Crimson Desert shows further details about the battles of the action RPG in a new gameplay video and reveals how your hero becomes as strong as in the trailers.
What kind of video is this? On February 5, 2026, Pearl Abyss, the developer of Crimson Desert, released a new gameplay video on the official YouTube channel. It is nearly 9 minutes long and focuses on the battles and progression of your hero, that is, character progression.
By now, we can also speak of “heroes” in the plural. In a new trailer Crimson Desert announced two new playable characters. The two appear briefly in the video, but it mainly centers around the protagonist Kliff Graumähne.
Here you can see the new gameplay video about combat and progression in Crimson Desert:
What does the video show? The combat system of Crimson Desert is said to give you a lot of freedom to decide how to approach battles. You have a variety of maneuvers and abilities at your disposal to customize your combat style.
You can rely on precise parries and counterattacks, or throw your enemies down with full force and slam them into the ground like a wrestler. Fighting from the back of a mount is also effective in Crimson Desert – if you ride on a bear, it even joins the fray.
The video also features the steampunk mech again, which was already introduced in a previous trailer. It shoots bullets like a machine gun and even fires rockets. It creates maximum destruction while hero Kliff sits safely inside the machine.
Not the hero from day 1 of the trailers
How does progression work in the game? In many trailers, Kliff appears to be an unstoppable force when swinging over walls with a magical grappling hook, spinning rapidly in the air, and finally shaking the ground with a powerful impact.
Now the developers have clarified what many players might have already suspected: Your character will only become that powerful later in the game. Many of the shown abilities are unlocked by collecting artifacts.
You collect artifacts through quests, battles, and exploration of the game world. Many await as rewards behind challenging trials and boss fights. With artifacts, you improve your existing abilities and unlock new ones. Additionally, you increase your stats such as health and stamina.
However, some skills cannot simply be unlocked with artifacts. You must first learn them by observing them in the open game world.
Your progress should also be noticeable in items. You collect new weapons and armor in the game world or buy them from merchants. With the right raw materials, you can also craft many items yourself. You can also improve your equipment if you don’t want to switch your weapon.
The developer team behind Crimson Desert is currently releasing video after video. So you don’t lose track of the essentials, we have summarized the most important information for you. Here’s our overview: Crimson Desert: Release, trailer, and gameplay – All information about the action-adventure with an open world
