Crimson Desert's Day 1 patch rolls out with promises of stability optimization, an update to the RPG's divisive fast-forward feature, and more
Pearl Abyss' fast-forward feature gets even faster
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Join the club
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.
Crimson Desert's day one patch is rolling out with a staggered release across PC and consoles right now, and promises tweaks for almost every corner of the massive RPG.
Developer Pearl Abyss' patch blog states the launch update should already be live on the Epic Games Store and PS5, while players on Xbox Series X|S and other PC storefronts may need to wait a tad longer.
Crimson Desert's first patch has everything you'd expect from an early update like this one, though. There are fixes for bugs we wouldn't even know exist yet, minor tweaks to enemies and boss fights, supposed improvements to NPC dialogue and lip-syncing, and changes to the game's localization across all languages. All three characters also have new finishing blows or follow-up moves, which sounds handy for extending combos.
The fantasy RPG's performance has been a major talking point ahead of launch, as Pearl Abyss has kept Crimson Desert's console ports close to its chest, but this first patch at least promises "various performance and stability optimizations across PC and console."
And another heated point of contention pre-release was Crimson Desert's divisive fast-forward feature, which let you speed up cutscenes and dialogue as if you were skipping through a YouTube tutorial. That fast-forward feature is now getting even faster for "recently viewed cutscenes."
But the handiest fix of all comes from a section of the game that most players likely haven't reached yet, mere hours after launch. "Improved the Tenebrum battle in Chapter 4 so that the puzzle section no longer has to be replayed after dying during the fight," Pearl Abyss' patch notes read.
Having to rewatch cutscenes over and over or do a brutal death march back to an encounter after repeatedly dying to a boss fight is always kinda infuriating, so I'm glad Pearl Abyss is saving us from having to go through an entire puzzle each time.
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
For now, check out the best weapons in Crimson Desert or find out how to unlock all characters in Crimson Desert.

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
