A new Crimson Desert update has gone live, with patch 1.04 revealing some major additions to the game. Overall, players can expect new game difficulty settings, new pets and storage items, new skills, and much more. Developer Pearl Abyss had previously released a patch that added summonable mounts to the game, but this update is the largest one to date and introduces some sweeping changes to the Crimson Desert experience.

Difficulty options have been one of the biggest requests from the Crimson Desert community, and when players log in, they'll have the option to choose from the typical Easy/Normal/Hard modes found in most games. On Easy difficulty, damage to players is reduced, enemies have reduced health and aggression, timing windows for parrying and dodging have been increased, the frequency of bosses attempting to counterattack or escape when hit has also been lowered.

Normal difficulty is the baseline mode that players have been experiencing to date, while the Hard difficulty setting ramps up the challenge considerably. Players looking to test their skills will find that they take more damage, enemies hit harder, and certain bosses benefit from having new combat patterns. Another notable addition in the update is the Sturdy Gatherables Chest, which has 1,000 slots and can be set up with the housing system. A boss rematch mode is also in the works, and it'll be introduced in a later update.

Pearl Abyss has also added Kuku Cooler and Enhanced Kuku Cooler items to the game, new housing options, and five new types of cats for potential pet owners in the game. Several issues in the game have been addressed, and a few subtle tweaks to NPCs should make the world feel a little bit more dynamic. You can see the full patch notes below.

For more Crimson Desert news, you can read up on the cosplay endgame that has fans trotting out their best video game fashion, why fans aren't too keen to face certain bosses, and why everyone hates the NPC Yann. One of the big releases of March alongside Pokemon Pokopia and Marathon, Crimson Desert contributed to a bumper sales period that saw video game spending in the US reach $5.3 billion last month.

Crimson Desert Patch Notes Version 1.04.00

Content

• Easy / Normal / Hard difficulty options have been added to Settings > Play.
• For experienced Greymanes looking for more intense and thrilling combat, Hard difficulty offers a more challenging journey.
• For those who have enjoyed many boss fights and are looking to challenge them again, the boss rematches feature allowing you to face off against the bosses of your choice will be added soon.

Easy

• Reduced damage taken by the player.
• Reduced maximum health, aggressiveness, and overall speed of opponents.
• Extended timing windows for Parry and Dodge.
• Reduced the frequency of bosses attempting to counterattack or escape when hit.

Normal

• This is the difficulty you have been playing so far.

Hard

• Food item effects won't be applied immediately and will only take effect after the consumption animation is complete.
• Increased damage taken by the player.
• Increased maximum health, aggressiveness, and overall speed of opponents.
• Reduced timing window for Parry and Dodge.
• Reduced the invincibility duration for Roll.
• Increased the frequency of bosses attempting to counterattack or escape when hit.
• Added additional combat patterns for certain bosses.

Added the Sturdy Gatherables Chest which can be set up with the housing system.

• The Sturdy Gatherables Chest has 1,000 slots and can be purchased from furniture shops.
• Materials stored in the Sturdy Gatherables Chest can be used for crafting or refinement even if they are not carried in your inventory.

Added the Kuku Cooler and Enhanced Kuku Cooler items which can be placed with the housing system. The Kuku Cooler can be obtained through a quest, while the Enhanced Kuku Cooler can be crafted. Both can be used to store food items and ingredients.

• Kuku Cooler: 40 slots
• Enhanced Kuku Cooler: 330 slots.

Ingredients stored in either cooler can be used for cooking even if they are not carried in your inventory.

• Added the Collectibles Chest which can be placed through housing mode.
• The Collectibles Chest can be used to store various quest items and crafting recipes.
• The Collectibles Chest has 1,000 slots and can be obtained through a quest.

Added an outfit storage feature to the Wardrobe, which can be placed through housing mode.

• The Wardrobe can be purchased from furniture shops.
• Each Wardrobe provides 100 storage slots, and the total storage capacity increases based on the number of wardrobes placed.
• The maximum outfit storage capacity is 1,000 slots.

Added the Select House option where you can change the layout of your house.

Selectable house types unlock based on the Greymane Camp expansion level.

• Compact House
• Standard House
• Spacious House
• Spacious Pailunese House

Improved housing mode-related UI and controls. Added a function that allows all furniture items placed through the housing mode to be retrieved all at once.

Improved the Greymane Camp. (To avoid spoilers, changes related to this content are listed in the dropdown menu below.)

• After moving the camp to Pailune, you will receive the Private Storage item which can be placed through housing mode.
• Added a well to Howling Hill.

Improved the observation feature so that Abyss artifacts can be earned when observing a skill that had already been acquired by using Abyss artifacts.

Improved the following items, which were previously unstackable, to now stack in the inventory:

Regular Abyss gears, insects, fish, and animals. Added birds as pets. You can encounter these new companions throughout Pywel.

• Added the Sotdae of Bond item which allows you to gain Trust with birds.
• Place various types of food that birds might like on the Sotdae of Bond to feed them and gain Trust.
• The Sotdae of Bond can be obtained through a quest.

• Added 5 new types of cat pets.
• Improved the Abyss Heuklang so that it can become your pet.
• Added a function to change the names of horses and pets.

Fixed an issue where cats could remain on the player's shoulder indefinitely, contrary to the intended design. However, considering that many Greymanes actually liked these cats' behavior, we have added an item that allows cats to stay on the shoulder for a longer period of time.

• Added an accessory slot for pets, which will allow pets to now take on a wider variety of roles.
• Sigil of Bonding: Equipping this item on a pet cat ensures it to stay longer on your shoulder.

[Damiane] Added a new exclusive one-handed weapon, the Sword of Starlight, which can be obtained through a quest.

• [Kliff/Oongka] Added two new one-handed weapons, Tree Branch and Sturdy Tree Branch.
• These items can be obtained by cutting down trees and bamboo trees.
• Added a new tool, Sturdy Broom.
• [Kliff] Added the new Baltheon armor outfit.
• Changed the name of Rekhia Plate Helm to Baltheon Plate Helm and improved it so that it can be equipped by Kliff.
• Added a secret shop in Pororin where pet equipment can be purchased.
• Added additional outfits to certain shops, including the Back Alley Shop.
• Improved the Kuku Flame-Resistant Armor and the Kuku Ice-Resistant Armor so that they can be dyed.
• Added various ores and wells across Pywel.
• Added new cooking animations each dedicated for vegetables, meat, and fish. (Removed: 2026/04/23)
• Reduced the amount of attack and defense gained from equipment reinforcement with grindstones and anvils.

Fixed an issue where the cloud cart could not be called.

• Improved the cloudcart so that it can be used as a permanent mount.
• Changed the cloudcart crafting mission so that it can only be completed once.

Improved the prices of goods sold by Greymane NPCs so that they can be bought at a 10% discounted price.

Added livestock vendors across Pywel.

Livestock such as cows, pigs, goats, sheep, ducks, and chickens can be purchased from these NPCs.

• Added 13 new tattoos for characters.
• Added a "Lock" function that prevents selling or discarding of the selected item.
• Improved gathering and mining so that the quantity of items obtained is applied consistently.
• Improved resting in bed so that the player's character gets up immediately afterward.
• Improved NPCs to show a wider variety of reactions to their surroundings.
• As part of ongoing visual improvements, replaced select 2D visual assets to better align with the game's art direction.
• In the Mission Dispatch menu, the "Dispatch" and "Repeat Mission" buttons have been separated, allowing selection between performing a mission once or repeating it. (Added: 2026/04/23)