a constant chill that drops your Temperature bar, slows your movement and combo speed, and drains stamina faster than normal. The lore framing is straightforward: a once-prosperous kingdom was consumed by a deadly frost, and wraiths now attack anyone who comes near.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Quest | Wraith in the Frost (House Lanford) |
| Boss | Beloth, the Darksworn |
| Location | Hoenmark Ruins, Hernand |
| Objectives | Slay Beloth, obtain the artifact |
| Rewards | Frost Spike (Abyss Gear), Abyss Artifact x1 |
| Boss type | Overwhelming Being (mandatory) |
| HP bars | 1 (with heavy armor mitigation) |
Gear and consumables to bring
Cold is the real second boss in this fight. Before stepping into the arena, build for Ice Resistance and, if possible, Freeze Immunity. Two pieces stand out from the Argent Peaks region: the Frostcursed Plate Armor (Ice Resistance Lv 7), found in Mistshard Cave behind a waterfall in the southern part of the map, and the Bear Hide Cloak (Ice Resistance Lv 5). Pairing both is enough to flip your status to Freeze Immunity in the Status screen.
Stop by a town before heading out. Cook or buy HP recovery food that grants temporary Ice Resistance, then visit an Anvil and a Grind Stone to apply temporary attack and defense buffs to your equipped weapon and armor. Those buffs make a meaningful dent in how long the fight drags on.
| Preparation | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Frostcursed Plate Armor | Highest Ice Resistance armor for this fight (Lv 7) |
| Bear Hide Cloak | Stacks Ice Resistance to reach Freeze Immunity |
| HP food with Ice Resistance buff | Heals and offsets the blizzard's slow |
| Grind Stone | Temporary weapon attack buff |
| Anvil | Temporary armor defense buff |
| Fire infusion (optional) | Beloth is weak to fire damage |
Beloth's attacks and how to counter them
Beloth uses a halberd and freezing magic. His ice strikes can chill you on hit, slowing movement and ticking damage over time, even if you survive the initial blow. The arena's pillars are destructible only with effort, so they make reliable cover during charges and heavy swings.
| Attack | Behavior | Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Halberd Swing | Standard tracking swing | Block or parry, then counterattack |
| Three Swing Combo | Three chained halberd strikes | Parry to interrupt, punish on the third |
| Halberd Stab | Forward thrust | Block or parry, counter from the side |
| Ground Break | Charges spear, slams area; can knock down | Evasive Roll out of range, then backstab |
| Hailstorm | Falling ice at random spots; can freeze | Keep rolling until it ends, then close in |
| Halberd Tornado | Wide spinning AoE; unblockable | Roll to safe distance, attack on recovery |
| Wraith Dash | Teleport to a new position | Dash to the reappearance point and strike first |
Fight strategy
Play defensively. Beloth's armor makes your damage numbers look small, and his stagger meter fills slower than other bosses, so patience and consistent positioning matter more than aggression.
Step 1: Use the pillars. When Beloth charges or telegraphs Ground Break, put a pillar between you and him. The pillar absorbs the hit, and he briefly stalls in recovery.
Step 2: Circle behind for backstabs. After he commits to a heavy attack or hits a pillar, dash around his side and land a backstab strike, then immediately Evasive Roll back to safe distance.
Step 3: Burn stagger with Force Palm or fire. Normal sword combos chip the stagger meter slowly. A three-hit Force Palm string from behind, or a fire-infused Power Shot from a bow, fills it noticeably faster.
Step 4: Manage Spirit. Heavy abilities pull from the spirit meter, and the message "Not enough Spirit" will block you mid-combo if you over-spend. Weave normal attacks between specials, and consider Palmer Pills for instant spirit refills if you're using a fire-bow loop.
Step 5: Cash in the stagger. Once the stagger meter fills, Beloth is briefly disabled. Close in, dump your highest-damage combo, and finish with a punish prompt for a large damage spike.
Step 6: Reapply Ice Resistance food. The blizzard never stops. If your Ice Resistance buff drops, top it up between phases instead of trading hits.
Verifying the kill and collecting rewards
When Beloth's health bar empties, he kneels, delivers his final dialogue, and collapses. The on-screen log shows "Slay Beloth, the Darksworn" checked off under Faction Quests | Wraith in the Frost, and a Frost Spike obtained notification appears.
Walk to his body and interact with it. The prompt Artifact Obtained: Abyss Artifact appears, a cutscene plays, and the ice locking down the ruins melts away. The quest then completes with the message Faction Quest Completed: Wraith in the Frost.
The thawed ruins open up new chests. One contains the Plate Helm of the Shadows, which carries the Glacial Domain ability and Daze Immunity. Two other pieces are also available in the area: the Plate Armor of the Shadows (Heart of Stone Abyss Gear, granting Petrification Immunity) and the Plate Gloves of the Shadows (Ascent 1 climb speed and Surge 1 swim speed).
Using Frost Spike and Glacial Domain after the fight
Frost Spike is an Abyss Gear that embeds into a melee weapon socket. Once equipped, pressing R1 + R2 summons a wave of frozen spikes in a frontal cone for added damage. Witches in each region can embed or remove Abyss Gears if you want to swap it onto a different weapon, like the Alfonso Spear.
Glacial Domain is the Plate Helm of the Shadows' ability. Equip the helm in your special equipment slot via the Function wheel, press L2 to select it, then L2 + R2 to exhale a cloud of frost that damages over time and can freeze enemies. The effect has a 10-second cooldown.
With the helm slotted, the spear infused with Frost Spike, and the rest of the Shadow set covering Petrification Immunity and traversal speed, House Lanford's reward set quickly pays for the trouble of clearing Hoenmark Ruins. From here, the unfrozen ruins are worth a full sweep before fast-traveling out, since the chests beyond Beloth's body don't appear until after the artifact is claimed.