Crimson Desert: How to Solve Las Raíces del Abismo – Early Power Boost

Why This Secret Abyss Puzzle Matters

The first time I cleared the Unbalanced Abyss in chapter 1, I sprinted for the exit like the game clearly wanted me to. Portal, cutscene, back to the story. Only much later did I realise I had run right past a full secret puzzle – Las Raíces del Abismo – hiding literally behind that first Abyss.

Las Raíces del Abismo is completely optional, the game never sets a marker for it, and yet it holds two things that make your early game noticeably smoother:

• A Destruction Gem +1 from a hidden chest, which you can socket into your armor at the Witch’s house for a big early attack boost.
• An Abyss artifact at the very end, which feeds into your skill and build progression.

The puzzle is tricky for two reasons: the game barely explains Axiomatic Force movement, and the platforming punishes anyone who treats it like a regular jump section. I made most of the possible mistakes before I got through cleanly, so this guide walks you through the entire route with the exact inputs that finally worked for me.

Getting Back to the Abyss Nexus and Finding the Entrance

Las Raíces del Abismo is accessed from the same area as your first Abyss puzzle, Unbalanced Abyss, in chapter 1.

• Step 1 – Fast travel back: Open the map and select the Abyss Nexus you unlocked during the first story Abyss. Use fast travel to return there.
• Step 2 – Face the “wrong” way on purpose: When you spawn in the Nexus, you’ll instinctively want to walk back toward the way you originally entered. Don’t. Instead, walk forward, deeper into the structure, beyond where the Unbalanced Abyss puzzle ended.
• Step 3 – Look for the inactive station: Very soon you’ll see an Axiomatic Force station: a central mechanism with a grapple point and some inactive platforms around/behind you. This is the start of Las Raíces del Abismo.

There’s no quest marker or objective text here; if you see nothing in your HUD pushing you forward, you’re in the right place. This entire section is pure hidden content.

Part 1 – Activating the Station and Reaching the Secret Chest

This first section teaches you how the game really expects you to combine Axiomatic Force with its assisted jumps. When I tried to “pure platform” this by just pressing jump, I spent more time falling into the void than actually moving.

1. Raise the Platforms with Axiomatic Force

• Walk up to the station’s grapple point.
• Hold L1 on PlayStation / LB on Xbox to aim Axiomatic Force.
• Target the station and connect with Axiomatic Force.
• Once attached, rotate the D-pad / left stick (depending on your setup) in the indicated direction until the mechanism starts to glow and spin.
• Keep rotating until you see/hear the platforms behind you rise into position.

If the platforms don’t move, you probably let go too early. Stay attached and keep rotating until the animation fully finishes and you hear the “lock-in” sound.

2. Use Assisted Jumps, Not Raw Jumps

This is where most people fail the first time, and it’s exactly where I kept falling:

• Do NOT rely on the default jump button alone.
• Instead, hold L1/LB and then press X (PlayStation) / Square (Xbox) to trigger the assisted Axiomatic jump.
• The game uses this combo to subtly “magnetise” you toward valid platforms, smoothing the distance and angle.

When I tried to do manual jumps, the distance always felt just a little off and I’d slide off the edge. Once I committed to L1/LB + X/Square for every jump in this whole puzzle, my success rate shot up.

3. Reach the Main Platform and Save

• Use assisted jumps to cross the first set of static platforms.
• You’ll reach a larger, stable platform that clearly feels like a “hub”.
• Pause here and create a manual save.

This is important: the secret chest is on a series of moving platforms beyond this hub. Until you get the timing down, it’s very easy to mess up and die multiple times. Having a nearby save lets you brute-force the learning without replaying the entire lead-in.

4. Navigating the Moving Platforms to the Secret Chest

From the hub platform you’ll see moving platforms cycling in and out of reach. The chest sits at the far end of this mini-gauntlet.

