Crimson Desert's romance options are the four Witches of Pywel (Elowen, Bari, Lyselia and Areciel) plus a range of merchants, craftspeople, orcs and other residents who show a romance heart icon, and Kliff, Oongka and Damiane can each court and marry them. Romance and marriage arrived with the Charting the Unknown DLC on October 29, 2026: you raise an NPC's normal Trust to 100, choose Interact, then Flirt to build a second romantic Trust meter to 100, and then propose. Below is who qualifies, how the meters work, what each witch requires and what changes after the wedding, as of November 2026.
We checked this against Pearl Abyss's 2.04.00 patch notes and later hotfixes, the official Charting the Unknown feature overview, KeenGamer's romance guide and Destructoid's marriage guide in November 2026.
Romance Arrived With Charting the Unknown
The base game shipped without romance, and Pearl Abyss announced the feature as part of the expansion. Its October 20 feature overview says that with Charting the Unknown, Kliff, Oongka and Damiane can form deeper bonds with some of Pywel's inhabitants, building trust that may eventually become romance and even marriage. The expansion's Steam page lists talking with the people of Pywel to forge deeper bonds among the DLC's features, so you need the paid expansion installed to see any of this.
All three playable characters can pursue romance independently. KeenGamer notes that the protagonists cannot marry one another and that same-sex relationships are supported. One important wrinkle comes straight from the patch notes: if you Flirt with an NPC as one playable character, that NPC's trust with the other two playable characters drops. Decide early who is courting whom, and stick with that character for every romantic interaction.
Who You Can Romance
Eligibility is shown in the interaction menu. Destructoid and KeenGamer both say to look for a heart symbol on the NPC; KeenGamer adds that a crossed-out heart means that NPC cannot be romanced. Beyond the witches, eligible NPCs include certain merchants, craftspeople, orcs and other residents, but guides have not published a full roster, so checking the icon in person is the reliable method.
The four witches have dedicated romance dialogue and relationship quests. Pearl Abyss's notes say witches carry special conditions, specifically completing each witch's sanctum quest. Mild spoiler note: the list below names the witches and their sanctums but not their story outcomes.
- Elowen, Witch of Wisdom: lives in the Witchwoods south of Hernand. You first meet her in Chapter 5's main quest, The Missing Seal. KeenGamer lists four sanctums: Absolution, Temperance, Penitence and Benediction, all in Hernand.
- Bari, Witch of Kindness: home at Crimson Lake in Pailune, after you first find her shelter southeast of the Wayward Woods. Sanctums: Exaltation, Solace, Deliverance and Atonement.
- Lyselia, Witch of Humility: a hidden cave in Serpent Marsh between Demeniss and Delesyia. You meet her by helping her climb back up from a broken bridge west of Deadfire Mountain. Sanctums: Devotion, Veneration, Oblation and Faith.
- Areciel, Witch of Strength: west of World's Navel in the Crimson Desert. Her introduction starts by giving a coin to a child near the Bounty Board at the posthouse north of the City of Tommaso. KeenGamer lists three sanctums: Expiation, Renunciation and Revelation.
Building Trust Before You Flirt
Romance sits on top of the ordinary Trust system, and skipping that first stage is the most common mistake. KeenGamer warns that an unsuccessful early Flirt attempt costs 10 Trust with that NPC, so raise regular Trust to 100 before you try. The expansion reworked NPC interactions to make that easier: the menu now splits into Interact, Chat and Gift, Chat lets you share your Knowledge with NPCs to earn trust, and new books teach you what residents prefer.
Gifts are the fastest lever. Destructoid points to Gold Bars and gifts the NPC likes, and patch 2.04.03 improved the Gift screen so you can select several items at once and set a quantity for each. Our Gold Bar locations guide covers where to find bars if you plan to spend some on a suitor. KeenGamer also lists gear that improves social Trust gains: Solidarity Abyss Gear, Companionship Abyss Gear and the Rabbit Leather Mask.
Each trust-raising interaction now displays a cooldown after you use it, so you can see exactly when the same action will count again. That turns courting into a daily routine rather than a grind session: visit, chat, gift, and come back the next in-game day.
Flirt, Romantic Trust and Proposing
Once regular Trust is at 100, the patch notes describe the next step: select Interact, then Flirt, to build an additional level of trust. Inside Flirt you use Gift or Chat to raise it, and each type of interaction can raise this additional trust only once per day. When it reaches 100, you can propose.
- Confirm the NPC shows a romance heart.
- Raise normal Trust to 100 with gifts, chats and quests.
- Use Interact, then Flirt, and raise romantic Trust with one Gift and one Chat per in-game day.
- For a witch, finish her sanctum quest and the relationship quests KeenGamer says appear around 50, 75 and 100 romantic Trust.
- Select Propose and complete the wedding sequence.
Neither KeenGamer nor Destructoid mentions a ring or other required item. Witch proposals had launch bugs: patch 2.04.05 fixed proposal quests for certain witches that could not progress, and 2.04.08 fixed a witch proposal quest that would not complete even after a successful Propose interaction. If you were stuck at that point in late October, update and try again.
Life After Marriage
Marriage changes more than a status line. According to the 2.04.00 notes, your spouse's icon appears on the world map and minimap, you can travel together, and your spouse may give you gifts from time to time. You can also change your spouse's appearance at the new barber shops in major cities. Patch 2.04.03 fixed spouses not giving gifts properly, and 2.04.02 stopped spouses following you into the water and behaving abnormally in combat.
Homes come into it too. The expansion added 17 residences built through dispatch missions, and once you designate one, your spouse lives there; the map shows which of Kliff, Oongka or Damiane owns each residence. If you want to design that home from scratch, our guide to house building with Free Construction explains the unlock and the layout tools. KeenGamer adds that you can only have one spouse at a time. Breaking up is possible, but Pearl Abyss says it comes at a cost and has not published the exact penalty.
Festivals and Faster Trust
The expansion also added camp festivals, which help romance indirectly. Once the Greymane camp is upgraded far enough, NPCs whose trust you have built visit for a limited-time festival, and interacting with them there raises trust more quickly. Some visitors can be hired as Honorary Greymanes, who join dispatch missions like your other comrades. Patch 2.04.03 also stopped festival visit intervals from stretching out at night. Those Honorary Greymanes are handy staff for the businesses in our Facility Tier guide, and the festival itself is a good time to work on a witch's trust while she is at your camp.
Because witch romances depend on finishing sanctum quests across several regions, it also pays to have the main story well advanced. The DLC's three new character stories only open after Journey's End, the epilogue; our full chapter list shows how far that is from wherever you are now.
Put together, a practical courting routine looks like this:
- Pick one suitor per character. Flirting from a second protagonist drags the NPC's trust down for the others, so assign each romance to a single character.
- Batch your gifts. Since patch 2.04.03 you can hand over several items and set quantities in one Gift screen, which saves a lot of menu time on the regular Trust stage.
- Use the new books. The preference books added in 2.04.00 tell you what each resident likes, so you stop wasting gifts on items they ignore.
- Watch the cooldowns. The interaction menu shows when each action will count again; one Gift and one Chat a day under Flirt is the maximum that matters.
- Visit the barber afterward. The new barber shops in major cities work regardless of your camp, and that is where you change your spouse's look.
Arriving at the Post-Game Ready
If you would rather spend your hours on courting than on catching up, the store's Crimson Desert Full Save + DLC Ready is for PS5 only and is not available for Xbox or PC. Its page describes the main story done with the last seven Epilogue quests left for you to play, every skill unlocked for Kliff, Damiane and Oongka, 30,000 Silver, a 1,000-slot Private Storage, and a collectibles chest holding 639 of 958 collectibles, books and recipes. You must already own the game, and the DLC itself is not included, so you buy Charting the Unknown separately.
Read the full contents on the Full Save + DLC Ready page, or see everything else for the game on the Crimson Desert services hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you get married in Crimson Desert?
Yes, with the Charting the Unknown DLC. Raise an eligible NPC's Trust and romantic Trust to 100, complete any special requirements, then choose Propose.
Who is the best wife in Crimson Desert?
There is no best choice in terms of rewards that guides have documented. The four witches have the most content, with dedicated dialogue and relationship quests, while other eligible residents are quicker to court.
Can Oongka and Damiane romance NPCs?
Yes. Kliff, Oongka and Damiane can all romance and marry eligible NPCs, but flirting as one of them lowers that NPC's trust with the other two.
How do you know if an NPC can be romanced?
Look for the romance heart icon in their interaction menu. A crossed-out heart means they cannot be romanced.
Can you have more than one spouse?
No. KeenGamer reports you can only have one spouse at a time, although you can break up, at a cost, and court someone else.
Why can't I propose to a witch?
Witches require their sanctum quests first, and early builds had proposal bugs fixed in patches 2.04.05 and 2.04.08. Finish the sanctums, update the game and try again.