Crimson Desert Fortress Keys Walkthrough

Fortress Keys is the 150th main mission in Crimson Desert. This walkthrough will guide you through all objectives of the Fortress Keys main quest.

• Starting Location: Deleysia > Strange Manor
• Chapter: 11 – Truth and Reality
• Sub-Chapter: Brave New World
• Requirement: Finished previous main quest Strange Manor
• Reward: None from the quest completion, but each of the 3 quest bosses gives one Artifact
• Quest Description: Find the three keys mentioned by the mysterious man, which are required to reach his location.

Objectives:

1. Retrieve the key from Valvegard Garrison
2. Retrieve the key from the Aeronautical Research Base
3. Retrieve the key from Marni’s Laboratorium

General Quest Info before you Start

As soon as you enter the room with the transporter in the previous quest Strange Manor, it will transition into this new quest without any cutscene. You must use the transporter to visit 3 fortresses, liberate them by defeating all enemies (area counter reaches 0%) and defeat the boss in each, then you can grab the key from a cube that’s marked with a purple icon on the minimap. This is one of the longest and most difficult quests in the game.

Before starting there are few important things to know:

IMPORTANT:

• It’s HIGHLY recommended to have the green skill “Nature’s Snare” at Level 2 (Nature’s Retribution). This allows you to throw back projectiles at the 2 tank bosses. If you don’t have it unlocked, either reset skills or spend time getting more Artifacts (e.g. via Challenges).
• Teleport to Valvegard Garrison first = do the objectives in different order than shown in-game. This area is surrounded by a blue barrier and can’t be reached otherwise. The other 2 areas don’t have a barrier and can be reached on foot. If you go to Aeronautical Research Base first, you’ll have to backtrack all the way through Strange Manor to access the transporter again.

When ready, look down at the middle part of the transporter and interact with it (not the top part). Press / to rotate to the red symbol “Valvegard Garrison” and press / to teleport.

 

 

Retrieve the key from Valvegard Garrison

Valvegard Garrison is the objective furthest west. It’s surrounded by a blue barrier so you’ll have to teleport there using the transporter in Strange Manor.

Clear out all enemies (counter reaches 0%) and defeat the boss “Thunder Tank”. Then you get a cutscene where the fortress gets liberated (if you defeat the boss first, you must still defeat the enemies). After liberating the fortress you can grab the key from the glowing crate, it’s marked by a purple icon on the minimap.

Thunder Tank Boss:

Thunder Tank is the boss in Valvegard Garrison, mandatory to liberate the fortress and get the Fortress Key there. It’s an electric tank boss with 1 healthbar.

He only does 3 moves depending on how close you are to him. If you’re close he drives into you which deals massive damage. If you’re at mid range he shoots lots of explosive projectiles. If you’re at long range he shoots missile barrages.

This boss is extremely annoying to fight. The easiest “cheese method” is to buy the green skill “Nature’s Snare” (Level 2 – Nature’s Retribution). It allows you to throw back projectiles.

Get far away from the boss so he always shoots rockets. Then use Nature’s Retribution to catch the rockets and throw them back at him. It takes around 6-10 minutes to beat him this way, but it’s easy once you get into the rhythm. You’ll want to charge up at least 2 parts of the Spirit Gauge ( + ) then rotate the Right Stick to activate Nature’s Retribution, catch some rockets and press to throw them back.

After damaging the boss a bit, the top part falls off and reveals a weakspot. Normally, you’re meant to climb up and stab the weakspot while holding on to it, but at the time of writing this is very buggy and you get instakilled when the tank drives around while hanging on to it. So don’t bother with it, just keep catching the rockets and throw them back, easy peasy cheesy method.

After defeating the boss you must also have defeated the enemies in the fortress (counter on left goes to 0%) to get a cutscene to liberate the fortress. Then you can collect the key from the big block that’s marked by a purple icon on the minimap.

Retrieve the key from the Aeronautical Research Base

Aeronautical Research Base is the objective furthest south-east. You can take the transporter from the previous fortress, then skydive down to it, or simply walk into the fortress.

Clear out all enemies (counter reaches 0%) and defeat the boss “Storm Crusher”. Then you get a cutscene where the fortress gets liberated (if you defeat the boss first, you must still defeat the enemies). After liberating the fortress you can grab the key from the glowing crate, it’s marked by a purple icon on the minimap.

 

Storm Crusher Boss:

Storm Crusher is the boss in Aeronautical Research Base, mandatory to liberate the fortress and get the Fortress Key there. It’s a fire tank boss with 1 healthbar.

He only does 3 moves depending on how close you are to him. If you’re close he drives into you which deals massive damage. If you’re at mid range he shoots lots of explosive projectiles. If you’re at long range he shoots missile barrages.

This boss is extremely annoying to fight. The easiest “cheese method” is to buy the green skill “Nature’s Snare” (Level 2 – Nature’s Retribution). It allows you to throw back projectiles.

Get far away from the boss so he always shoots rockets. Then use Nature’s Retribution to catch the rockets and throw them back at him. It takes around 6-10 minutes to beat him this way, but it’s easy once you get into the rhythm. You’ll want to charge up at least 2 parts of the Spirit Gauge ( + ) then rotate the Right Stick to activate Nature’s Retribution, catch some rockets and press to throw them back.

After damaging the boss a bit, the top part falls off and reveals a weakspot. Normally, you’re meant to climb up and stab the weakspot while holding on to it, but at the time of writing this is very buggy and you get instakilled when the tank drives around while hanging on to it. So don’t bother with it, just keep catching the rockets and throw them back, easy peasy cheesy method.

After defeating the boss you must also have defeated the enemies in the fortress (counter on left goes to 0%) to get a cutscene to liberate the fortress. Then you can collect the key from the big block that’s marked by a purple icon on the minimap.

Retrieve the key from Marni’s Laboratorium

Marni’s Laboratorium is the objective furthest north. You can either use the transporter in Valvegard Garrison or Strange Manor, or simply walk into the Fortress.

Clear out all enemies (counter reaches 0%) and defeat the boss “Dreadnought”. Then you get a cutscene where the fortress gets liberated (if you defeat the boss first, you must still defeat the enemies). After liberating the fortress you can grab the key from the glowing crate, it’s marked by a purple icon on the minimap.

Dreadnought Boss:

Dreanought is the boss in Marni’s Laboratorium, mandatory to liberate the fortress and get the Fortress Key there. It’s a big robot boss with 1 healthbar.

He is a stronger version of the other tall robots you have encountered throughout the fortresses in Delesyia. His one dangerous attack is a yellow laser he shoots from his eye, it deals massive damage. Always dodge in circles around him, then his laser is easy to avoid. His melee attacks are easy enough to dodge and not that dangerous. You fight him like you would the other big robots, he just has more health.

After defeating the boss you must also have defeated the enemies in the fortress (counter on left goes to 0%) to get a cutscene to liberate the fortress. Then you can collect the key from the big block that’s marked by a purple icon on the minimap.

 

The quest will complete immediately when getting the third Fortress Key in any order.

For all other Quests refer to Crimson Desert Walkthrough.