• Wait until the nearest moving platform is coming toward you and is within a comfortable assisted-jump distance.
• Hold L1/LB and press X/Square to jump onto it.
• As soon as you land, stop walking. Let the platform carry you; if you keep edging forward, you’ll often walk off as it moves.
• Repeat this process from platform to platform. Always jump when the next one is moving toward you or is briefly “aligned” in height.
• If the gap looks too big, use the game’s ledge-grab: when you see a prompt like “Grab”, click your movement stick (L3 on consoles) to hang from the edge, then pull yourself up and line up your next jump from safety.

At the end of this route you’ll reach the secret chest. Open it to obtain the Destruction Gem +1.

Back in town (or when you next visit her), you can take this gem to the Witch and socket it into your armor. For this early in the game, the attack increase is very noticeable – fights that were scrappy become much more comfortable.

Once you’ve looted the chest, don’t bother trying to jump all the way back. Just open your map and fast travel to the Abyss Nexus again to reset your position safely and continue the main puzzle route.

Part 2 – Main Route: Platforms, Teleporters and Gliding

Whether you grabbed the chest or skipped it, your goal now is to clear the rest of the platforming and reach the upper structure.

• From the hub platform, follow the main line of platforms forward using L1/LB + X/Square for every jump.
• If some platforms move, wait for them to pause or align before you commit.
• At the end you’ll find a teleporter pad on the ground. Step onto it to warp upward.
• You’ll arrive on a platform that slowly descends. Stay near the middle and watch the environment below.
• When you see stairs and a building appear in front of you at roughly your height, use your glide to drift over to the staircase.

It’s easy to panic and jump too early here. I waited until the platform had dropped enough that the stairs felt like a natural step up rather than a long glide. You want a short, controlled glide, not a desperate launch.

• From the hub platform, follow the main line of platforms forward using L1/LB + X/Square for every jump.
• If some platforms move, wait for them to pause or align before you commit.
• At the end you’ll find a teleporter pad on the ground. Step onto it to warp upward.
• You’ll arrive on a platform that slowly descends. Stay near the middle and watch the environment below.
• When you see stairs and a building appear in front of you at roughly your height, use your glide to drift over to the staircase.

It’s easy to panic and jump too early here. I waited until the platform had dropped enough that the stairs felt like a natural step up rather than a long glide. You want a short, controlled glide, not a desperate launch.

Once you land on the stairs:

• Climb the stairs and look to the right-hand wall for climbable surfaces.
• Scale these handholds to the top of the structure.
• Up top you’ll find another teleporter pad. Step on it to reach the next section.

Part 3 – Breaking the Floor and Surviving the Laser Drop

This is the point that punished me the most until I understood how aggressive the lasers are.

1. Use Force Palm to Break the Floor

• In the new room, stand over the grid-like section of the floor.
• Crouch.
• Use your Force Palm ability while crouched to slam the floor.
• The grid will shatter and you’ll begin to fall.

2. Glide and Weave Through the Lasers

As you drop, you’ll see laser beams sweeping horizontally. Two hits are enough to kill you, so you cannot just free-fall.

• As soon as you break through, trigger your glide to slow the descent.
• Watch how the lasers move: some sweep, some stay fixed.
• Steer your glide so you pass between the beams; do not rush, you have more vertical space than it first seems.
• Your goal is not the bottom – look for floating pillars as you fall.

The key breakthrough for me here was realising I didn’t need to hug the walls or race the lasers. A steady glide with small corrections is much safer than frantic dodging. If you clip one laser, stay calm; you can survive one hit, but not two.

3. Land on a Floating Pillar, Not the Ground

Partway down, you’ll see several floating stone pillars around the shaft.

• Guide your glide to land on one of these pillars.
• Do not drop all the way to the floor yet; working from the pillar makes the next puzzle much simpler.

If you miss and hit the ground, you’re not doomed, but you’ll need extra climbing and Axiomatic Force manipulation to recover. Landing on a pillar first is by far the cleanest route.

Part 4 – The Blue Crystal Puzzle in the Lower Arena

From your vantage point on the pillar, you can handle the blue crystal without immediately dealing with the hazards below.

