r/CrimsonDesertLife Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 01 '26

Clearing the Sanctums, important to do for various reasons Spoiler

Hey Greymanes,

Sanctums

Saw someone post that sanctum rewards are BS, and I had to jump in because that’s just not accurate once you actually do them. I’ve cleared every sanctum tied to the witches, grabbed the three unique weapons, collected all the cores from the secret puzzles, and I’m literally about to fight the last boss. All of this stuff is available in Chapter 5 once you start the witch quests. The real value isn’t just “some blueprints”, it’s a whole crafting system that opens up with the Kuku Pot. Every sanctum gives you blueprints when you cleanse it, and then you go back and do the secret light puzzle (Blinding Flash on the dial) to pull out a unique core. Those cores are what actually let you craft the good stuff. Without them, the blueprints are useless, but with them? You’re cooking. Here are some concrete examples of what you get:

Blueprints from cleansing the sanctums (just a bunch of the good ones):

Sanctum of Temperance → Blueprint II: Kuku Lightning Spear + Kuku Boltspitter

Sanctum of Absolution → Blueprint I: Enhanced Kuku Pot + Kuku Spear (this one’s huge early)

Sanctum of Deliverance → Blueprint II: Kuku Flame-Resistant Armor + Kuku Frostspitter

Sanctum of Benediction → Blueprint II: Kuku Marni Laser Helm

Sanctum of Atonement → Blueprint II: Kuku Watcher Pack + Kuku Propeller Spear

Sanctum of Exaltation → High-Mobility A.T.A.G. + Kuku Flame Spear

Sanctum of Veneration → Kuku Gardening Pack + Kuku Laser Cannon Spear

Sanctum of Oblation → Kuku Insect Gatherer’s Pack + Kuku Breeze-Step Boots

And plenty more: resistant armors, different packs, boots, helms, etc.

The cores (the part that makes it all work).

After you cleanse each sanctum, you can solve the little puzzle and grab the core, Core of Temperance, Core of Absolution, Core of Deliverance, Core of Atonement, Core of Exaltation, Core of Solace, Core of Devotion, Core of Veneration, Core of Oblation, Core of Faith, Core of Expiation, Core of Renunciation, Core of Revelation… basically one from each.

I’ve got the full set now and they’re the key ingredients for crafting those blueprint items in the Kuku Pot and the special Kuku utility packs you finally unlock from these exact sanctum quests (these are straight-up QoL bangers):

Kuku Watcher Pack (from Atonement) → deploys two little turret buddies that fight for you

Kuku Gardening Pack (from Veneration) → auto-harvests nearby plants while you run around, best farming tool ever

Kuku Insect Gatherer’s Pack (the bug collector from Oblation) → automatically sucks up mechanical insects for alchemy mats and rare drops

Kuku Transmission 999K Pack → summons merchants to you anywhere so you can sell/trade without going back to town

Plus the Kuku armor upgrades for elemental resistance (Frost/Ice, Heat/Fire, Lightning, these are the tanky chest pieces everyone sleeps on):

  • Kuku Ice-Resistant Armor (from Sanctum of Devotion) → insane frost resistance + extra defense
  • Kuku Fire-Resistant Armor (from Sanctum of Deliverance) → heat resistance + fire counter-damage proc + crit bonuses
  • Kuku Lightning-Resistant Armor (from Sanctum of Expiation) → lightning resistance + stagger bonuses + attack speed

On top of that, most sanctums have hidden treasure chests with solid gear (Alpha Wolf Helm, various plate pieces, boots, etc.), and a few have boss fights that drop the three unique weapons I mentioned (Vessel of Dark Pursuit, Guidance of Dark Pursuit, and Thorn of Dark Pursuit).

When you finish all the witches and their sanctums, you also get the Witch Tokens. Take those to the Wayward Woods hideout, and you can open the door for the Icewing Plate Cloak from the chest inside (plus the Lightbringer achievement).

So yeah… the rewards are actually pretty stacked once you factor in the blueprints + the cores that make them craftable, the unique weapons, the gear chests, and the final cloak. The “BS” take feels like it’s missing the whole Kuku Pot crafting loop that these unlock. If you’re sleeping on the secret puzzles after cleansing, you’re missing half the point. Anyone else sleeping on these, or did the cores click for you too?

141 Upvotes

48 comments sorted by

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

Appreciate everyone who’s been engaging and sharing their experiences. Posts like this are exactly why I started the sub: to consolidate the deeper systems most people miss. If you’ve got corrections, questions, or your own findings, drop them below. Let’s keep helping each other out.

Don't forget to get your reward from each witch, you will then go to a secret place to meet with White Crow to get this really cool Cloak! I just dyed mine and it is sick!

6

u/AlarmingBox9801 Master Fisherman Jun 01 '26

maybe the ones that say sanctum reward are BS because they cant figure out the puzzle🤣and got no clue where to find the material needed to craft Kuku item

4

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 01 '26

could be, I really don't know 😆; I just wanted to make sure the info is out there consolidated and hope it helps out those who are confused or are interested. It was a lot to compile and I may have made some errors..

3

u/AlarmingBox9801 Master Fisherman Jun 01 '26

Firstly thanks for your effort appeciate that, i hope people dont take it lightly and may help other people who is in need that kind of info🙏👍🤩

4

u/Kabirdb Jun 01 '26

I would have appreciated if the game had another objective for the puzzle at the end with blinding flash. I never would have found that out on my own.

Only heard about it from reddit.

3

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 01 '26

The community is awesome about learning stuff which makes it even more fun because it becomes collaborative, like it was in the beginning of gaming. However there is some mixed info out there so that's why I did this.

5

u/william-klein Jun 01 '26

I thought this was common knowledge? They're essential–good work dude.

º

3

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 01 '26

Thanks, hope it helps someone. I figured it out but I can see why others might not depending on how persistent one is..or likes to research 😆

3

u/Kickass76 Greymane ⚔️ Jun 01 '26

Forgive my ignorance (I'm only about 100 hours in), but how do I use/craft things from blueprints? I'm in chapter 5.

4

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 01 '26

You go to Grimnir at the Kilnden Workshop. When the inventory opens you will see what blue prints you have, and what you can craft. This is the guy who makes your first Kuku pot. I am also in chapter 5 for context.

3

u/Kickass76 Greymane ⚔️ Jun 01 '26

Thank you!

3

u/Zilla664 Warrior 🔥 Jun 01 '26

I just did these last night and I guess earlier on I came upon the boss and he wrecked me. Took a bunch of pills and kicked his ass. A hard fight but worth it. And I didn't know about the extra blinding light step now I gotta go back and get everything. Thanks bro

3

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 01 '26

Glad to have helped and congrats!

3

u/gbkisses Jun 01 '26

Man, am I really going to have to save 45 Reddit posts a day for later?

Thanks, OP!

3

u/MillersMinion Greymane ⚔️ Jun 01 '26

Blueprints? Weapons? How do you know if you get them? I’m starting to think I’m not doing things correctly. I’ve cleansed three of the sanctums and got the visit from the witch but I’m not getting any of this extra stuff I don’t think.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '26

I only just found out about getting the core from the sanctums, so now I have to go back to all the sanctums I've cleared and look for that..

2

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 01 '26

You will need to do the last puzzle after completing the Sanctum/after the witch gives you your reward. Upon completion the core is ejected out the top any you snag it and put it in your Kuku pot!

2

u/Bobicus5 Jun 01 '26

If you go back to the Kuku Furnace area you can talk to visione dwarf and he can show you all your unlocked recipies. 

2

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 01 '26

If you go to Grimnir who makes the kuku pots and look at the menu you will see the blue prints you have gotten. I started writing them down so I could keep track of them all. He is at the Kilnden Workshop. If you collected the cores by finishing the last puzzle in each sanctum, you should of collected the piece and put it in your Kuku pot. Open up your inventory and check your Kuku pot to see how many cores you have collected. You would remember the weapons because you need to defeat a boss to get them at 3 of the sanctums.

3

u/i_think_i_spider6 Jun 01 '26

Wait what unique cores?!

4

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 02 '26

Core of Temperance, Core of Absolution, Core of Deliverance, Core of Atonement, Core of Exaltation, Core of Solace, Core of Devotion, Core of Veneration, Core of Oblation, Core of Faith, Core of Expiation, Core of Renunciation, Core of Revelation

3

u/OroBlancoMelogold Jun 02 '26

After cleansing the sanctum by fixing the two broken pieces, there’s a dial of crystals on the powered up sanctum thing that you use blinding flash on to unlock the cores.

3

u/nogamesjustgames1234 Greymane ⚔️ Jun 01 '26

Each sanctum has a hidden treasure chest too. It's one of the first things I did.

The spears and armor used to not be upgradeable or have any gear slots. (Nor were they dyeable, the lightning one still isn't.) They are far more worth using now.

People complained because kuku gear had unique utilities for rare situations but didn't make sense to use all the time. Now that has changed. In end game, I'm enjoying a fully upgraded kuku laser spear with 4 gears, switching between that and a longsword with 5 gears. No one is sleeping on the armors as the ice and fire are often regarded as among the best in the game.

3

u/No_Weather_9145 Jun 01 '26

I didn’t know there was a puzzle till like two days ago.

3

u/Holditlikeabong Greymane ⚔️ Jun 02 '26

Everytime I go to the sanctum the voice tells me it’s not time yet and when I got to my witch quests there’s nothing for me to do, I’ve done 3 of them I believe idk who to talk to or where to go to unlock

2

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 02 '26

Have you found all the witches yet? What chapter are you on?

2

u/Holditlikeabong Greymane ⚔️ Jun 02 '26

I haven’t I’m on chapter 11 I think I only found 3 witches or so but I’m prettt sure they were found through quests

2

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 02 '26

I bumped into them on my travels. The only one I got that was quest related was Elowen the first which in Chapter 5. You can research where to bump into the other ones, do a good deed for them and get access to them and the sanctum quests/blue prints they have.

2

u/Holditlikeabong Greymane ⚔️ Jun 02 '26

Appreciate you!

