Crimson Desert Discussion (minor spoilers)

[neogunhero]

Finally made it to Chapter 4. I feel the story is starting to click with me better. I enjoy the banter between the Greymanes, though Kliff can still be a bit dull. The comrade missions are pretty neat, though I only have two comrades to send as of now.

Still hanging around Hernand. I really need to start expanding more, but I think I'll focus on the Greymane camp expansion missions for a while longer. After 35 hours, I feel I've barely touched but 15% of the whole game. The overwhelming nature of the game is starting to pile up on me, but I think it's partly because I've spent so much time exploring and not getting quests done. I'll occasionally stumble upon quests and complete them, but for the most part I'm off doing my own thing. I need to start focusing more on completing quests.

Still, the game impresses me with every corner I turn, every hill I go over, every village I come across. There is always something new to explore, beautiful scenery to admire, a new tower climb, a new bandit camp to clear. I haven't felt this way since playing Fallout 4 for the first time.

 

[Frindis]

Mostly been doing some puzzles, some quite annoying because with some of the puzzles you have to start from the beginning if you fall, which is VERY easy to do when controls are wonky. Other than that, I might do some more questing and soon I will have to put some skills and better stats on my weapons because I have been saving on tons of abyss gear for just that. It is very typical of me just to hoard tons of stuff and never use them, so now I am changing that...well...soon anyways 😅

 

[neogunhero]

Chapter 5 already? 4 flew by pretty fast. I’m trying to do a camp quest where you meet Naira in Hernand after buying some supplies but she’s too busy tied up with the main quests, guess I gotta do a few more main quests to make her meet up with me.

I did go up to the Abyss and did a few of those puzzles. Still don’t fully understand how the Abyss works, or what it even is for that matter. All I know is that they got some funky looking platforms with puzzles to do, and I get rewards for it. I’ve also fallen off those platforms before. If you can use Axiom Force on a platform before you fall too far, you can press a button that will teleport you back up to the platform.

I’ve only barely stepped foot into the other provinces. I’m still finding new stuff in Hernand. I found a treasure hidden behind a waterfall because a boar decided to jump into it, revealing the secret to me 🤣 Had that boar not been scared and jumped into the waterfall I would have never guessed to check it.

 

[neogunhero]

Time flies so fast when you're playing this game... I was doing some fishing and enjoying this beautiful sunrise on a rowboat when I realized I've been gaming for nearly 5 hours.

New patch:

Crimson Desert - Patch Notes Version 1.02.00 - Steam News

Fellow Greymanes, Here are the fixes and improvements that have been added this patch. Major Updates This patch adds the Headgear Visibility option and a private storage capacity expansion of up to 1000 slots depending on the Greymane camp's expansion level. Additionally, for those who...

store.steampowered.com

Option to remove helmet visibility, new control improvements, improved FSR quality and updated to FSR SDK 2.2 (not so sure what this one means as FSR 4.1 was already natively built in), Ray Regeneration improvements, and a new helmet for cats 🙂

 

[Frindis]

@neogunhero and future Crimson Desert players: There is a quest in Chapter 5 called "activating/open skybridge" and if you are unlucky like I was, the part before that quest can get bugged. You'll notice that you'll have a red X marker on the map, but no logical way to get there. I spent a couple of hours doing Abyss puzzles because I thought I had to make my way over to the red X, but turns out the whole puzzle section before you get to the Abyss did not work as intended!

So if this happens to you, you have to solve the puzzle again (you'll know when you get there), but thankfully, it is not long at all. Hope this was not too spooilery, I just wanted to inform since the bug was pretty annoying for me, making me believe I had finished the quest.

 

[Frindis]

OK, now I am a bit pissed! I did the Act 5 boss while prepping beforehand with crafting and combining some Abyssal gear and felt happy with my setup.

Then, while fighting the boss, half my Abyssal gear gets destroyed. So, I thought, ohhh, probably durability on them, so you can just repair them...right, RIGHT? No, you can't. They are gone...

Maybe I am missing something very crucial here, but right now, I think this is an incredibly dumb mechanic. and at least mindbogglingly unbalanced considering ONE fight deletes them. Sooo, yeah, if you do use those with durability on them, be very careful, you do...not..get..any..notice! Thankfully, I have an older save before the boss fight, so I can just use those Abyssal without durability, but it still sucks.

