As a random commenter said, “Does anyone at PA actually sleep?” Because just days after the massive patch 1.06 for Crimson Desert, it’s released patch 1.07. No, not a hotfix – a full-fledged patch. Sure, it’s not as big as previous updates, but it still offers some pretty significant new additions, especially for unarmed combat enthusiasts. Without further ado, let’s go over 10 of the biggest changes, starting with…
More Boss Rematches
If you noticed a few opponents missing when boss rematches were added two weeks ago, then rejoice. Five additional rematches are now available, bringing the total to 74. Like the rest, you can choose to fight them in their original state with Reminisce or scale their difficulty to your level with Resonate. We won’t spoil all of them, but personally, being able to take on a tougher version of Goyen, one of my favorite fights from the story, and throw hands with Muskan again is pretty nice.
New Unarmed Skills for Damiane
Much like Oongka, Damiane’s unarmed combat prowess was underwhelming, and it was especially a shame considering how different her playstyle could be. With this update, she now has dedicated unarmed moves – from a five-punch combo to Drifting Kick for dodging backwards while kicking an enemy and Turning Kick for a rapid three-kick combo. If that wasn’t enough, there’s Ascension, which can launch enemies into the air with a kick, and Cyclone, for essentially performing a Poisonrana on an enemy after Piercing Light. There’s plenty more to discover, especially when imbuing elements come into play, and all of this opens up many more new ways to wreak havoc as Damiane.
Oongka Damiane Get Aerial Stab
Between Focused Force Palm and Force Current, Damiane and Oongka have both benefited from essential skills only available to Kliff. Add Aerial Stab to that growing repertoire. Finally, you can slash through the air as either character, chaining these strikes to attack airborne enemies or, more frequently, to traverse the world. It’s an essential part of Kliff’s movement for quickly climbing mountains and other surfaces, and it’s great that Oongka and Damiane can finally do the same.
Kliff’s Unarmed Blinding Flash Finisher
Now we come to one of the stranger additions to Kliff’s moveset, even if it makes logical sense. Before, he could only perform Blinding Flash with weapons, but eventually, the development team made it available while fighting unarmed. Which is hilarious because there’s really no weapon to reflect light and blind the enemy, but regardless, Blinding Flash Finisher is also usable when unarmed. Again, it seems a given that this would be the case – having one without the other felt odd – but it’s still funny.
More Wolf and Bear Types as Mounts
As of the previous patch, players can now register additional animals as special mounts once they’ve been tamed, including bears and wolves. Patch 1.07 offers more types for both, meaning different colored versions. More of a cosmetic addition than anything, but considering how important the fashion game can be, it’s nice to have this regardless.
Increased Animals in the World as Mounts
While reins have been added for special mounts, providing that extra dash of realism, another notable change is the increased number of animals to use as mounts. Based on player impressions, this means that you can now return to locations, like where you fought the Legendary White Tiger, and find normal tigers to tame. Furthermore, head to Hernand and Pailune, and you’ll discover that the larger wolves can now be tamed.
Combat Improvements for Oongka
Damiane’s animations while fighting unarmed have also been improved, but that doesn’t mean the development team forgot about Oongka. His Explosive Strike skill can now be charged with three different stages, dealing increased damage at each step. Those who favor dual-wielding should also find that it feels better to chain Stabs together, skewering your opponent like it’s nothing.
Hit ‘Em While They’re Down
All of the unarmed additions and improvements are great, but the style felt much less preferable to weapons simply because of the inability to hit enemies on the ground. Well, there’s good news – most attacks and skills that rely on your fists (and feet) will now hit enemies who are lying on the ground. No longer must you wait for them to get up and receive the rest of their beatings like gentlemen or carefully manage those juggles to maximize damage (though it still wouldn’t hurt). Again, the keyword is “most” attacks and skills, so experiment and find the best combos.
Deferred Advance Fix
This may not mean much to those who haven’t gotten far into the story (how’s the weather in Hernand?), but I popped on seeing it finally addressed. Without delving into spoilers, Chapter 12’s mission, “Deferred Advance,” has Kliff summoning Blackstar to attack three special musket sites. This section would receive a very mixed reaction because of how tedious it could be, but it was made even worse by the fact that giving up or retrying would leave Blackstar without full health. If you thus made another attempt, it would be even tougher. Patch 1.07 finally addresses this and makes this mission much more palatable.
The Many Fixes
Of course, there are plenty of other fixes and improvements, ranging from the minor (floppy-eared bulldogs not being able to equip the Sigil of Valor for attacking enemies) to the somewhat annoying (eating not being canceled on Easy and Normal difficulty when unarmed, even if you try to do something else). The Eastern Witch’s Fan – that nifty weapon that could generate a massive gust to blow enemies away – will no longer disappear if you perform material extraction. Saltroad Trading Post’s NPCs should look more normal, for lack of a better word, and those with AMD driver 26.5.1 should no longer see GPU crashes. And of course, this patch marks the continued efforts to improve localization across its many languages.
All in all, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more patches like this emerge – not because of the faster cadence or because they’re “easier.” Instead, they can accommodate fixes that weren’t ready for the last major patch and which the developer wants to push out ASAP. Again, it all depends on various other factors – how far is the next patch? How extensively have these fixes been tested?
But it feels like the team, as well as upper management, is in a race to capture player interest as soon as possible. And while other upcoming big releases are part of it, the company said in its own recent financial statement that sales for packaged games are “front-loaded,” and that over time, it will offer “stable performance” but lower revenue.
It’s too early to say whether these patches will slow down, but the fact that it’s looking to “broaden the game to the next level” and even explore DLC indicates that there’s plenty of mileage to be had from Crimson Desert. I mean.
Where it could go is anyone’s guess – that fluid approach to post-launch support is as mysterious as it is worth celebrating. For now, however, it’s best to enjoy the ride, appreciate the development team’s efforts, and ponder what they could add next.