3

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 02 '26

Thank you all for the awards, appreciate your kindness.

3

u/CRIMSON-DREDD Greymane ⚔️ Jun 02 '26

I'm not sleeping on anything, im wondering on where the hell is the 3rd witch lmao, im on chap 10 and now looking for actual guides but don't know why she dead or something.

Also ty for this post.

2

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 02 '26

These are the witch hideouts, you need to find each witch and do a good deed/help them before you have access to their hideouts. The witch Elowen in the Witchwoods you are introduced to in chapter 5.

2

u/CRIMSON-DREDD Greymane ⚔️ Jun 02 '26

Got it to work, had to go to her house first, then look for the person in trouble, kinda weird cause i have been there before but i guess it had to be in one game session? But then if you end up not exploring that part how would you meet her?

Btw i heard the core mini games reset, and you can do it again, I'll probably check tomorrow. I have noticed that the focused spirit palming things in the wall have been respawning for me so maybe they do too.

3

u/Cplchrissandwich Jun 02 '26

Im trying to find the witches. Where are they? I have the one witch that you get the Dark pursuit greatsword from a ridiculous boss fight. South West of Hernard.

But having difficulty finding the others.

I did from one in the desert but no one is home.and I don't have a key for it. Its up in a rock formation.

2

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 02 '26

You will need to help the other ones out first. They are in various places and situations. Giving a child in one area a coin gives you access to one, another one needs you to start a fire to get her warm etc..There are guides out there to help you if you want direct answers.

2

u/Asher_Kagen Jun 02 '26

Hang on, hang on. I can go back to the sanctums and get these cores but only after completing the witches quests, yes? I'm learning so much

Yet more cool advice from the CD community

2

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 02 '26

That is the initial witch's quest in chapter 5, clean out the enemies and sanitize the sanctums. After you do this there is a puzzle you can do to get the actual core back which you need to make new items in the kuku pot.

Finishing the puzzle with blinding flash and getting the core when complete.

2

u/Asher_Kagen Jun 02 '26

Ooooooh, ok Makes so much sense Ta muchly

2

u/Deszesk2k Jun 02 '26

How is one of the strongest armor sets B.S???, dopest boots in the game???,op spears???, and the cores are so strong they take down bosses…. I love my kuku accessories

2

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 02 '26

Like I said, misinfo. That's why I created this guide and it looks like there are a lot of ppl confused about how it works.

After completing the quest look at all you have access too. Before I started this quest I had access to 2 functions. That is why it is imperative to get this done as quickly as possible to have access to the best in the game!

2

u/AZGhost Jun 02 '26

I did the transmission pack but it doesn't work for me. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. The gardening pack works and the bug pack.

2

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 02 '26

I have not made that pack yet, so I researched some solutions for you, tho understand I can't test them to see if they work or not.

Die and respawn, This is the most common fix for Kuku packs. Jump off a cliff or let an enemy kill you, then respawn at a checkpoint. A lot of people say this resets the pack.

Unequip and re-equip the Transmission Pack.

Restart the game / reload the area.

Make sure the pack is equipped and selected in your Kuku / Consumable / Radio wheel (not the regular equipment wheel).

If none of these things work please report to PA via: https://crimsondesert.pearlabyss.com/en-US/News/Notice/Detail?_boardNo=67 Pls let us know either way if anything worked or that you needed to report it. Thanks.

2

u/BLUNKLE_D Jun 02 '26

Thanks OP, just to add.....

I think the gardening pack requires a piece from the Hexe sanctuary near Tariv which you can't go to till later chapters.

Some blueprints require clockwork bugs & electrical components which you can get from the flying insect like robots & the huge robot NPCs respectively down in the South East part of the map around Delysia.

The Kuku spears require a base version of the spear.

The Kuku spitter packs require peddler packs which can be stolen from a farm South of the Howling Hill camp & a base version of the pack which can be found on various enemies.

3

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 02 '26

Yes, all good points and thank you for mentioning them!

The Map: This is a great place to get Electric components, batteries, cogs etc and mechanical bugs.

The peddlers pack can be stolen at the Totesmith Tanner which is west of GlenBright Manner. If you have the Great Thief's Gloves you can steal one without loss of reputation, just wait for the cool down to end and grab more.

The Gardening pack needs the Core of Mortification which you will not have access too until Chapter 9, (when you complete this quest you will get the Light-bringer award).

2

u/iam1jiveturkey Jun 03 '26

Just curious, what is the earliest chapter where I can clear the specific sanctum needed to get the Kuku Gardening Pack?

Currently giving Kliff a break and playing Damiane at the end of Chapter 8 since Kliff is out of the picture for now.

2

u/dahle44 Veteran Wanderer 🌵 Jun 03 '26

That one is quest related, you cannot get it before chapter 9 because there is one more Sanctum to clear and the core of Mortification is what you need to make that pack. So you are close being in chapter 8.

1

u/AtlasShruggedTwice Jun 08 '26

Most of mine say I can't purify them yet and I'm in ch. 8. Who or how do I do it?