You’ve finally made it past the rusted, claustrophobic corridors of Matrix 11. The air is clear, the sun is blinding, and suddenly you’re staring at an ocean of sand. Most players treat the Stellar Blade Great Desert as just another checkbox on the way to the Abyss Levoire, but honestly? That’s the fastest way to miss the best gear in the game.
It’s big. It’s empty. It’s annoying. At least, that’s the vibe for the first ten minutes until you realize half the map is hidden behind verticality and puzzles that the game doesn't bother explaining. If you’re just sprinting toward the objective marker, you’re playing it wrong.
The Solar Tower and the Power Problem
The very first thing you’ll notice in the Stellar Blade Great Desert is that none of the camps work. You can’t rest, you can’t fast travel, and you definitely can’t upgrade your gear. It feels broken. It’s not. Basically, the entire region is on a dead grid.
You need to head to the Solar Tower immediately. Don’t get distracted by the shiny crates or the buried Naytibas yet. Without power, the Great Desert is a death trap where you can't even save your progress. Once you reach the tower, you’ll meet a service drone that’s basically given up on life. Fix it.
Why the "Reboot!" Quest is Mandatory
Technically, you could ignore the "Reboot!" side quest for a bit, but why would you? Activating the tower unlocks the camps across the desert. More importantly, it gives you a sense of scale. From the top of that tower, you can see the ruined city to the south and the oasis to the west.
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The verticality here is actually where the game hides its best secrets. You’ll find yourself platforming across floating drones and hanging off rusted beams more than you’ll be fighting. It’s a nice break from the combat, even if Eve's jump physics can be a bit... touchy sometimes.
The Oasis: More Than a Fishing Hole
There’s this spot in the middle of the Stellar Blade Great Desert that feels like a hallucination. The Oasis. Most people come here for the "Looking Glass" quest because they want the fishing rod. Fair enough. Fishing is a relaxing way to farm Gold and Vitcoins.
But there’s a nuance here people miss.
The Oasis is your "get out of jail free" card for collectibles. If you accidentally missed a Can in a previous area—like the one in the crumbling sections of Spire 4 later on—you can actually fish them up here using Strange Bait. It’s a grind, sure, but it’s better than starting a New Game Plus just because you missed one soda.
The Mystery of the Buried Ruins
To the southeast, there’s a cluster of buildings half-buried in the sand. This is where the side quest "An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth" takes place. This mission is a notorious difficulty spike for players who aren't used to environmental puzzles.
You can't just walk into the ruins. You have to climb a school bus, leap across rooftops, and use a literal seesaw weighted down by a yellow crate to reach the upper floors. It’s convoluted. Honestly, it feels like something out of an old-school tomb raider game. If you manage to get to the top, you’ll face Abaddon. Again. Except this time, the arena is smaller and the stakes feel higher because one wrong dodge sends you off the roof.
Collecting Cans in the Heat
Let’s talk about the Cans. The Stellar Blade Great Desert has some of the most frustrating Can locations in the game. You won't just find them sitting on a shelf.
- Johnson’s Highball Lemon: You have to push a large box to reach a specific ledge in the rocky area.
- Behemoth Black: This one requires a "pressure pad" puzzle where you move boxes onto pads numbered 2, 12, and 13.
- Starwell: This is the one that trips everyone up. It’s buried. You have to wait for a Lurker (the sand-swimming Naytiba) to pass over a specific sparkling spot, then drop a Smart Mine.
The reward for finding all 49 Cans—the Black Pearl Nano Suit—is the ultimate flex. But in the Great Desert, you’re earning every single one of those drinks.
The Point of No Return
This is the big one. If you enter the Abyss Levoire, the game doesn't lock you out immediately, but you’re getting close to the end of the "open" part of the game.
Once you finish the Abyss Levoire and talk to Adam about heading to the Space Elevator (Spire 4), the city of Xion becomes a ghost town. You won't be able to turn in many of the Great Desert side quests. If you care about Lily’s progress bar—the one that unlocks the secret Eidos 9 area—you need to finish every scrap of content in the desert before leaving for the Spire.
Pro Tip: If Lily's meter isn't at 100% when you leave the Great Desert for the final time, you’re locked out of the "best" ending. Don't rush it.
Your Next Steps in the Sand
Don't just wander aimlessly. The Great Desert rewards a specific flow of play:
- Hit the Solar Tower first. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 Vitcoins. Get the power back on so you can actually save your game at camps.
- Unlock the Oasis. Talk to Clyde, get the fishing rod, and use this spot as your home base for the region.
- Sweep the Buried Ruins. Use the "An Eye for an Eye" quest as your guide to explore the vertical sections of the map.
- Check the Bulletin Board. Xion has a board, but there’s also one in the Wasteland and a terminal near the Great Desert Tetrapod. Many of the "Lurker Hunt" missions give you the exact coordinates for hidden upgrades.
The Stellar Blade Great Desert is meant to be a test of your patience and your eye for detail. Take your time, look up at the drones, and maybe do a little fishing. Eve deserves a break before the world falls apart.
Actionable Insights: To maximize your efficiency, equip the Eagle-type Exospine (found in a suitcase near the tower area) to boost your movement and survival while exploring. If you’re hunting for the "Starwell" Can, remember that Smart Mines are your only way to trigger the buried encounter—standard grenades won't work. Before you commit to the Abyss Levoire, double-check your data bank; if you’re missing any "Sentinel" memory sticks, they are likely on the rooftops of the ruined city area.