Crimson Desert Update 2.04 Brings the DLC online, fixes bugs, improves Upscaling Tech

The first paid DLC for Crimson Desert, Charting the Unknown, is now live. Patch 2.04.00 was released together with this Expansion. It introduces fixes for bugs, and separates Upscaling from Frame Gen tech.

DLC New Features

The vast majority of the patch notes discuss changes introduced with the DLC. Charing the Unknown is paid downloadable content that is added on top of the base game. You will only have access to it if you have purchased it from the store on the platform(s) where you play the game.

Keep in mind that if you use Cross-Save, you need both games to be updated to the latest patch and have the DLC installed.

DLC and Patch Availability for each platform

The file size of the DLC is ~57 GB (on Steam, where the VULKK team plays the game). At the time of this publication, Patch 2.04.00 is now available on the following platforms:

• Steam (PC): Patch available now
• Steam (Mac): Patch available now
• PlayStation: Patch available now
• XBOX: Patch available now
• Epic Games Store: Patch available now
• Mac App Store: Patch available at a later time (in-progress)

Major new features in the DLC

We discussed the new features in great detail in our previous article covering the Features Video Overview. But let’s mark the highlights here once again. We are working on in-depth guides for everything new and exciting, so stay tuned for more details later.

New Main Quests

Three new questlines are now available, one for each of the three playable characters. You need to complete the main story of the game to unlock them as they server as epilogues and continue the personal character development for Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane.

Explore the Ocean

The map has been expanded to the south and east. Significantly! There are new encounters, activities, and secrets both on the water surface and beneath it.

You will be able to traverse this vast ocean with your new ship, which you build as part of a new quest that becomes available early on in your main story progression.

• Added a new quest, “A Wider World”, that centers around the ocean.
  • The quest will begin after completing “Howling HIll” from the main story and by expanding your Greymane camp above a certain level.
• Added a gauge for your breath, allowing you to dive underwater.
  • The higher your breath capacity, the longer you can stay underwater.
  • You can increase your maximum breath capacity by refining your diving suit.
  • Added food items that temporarily restores breath.
  • Added equipment that allows the A.T.A.G to operate underwater when equipped.
• Added “ships” as a new mount.
  • Ships can be constructed through a dispatch mission, or purchased from fleetmasters located throughout Pywel.
    • Ships can also be customized using parts purchased from fleetmasters in Demeniss and Delesyia.
  • You can use your ship for maritime trading, and new trade goods have been added for these trades.
• Added various new underwater mounts.
  • Depending on their type, underwater mounts can be subdued or fed to increase their Trust. Once their Trust is high enough, they can be resitered as mounts.
• Added several uncharted islands, which you can pioneer by taking on new missions.
• Added multiple treasure maps that lets you search for hidden treasures scattered throughout the world.

A Richer Life in Pywel

There are a number of quality-of-life and mini-game type of new features added with the expansion, but one of the biggest attractions, is the ability to make your home truly yours by customizing it exactly how you want it.

• Added an expanded housing system.
  • You can use the upgraded housing system by completing Luke’s Request, one of the Greymane Faction quests under “Grounds of the Sunrise”, and after setting up the camp in Howling Hill.
  • You can design and build your home’s layout to your liking, and place various structural elements such as walls and windows yourself.
  • This can be accessed by selecting Home Decoration > Layout > Free Construction.
• Added two castles that you can decorate.(Spoiler)
  • Drakesfall Castle: Awarded after completing “Journey’s End” from the main story and by liberating the stronghold.
  • Flame Knight’s Castle: Awarded after completing Damiane’s quest “Politician” and by liberating the stronghold.

You can rent facilities and manage them. One of the first side quests that you will stumble upon will send you to lease the Sawmill in Hernand, which serves as a tutorial for this new game system.

