The Festering Desire is a 4-star sword that you’ll receive as part of Genshin Impact‘s The Chalk Prince and the Dragon event. It’s got several abilities and cool rewards. Here’s our guide to help you out.
Note: For more information, check out our Genshin Impact guides and features hub.
Genshin Impact: The Festering Desire sword’s abilities and rewards
To get Genshin Impact‘s Festering Desire sword, you’ll need to complete the “Princeps Cretaceus Chapter” quest. This unlocks The Chalk Prince and the Dragon event proper. Likewise, this lets you obtain a new, follow-up quest.
You’ll want to return to the Adventurer’s Camp that’s marked on your map. Sucrose is here and she’ll ask you to investigate Albedo. It seems something fishy’s going on.
Once you do speak with Albedo, he gives you the Festering Desire sword. He tells you that the weapon has the essence of a fallen dragon named Durin, and you’re the only one who could wield it.
After battling some mobs, Albedo tells you to continue empowering the sword.
To do this, check the event details -> Act I. You’ll see several tasks and rewards:
| Task | Reward |
| Collect 60 Rime-Worn Fragments | 30 primogems, 20,000 mora |
| Collect 120 Rime-Worn Fragments | 30 primogems, 20,000 mora |
| Collect 30 Rime-Worn Crystals | 30 primogems, 20,000 mora |
| Collect 60 Rime-Worn Crystals | 30 primogems, 20,000 mora |
| Enhance Festering Desire to level 20 | 3 Fetters of the Dandelion Gladiator, 3 Heavy Horn, 2 Recruit’s Insignia |
| Enhance Festering Desire to level 40 | 3 Chains of the Dandelion Gladiator, 12 Heavy Horn, 8 Recruit’s Insignia |
So, what exactly is all this Rime-Worn mumbo jumbo? Well, if you defeat enemies in the Dragonspine region, you’ll see that they drop Rime-Worn Fragments or Rime-Worn Crystals. The former tends to drop from weaker mobs (i.e., regular hilichurls) whereas the latter comes from tougher opponents (i.e., Ruin Guards or Mitachurls).
Long story short: just kill stuff and you’ll eventually amass a lot of these resources.
If you manage to claim all the rewards in the Act I panel, you can unlock the Festering Desire’s abilities. These buffs are active for the duration of Genshin Impact‘s The Chalk Prince and the Dragon event, and they’ll greatly boost the character who has the weapon equipped.
Here are the abilities/buffs:
- +60% damage vs. enemies in Dragonspine.
- +35% crit rate vs. enemies in Dragonspine; accumulate Sheer Cold at a slower rate.
- +70% additional crit damage vs. enemies in Dragonspine; +50% extra damage via Scarlet Quartzes.
Since the Festering Desire is a sword, not all characters can equip it. Ideally, though, get your best sword-wielding character to try it out, preferably someone whose elemental skill has a low cooldown. Maybe give it to Jean, a Geo-based Traveler, or Albedo (if you already obtained him via a gacha wish).
As for the Festering Desire’s perks, you can check it out, level it up, and ascend it normally like any other weapon in Genshin Impact. It’s got the following innate perks:
- Undying Admiration – +16% elemental skill damage and +16% elemental skill crit rate.
- Leveling Boost – x1.5 EXP when leveling the weapon while The Chalk Prince and the Dragon event is running.
Note 1: The Festering Desire sword uses the Dandelion Gladiator, Heavy/Mitachurl Horn, and Insignia item types as ascension materials. Furthermore, you can use the Festering Dragon Marrow from the event shop to refine it.
Note 2: Keep in mind that the remaining acts and events for Genshin Impact‘s The Chalk Prince and the Dragon event have yet to go live. It’s bound to provide you with more rewards and perks for the Festering Desire sword.
Update: Two new challenges, Testing Grounds and Draconic Pilgrimage, are now live. You’ll be able to unlock the Festering Desire sword’s other abilities as well as the resources to refine it further.
Genshin Impact is available via its official website. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.
