It’s no secret that Crimson Desert has taken up a significant amount of my gaming time this year, with the original release having me totally engrossed in Pywel, and each update ironing out the experience enough for me to keep going on my main save. Of course, that isn’t counting all the other saves I’ve started up to test out new things, many of which continue to remain unfinished as I keep switching between them to enjoy different builds.
Charting the Unknown is thus high on my list of priorities for the month, and it isn’t just the allure of an expansion to a game that’s become my favorite open world this year. It’s also about the trivial stuff that I can’t wait to do once I get to engage with it. I’ve got a few examples, and the time to tell you why they’re things I’m going to make a beeline for.
Let’s go!
1. Ride A Shark
If you’ve picked up the Marni’s mechanical horse in the base game and tried to ride it underwater, you already know that Pywel does let you go underwater, albeit in a way that the game doesn’t necessarily want you to utilize.
Charting the Unknown is then a logical extension of Pywel’s explorable area, and taking the expansion below the surface is among the things that got me hooked in the first place. That, combined with the game’s penchant for getting really cool mounts right, has me quite eager to ride a shark and see if it’s able to cut through the water with the speed and precision I expect.
2. Build A Home I Actually Come Back To
No, I don’t consider the ones I’ve got at the Greymane camp across my saves an actual home since I know I’m getting uprooted a little later in the story. And Pailune doesn’t really cut it, not after knowing about Kliff’s role in the world and among the Greymanes. We know the expansion’s bringing ways to build a more permanent presence in Pywel.
For my part, I want a place I can call mine, decorate it as I fit, and get enough utility out of it to justify return visits, and perhaps some well-deserved rest after whatever the expansion’s going to throw at me.
3. Fight That Laser-Firing Monstrosity
Marni’s machines were among my favorite enemies in the game, as was that particular storyline and region. Those laser attacks look like they hit very hard, which naturally has me curious to see if there are ways to turn them back against their wielder.
Of course, my love for fighting giant monstrosities is a factor here, and I can’t wait to master each of this particular foe’s attacks and animations, and begin exploiting them with the ease of a seasoned Greymane. That’s true about all the new bosses I’ll be facing, sure, but something about this one just calls to me.
4. Take The Helm Of My Ship
Kliff getting to add ship captain to that extensive resume that sees him fill such a pivotal role in the grander scheme of things in Pywel is definitely a cause for celebration, where I’m coming from. Any world where I can just set my sights on something in the distance and set off towards it piques my interest.
Well, throw in a ship, and you have the Black Flag fan in me jumping for joy. Steering a ship is something I’ve looked out for in my games over the years, and Charting the Unknown really gets some brownie points for this one.
5. Check Out Those Sunken Ruins
There’s something about swimming through crumbling ruins that’s just appealing to the open-world fan in me. While I do feel that familiar sense of dread in any game that has me diving under the water with danger around, that fear is also what makes the activity so memorable in the long term.
I might never recover from swimming through the ruins of Las Vegas in Horizon Forbidden West, but I’m certainly going to be swimming alongside the lot of you in Charting the Unknown. I just hope there aren’t too many hostile creatures to deal with, although I’d be grudgingly happy to do that if the combat system allows for it.
6. Be A Landlord
I found it weird that Kliff didn’t have the ability to purchase properties despite the title of Howling Hill coming to him so early in the story. I did invest in the area quite heavily, as part of the gameplay loop, and not having a more permanent presence in Hernand feels like a waste of the Greymane’s efforts to bring a better future to its doorstep.
Well, what if a few of those doorsteps were mine? That would make me quite happy, with places that are mine in a city that was often quite hard to leave, even when there were compelling mysteries vying for my attention in Demeniss and beyond. Of course, having those earn incomes outside of all the other ways to make money in the game are systems I can’t wait to get started with.
7. Pull Off A Daring Escape
Of course there was going to be an underwater machine with giant rotors spinning out a current that could mean a very grisly death for anyone caught in it. Well, I can’t wait to see how Kliff, Damiane, or Oongka manage to escape it, with me helping, of course.