 

[Frindis]

Simmered down a bit and went to do Chapter 6 and had an awesome time! Best chapter by far, so you guys are in for a treat🙂

 

[Glockwyrks]

Has anyone actually modded this yet?

 

[Frindis]

Has anyone actually modded this yet?

Some mods, like graphics enhancements, unlimited inventory, money, etc. Not sure how much more modders can do since the developers have not yet opened up for extensive modding.

 

[neogunhero]

Here's a challenge for you @Frindis , get to the very top of this bookshelf at the Spire of Insight😉

 

[Frindis]

Trying it later today, that challenge looks tricky, but I think I could manage it 😅

That worked out pretty well, even my dog managed to get up there. I tried using the books first, but they were unstable, so I went with the easiest solution: the windows. I guess I could have just used the elevator, but that would be considered cheating

What is nice is that this place had its drawers and such reset, so I am now hoarding the place a second time. The loot is also a bit weird here; I find tons of acorns and horse tranquilizers.

The irony of the "steal" icon when you try to loot items from the pirate ship.

 

[Glockwyrks]

Some mods, like graphics enhancements, unlimited inventory, money, etc. Not sure how much more modders can do since the developers have not yet opened up for extensive modding.

Where did you go for these, I wouldn't mind some unlimited inventory! Nexus/Vortex?

 

[Colif]

Flame thrower??

walks away

 

[Frindis]

Where did you go for these, I wouldn't mind some unlimited inventory! Nexus/Vortex?

I don't use mods myself, but I would guess some are obtainable on Nexus. I don't think you would need Vortex tough as there are probably not many mods to get at the current state. Not sure how safe these mods are to use (game breaking and such), but I found some endorsed - https://www.nexusmods.com/games/crimsondesert/mods?sort=endorsements

Flame thrower??

walks away

Even a giant robot shooting rockets

 

[Frindis]

Been happy with the latest act as they feel more compact. Not so much running around, more focused on a couple of places, and I can appreciate that.

Bosses are getting harder and faster. Not really my cup of tea since I suck at doing counterattacks in combat, but I just spam food with vitality/resistance and wing it with my two-handed sword skills. I would not call it beautiful, probably more like spamming buttons in a street fighting game, but at least bosses go down eventually.
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Since the game is heavily focused on idling, I had my computer run overnight a couple of times to gather some more resources. Definitely going to be worth it in the long run, considering the cost of camp expansion to get more storage is very high. I get that you probably obtain more and more resources as you get further into the acts, but as of now, the inventory is too small, considering all the items you gather for the vast number of different activities, crafting materials, quests, and whatnot.

In a perfect world, they would have made the camp storage bottomless or close to it, and instead just focused on inventory expansions. That would be a nice tradeoff, continuing to do the inventory slot expansions quests, but at the same time also having a large chest to put all kinds of stuff in between fights/grinds.
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Another thing they could be doing is to compress some of the crafting materials, so they do not take up so much space. I remember Diablo 3 getting some criticism early on for having some of the crafting materials taking up space, so they went and made own slots for it that filled up over time, instead of multiple slots.

Saying that, there could be designated crafting bags and that I have not yet found them, so I give them some slack.

 

[Frindis]

Finally made it to Chapter 4. I feel the story is starting to click with me better. I enjoy the banter between the Greymanes, though Kliff can still be a bit dull.

Just wanted to chime in that I 100% agree with Kliff being dull. It's like Kliff got stuck in some 80's cheesy action movie with just brainless one-liners and everyone else moved on. Kliff does not sound or act real at all, which is why I actually like some of his friends much better. Hell, even Yann, whom a lot find annoying, I like more because at least he brings some personality to the table, even if it is an occasionally annoying one.

 

[neogunhero]

I've been focusing on the camp upgrades as well. I have about 20 comrades now, all sent out and doing their work. There are only two missions that give money, and pretty much all other missions require money to start, so I had to balance out which missions I had them take on so I wouldn't go absolutely broke but with a massive pile of wood and stone.

I also made my first wagon. I thought it would be another comrade mission I could send someone out to do. Before I knew it, I was behind the wheel of the wagon. Uhmm... no thanks. Wagons are probably the jankiest thing I've come across in the game so far, I'd really rather not have to drive it 1000 meters across horrible rocky terrain.

