How to unlock the Gold Crown in PEAK

The Gold Crown in PEAK is one of those rewards that instantly shows other players you’ve done it all, every climb, every challenge, every badge. It’s not just a cosmetic; it’s a completionist’s badge of honour. With the MESA update, the climb to this shiny crown has gotten a little tougher thanks to new badges, fresh creatures, and an entirely new biome.

With that in mind, here is more on the Gold Crown in PEAK.

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What is the Gold Crown in PEAK, and how to unlock it?

Grab all the Badges to get through (Image via Aggro Crab || Landfall)

The Gold Crown is basically the game’s “all clear” trophy. You don’t unlock it by grinding levels or completing a single hidden task; it comes as a reward once you’ve earned every badge in PEAK. Think of it as the final stamp of achievement, showing you’ve explored every corner of the game and tackled all its quirks. The crown itself is purely cosmetic, but it carries weight.

Here’s the part that makes it tricky: PEAK has over 30 badges in total, covering everything from exploration to silly side achievements. Classic ones like the Alpinist Badge or Animal Serenading Badge were already part of the grind. With the MESA update, however, things got spicier.

It introduced 10 new Badges, which means even if you had everything completed before, you’ll need to tick off these new ones as well. That includes challenges tied to the new Mesa biome and its environmental hazards.

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Examples of new MESA Badges

• Cool Cucumber Badge: Earned by climbing across the MESA while keeping your Heat under 10%.
• Ultimate Badge: Awarded for catching a flying disk from 100 meters away.

These new ones are tied to Steam achievements too, so if you track progress outside the game, you’ll see them pop up there as well.

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Best way to approach it

On the plus side, it doesn't matter what difficulty setting you're on. You unlock the Gold Crown in PEAK regardless of whether you're playing on the highest setting or the most forgiving, Tenderfoot. If your only goal is completion, we would suggest always staying on easy so you can just check off each achievement without the risk of dying from the environment.

Every badge in-game also gives a small cosmetic when unlocked, which makes it easy to track what you still need. Once you’ve got every single one, the Gold Crown in PEAK will be automatically added to your collection.

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The bug issue

Of course, it wouldn’t be a new patch without a hiccup. Several players on Steam have already mentioned a bug that prevents the Gold Crown from unlocking, even after meeting all requirements. This seems to be tied to the new MESA badges, such as the Cool Cucumber badge and the Ultimate Badge in PEAK.

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Check out: What does the Flare do in PEAK?