You know what time it is – a new patch is available for Crimson Desert, and it’s time to dissect all of its newest features, both major and minor. While it may not be as packed as the last update, Patch 1.05.00 is still no slouch and includes several notable additions that will make the late and post-game that much better. Let’s dive into the ten biggest points, starting with one of the most requested…
Boss Rematches
It’s been a long wait, but players can finally take on pretty much every boss once again. By simply heading over to the same location and reading a Memory Fragment – which is visible on both the World Map and minimap – you can rematch against them. And while this is a great way to take revenge as Kliff, it’s possible to play as Damiane or Oongka in these fights as well. So if you’re curious how the former’s bicycle kicks and rapier will fare against Matthias or if the latter can berserk harder than Kearush the Slayer, now’s the time to finally find out. While you can get back any consumables used in a boss battle, there won’t be any additional loot, so if you’re hoping to farm specific gear to enhance them through duplicates, that isn’t possible (though the development team may adjust this in the future).
Reminisce and Resonate
Of course, that’s not all because the Rematch function actually consists of two modes: Reminisce or Resonate. Reminisce will see you fight against a boss as they were when you first met. Think of this as a way to thoroughly school the Reed jerk into submission, courtesy of a never-ending barrage of explosive arrows. But if you want a challenge and a chance to really push your current build to the limit, select Resonate, which causes a boss’s stats to scale to yours. This won’t work if a character’s stats aren’t higher than the boss’s, so you can’t, say, summon a stronger version of a boss and then fight them with a much weaker character.
Re-Blockades
Another eagerly awaited feature, especially given how dead the world could feel in the late game for combat enthusiasts, is Re-blockades. After liberating the various forts and quarries across the land, it’s now possible for 13 factions to reoccupy these locations, thus necessitating another curb-stomping by Kliff and crew. A re-blockade can occur after saving and loading games or after sleeping – essentially, whenever there’s a loading screen, but there is a way to adjust this (more on that shortly).
And thankfully, this isn’t the end, as the development team wants to increase the number of factions and strongholds while tweaking the enemies for more challenging re-takes. It’s also looking to “improve” the entire Liberation and Re-blockade mechanics, though in what way remains to be seen.
Re-Blockade Frequency Settings
Let’s say that you’re the peaceful type, or you just prefer a world where Kliff’s actions have a permanent effect in permanently removing annoyances from different territories. The Re-blockades would seem like a nightmare in that case, but fortunately, you can control when they occur. Simply head into Settings and the Gameplay tab to find the Re-blockade Frequency setting. The default setting is Conflict, which means they’ll only happen occasionally. At War, they’ll constantly occur, really making it feel like Pywel is in a state of almost never-ending battle, but at Stable, Re-blockades will feel like something out of Kliff’s worst nightmare, and peace will reign supreme.
New Legendary Animals
While the boss rematches and Re-blockades are the main appeals, there’s plenty of other new features to check out, including two new Legendary Animals – the Iron Eagle (which is met under certain conditions) and the Hyacinth Macaw. And best of all, you can keep them as pets, summoning them into battle whenever necessary. However, you probably shouldn’t attempt to tame the Macaw with the Iron Eagle since there’s apparently a bug that will keep them both out with no way to unsummon them or switch to other pets. For now, it seemingly only occurs with the Macaw, so make a separate save before trying to tame it.
Crop Harvesting, Mission Dispatch and Other Improvements
The camp has also seen its share of minor but still significant improvements. Annoyed at poor crop yield because you forgot to water them or apply fertiliser? Now you’ll receive two crops at the very minimum, regardless of either. Mission dispatch will also now cancel automatically if you lack the resources to sustain them, and a Camp Expansion will result in housing items properly showing up in the installables UI.
More UI improvements
If you’ve ever been annoyed with opening the Skills menu as either Damiane or Oongka, and seeing it go directly to Kliff’s skill tree, good news – the latest patch now ensures that you’ll see the correct character’s skills immediately. Of course, there are also dozens of little improvements – like teleport paths being more intuitively shown on the Abyss map, owned pets now being visible on the minimap when exploring the Greymanes camp, etc. And thankfully, the team has finally fixed a bug that resulted in the chapter name for a save not actually matching the correct chapter (though you’ll need to perform a manual save to have it take effect).
Dynamic Multi Frame Generation on PC
Those on PC with an RTX 50 series GPU – your time has come. Dynamic Multi-Frame Generation is now an option, allowing for even higher frame rates than before. Those on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S get a Sharpness Enhancement option, but all platforms will see more natural-looking rain falling from leaves and higher-quality visuals on specific animals. Not the biggest jump in fidelity, but given how extensively the last patch improved distant scenery, these are still some welcome additions.
Improvements to NPC Lines and Voices
While it doesn’t seem like any major new story content or changes are inbound any time soon, you have to give credit to the developer for going out of its way to improve the narrative in other ways. For example, certain cutscenes will now play out more “naturally” thanks to improved lines, and there have also been improvements to voices, NPC dialogue and reactions across the board to feel more “context-appropriate and natural.” If nothing else, it improves the overall immersion, making the characters dotting the world feel more alive, which is always a plus.
All the Other Little Additions
As always, however, it’s also about all the little things that this patch includes – many of which may go unnoticed for a long time. Goose and duck pets can now be pet or carried around. There’s now a dedicated shop for selling disguises in case you lack a specific set. Crude Gold Bars are now a thing, meaning that those previously unobtainable Gold Bars in the world which have taunted you for hours upon end can now be collected. All weapons now have improved damage reduction, and throwing enemies with Damiane and Oongka should now feel more responsive. Even the footstep sounds for some characters have been improved.
Perhaps most importantly, this update marks the end of the current roadmap for Crimson Desert. Every feature that the developer promised has been implemented, and while it still has plans for more (see the Re-blockade feature), it’s probably time for it to take a well-earned rest. Seeing this degree of post-launch support in mere weeks since the game’s launch is impressive beyond all measure, and we’re excited for the long term. For now, however, it’s the best that Crimson Desert is going to be, and a fantastic time for newcomers to jump in.