Upgrading the camp and getting more comrades is pretty much all I did in the game this weekend. I'm happy with how much progress I've made, but I'm probably not even a quarter of the way done with the camp missions. One thing I thought was a bit disappointing, you still have to manually donate provisions to finish those quests that require donations. The comrade missions don't count towards those. How the hell am I supposed to find 5000 stone and wood? I know they donate for more than 1 per item, but still, that is a ton of chopping and mining, or money if I were to buy them to donate.

That brings me to my next minor gripe: I have to choose between donating items and selling them for money. I could donate to the camp so I can progress in those donation missions, or I could sell them to net me some good pocket change. I've been broke most of the time I've been playing and I just hit 50 hours in game. By most game standards I should be filthy rich at this point!

I also did knock out a bunch of puzzles. I hate to admit but I did use a guide for the Spire of Insight puzzle. I knew there was something there but could not figure it out myself at all. Turns out you just need to place specific objects in the bowl... with no instructions telling you to do that... maybe I missed a note inside there explaining what to do. Most other puzzles are pretty easy once you understand what needs to be done. The one right next to your camp was very easy once it clicked.

Still, all these minor frustrations aside, it's still a masterpiece of a game in my eyes. I've not been this addicted to a game in years.

 

[Frindis]

I also made my first wagon. I thought it would be another comrade mission I could send someone out to do. Before I knew it, I was behind the wheel of the wagon. Uhmm... no thanks. Wagons are probably the jankiest thing I've come across in the game so far, I'd really rather not have to drive it 1000 meters across horrible rocky terrain.

It's pretty bad; it seems you can only drive on the paved roads without damaging the wagon. I'm looking at the other wagon expansions you can do; maybe one of those makes the wagon stronger.

The comrade missions don't count towards those. How the hell am I supposed to find 5000 stone and wood? I know they donate for more than 1 per item, but still, that is a ton of chopping and mining, or money if I were to buy them to donate.

I have been skipping those now. I don't think you need to do them since they also go towards the camp supply. It is probably just there if you want to speed up the camp supply, making it easier to put the comrades on missions.

I also did knock out a bunch of puzzles. I hate to admit but I did use a guide for the Spire of Insight puzzle. I knew there was something there but could not figure it out myself at all. Turns out you just need to place specific objects in the bowl... with no instructions telling you to do that... maybe I missed a note inside there explaining what to do.

I had to use a guide there also. I put the stuff in the bowl, but at the second or third area, I just grappled my way up because I thought I could skip it and put new stuff in the bowl up there to save some time.

So that worked since the elevator came up, but when I put new items in the bowl, the elevator went down instead of up! So, turns out I tried to cheese it, and the puzzle master did not like that I did not play by the rules.

Still, all these minor frustrations aside, it's still a masterpiece of a game in my eyes. I've not been this addicted to a game in years.

It's a bit of a love-and-hate relationship for me right now. Some of the latest quests have been a bit irritating, but thankfully, things are a bit more back to normal, and I can go about my merry business. I might do a mining day this upcoming week, try to get some of the ores I missed from refining the gear.

Speaking of mining ores, I did find this pretty amazing ore area with several different nodes. Thought I'd share in case you are interested.

Spoiler: Ores for days

 

[neogunhero]

Just wanted to chime in that I 100% agree with Kliff being dull. It's like Kliff got stuck in some 80's cheesy action movie with just brainless one-liners and everyone else moved on. Kliff does not sound or act real at all, which is why I actually like some of his friends much better. Hell, even Yann, whom a lot find annoying, I like more because at least he brings some personality to the table, even if it is an occasionally annoying one.

We now know about the troubles the studio had with it's story, but the way Kliff speaks sounds like it should have been a custom character which would have made the writing a bit more bearable to me. He's also like the biggest bundle of joy in all of Pywel. Every comrade you come across acts like they are witnessing a miracle when you arrive. Everyone loves you and wants to be like you. It's quite unrealistic and immersion-breaking, most people flee when I come around.

I have been skipping those now. I don't think you need to do them since they also go towards the camp supply. It is probably just there if you want to speed up the camp supply, making it easier to put the comrades on missions.

