The dragon mount is one of the most heavily marketed features of Crimson Desert, but actually getting to ride one requires serious commitment. The Blackstar Dragon — also called the Abyssal Dragon — is a permanent flying mount unlocked through the main campaign, and it won't become yours until you're deep into the late game.
Quick answer: Complete the Foreboding Shadow questline in Chapter 11 to permanently unlock the Blackstar Dragon as a summonable mount. You need at least 50 hours of main story progression and Stamina at level 5 or higher.
First encounter with Blackstar in Chapter 9
You meet the Blackstar Dragon during Chapter 9's Shattered Stars quest chain. Kliff travels to the palace of Urdavah, where a cutscene shows the dragon wounded by a spear lodged in its body. You pull the spear free, and shortly afterward, you're tasked with riding the creature to cleanse it of corruption.
The Chapter 9 riding sequence has specific mechanical requirements. When the dragon approaches the battlements, you need to jump, glide, and use your Axiom Force grapple to latch onto its back. Immediately press the jump button to perform an Aerial Maneuver, which costs 200 Stamina — the reason your Stamina attribute must be at level 5 or higher before attempting this. While on the dragon's back, hold the "Resist" prompt whenever it dives and rolls to maintain your grip. Eventually, you'll be prompted to use a Focused Force Palm: activate Focus, charge Force Palm, target the glowing spot on its back, and release. The Blackstar is purified and flies away.
Permanently unlocking Blackstar in Chapter 11
The actual unlock happens in Chapter 11 during the Foreboding Shadow questline, specifically the quest called "Foreboding Shadows: Whispers in the Wind." This chapter takes you to Delesyia, where you face a Mecha Dragon boss called Golden Star. This boss uses devastating attacks, including a flame tornado and bombard barrage. The most effective strategy is to throw spears at it whenever it's immobile.
Once you deplete Golden Star's health, the Blackstar swoops in to assist you. After the fight, you'll dive off a platform in the Abyss and call for the dragon to catch you, triggering an aerial combat sequence. Defeat the boss that appears during this sequence, and when you return to the Nest of Valor location, Blackstar becomes your permanent mount. The game explicitly confirms you've gained the ability to summon the dragon at will.
How to summon and mount the Blackstar Dragon
On a controller, press up on the D-pad or hold down on the D-pad and select the dragon from the radial menu using the right stick. On the keyboard, hold the H key and pick the dragon from the radial menu. The dragon flies overhead, and your character automatically grapples up to mount it.
In practice, the mounting process can be unreliable. The reticle for latching on is finicky, and without precise positioning and timing, Kliff will bounce off or roll down the dragon's back. In some cases, standing on the dragon's back still won't trigger the mount prompt — it stays grayed out.
A reliable workaround: teleport to the Abyss high above Pywel, dive off the cliff edge, and summon the dragon while falling through open air below the Abyss boundary. The dragon scoops you up from below and auto-mounts, bypassing the buggy ground-level mounting entirely. This is currently the most consistent method to get airborne.
Dragon controls and combat abilities
| Action | Input | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Steer | Left stick / movement keys | Full directional flight control |
| Fire breath | Attack button (hold) | Close-range flamethrower; burns targets continuously |
| Fireballs | Attack button (tap) | Ranged projectiles; can fire in succession. Lock-on mode shoots multiple fireballs but may not work reliably |
| Barrel roll / dodge | Dodge button (press twice) | Quick mid-air evasive maneuver |
Fireballs drain stamina, so keep an eye on your stamina bar during extended combat. The dragon is powerful enough to clear outposts and bandit camps with ease, but it's not invincible — if the dragon's health bar is depleted, it becomes unsummonable for an extended penalty period based on real play time. You cannot speed this up by sleeping or waiting in-game.
Cooldown and active time limits
The Blackstar Dragon has a strict usage window. Once summoned, it remains active for roughly 15 minutes of real time. After that, it enters a cooldown of approximately 50 minutes to one hour, also measured in real time. There is currently no in-game method to reduce or bypass this cooldown. Plan your dragon usage around objectives that benefit most from aerial traversal or firepower.
Other dragon and wyvern mounts in Crimson Desert
The Blackstar is almost certainly the first dragon-type mount you'll acquire, but it isn't the only one. Five flying creatures of this class exist in the game.
| Mount | How to obtain |
|---|---|
| Blackstar Dragon | Main story, Chapter 11 (Foreboding Shadow questline) |
| Abyssal Dragon | Tied to the Abyss storyline |
| Highland Wyvern | Dragon Ridge Wyvern Egg side quest |
| Storm Drake | Spawns during storm events at locations like the Tesla Ruins |
| Ember Wyvern | Rare spawn in volcanic rifts |
The Highland Wyvern and Storm Drake require exploration of high-level regions and completion of specific side content. The Ember Wyvern is particularly rare, appearing only in volcanic rift events. Each variant offers different attack types — lightning chains, void attacks that bypass resistances, and dive bombs, among them.
Stamina preparation before Chapter 9
Since the Chapter 9 dragon encounter demands Stamina level 5, you should prioritize upgrading this attribute well before reaching that point. Abyss artifacts scattered throughout Pywel are the primary way to boost your Stamina. If you arrive at the Urdavah sequence without enough Stamina, the Aerial Maneuver required to mount the dragon will be impossible to execute, and you won't be able to progress.
Getting the Blackstar Dragon fundamentally changes how you move through Pywel, but it requires real patience. Between the 50-plus hours of story progression, the Stamina gating, and the current mounting bugs, the path to dragonback flight is far from smooth. Once you're airborne, though, the combination of free flight and devastating fire attacks makes it the single most impactful mount in Crimson Desert.