Sword Mastery Challenges are some of the most satisfying content in Crimson Desert, and they reward you with Abyss Artifacts that directly power up Kliff's skill tree. There are exactly 6 to find, all sitting under the Mastery category in your Challenges menu. Complete the full set and you unlock the Master of Swords trophy and achievement. The catch is that none of them are active by default — you first need to track down a Sealed Abyss Artifact at each location to switch the challenge on.
What Are Sword Mastery Challenges and Why Do They Matter?
Each Sword of Trials challenge activates when Kliff physically picks up a Sealed Abyss Artifact hidden somewhere in the world. These artifacts appear as purple markers on your HUD minimap when you get close enough, so keep an eye on the minimap edges as you travel through Hernand and Demeniss.
The rewards are worth the effort. Every challenge drops at least one Abyss Artifact, which you spend to learn new skills or strengthen existing ones. Two of the six challenges also hand out bonus items: Sword of Trials 4 gives a Destruction I skill item, Sword of Trials 5 rewards a Rend I, and Sword of Trials 6 tops the set off with both a Faded Abyss Artifact and a Destruction II.
Artifact markers glow purple nearby
All Sword of Trials Locations and How to Complete Them
Sword of Trials 1: Quick Kill Test
The first artifact sits on the road heading north from Hernand Castle, on the roadside before you reach the large bridge at Three Saints' Falls near Meandering Hills.
Challenge: Defeat 3 enemies within 30 seconds using any sword.
This one completes itself naturally once you have a sword equipped. If you want to guarantee it, find a cluster of weak, unshielded bandits and open with heavy attacks. An upgraded sword makes this trivial — three hits and done well inside the time limit. You can also soften enemies up beforehand; the challenge only checks the kills, not how much health they started with.
Weak bandit camps scattered around Hernand are the easiest targets. They die in one or two heavy swings with any upgraded blade.
Sword of Trials 2: Simultaneous Kills
The artifact for this one is in Hernand, placed in a small wooden shrine on the southern main path, south of the Spire of Insight in the Steel Mountains area.
Challenge: Defeat 3 enemies at the same time using a one-handed sword.
Here's the thing most players miss: Sword of Trials 2 and Sword of Trials 4 share the exact same completion method. The charged Turning Slash (hold R1 + R2) sweeps in a wide arc that can drop three grouped enemies simultaneously, and the game counts that kill toward both challenges at once. If you have Turning Slash unlocked before you activate Sword of Trials 2, you can knock both off in a single fight.
Turning Slash unlocks here
Sword of Trials 3: No-Damage Run
Find this artifact in Hernand, at a road intersection near Goldleaf Tradepost, sitting on a small road marker. The purple glow on your minimap will flag it from a short distance.
Challenge: Defeat 3 enemies with a sword without taking any damage.
The no-damage requirement sounds harder than it is. Pick the weakest enemy group you can find, ideally isolated bandits with no ranged attackers nearby. Heavy attacks stagger most weak enemies before they can retaliate, so an upgraded sword turns this into a straightforward sequence. If you take a hit, just disengage and reset the attempt.
Mixed enemy groups with archers or mages make this much harder. Stick to melee-only bandit camps to avoid stray projectiles ruining your run.
Sword of Trials 4: Turning Slash Wipe
The artifact is northwest of Kilnden Workshop in Hernand, on the roadside.
Challenge: Defeat 3 enemies simultaneously using the Sword Turning Slash attack.
Turning Slash lives in Kliff's Stamina skill tree, at the end of the first left branch. Once unlocked, hold R1 + R2 to charge up a sweeping strike that launches enemies and instantly kills weaker targets. Herd three low-health enemies together, let the charge fully build, then release. As noted above, completing this while Sword of Trials 2 is active clears both at once.
Reward: 1x Abyss Artifact, 1x Destruction I
Sword of Trials 5: Stab-Only Kills
Travel to Demeniss and look for this artifact at the road intersection south of Reventine Monastery.
Challenge: Defeat 3 enemies in a row using only Sword Stab attacks.
Sword Stab is performed with R1 + Triangle (forward thrust). The key word here is "in a row" — you cannot mix in other attacks between kills. Upgrade the Stab ability as far as possible before attempting this, because the third upgrade tier lets the stab ignore enemy super armor, which matters a lot against tougher targets. At max level you also get a follow-up stab with R1, letting you chain two thrusts per enemy for faster kills.
Reward: 1x Abyss Artifact, 1x Rend I
Fully upgrading Sword Stab before attempting this challenge makes it significantly faster. The super armor bypass alone removes most of the frustration.
Sword of Trials 6: Speed Kills with Forward Slash
The final artifact is in Demeniss, along the path directly south of Jijeong Temple.
Challenge: Defeat 5 enemies within 15 seconds using Forward Slash with a one-handed sword.
This is the tightest challenge of the set. Forward Slash is Kliff's basic heavy attack on R2, and at higher upgrade levels it tracks toward nearby enemies when chained repeatedly. The 15-second window demands a dense group of weak enemies — lone targets or spread-out packs will run the clock out. Find a bandit camp with 5 or more low-health enemies, position yourself in the middle, and spam R2. Each successive Forward Slash pulls Kliff toward the nearest target, so you cover ground fast.
Reward: 1x Abyss Artifact, 1x Faded Abyss Artifact, 1x Destruction II
This challenge does not reset if you kill fewer than 5 in time — you simply fail and can retry immediately. Upgrade Forward Slash before attempting so each hit deals enough damage to one-shot weak enemies.
What Skills Do You Need Before Starting?
You can technically begin any of the first three challenges with a basic sword and no special skills. Trials 4 through 6 each require a specific ability to be unlocked first:
- Turning Slash (Trials 4, and useful for Trial 2): Kliff's Stamina tree, first left branch
- Sword Stab upgrades (Trial 5): upgrade fully for super armor bypass
- Forward Slash upgrades (Trial 6): higher ranks add enemy tracking
Spending your Abyss Artifacts on these abilities before attempting the later challenges is the logical order. Trials 1 through 3 generate enough artifacts to fund the unlocks you need for Trials 4 through 6.
For more Crimson Desert, browse more guides on GAMES.GG for builds, boss strategies, and progression tips to make the most of those Abyss Artifacts once you've earned them.