How to win at arm wrestling in Crimson Desert

You first try arm wrestling during the Chapter 1 main quest when you arrive in Hernand. The Where Rumors Gather objective sends you into a tavern to track down information about your scattered Greymane comrades, and that leads to an arm-wrestling minigame. Once the countdown ends, tap E (or the controller prompt) as fast as you can to gradually fill the clenched-fists icon with red.

Occasionally a quicktime event will trigger: an arrow spins around a circle and you must press R (or the controller prompt) when it hovers over the white section. After the quicktime event, return to tapping E until the next one; when the icon is fully red you slam their hand down and win.

The minigame is essentially button-bashing with a quicktime event thrown in and is comparatively easy—more so than working out how to fish. Crimson Desert's quicktime events can be a bit borked: later in battles one has a soldier tackle and punch you repeatedly, and the only way out is a strangely tough prompt.

crimson desert, arm wrestling, hernand, minigame, quicktime event, button bashing, controller prompt, e key, chapter 1, greymane