1. Pull the Blue Crystal Down

• Face the blue crystal suspended nearby.
• Hold L1/LB to ready Axiomatic Force and aim at the crystal.
• Attach to it and then pull it downward, using the stick as prompted.
• Lower it as far as the game allows; you want it close to ground level.

If you stop halfway, you’ll make the later alignment more awkward. Keep going until the animation clearly finishes and the crystal hangs low.

2. Drop to the Ground and Avoid the Currents

• Carefully drop or glide from your pillar down to the arena floor.
• You’ll see electric currents and hazards along certain paths; weave around them patiently.
• Move toward the slot/socket where the blue crystal clearly needs to be placed.

Rushing this part is how I picked up unnecessary damage. The hazard patterns are slow and predictable; a quick pause to watch them saves you from last-second shocks.

3. Slot the Crystal and Fix It with Force Palm

• From the floor, use Axiomatic Force again to grab the crystal and slide it into the socket.
• Once it’s seated in the slot, move behind the mechanism.
• Crouch and use Force Palm to “fix” the crystal in place and complete the circuit.

If nothing happens after you place the crystal, you likely skipped the Force Palm step or misaligned the crystal slightly. Reattach with Axiomatic Force, wiggle it until the visual lock looks clean, then slam it again from behind while crouched.

Part 5 – Final Teleporter, Second Crystal and the Abyss Artifact

With the first crystal locked in, a teleporter pad in the arena activates.

• Step onto the teleporter to warp up to the final platform.
• Here you’ll see a structure with two crystal slots: one already filled, one empty.

1. Move and Lock the Second Crystal

• Use Axiomatic Force to grab the remaining loose crystal.
• Slide it into the empty socket, just like the previous one.
• Again, crouch behind the mechanism and use Force Palm to lock it in.

Once both slots are filled and secured, the central mechanism becomes interactable.

2. Activate the Central Platform and Claim Your Reward

• Stand in the very center of the platform.
• Crouch and use Force Palm one last time on the central node.
• After the short animation, an Abyss artifact will appear as your reward.

Pick up the artifact, and Las Raíces del Abismo is officially complete. From here, you can once again fast travel out via the map; no need to backtrack through the platforming.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

• Using normal jumps instead of assisted jumps: If you’re falling off edges constantly, force yourself to use L1/LB + X/Square for every single jump in this puzzle.
• Letting go of Axiomatic Force too early: When rotating or pulling, wait for the full animation and audio cue. Half-movements leave platforms or crystals misaligned.
• Over-correcting during the laser fall: Gentle, deliberate gliding works better than panicked dodging. You have more room than you think.
• Dropping straight to the arena floor: Missing the pillar during the laser drop is recoverable, but you’ll waste time. Aim for the pillar the first time.
• Trying to jump back after the chest: It’s almost never worth it. Grab the Destruction Gem and fast travel back to the Nexus instead of risking a fall.

Is Las Raíces del Abismo Worth Doing Early?

For me, the answer is a clear yes.

• The Destruction Gem +1 is a genuine power spike in the first chapter, especially if you’re still running basic gear. Socketed into armor via the Witch, it makes story fights and early elites noticeably faster.
• The Abyss artifact is a nice early addition to your build tools. It nudges you toward engaging with the artifact and skill systems sooner, instead of waiting until mid-game.
• The puzzle forces you to properly learn Axiomatic Force traversal and Force Palm interactions, which pay off in later, harder Abyss content.

If you’re willing to spend a handful of attempts adjusting to the assisted jump timing and the laser fall, Las Raíces del Abismo is one of the most efficient early detours in Crimson Desert. You walk away with stronger damage, a new artifact, and a much better handle on movement tech the main story quietly expects you to know later on.

In short: if you’ve already cleared Unbalanced Abyss and moved on with the story, it’s worth opening the map, warping back to the Abyss Nexus, and tackling this hidden route before you push much further into Pywel.