It’s something I feel could be as thrilling as trying to escape the Arkham Knight’s monstrous driller under the tunnels of Gotham, a sequence of chases that continue to make me smile to myself from time to time. I can’t wait to see if Crimson Desert’s expansion manages to top that list of fond memories with this one.
8. Get Lost In the Exploration Loop
Piloting my ship is one thing, but weighing anchor with a sense of abrupt urgency as an island catches my eye is a major part of why I find ships so appealing in the first place. It’s not just about finding an interesting new locale, but also about finding the perfect place to dock, and then pulling off the maneuvers needed to ensure I don’t beach my vessel.
I expect nothing but the best mechanics when a ship is involved, and getting behind the wheel of my vessel is something I can’t wait to test out. It’s a whole thing with me, but the sight of my ship gleaming in the sun with the horizon as its backdrop is always a lovely reward to justify the obsession.
9. Take On That Explosive Warrior
For someone who believes that an attack that isn’t parried is one that means an opportunity for some aura farming was wasted, that footage of Damiane fighting a warrior whose every blow brought an explosion has been the beginning of a long wait before I get to seek him out. Of course, that’s assuming they can even be parried to begin with.
I’m excited to master that fight, as the warrior might just be a new enemy type that I fight regularly, but I’m almost certain those blows and resultant explosions have ways to deal with them that are going to make me feel like the powerful Greymane I’ve become over the last few months.
10. Nab Underwater Treasures
There’s just something about finding treasure chests that were previously lost to the depths of the seas, and getting to that in a place like Pywel where waterfalls concealed some seriously good loot feels logical.
I can’t wait to find my next cool armor or weapon and begin build-crafting all over again, with potentially new Abyss Cores coming into play. Of course, the journey to them all could be as memorable as the reward at the end, but I’m not counting out the potential of entirely new customization mechanics just yet.
11. Explore Beyond the Beach
I was never going to be content with just weighing anchor and spending only a superficial amount of time on an island before leaping on to the deck of my ship and sailing away into the sunset. Pywel’s taught me better, and I can’t wait to spend entire weekends poring over the map to see if I could carve out another secret or perhaps a new boss lying in wait for me in some obscure corner.
In a game like this, I’d say the more islands there are that hide a great many secrets, the better.
12. The Underwater Propulsion Systems
I was absolutely floored by the ability to run across water in the base game when that eventually made its way to Pywel, and I can’t wait to see how that awesome new propeller works under the surface in Charting the Unknown.
I’m hoping it’s going to feel as smooth and blindingly fast as its above-surface counterpart, and that it can integrate well with other modes of transport, including the one I can’t wait to try out! I’m fairly confident I’m in for a treat, though.
13. Test Out My Existing Builds
With the memory of my early hours in Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen still fresh in my mind, I’m waiting to see if there’s a spike in the level of challenge that Charting the Unknown is going to offer from the get-go.
I’d really appreciate one, as well as a new combat rhythm that could potentially alter my approach to the enemies I’m yet to face down. The ones in the base game are all too familiar now, and I want to see if I’ve fallen into a comfort zone and break through it if I have.
14. See Pywel From Beneath the Water
Everything Pywel has had to show me so far has been on the land or in the sky. Going underwater automatically feels like I’m seeing a side of the world that’s been kept hidden from me, and could potentially help flesh out each of the world’s regions a bit better.
How did the Crimson Desert come to be a dry wasteland? Do Marni’s structures have their foundations embedded into the ocean floor? Can we visit them if they are? I could spend a whole other article shooting off questions like these, but I choose patience and restraint for the next seventeen days (at the time of writing this).
15. The Bigger Mystery
Something’s clearly up, and if it’s enough to grab the attention of our three playable protagonists, you can bet I want to know more about it. I’m hoping that I learn most of it alongside them, with the greater mystery guiding the adventure along.
I know I’m going to be torn between exploring the new underwater frontier I’m presented with and learning more about what’s prompted the new adventure, and it’s a dilemma I know I’ll be glad to have.
