Crimson Desert: Arm Wrestling explained, how to win

There are loads of fun minigames to enjoy while playing Crimson Desert, and Arm Wrestling is one of the first that you’ll find.

Arm wrestling is a pretty common pastime for the citizens of Pywel, and in this guide, we’re breaking down everything you need to win at arm wrestling in Crimson Desert.

How to play Arm Wrestling – Crimson Desert

If you want to pick up arm wrestling, you can get to it in the very first town you visit, Hernand. Inside the bar here, you’ll find a group of men arm wrestling on the tables. You can speak to the Host here to enter the tournament yourself.

Arm wrestling competitions cost a small amount of money to enter, but you stand to make a lot of money in return, especially if you win bouts consecutively.

How to win Arm Wrestling – Crimson Desert

Arm wrestling is basically a button-mashing competition. There’s a centre icon that fills red from left to right as you win, but if it depletes all the way to the left, you’ll lose.

You’ll mash X on the controller or E on the keyboard to fill the icon red, and you’ll be briefly interrupted by quicktime events to tap A on the controller or R on the keyboard, but only when a rotating indicator is in the highlighted zone. These quicktime events can make or break an arm wrestling competition, so watch keenly for them and wait for the right moment to tap the button.

Playing on controller results in a much easier mashing experience, in my opinion, but you’ll win regardless as long as you stay sharp in each round and watch for the tricky QTEs.