• Improved the map so that strongholds owned by the Greymanes now appear in light blue.
• Added a management content that allows you to manage and operate liberated strongholds.
  • Added a “Facilities” tab on the map that allows you to access information related to management facilities.
  • You can rent a stronghold to operate and manage a restaurant, sawmill, smithy, or tailor’s shop.
  • Added rewards that can be acquired by completing the management content.
  • Management facilities will continue to operate even when you’re away from them.
  • Special guests may visit facilities that are being managed.
• Added a mission that allows you to hold festivals at camp.
  • NPCs with whom you have reached a certain level of trust will visit the camp for the festival, which lasts for a limited time.
  • Interacting with the NPCS at festivals allows you to build trust with them more quickly.
  • Certain visitors can be hired as “Honorary Greymanes”.
    • Honorary Greymanes can be sent out on dispatch missions like your other comrades, but some features may be unavailable to them.
• Added an additional level of “Trust”.
  • Select “Interact” > “Flirt” to build continue increasing the additional level of trust with other NPCs, and once that level of trust reaches 100, you can propose to them.
    • Select “Flirt”, then “Gift” or “Chat” to continue building trust. The additional level of trust can only be increased once a day for each type of interaction.
    • If you “Flirt” with a certain NPC as one playable character, their trust with the other playable characters will decrease.
  • Some NPCs may require special conditions to be met.(Spoiler)
    • Witches: Complete each witch’s sanctum quest
  • A feature has been added that lets you change your spouse’s appearance at barber shops.
  • After marriage, your spouse’s icon will appear on the world map and minimap.
  • You can travel together with your spouse.
  • Your spouse may also give you gifts from time to time.
  • After marriage, you can also break up with your spouse, but doing so comes at a cost.
• Added a total of 17 residences.
  • This residence can be built through dispatch missions.
  • Once you designate a residence, your spouse will live there.
  • Improved the map to display the icon of the residence’s owner among Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane.
• Added a new minigame, “Banker’s Dice”.
  • “Banker’s Dice” can be played in Demeniss and Delesyia.

New Boss Arena Tournament

The Garden of Trials is a new challenge where you can test your latest and most powerful character build against bosses you have encountered previously. Beating them, will earn you new rewards.

The Garden of Trials becomes available after completing “Journey’s End” from the main story, and features a total of 10 groups to challenge.

• Added a new combat content: “Garden of Trials”.
  • “Garden of Trials” becomes available after completing “Journey’s End” from the main story, and features a total of 10 groups to challenge.
  • You can challenge “Garden of Trials” with a comrade that you have entered together, or alone.
    • You can challenge it with maximum of three characters; Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane.
    • You can choose the order in which the characters enter the battle.
  • In the “Garden of Trials”, food items cannot be used for recovery.
  • If a character is defeated during combat, the next character in order will continue the battle.
  • Completing each group enhances one of your existing skills.
  • The “Garden of Trials” is located near the Axiom Archive Abyss.
• Added new equipment.
  • The additions include armor, weapons, mounts/pet equipment, Abyss gear, and various other equipment.
• Added several powerful bosses, and some of them are available for a rematch using Memory Fragments.

New Additions

Most of the items now stack up to 2x the quantity they did before . This greatly improves management of the storage chests as well as your inventory.

You can interact with NPCs, even romance some of them and build relationships with them, even getting married. There are a few surprises, especially when it comes to the Witches of Pywel, but we will leave you to explore them on your own. At least until we prepare our new and updated guides for publishing.

• Improved the NPC interaction UI.
  • You can now ‘Chat’ and ‘Gift.’ with other NPCs.
    • You can perform ordinary interactions through ‘Interact.’
    • Through ‘Chat,’ you can share your Knowledge with NPCs and earn their trust.
    • Added new books that will help you learn residents’ preferences.
  • After performing an interaction that raises trust with an NPC, the wait time (cooldown) until the same interaction can raise trust again will be displayed.
• Added a dedicated storage box for insects, making it easier to manage and collect insects.
  • Three new legendary insects and sighting reports have been added.
• Barber Shops have been added to major cities.
  • The newly added barber shops can be used regardless of camp.
• You can now change the Greymanes’ outfits at the Comrade Dispatch Tent.
  • Camp resources are required to change outfits.
• Added Life skill tools that can be used in combat.
  • Frying Pan
  • Ladle
  • Frying Pan Lid
  • Jar Lid
  • Kitchen Knife
• New placeable objets for your house have been added, including paths, trees, flowerbeds, cat watchtowers, and puppy cushions.
  • Cat watchtowers can be purchased from the newly added Cat Watchtower Merchant.
• Wagons can now be equipped with equipment, and new wagon-exclusive equipment has been added.
• A new wainwright has been added to the port area.

Main Game Improvements

Alongside the new content from the DLC, owners of the base game will see a few of the usual bugfixes and improvements that accompany every patch Pearl Abyss has released since the launch of the game in March.

Content

• Fixed an issue where storing or withdrawing multiple non-stackable items at once would only store or withdraw one item.
• Fixed an issue where the “wait” option would occasionally not appear during the mission “Talk to Grimnir”.
• Added more items that can be added to the Collectibles Chest.
• Fixed an issue where progress for the “Bow Aimed at Fate V” challenge would not display correctly.
• [Oongka/Damiane] Fixed an issue where NPCs would not become hostile when another character is following you.

Controls

[Kliff] Fixed an issue where Aerial Swing could not be used while flying after connecting Axiom Force to terrain.

