You can Ring the Bells to Clear Crimson Desert’s Fog of War
Ringing bell towers calls a Shai to clear surrounding fog and reveal towns, rivers and other map details across Pywel.
Pearl Abyss’ open-world Crimson Desert uses a traditional Fog of War to reward exploration. You don’t reveal the whole map by fast-travel or automatic waypoints. Instead, the game puts bell towers in key locations, approach and ring them to remove nearby fog.
How the bells work
When a bell is rung, a Shai is summoned, and the area within the bell’s audible range is cleared on your map. The effect reveals towns, roads, rivers, and other map details so you can plan routes and spot points of interest more easily. A bell icon appears on your map when you get close to one, and the interaction prompt lets you ring it.
Where to find bells
Bells are placed at major landmarks across the continent of Pywel, with a heavy concentration in towns and cities. The first bell many players encounter sits in the starter town of Hernand; you can climb the bell tower in the northwestern part of town and ring the bell to clear a large section of your Fog of War.
Beyond Hernand, keep an eye out for tall towers and bell symbols in settlements. Climb to the top when you can and trigger the bell to expand the visible map around that location. Bells won’t reveal every secret. Smaller points of interest and some question-mark locations still require on-foot exploration.
Clearing fog with bells speeds up navigation and helps you find quest locations and natural routes between towns. If you want a sense of how the game looks running on a base PlayStation 5 while you explore, see the nearly 20-minute PS5 clip we covered earlier.
Found a bell tower with an unusual view or a clever route after ringing a bell? Share it with other players and help map the world. Tell us what you think and share your discoveries in the comments, or follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram.
Crimson Desert
Developed by Pearl Abyss
Crimson Desert is an open-world action-adventure game set in the beautiful yet brutal continent of Pywel. Embark on a journey as the Greymane Kliff and restore what has been lost. Explore uncharted lands, fight against threats that stand in your way, and discover the wonders the world has in store.
- Genre: Adventure
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Mac
- Modes: Single player
- Release: 2026-03-19
- Publisher: Pearl Abyss
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Age Rating:
USK 18 / CLASS_IND 18 / ESRB M / PEGI 18 / ACB MA 15+ / CERO Z / GRAC 18+
- IGDB Rating: 98.6/100
