How Crimson Desert Has Changed in a Month's Time

This summary details the significant changes introduced to Crimson Desert within its first month, covering patches released from March 13th to April 11th. The game, initially played by reviewers and content creators for about 10 days before any changes, saw numerous updates that substantially altered gameplay. The first major patch on March 13th brought several key improvements. Inventory space was more than doubled, increasing from 20 to 50 slots. Additionally, inventory expansion items, previously only obtainable through quests, became purchasable from vendors. Players also received bonus inventory slots upon unlocking new characters: five slots for Damian, another five for establishing the Greymane camp, and five more for unlocking Unka. This patch also introduced the ability to summon allies under specific conditions and added a mechanism to stop falls in the abyss by clicking the left stick, resetting the player to solid ground. A basic photo mode was implemented, and a critical bug fix ensured that players entering Scholastone via any route other than the hidden cave could learn focus force palm before chapter 9, preventing issues with mining bismuth or solving puzzles. Abyss artifacts, which were previously valuable for selling, were made unsellable. The "Big Day One" patch, released for the general public, introduced changes that reviewers couldn't consider in their initial assessments. The "watch and learn" mechanic was streamlined; instead of needing to see a move multiple times to learn it, players now instantly learned a technique the first time an enemy performed it. Boss difficulties were lowered, specifically nerfing the Red Devil fight and reducing the damage of the Crimson Nightmare. A significant quality-of-life improvement was the removal of the requirement to complete a puzzle before the Tennibbrum fight every time a player died. The Witch's Workshop became accessible earlier; players could now utilize its shop and cauldron if they stumbled upon it while exploring the Witchwoods, even before reaching chapter 5. Fast travel points were added within Hernandtown and the Greymane camp, two of the most frequently visited locations, drastically reducing travel time. The QTE for breaking free from enemy tackles was made much easier, giving players more time to react to the sweet spot on the spinner. Four days after launch, the first major post-launch patch introduced a highly requested feature: a private storage box. The first box was located near Hernandtown and later moved to the Greymane camp. This allowed players to permanently stash items without cluttering their inventory. Control responsiveness was significantly improved across various actions, including jumping, character movement, and UI navigation. Abyss Nexus fast travel spots became far more common, making travel throughout Pyell much easier. Ore veins and collectibles now appeared as icons on the map simply by moving close to them, eliminating the need to mine them first. Lighting arrows on fire was simplified by adjusting the range, making it easier to solve related puzzles. Low-quality food items and ingredients had their health restoration increased, and new food items were added to Hernand Tavern, making it quicker to stock up before adventures. Some early-game enemies and bosses had their health reduced, stun gauge buildup on bosses was increased, Kirouch's attack patterns were adjusted, the difficulty of the Red Devil ambush portions was lowered, and stamina consumption for blocking boss attacks was reduced. Five days later, another patch brought game-changing additions. Refining gear was overhauled, allowing the first four levels to be done using refinement tokens instead of materials, reducing farming time. A "make now" button was added to cooking, speeding up recipe creation. A significant change addressed door mechanics: players now had the option to choose whether to use a key to unlock a locked door after running into it, rather than it happening automatically. The mining knuckle drill and Demonian chainsaw were improved to automatically collect ore, allowing players to remain latched onto cliffs. The consequence system for crimes was updated; committing crimes now only affected contribution points if the player was caught, following the "it's only illegal if you get caught" principle. Stamina costs for movement abilities like aerial maneuver and aerial swing were cut in half, and flight stamina cost was also halved, doubling glide time. An unintended function of the aerial stab for gaining vertical height was formalized with a new animation and balanced with increasing stamina costs for consecutive uses. Loading times were dramatically reduced, especially for fast travel and respawning. The subsequent patch focused on bug fixes and minor tweaks but included notable improvements. An Abyss Nexus was added to Poon, providing easy access to the town's shops and quests. Camp upgrades now came with substantial storage space improvements, adding 100 slots for the first four expansions and a massive 360 slots for the final expansion. Movement control options were introduced, allowing players to choose between mashing the sprint button or holding it down. Headgear visibility could now be toggled in the settings, letting players see their character's face. The most recent patch, 1.03, released on April 11th, added new skills for each playable character and further quality-of-life improvements. Players can now fast travel while mounted, falling, swimming, or climbing walls. Cliff received a new ability, the focused aerial roll, allowing him to blast off by activating focus in midair and pressing the dodge button. Damian and Unka also received new axiom force and nature's grasp related abilities, and Damian's shield toss and scattershot now have the same effect as Cliff's force palm. These changes provide a high-level overview of Crimson Desert's evolution in its first month, with a full list of patch notes available on Pearl Abyss's website.