After a somewhat middling response from fans at launch, Crimson Desert continues to go from strength to strength thanks to a regular supply of major updates from developer Pearl Abyss. This includes a brand new update released this weekend, which includes a brand new weapons display option, as well as a variety of new skills for each character, plus a whole host of improvements to controls and combat. Crimson Desert update 1.03.00 is out now on PlayStation, Epic Games Store and Steam, with an Xbox and Mac release coming soon.

The release of the update was announced by Pearl Abyss on X, alongside a preview about what fans can expect.

“Greymanes, Patch Version 1.03.00 is rolling out,” reads a Pearl Abyss post. “This patch adds a weapons display option, new skills for each character, and more.

“The patch is available on Steam, PlayStation and EGS. Xbox and Mac will follow at a later time, and we’ll provide an update in the notice below once they become available.”

As you can see from the patch notes below, the Weapons Display option is joined by various graphics options, including another PSSR Sharpness setting for PS5 Pro, as well as Advanced Ray Tracing for Xbox and base PS5.

I’m personally pleased to see that Pearl Abyss continues to fix the controls, improving lock-on options, teleportation and lots more.

You can check out the Crimson Desert update 1.03.00 patch notes below.

Crimson Desert update 1.03.00 patch notes…

Content

• Improved the usability of the Greymane camp.

– Improved the accessibility of key NPCs in Pailune camp.

– Expanded the farm and ranch areas in Pailune camp.

– Improved overall convenience of Pailune camp.

• Fixed issues that occurred when completing certain requests while being in the ‘wanted’ status.

• Fixed the following issues that could occur when Pailune was liberated while in a wanted state in Chapter 7.

– Fixed an issue where the bounty was displayed as 0.

– Fixed an issue where certain comrade dispatches were unavailable.

– Fixed an issue where bank investment funds were not updated.

• Improved standard dialogue scenes without letterboxing so that fast-forwarding is now available.

– Added a Fast Forward Speed option under Other > Language & Gameplay, allowing players to adjust fast-forward speed.

• Improved Abyss Nexuses so that they are easier to discover.

• Improved convenience for certain Abyss puzzles.

– Improved clarity so that it is easier to recognise when certain gimmicks are available to be attached by using ‘Force Palm’.

– Improved lanterns and ‘Blinding Flash’ so that they provide more hints.

– Improved the entrance path to the Spire of Soaring.

– Improved terrain in certain Abyss locations.

• Changed bank functionality while being in the ‘wanted’ status so that bank services remain available, but depositing gold bars and updating investment funds are no longer possible.

• Fixed an issue where requests could not be completed at a certain step when destroying the totems after completing Chapter 9, ‘Sanctum of Mortification’.

• Fixed an issue where certain requests could not be completed if related quest items were obtained before the request was activated.

• Fixed an issue where Gunter (Equipment vendor), Harry (Blacksmith), Bronton (Stablekeep), and Lola (Seamstress) in Pailune would be replaced by different NPCs after a certain quest.

• Added 3 new base music tracks across the continent of Pywel during combat (The Crimson Desert and certain other regions excluded) during [Patch 1.01.00].

• Added 1 new loading screen music track.

• Improved teleportation via the Abyss Nexus so that it can now be used while mounted, falling, swimming, or climbing walls.

• Improved the lock-on mechanism during boss battles.

– Improved the hard lock-on against bosses so that it is maintained from further distances.

– Changed the lock-on mechanism so that it no longer applies to certain larger bosses.

• Added the new ability, ‘Focused Aerial Roll’ for Kliff.

– Prerequisite abilities: ‘Focus Lv. 3’, ‘Flight Lv. 2’, and ‘Aerial Roll’.

– The skill can be activated by using ‘Focus’ during flight and then pressing the dodge key.

• Improved Damiane and Oongka so that they have more abilities useful for open-world gameplay.

– Added ‘Axiom Force’, ‘Nature’s Snare’ and related abilities for Damiane and Oongka.

– Improved Damiane’s ‘Shield Toss’ and Oongka’s ‘Scatter Shot’ ability so that they have the same effect as Kliff’s ‘Force Palm’.

– Changed the control inputs for Damiane’s ‘Skystep’ and Oongka’s ‘Vertical Flight’ ability.

• Fixed an issue where the character would occasionally move at an abnormally fast speed during certain ability chained combos.

• Fixed an issue where the ‘Blinding Flash’ ability would not remain active while moving on a mount.

• Improved interactions with devices such as walls, buttons, and cranks so that a dedicated animation now plays when they can no longer be pushed.

• [Keyboard/Mouse] Improved the controls for ‘Axiom Force’.

• [Controller] Fixed an issue where ‘Nature’s Snare’ ability would activate during ‘Focus’ by tilting the right stick in one direction.

UI Fixes and Improvements

• Changed the colour of faction quest icons.

• Improved the list of Memory Fragments of the Visione so that it only shows the list of currently obtained Fragments.

• Added a function that processes all items at once when grouping or ungrouping items in the bag.

• Improved the UI so that item details can now be viewed in the storage section as well.

• Improved the comrade list UI so that a check icon is now displayed on the selected comrade.

• Fixed an issue where the Attack and Critical Rate of certain equipment, such as necklaces and cloaks, were displayed as doubled when viewing character stat details from the inventory or Quick Slots.

• Improved the world map and minimap so that icons for treasure chests already obtained are now displayed differently.

• Improved the world map so that visited and unvisited caves are now displayed with different icons.

• Improved the world map so that restored and unrestored Abyss locations are now displayed with different icons.

• Fixed an issue where markers set on the world map would not be retained upon the first reconnection.

• [PC] Added support for Intel Arc GPUs. Compatibility and performance across various Intel GPUs will continue to be improved over time.

• [PC] Added the ‘Intel XeSS 3.0’ option under Settings > Video > Upscale Mode.

• [PC] Added the ‘Intel XeSS Frame Generation’ option under Settings > Video.

• On Intel Arc A-series GPUs, the screen may not display properly when using ‘Intel XeSS 3.0’ or ‘Intel XeSS Frame Generation’.

• [PC] Added the ‘AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag 2’ option under Settings > Video.

• [PC] Added the ‘Displacement Scale’ option under Settings > Graphics.

• [PC] Added the ‘Detail Decorative Mesh’ option under Settings > Graphics.

• [PC] Fixed noise that occurred in screen distortion effects when using DLSS-RR.

• [PlayStation 5 Base / Xbox Series X] Added the ‘Enhanced Raytracing’ option under Settings > Video.

• [PlayStation 5 Pro] Added the ‘PSSR Sharpness’ option under Settings > Video.

• [All Platforms] Improved lighting quality in indoor environments.

• [All Platforms] Improved water surface reflections.

• [All Platforms] Fixed an issue where rain appeared excessively bright from certain angles.

• Added the ‘Weapon Display’ option under Others > Language & Gameplay.

Performance, Stability, Gameplay

• Fixed several stability, performance optimisation, and crash issues across PC, console, and Mac.

• Fixed various localisation errors and improved localisation quality (game advice, etc.) across all languages.

• Fixed an issue where the game would crash when using the Helm of Knowledge as Damiane or Oongka.

• Fixed an issue where corn had no maximum purchase limit at certain vendors.

• Fixed various other in-game issues.