Crimson Desert’s “Close Threat” is a prime example of one of the most frustrating types of quests you’ll encounter in the game. First, you’ll need to zip around a deceptively large corner of the map, investigating less-than-intuitively labeled clues. You’ll need to absorb and compartmentalize a lot of information quickly, then report it accurately by navigating a dialogue tree.

Doing forensic accounting for a goblin merchant’s guild isn’t terribly exciting, and the unskippable dialogue and contradictory evidence slows the pace to a crawl. Below, we’ll outline all the relevant evidence you must collect before returning to Shakatu, and the correct dialogue options you’ll need to choose to complete the quest without a hitch, and move on with the main story of Crimson Desert.

Below is a table containing all the investigation targets in “Troubled Shakatu,” the clue-gathering stage of the “Extinguishing the Lost Flames” questline. You’ll have to speak to each of these NPCs, then find certain clues to move onto the next step.

The clues relevant to your investigation are bolded in the table below. Each location also includes red herrings, which you can inspect if you want to be thorough, but they won’t prove anything in your conversation with Shakatu.

Once you’ve investigated all of the above and completed the requisite subquests, return to Shakatu in the Goldleaf Guildhouse and speak with him to initiate the final phase of your investigation.

During your conversation with Shakatu, you’ll be confronted with this menu. The table below describes the correct answers to each of his questions, which, no surprise here, mirror the relevant clues we identified above.

Once you’ve given all the correct answers, Shakatu will do the deduction, and send you after the culprit, which will lead to a brief and relatively easy boss fight. With that, you can move on and see the rest of what Crimson Desert’s campaign has to offer.

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Mature 17+ / Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language

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