Investigation & Contradiction Answers Guide: All Correct Choices

Master Crimson Desert's investigation system. Get correct answers for Weight of Knowledge and Close Threat, earning the Scholar's Insight ring.

Crimson Desert features a unique investigation and contradiction system. During certain quests, you enter Investigation mode to examine clues, interrogate witnesses, and identify contradictions. Getting answers wrong can lead to missed rewards, different quest outcomes, or altered NPC relationships.

When an investigation begins, you explore a limited area, examine highlighted objects for clues, and speak with NPCs. Discovered clues are added to your Evidence Log. After gathering enough evidence, you enter the Confrontation phase to select the correct evidence to counter a claim or identify a contradiction within a time limit. Choosing correctly advances the investigation; choosing incorrectly costs one of your three allowed mistakes. Exhausting mistakes leads to a suboptimal outcome, and retries require reloading a save.

Thoroughly explore every investigation area and examine every available clue before entering the Confrontation phase. Additional clues can unlock bonus dialogue and better rewards.

Weight of Knowledge: The Contradiction Investigation

This quest takes place in Hernand's scholar district. A scholar named Aldric is found dead in his study. Initial clue gathering involves examining Aldric's body, the fallen bookshelf, the open window with scuff marks, the ink-stained letter on the desk, and the broken wine glass. Speak with Aldric's apprentice Maren, the librarian Hollis, and the night watchman Gareth.

The Confrontation has three rounds:

1. Round 1: Maren claims she was studying in the adjacent room and heard the bookshelf fall at midnight. Present the ink-stained letter, dated that evening with a note from Maren stating she was leaving for the tavern at sundown.
2. Round 2: Hollis claims the window was always open because Aldric liked fresh air. Present the scuff marks on the window sill, indicating someone climbed through and it was opened from outside.
3. Round 3: Maren claims the bookshelf fell on its own because it was overloaded. Present the examination of the bookshelf's mounting bolts, which reveals they were deliberately unscrewed.

Completing all rounds correctly reveals Maren as the culprit and unlocks a bonus scene. The reward for a perfect investigation is the Scholar's Insight ring, which permanently increases experience gained from quests by five percent.

Close Threat: Shakatu's Investigation

This investigation occurs in Pailune and involves merchant lord Shakatu, who suspects a spy in his trading company. This investigation has five Confrontation rounds and a larger pool of evidence.

Examine Shakatu's office for the ledger discrepancy, the decoded message hidden in the warehouse inventory list, the unusual shipping manifest showing extra cargo weight, the dockworker's testimony about midnight deliveries, and the guard rotation schedule with suspicious gaps.

The five suspects are: First Mate Doran, Accountant Vera, Warehouse Chief Bullen, Guard Captain Hask, and Shakatu's daughter Lira.

The five Confrontation rounds are:

1. Round 1: Doran claims he has never accessed the warehouse at night. Present the guard rotation schedule, showing his name signed into the warehouse during a midnight patrol gap.
2. Round 2: Vera claims the ledger discrepancy is a simple accounting error. Present the decoded message from the warehouse inventory list, using the same cipher format as the ledger discrepancy.
3. Round 3: Bullen claims the extra cargo weight is from water damage to grain sacks. Present the shipping manifest combined with dockworker testimony about midnight deliveries, showing the extra weight was loaded at night separately.
4. Round 4: Hask claims the gaps in the guard rotation were due to illness. Present the guard rotation schedule (implied to show no record of illness or alternative explanation for the gaps).
5. Round 5: Lira claims she was unaware of any suspicious activity. Present the decoded message (implied to show her involvement or knowledge).