Crimson Desert’s New Update Improves Keyboard Controls, But Controller Issues Persist

Pearl Abyss has rolled out its third patch for Crimson Desert just four days after its launch on Steam and PS5, with Xbox and Epic versions on the way. This update starts to tackle the numerous issues plaguing mouse and keyboard controls, though it’s important to note that the situation is still far from ideal. Controller users, unfortunately, remain stuck in the same frustrating predicament.

On Saturday, the studio took to Steam to express regret for not delivering a satisfactory experience for keyboard and mouse players. They assured the community that feedback is being taken seriously and that they are committed to enhancing gameplay as quickly as possible. This commitment is evident, as the first wave of fixes has arrived, making some genuine improvements, yet the game still has a long way to go.

For those unfamiliar with the previous control chaos in Crimson Desert, the latest patch introduces keyboard shortcuts for essential menus like Inventory, Skills, Journal, and Map, now conveniently mapped to I, K, J, and M. Previously, players had to press Esc and watch the game randomly select a menu, which was a tedious process.

The patch also speeds up UI response times, albeit through hastily accelerated transition animations. While the jump input has seen some improvement, it still suffers from noticeable delays. The protagonist, Kliff, is said to have better control responsiveness, but he still feels more like a clunky vehicle than a nimble character, with a frustrating lag between input and movement.

Numerous tweaks have been made to the game’s mechanics, such as simplifying arm wrestling QTEs, reducing the number of hits needed to fell trees, and enhancing visual cues for interactions. The health gained from food has been boosted, and various minigames have been made easier. However, the aiming mechanics for igniting arrows in braziers remain problematic.

Private Storage has been fixed to function correctly, allowing players to store items, and more fast-travel points have been added. The tedious knowledge acquisition process has been sped up, and players can now learn Force Palm earlier than before, which is a welcome change.

Additionally, boss fights have received nerfs, and blocking now consumes less stamina, aiming to make the game’s attempts at a Soulslike experience less frustrating.

However, controller improvements for PS5 and Xbox players are still pending, and the patch notes indicate that this is just the beginning of necessary control enhancements. PS5 players do have a fix for map-related crashes, while Xbox users can now access all game content offline and enjoy 120Hz gameplay.

Here’s a summary of the key changes:

**Quests**
– Fixed issues in various quests, improving progression and notifications.

**Content**
– Added more fast-travel points and Private Storage locations.
– Reduced the time to acquire knowledge and adjusted skill learning requirements.
– Made logging trees easier and improved minigame difficulties.

**Controls**
– Enhanced UI responsiveness and added keyboard shortcuts for menus.
– Improved character movement controls and fixed various input issues.

**Boss Fights & Combat**
– Reduced health and attack power for certain enemies and bosses.
– Adjusted stamina consumption for blocking and ambush encounters.

**NPC & Dialogue**
– Fixed audio issues and improved NPC behavior.

**UI Improvements**
– Enhanced food item registration and improved various UI elements.

**Performance & Stability**
– Fixed crashes and improved overall stability across platforms.

**Localization**
– Addressed localization errors for better quality across languages.

**Others**
– Fixed various gameplay issues, including character behavior and animation glitches.