Crimson Moon throws plenty of loot your way, but if you want to keep your loot, it’s not as simple as finding a legendary item and calling it a day. Gear works differently during and between runs and purifying an item can strip away some of the very bonuses that made it powerful in the first place.
In this guide, I’ll explain how loot works in Crimson Moon, what happens when you purify gear, how the Armory and upgrades work, and how to decide which kinds of items are actually worth keeping for future runs.
Table of Contents
How Loot Works in Crimson Moon
Loot can be found from a wide variety of sources throughout the game: be it in chests and secret areas, by slaying elite enemies and bosses, or, of course, as an end-of-mission reward.
Even after equipping this loot during a run, the job is not done yet. Two factors here play an important role: how rare the loot is (which can range from common to legendary) and how deep you’ve progressed into the city. Obviously, as the game gives you more difficult encounters, at the same time, you get a better chance at looting better items.
Congrats on taking the first step, now it’s show time. Once you find your loot, the tricky part begins.
Purify Gear in Crimson Moon
Basically, there are two options to choose from: you can either equip your item mid-run, or you can purify them and tailor your hero for the next run.
Now this is your chance to get creative but bear in mind that purifying an item comes at a cost. Weapons and shields keep one weapon art, rings and talismans keep one innate boon and armor keeps only base stats (and sometimes a secondary stat like max HP or max mana), it loses all special boons regardless of original rarity.
Purifying gear can permanently add items to your arsenal so you can build the perfect hero for the very start of your next run but only with a base version of the gear.
The Armory System Bonus
What’s the point of having an arsenal if you can’t upgrade your purified gear? Well, the good news is that there is a smith or armory section in which you get to experiment with your loot and improve them to a better version so that you can take on the dangerous areas of the city with valor instead of terror.
Build Around Sets and Playstyles
Build synergy elements are your signature in the game. Personally, I believe this is one of the key criteria that makes this game interesting. Based on your playstyle, and of course, what the run needs, you have to modify your build for the best result.
Now, some might think that purifying items is not such a good idea due to the loss of rarity of boons, but I disagree, since here’s where the game drifts away from its traditional predecessors and wants you to start strong which lets you start strong while better temporary gear comes along as the run progresses.
My recommendation is to invest in armor so you can survive long enough to reach those high-rarity in-run drops.
Crimson Moon Loot Tips and Common Mistakes
- You cannot freely change your loadout mid-run using purified items, remember armory is only available at the start of a run.
- Purified loot does not keep its mid-run rarity or special boons, however some of the limited effects on weapons, rings, and talismans will remain.
- High-rarity in-run drops are still very valuable because of the extra boons they carry during that run.
- One thing you should understand is that the game’s logic is designed more as “stronger permanent baseline + powerful temporary power spikes” rather than traditional permanent loot builds.
- Based on your playstyle prioritize purifying and upgrading weapons, rings, and talismans or armors in order to keep meaningful effects.
