While it’s fun to traverse the land of Pywel in Crimson Desert, it can start to feel lonely taking on hordes of enemies all on your lonesome. Especially once the story has presented other playable characters! Good thing it’s actually possible to summon characters to fight alongside you.
Don’t fret if you weren’t aware that this is a mechanic. Like many in the game, this is another that’s not explained well at all. It’s thankfully easy to do, but also very easy to miss. Here’s how to summon companions in Crimson Desert.
How to Summon a Companion in Crimson Desert
Once you’ve unlocked the Greymane Camp at the beginning of Chapter Three, you’ll be introduced to Damiane. You’ll then be able to switch over to controlling her by bringing up the Quick Slot 1/Comrade radial menu (up on the D-pad or F1 for PC) and selecting her portrait.
Summoning a character works similarly. Follow these steps below:
Hover over a character’s portrait in the Comrade radial menu
Press the prompted button (X/A for controller or spacebar for PC) to summon them
Return to the open world
Press the Menu button on your controller or ESC for PC to trigger the Gather function and bring the characters together.
This also extends to Oongka after you’ve unlocked him as a playable character in Chapter Seven. In fact, unlocking Oongka opens up the option of summoning two companions to join you. All you have to do is choose the third playable character from the Comrade radial menu at any time.
The one drawback is that you won’t be able to start a main quest with companions around. Main quests can only be started and completed while playing as Kliff by himself.
Fortunately, it’s easy to separate the makeshift party and send your companions on their way. Once you wish to return to traveling solo, bring up the Comrade radial menu, hover over a companion’s portrait, and then press the Disband button.
That covers everything you need to know about how to summon a companion in Crimson Desert. Make sure to upgrade their gear as well, so they’re more than ready to help take on any bandit camps that have been giving you trouble.
Crimson Desert is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