I just looked up the purpose of that specific questline. Here's what IGN says:

Spoiler: IGN Quote on Camp Provisions

All the items you donate will also go toward one of the Greymane Sidequests, but it’s worth noting that the target donations will keep expanding for several tiers with no immediate reward. However, as your camp begins to expand, you will also find that resources you have donated will periodically appear at different parts of the camp, like food, weapons, and more, which you can then grab and store in your own inventory.

So... I could have really sold a majority of those items I donated. I kept donating to progress those missions, hoping I'd get some big reward or something by the end of it.

I had to use a guide there also. I put the stuff in the bowl, but at the second or third area, I just grappled my way up because I thought I could skip it and put new stuff in the bowl up there to save some time.

I didn't understand what the reward was supposed to be either. It just opened a portal to the Abyss so I could do more Abyss puzzles. I did the first couple it presented, they were pretty cool actually, but I didn't get an Artifact or anything. I opened the Abyss map and realized it just teleported me a little further down the line.

I've barely stepped foot outside of Hernand so I have no idea where that ore spot is 🤣 Later this week when I have more time to play, I'll set aside time to go on a long expedition. I heard you naturally go to those new areas as your progress in the story, but of course they're open to explore whenever. I've just been waiting until the story takes me there, but after nearly 50 hours of gameplay I think I'm ready to start exploring on my own.

 

[Frindis]

Every comrade you come across acts like they are witnessing a miracle when you arrive. Everyone loves you and wants to be like you. It's quite unrealistic and immersion-breaking, most people flee when I come around.

Which makes it kind of funny when you bump into someone in the camp and people say the cruelest things to you.

I didn't understand what the reward was supposed to be either. It just opened a portal to the Abyss so I could do more Abyss puzzles.

That was the portal bug I mentioned earlier in a post, in which that portal did not open. I was so confused doing tons of puzzles, thinking that was the way to get to the opening. Then I did the tower again and the portal opened..

I've barely stepped foot outside of Hernand so I have no idea where that ore spot is 🤣 Later this week when I have more time to play, I'll set aside time to go on a long expedition. I heard you naturally go to those new areas as your progress in the story, but of course they're open to explore whenever. I've just been waiting until the story takes me there, but after nearly 50 hours of gameplay I think I'm ready to start exploring on my own.

A couple of zones also don't let you go there, so I guess those are quest-related. I have been exploring a lot of places getting portals, which has been helpful when I started doing more quests, but also very time-consuming for me since I started doing it with very little stamina or skills.

One thing that is a bit strange with exploring some places is that either you can steal tons of stuff with no problem and no reputation loss (since I don't get any notification of it), then in other castles, there is no stealing marker at all. Could be that since I am not supposed to be there as of yet, maybe that kind of stuff is not working properly.

I also found one very nasty boss on some cliff that went like this: when I approached him:

"You want to challenge...ME!?"
Me "Jupp!"

Then the boss took one swift sword slash at my face and it was night, night. This was even when I had some more health and stamina, but oh no, I did not even have time to make a tiny, tiny chip in his armour.

 

[neogunhero]

Which makes it kind of funny when you bump into someone in the camp and people say the cruelest things to you.

Comrade: OMG it's Kliff! We thought you were dead! It's a miracle! We need to get the Greymanes rounded up as fast as possible!!
*two seconds later you accidentally bump into them*
Comrade: Well, F you too buddy!!

I have been exploring a lot of places getting portals, which has been helpful when I started doing more quests, but also very time-consuming for me since I started doing it with very little stamina or skills.

That helped me tremendously when gathering the comrades. Often they would be very close to a portal I already found. Other times they were in a village I already visited. This village has like, 20 people living in it, no one noticed that I'm a Greymane and alerted the other Greymanes in the village? Instead I have to rely on some shoddy rumors to find you guys??

One thing that is a bit strange with exploring some places is that either you can steal tons of stuff with no problem and no reputation loss (since I don't get any notification of it), then in other castles, there is no stealing marker at all. Could be that since I am not supposed to be there as of yet, maybe that kind of stuff is not working properly.

During one comrade mission, they were contemplating if they should steal from the local healer so they can get first aid supplies. Then you show up and they confess they were thinking about breaking the Greymane code and become thieves.

Meanwhile, I've ransacked countless homes across Hernand, sold the items for profit, then spent that money on gambling. I even stole from the bank. I just kept quiet...