Before Crimson Desert launched, the development team clarified that it isn’t a Souls-like, and that anytime you hit a wall, just go out into the world, become stronger and then return to the boss. Palmer Pills, everyone’s favorite Plan B until a boss insta-wipes you, were a thing and could even be crafted. But as more and more people went hands-on, it became obvious that combat fell into two different camps: Dynasty Warriors-esque power fantasy, where one could waylay dozens of foes with merely a thought, and brutal boss fights that would blitz through your defenses.
Of course, it heard those complaints, loud and clear, and went about nerfing certain bosses and enemies. Attacks that massively chunked stamina while blocking are now far more manageable – from the storm that is approaching to hard knocks on a wooden board.
Which isn’t the worst thing in theory. It felt a little odd to be taking so much damage pre-launch, barely finding windows to attack because everyone possessed an ultimate attack with invincibility throughout. And that was even while keeping up with upgrading my gear, the tedium of mining ores and chopping trees mixing with the real joy that is exploration and uncovering various nooks and corners.
However, the development team went even further and decided to further sand off the rough edges. Gliding? Now much easier thanks to lower stamina consumption. Resources? Far more plentiful, as chests containing the same could be discovered while exploring. Players discovered more tech for getting around faster, which went hand in hand with the gliding changes to make it far easier to collect Abyss Artifacts and Abyss Cressets – seriously, go to the Crimson Desert, they’re just waiting around. Which meant that even if you hit a wall with Abyss Artifacts required for upgrades, well, you would have plenty on hand. Even the new Refinement Tokens made it so that any gear that you discovered could be quickly leveled up to become viable.
So, with how much more seamless it is to explore the furthest reaches of Pywel, gather resources for upgrades, and even research how to obtain all the best gear, some players have taken the seemingly logical next step: Asking for difficulty options. One proposition involved making the game even more challenging on Hard mode than it was at launch, effectively creating a “survival” mode of sorts. That would mean long cooldowns on some of the best food, the removal of question marks on the map, fewer Palmer Pills, and so on.
The idea is a weird tightrope because while players feel like they’re overpowered – which is rich, considering the number of posts about spending 50-plus hours and still being in Hernand – they also like being overpowered. While there is the joke about taking a break from a boss and exploring for 10 hours, only to come back and curbstomp it, I don’t think there’s any amount of balancing that could really address that.
Others feel it’s the friction that gave Crimson Desert its true challenge, whether it’s being gated by the progression or taking more time to get around. Which is funny, given how many more positive reviews and players it received on Steam since the last two major patches.
I think it comes down to admitting a couple of hard truths about the boss fights – that, despite how challenging they may be, some of them just don’t feel all that enjoyable. I won’t name and shame specific offenders (*cough* Hexe *cough*), but for all the bosses that inevitably stood out, there were a few that felt like they could use a bit more Q&A. Less invincibility windows, more attacks that actually feel good to punish when you actually avoid them.
One also has to realize that in a game like this, it’s the player who really defines the difficulty. Look at The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. You could effectively beeline it to the final boss from the start with only three hearts if you so chose, ignoring the rest of the world. Whether you actually reached it or not is a different story, but you very well could (and there are plenty who have). Crimson Desert isn’t exactly like that – progressing through the story is a must for reaching the big bad, yet the actual game revolves around the larger world.
As you complete requests, stab through waterfalls, mine materials, and discover new ones, Kliff will passively unlock the means to become stronger. Even if you’re not actively seeking any Abyss Artifacts, a little meter on the side will fill up with every kill, awarding one when it reaches completion. The only real way to challenge yourself is to ignore it, and honestly, going down that path of not using certain things just for the sake of some difficulty can be a thorny one. Where do you stop to hit that sweet spot of challenge?
Let’s not forget that even Breath of the Wild implemented a Master Mode at the end of the day, introducing a tougher tier of enemies, buffing the already existing foes, and even tossing more serious threats into early game environments. It’s not completely out of the realm of possibility for Crimson Desert, and I don’t see the developer locking it behind paid DLC. Maybe for New Game Plus, if players are lucky.
But introducing level scaling, ensuring that every enemy matches your own? I don’t think that’s the right path towards a more challenging experience. When you’re motivated to engage with the world and rewarded in either slight increments of power or strong new tools, it just feels annoying to see your enemies leveling up for free. Besides, it kind of interferes with one thing that many enjoy about the combat, namely, the ability to wreck crowds. The progression also needs some reworking because entering a new region and exploring it to find materials that would inevitably go into upgrading your current loadout is part of the fun. Having stronger enemies may be ideal for some to “test” their broken builds on, but after what point does it just feel ridiculous to see random Demenissian Guard A get up after taking multiple Explosive Arrows to the face?
Of course, it’s still early days for Crimson Desert. Despite launching about two weeks ago, it’s been in discourse for what feels like years at this point. There are still several other areas that need improvement, numerous mechanics that could be further iterated. As much as I see the development team wanting to address every bit of feedback for those currently playing, there’s something about taking the time and really working through what it wants to do with the game. The bigger picture, so to speak.
In the meantime, players should enjoy the current cycle as much as possible – fighting monsters and inevitably turning Kliff into one that can either tank the heaviest of blows or roast bosses with a single combo. That in itself can be a catharsis for many, even at the cost of the few who seek a higher challenge.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
