How to open Hernand Castle Strongbox

Crimson Desert Hernand Castle Strongbox — (Image credit: Pearl Abyss)

Unlocking the Hernand Castle Strongbox is a fun little puzzle in Crimson Desert in which you have to replicate a melody, but if you're not musically inclined, you might struggle somewhat. To access this safe, you'll first need to enter Hernand Castle and you'll also have to get a key to unlock the door to the room that the box is inside.

Finally, you'll need to acquire a mask in order to actually steal what's inside the box when you're done—the same is true for all other strongboxes as well. Once all those steps are done, you're ready to solve the Hernand Castle Strongbox.

Hernand Castle Strongbox solution in Crimson Desert

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Crimson Desert Hernand Castle Strongbox - Melody — You'll have to enter a sequence of seven notes to open the safe(Image credit: Pearl Abyss)

This strongbox requires you to play a specific melody to unlock the safe. If you crank the dial on the right side of the box to the point it starts to slow and catch, then release it, the melody will play. This is what you have to copy. If you crank it multiple times, it'll repeat the melody, making it easier to match notes on the keys while it's still playing.

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Now, the top row has three keys, which, for the purposes of this explanation, we'll say are 1-3, and the bottom row has five keys, which we'll call 4-8.

With that in mind, the order you need to play the keys is:

1-7-6-7-3-4-3

This will open the strongbox, letting you steal the Lavish Meal Recipe inside, provided you have a mask, that is. Also make sure there are no random nobles sitting behind you in the room. When I was unlocking it, one came in and sat down without me realising, which got me thrown in Hernand jail.

Since each strongbox in Crimson Desert is a bit different, you'll have to solve more puzzles for the Bluemont Manor Strongboxes or any of the others you find while pilfering around Hernand.

Sean's first PC games were Full Throttle and Total Annihilation and his taste has stayed much the same since. When not scouring games for secrets or bashing his head against puzzles, you'll find him revisiting old Total War campaigns, agonizing over his Destiny 2 fit, or still trying to finish the Horus Heresy. Sean has also written for EDGE, Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, EGMNOW, and Inverse.

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