New Crimson Desert update lets you 'rematch' defeated enemies and adds new legendary creatures

Kliff looking serious — (Image credit: Pearl Abyss)

Smash hit open-ended RPG and pillar of K-content Crimson Desert has been compared to a singleplayer MMO by both fans and detractors, but perhaps the most MMOish thing about it is how players are frequently returning to find an unrecognizable game. The onslaught of feedback-driven updates continues in a patch released today which boasts two new features: rematch and re-blockade.

Rematching lets you fight bosses you've already beaten "to test your progress and experiment with different tactics," the patch notes explain. Just go to where you fought the boss, light your lantern, and begin the fight one of two ways: with your foe balanced as they were when you first took them on, or with their numbers pumped up to match your current gear. You can't get new loot from these fights, but you can use any character for them and you'll get back any consumables used.

Following a similar thread, re-blockades allow factions to retake liberated areas, though this should happen more organically. You can set re-blockades to happen frequently, every once in a blue moon (the default option), or not at all if you'd rather enemy factions stay down. The system impacts 13 different factions and 23 areas, but the patch notes clarify this will be expanded and "improved" with upcoming patches.

Article continues below

Those are the headlining new additions, but there are plenty of other little changes—new legendary pets in the Iron Eagle and hyacinth macaw, a new shop that sells disguises, and so on. There's also a deluge of bug fixes and a catch-all note for "various other in-game issues," so it's yet another marathon of tweaks for fans to pore over.

It'll be interesting to see what the game looks like a year or more from now, as Pearl Abyss has proven willing to add new features and make major switch-ups at the drop of a hat. It truly seems to embody a 'let players do whatever they want' sort of attitude, right on down to adding enough camera options to slap together a custom isometric perspective, and I'm sure it will only expand things in the months to come.

Justin first became enamored with PC gaming when World of Warcraft and Neverwinter Nights 2 rewired his brain as a wide-eyed kid. As time has passed, he's amassed a hefty backlog of retro shooters, CRPGs, and janky '90s esoterica. Whether he's extolling the virtues of Shenmue or troubleshooting some fiddly old MMO, it's hard to get his mind off games with more ambition than scruples. When he's not at his keyboard, he's probably birdwatching or daydreaming about a glorious comeback for real-time with pause combat. Any day now...