Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss has just released its June-September preview, teasing some of the big updates heading to the gargantuan open-world romp this summer, and a couple of them are things players have been desperate for since launch.
One of the headline attractions is Pearl Abyss’s mission to improve the story. There are lots of great story beats across the infinite hours of Kliff’s adventure, but Crimson Desert’s story undeniably feels stitched together or sometimes barely there at all. Hopefully that’s going to change this summer.
“We have been carefully reviewing the story-related feedback you have shared with us,” Pearl Abyss says. “To further strengthen the narrative flow of Kliff’s journey and to make it more engaging, we are working to refine and improve the coherence of key scenes. We hope these improvements will offer something new even for those who have already experienced Pywel.”
Then there’s the issue of Damiane and Oongka. Crimson Desert is undeniably Kliff’s journey—as Pearl Abyss emphasises above—so the existence of two more playable characters is a bit awkward. They are locked out of most quests, for instance, making it hard to know when it’s worth playing as them. Upgrading them is also a problem, as any points you put into their skills are points you’re not putting in Kliff’s. Yes, you can refund skills, but it’s a bit of a faff.
How Pearl Abyss intends to fix this isn’t clear, but improvements are promised. “Damiane and Oongka’s overall gameplay experience will be improved,” the developer says. “Various adjustments will be made so that all three playable characters can get a share of the spotlight.”
Less critical, I reckon, is the re-blockade update. Pearl Abyss will be introducing a new phase to the blockade system to “make the flow before and after a blockade more natural”. There will also be ways to “defend certain strongholds from the threat of invasion”. Rewards for liberating strongholds will also be beefed up.
This is good, but I confess I don’t really care much about blockades and I kinda wish they were one-and-done affairs. Crimson Desert’s massive enough already—I would actually like to finish it one of these days.
There are also vague additions to “combat-focused content” coming, along with a cross-save feature and quality of life improvements to “non-combat content”.
None of these improvements have been dated, and they are still subject to change, but for now we can expect them to appear over the next few months.
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