Mining in Crimson Desert feeds directly into the game's weapon customization and crafting systems. You need raw materials — iron ore, among others — to upgrade and augment your gear, and the only tool required to start pulling resources out of the ground is a pickaxe.
Quick answer: Buy a pickaxe from the Provisioner's Shop in the City of Hernand, then look for ore deposits along cliffs and mountain walls in the Hernand region.
Pickaxe location in Hernand
The earliest and most reliable way to get a pickaxe is to purchase one from a vendor inside the City of Hernand. Specifically, the Provisioner's Shop stocks the tool. If you're having trouble finding the shop, open your map and look for the small icons that mark various merchants, quest givers, and other points of interest — the provisioner will be among them.
As you progress further into the game, better pickaxes with improved stats become available. These upgraded versions let you mine more efficiently or access higher-tier materials, so it's worth checking back with merchants or exploring new regions for replacements.
Where to find ore deposits
Iron Ore, one of the most common early-game resources, appears frequently throughout the Hernand region. Focus your search along cliffs and mountain walls — ore nodes tend to cluster on vertical rock surfaces rather than flat ground. Caves are another productive spot; venturing underground can turn up valuable ores that aren't as easy to find on the surface.
Mining itself is fast. Each ore node takes only a few strikes with your pickaxe to break apart, and the animation is deliberately tactile — Pearl Abyss clearly designed the interaction to feel satisfying rather than tedious. You won't spend long stretches of time chipping away at a single deposit.
What mined materials are used for
Raw ores and other gathered resources feed into Crimson Desert's crafting and weapon customization pipeline. Once you've collected enough material, you can visit a blacksmith — the first one most players encounter is also located in Hernand — to forge or upgrade equipment. The crafting system goes well beyond cosmetic changes: certain materials adjust weapon stats, apply special effects, or augment gear in ways that meaningfully alter your combat performance.
The game features over 350 crafting manuals, so the range of things you can build and modify is substantial. Mining is just one input alongside hunting and general resource scavenging, but it's the most straightforward way to stockpile metals early on.
Delegating resource gathering to camp workers
If you'd rather spend your time in combat or exploration, Crimson Desert eventually lets you offload mining and gathering to NPCs. As you develop your camp, you unlock the ability to assign workers to collect materials on your behalf. This system means that resource gathering doesn't have to eat into your playtime once you've progressed far enough — you can focus on quests, boss fights, or simply wandering Pywell while your camp crew handles the supply chain.
Mining tips for early-game players
| Tip | Detail |
|---|---|
| Check the map icons | Shop and vendor locations are marked on the map with small icons — use them to find the Provisioner's Shop quickly. |
| Prioritize cliffs and mountain walls | Iron Ore spawns most densely on vertical rock faces in the Hernand region. |
| Explore caves | Underground areas contain rarer ores that are harder to find on the surface. |
| Upgrade your pickaxe | Better pickaxes become available as you progress — check vendors in new regions. |
| Visit the Hernand blacksmith | The first blacksmith you'll likely find is in Hernand, where you can turn raw ore into usable equipment. |
Mining in Crimson Desert is designed to be quick and purposeful rather than a time sink. Grab a pickaxe from Hernand, hit the nearby cliffs for iron, and you'll have everything you need to start upgrading your weapons within the first few hours of play. Once your camp is established, the whole process becomes largely automated — letting you get back to what the game is really built around: exploration and combat across Pywell.