Gather Skyroot in Crimson Desert’s Halted Research quest by equipping a shovel, finding the correct dig spot near Ivynook, triggering the Shovel prompt, and returning it to the assistant.
To gather Skyroot fast in the Halted Skyroot Research quest, equip a shovel, find the proper Skyroot dig spot after speaking to the Scholastone Research Assistant, line up the camera until the Shovel prompt appears, hold interact to dig it up, then return the Skyroot to the assistant.
The Halted Skyroot Research quest stalls a lot of players for one simple reason: the game never tells you that Skyroot has to be dug out of the ground with a shovel. There’s no obvious harvest prompt on the plant itself, so it’s easy to stand right on top of the Skyroot and assume the quest is bugged. It isn’t — you just need the right tool and the right camera angle.
Dig Skyroot with a shovel, not the vines
The single thing that unblocks this quest is the shovel. Skyroot is dug up out of the ground, not pulled from vines or chopped off a plant, which is exactly where most people get stuck — a common community question is literally how to get Skyroot “from the vines,” and the honest answer is that you don’t.
How to gather Skyroot with the shovel in Crimson Desert
STEP 1/5
Equip a shovel
You can’t gather Skyroot bare-handed, so equip a shovel before you reach the dig spot.
STEP 2/5
Stand right at the Skyroot
Get up close to the Skyroot the assistant points you toward — digging at random spots around it won’t do anything.
STEP 3/5
Aim the camera until “Shovel” appears
Slowly move the camera over the ground until the on-screen prompt actually reads Shovel.
STEP 4/5
Hold the interact button to dig
With the Shovel prompt showing, hold interact and your character starts shoveling.
STEP 5/5
Collect the Skyroot
The dig drops Skyroot into your inventory, ready to take back to the Scholastone Research Assistant.
If digging does nothing, pan the camera slowly over the ground until the Shovel prompt appears, then hold interact — your exact footing rarely matters, the camera angle does.
Video help
Getting the Shovel prompt to appear
This is where the quest quietly fails most players. Equipping the shovel does not let you dig the ground at random — standing near the Skyroot and mashing interact does nothing on its own. You have to move the camera over the Skyroot until the prompt on screen actually reads Shovel.
Where to find Skyroot near Ivynook
The quest itself gives you a clear direction. After the Scholastone Research Assistant at Ivynook sends you out, the anchored instruction is to head south from Ivynook and dig up Skyroot there. That’s the route tied directly to the quest objective, so it’s the one to trust if you just want to clear Gather Skyroot and move on.
Reasons the Gather Skyroot objective won’t progress
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| No shovel equipped | Equip a shovel — Skyroot must be dug up, never chopped or grabbed. |
| Trying to harvest the vines directly | Ignore the vines and plants; dig the ground patch with the shovel instead. |
| Digging with no prompt showing | Aim the camera until the Shovel prompt appears, then hold interact. |
| Research hasn’t halted yet | Let Skyroot Research stall at 50% so the Gather Skyroot step unlocks. |
| Turning before collecting | Confirm the Skyroot is in your inventory before heading back to the assistant. |
If the quest refuses to tick over, it’s usually one of a handful of small things rather than a real bug. The gather step only opens up after Skyroot Research at the Scholastone Institute halts (it stalls at 50%), and from there the most common blockers are tool, technique, and turning in too soon. Scan the table for your situation.
What about Skyroot the sources don’t confirm
A lot of the finer Skyroot details simply aren’t pinned down yet. There’s no verified exact count of Skyroot the quest asks for, no confirmed respawn timer, drop rate, gather multiplier, reward, or shovel cost, and no exact dig coordinates in the material that’s circulating — the only firm number is the research halting at 50%.
You’ll also see claims that Skyroot takes about two in-game days to mature and that finishing Halted Research can remove a specific Abyss Artifact farming route. Both come from adjacent farming discussion and aren’t confirmed for this quest’s gather-and-return step, so don’t plan around them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a shovel to gather Skyroot?
Yes. Skyroot is dug out of the ground, so a shovel has to be equipped — there’s no way to complete the Gather Skyroot objective by hand or by cutting plants.
Why won’t the Skyroot prompt show up?
Almost always the camera angle. You have to aim the camera at the ground by the Skyroot until the on-screen prompt reads Shovel; until it does, holding interact won’t dig, and poking at random spots nearby gets you nowhere.
Can you harvest Skyroot from the vines?
No. Pulling or chopping the vines directly doesn’t give you the quest Skyroot — it has to be dug up with a shovel. This is the single most common mix-up on this quest.
Where do you turn in the Skyroot?
Bring it back to the Scholastone Research Assistant who sent you out, at the Scholastone Institute near Ivynook. Showing them the Skyroot resumes the paused Skyroot Research.
Is the exact amount of Skyroot you need confirmed?
Not in the available material. It’s described as a small gather-and-return objective, but the precise number of Skyroot units — like most of this quest’s stats — isn’t verified.
