One of the earliest puzzles players stumble across in Crimson Desertsits inside a guarded manor in Hernand, and it's been tripping up more than a few newcomers. The Hillside Manor strongbox puzzle is found in the northeastern part of that first town, and the payoff , the Saint's Necklace , is genuinely worth the detour.
Getting past the guards first
Here's the thing: you can't just walk through the front door. The guards stationed at Hillside Manor will block your entry, which catches a lot of players off guard (pun intended). The workaround is to climb the exterior of the building and slip through a window. Once inside, head to the southwest corner of the second floor to find the strongbox.
This is actually one of the first puzzles Pearl Abyss's Crimson Desert drops in front of players, alongside the Bluemont Manor strongbox puzzles nearby. The mechanics are identical between the two locations, just with different solutions.
What the puzzle actually looks like
The strongbox itself is decorated with a mountain range painted beneath a night sky. Below the artwork sit five two-tone cylinders, each silver and bronze, with five rotatable wheels underneath them. A button on the right side of the strongbox triggers the mechanism.
The goal is to wind each wheel the correct number of times so that the line running through the middle of the cylinders rises to align with the dividing line between the artwork and the wood frame. Scroll too few times or too many, and the button press does nothing.
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Wind each wheel carefully and count your scrolls. There's no visual counter, so it's easy to lose track mid-puzzle.
The exact solution
From left to right, here's how many times each wheel needs to be wound:
Once all five wheels are set correctly, press the button on the right side and the strongbox opens.
What you actually get for solving it
The Saint's Necklace provides 5 defense and, more usefully, a passive ability to rapidly restore depleted stamina. For players still in the early hours of Crimson Desert, that stamina recovery can make a real difference during extended exploration or combat sequences.
One catch worth knowing: picking up the necklace requires the steal mechanic to be active. If you haven't learned how to steal yet, the item will sit right there in front of you and you won't be able to grab it. Sort that out before making the trip.
For players working through the rest of Crimson Desert's puzzle content, the same wheel-winding mechanic appears in the Bluemont Manor puzzles, so solving Hillside Manor first is solid practice. The world of Pywel has a lot more of these hidden across its regions, and you can browse more guides to track down the rest. Make sure to check out more:
