Crimson Desert's Charting the Unknown will let you work toward sailing before finishing the main story. Pearl Abyss's October 20 overview says the ship questline becomes available after you establish the Greymane Camp at Howling Hill. The three new character stories have a different requirement: complete the campaign first.

That distinction matters if you stopped midway through the game and are returning for the ocean content. The DLC remains scheduled for October 29, as covered in our release-date report. These are announced unlock requirements, not a notice that the expansion is playable now.

A character in diving equipment swims through underwater ruins in Charting the Unknown.
Image: Pearl Abyss.

Howling Hill opens the ship questline, not every feature

Once the camp is established, a related questline leads to ship ownership. Pearl Abyss describes two ways to obtain a ship: send comrades on a ship-building dispatch mission at a port, or purchase one from a Fleet Office manager. The separate ocean-focused storyline becomes available after completing Howling Hill in the main story.

Diving has no special unlock condition for Kliff, Oongka or Damiane. It still consumes breath. Gear such as a diving suit can extend underwater time, so being allowed into the water does not mean you can stay there indefinitely.

Housing needs another step beyond setting up camp. Complete Luke's Request under the Grounds of the Sunrise Greymanes Faction quest to access both the regular and upgraded housing systems. The latter lets you build a house from the ground up.

Business management also depends on camp setup and the faction quest that liberates the relevant region. The overview gives a restaurant in Vellua and a smithy at Zargan Tankworks as examples. It does not provide a full cost or income table.

Finish the campaign for character stories, castles and trials

Kliff, Oongka and Damiane each receive a new storyline, started through the Journal after the main story is complete. Do not confuse those adventures with the ocean story's earlier Howling Hill requirement.

Three castles can be claimed after completing the main story and relevant quests, then liberating the strongholds to unlock their claim missions. Garden of Trials also requires clearing the main questline. It puts bosses encountered during the adventure into a sequence of fights, with special rewards that this overview does not fully list.

You can find the expansion on its official Steam page and watch the publisher's features overview. For preparation now, check Howling Hill and Luke's Request against your save; finish the campaign if the character stories or Garden of Trials are your priority. Pearl Abyss says more details will arrive in release-day patch notes.