Combat and Action

• Improved the attack animation and effects for “Counter”.
• Reduced the startup time for Oongka’s Scatter Shot and Damiane’s Shield Toss.
• Fixed an issue where some illusi
• ons would fail to charge during the battle against the Forgotten General.

UI

• Improved the map so that trade routes now appear on it at all times.
• Increased the map’s maximum zoom-out distance.
• [Controller] Pressing the L3 button or the left stick on the map now moves the focus to the location of your summoned horse, wagon, ship, or Blackstar.
• Changed the “Summoned” icon for mounts and pets.
• Added inicators to show different summonable locations for mounts and pets: mid-air, land, and underwater.
• Improved the map so that colors of icons now change based on the region’s status.
  • Blockaded: Red
  • Reconstructing: Light red
  • Incident: Yellow
  • Uncharted: Grey
• Improved the mpa so that the range of fog cleared now varies depending on the mount.

Graphics and Settings

Improved the game so that Upscaling and Frame Generation technologies can now be selected separately. For example, you can combine different technologies, such as DLSS upscaling and FSR Frame Generation.

Localization

Fixed various localization errors and improved localization quality across all languages.

Others

One of the easiest methods to get rich really fast in Pywel before this patch was to farm hedgehogs carrying Golden Apples. We described this activity in great detail on our Golden Apple page in our Crimson Desert Database. Sadly, this activity has been nerfed and the hedgehogs carrying these apples will now spawn less frequently. You can still get rich, just at a bit slower pace.

The Efficiency Abyss Gear’s effect was changed and it no longer grants a % chance to reduce the used crafting materials to “reduces materials consumed when crafting by %”. This now gives you a clear idea of what and how much exactly you will be saving by slotting this into your crafting equipment.

Here are the rest of the changes from the patch notes:

• Fixed an issue where gloves would clip through the book when examining a book while wearing certain gloves.
• Fixed an issue where corpses sent flying by a player’s attack would occasionally float up into the sky.
• Fixed an issue where the “Runewalker Shield” was displayed as dyeable equipment.
• Fixed an issue where frame drops occurred when staying too long on the Ethereal Pathway.
• Fixed an issue where the player would be taken to prison on a wagon if arrested while riding it.
• Fixed an issue where the camera would shake excessively in certain situations.
• Fixed an issue where the “Change Investment Strategy” UI would not appear when first opening a Strongbox.
• Fixed an issue where the activation method for some Abyss Gears was not applied correctly.

The patch notes are sourced from the game’s official website.

Bugs and Glitches

Within the first hours of playing the game after the new patch, we spotted a few major glitches and bugs:

• Strange mountains glitching in and out around the Greymane camp at Howling Hill.
• Oongka gets invisible when you start his quest.
• You can get soft-locked into the quest for Kliff if you forget to bring a fishing rod with you when you start it.

It seems like the devs delayed the DLC’s release with a good reason. They really needed extra time to fix bugs. Unfortunately, it looks like that time was not quite enough.

Endonae is still unable to start the game. It freezes on a black screen and shuts down during launch. And no, this is not a slow shader compilation process.

Adrian was able to launch it after waiting for ~10 minutes for the shaders to load. For him, the same black screen resulted in shaders compiling without actually showing anything on the screen, but at least he managed to get into the game.

Pearl Abyss have listed known issues ad the end of their patch notes, like they always do. But there are more than these.

• Icons for newly discovered objects in certain regions do not appear on the map.
• Interactions with NPCs, mounts, and specific objects is unavailable in certain situations.
  • This issue can be temporarily resolved by restarting the game.
• Fish being caught while fishing in certain areas are unable to move.
• Greymane faction quests cannot be progressed while playing as Damiane or Oongka.
• If the “Evasion Control” option is set to “Hold,” the default Evasion key still functions even after the Evasion key has been changed.NPCs required for quest progression cannot ride together on Legendary Animal mounts.
• [Mac] When using a keyboard and mouse at certain resolutions, the cursor position differs from the actual furniture placement point.
• [Mac] The colorblind filter is not applied to the UI when “Colorblind Mode” is enabled.
• [PlayStation] The screen may freeze if characters are entered rapidly while using the virtual keyboard to set the name of a pet or horse.
  • Please enter characters slowly with brief pauses when changing names. We apologize for the inconvenience.
• When using FSR4 upscaling, an issue occurs in rainy environments where rain disappears, or the screen becomes blurry or distorted. 

It seems like I was the only one from our team who had no trouble loading the game and playing (so far). But I do notice more boiling and shadow flickering than before. Other than that, my performance has remained stable and FPS is pretty much the same as before.