MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz played the DLC “Charting the Unknown” of Crimson Desert and reveals why the new content is as remarkable as the main game itself.
I already told you that I have to play the DLC “Charting the Unknown” from Crimson Desert before the launch of WoW: Forever. I simply had too much fun with the unusual open-world adventure from Pearl Abyss. Plus: The list of new features that should come with the paid content pack was once again wonderfully absurdly long. I just had to see and play it myself.
23 hours later it is done. The total playtime clock is now at nearly 180 hours. Kliff has won the heart of a sorceress, acquired a cool lightsaber from the depths of the sea as well as a shark mount, a new armor set in the closet, and has quelled a new threat in its infancy. Also, he is now the proud owner of a sawmill, which he could expand into an economic empire at any time.
But his two companions have also been busy. Oongka has proven to himself that he can protect his friends by creating things (and not just destroying). Damiane, in turn, was able to protect Demeniss from a political coup and thus reclaim her family castle. Renovation work is currently underway there.
Yep, all of that belongs to the new DLC, which in terms of scope – just like the main game – leaves any kind of reason behind. And I love that!
Barely no Blood and Wine
When it comes to the best paid DLCs of all time, “Blood and Wine” for The Witcher 3 has been sitting on the throne for me for many years. “Charting the Unknown” is not that far off. The scope is similarly crazy for just a few euros. The high seas that owners of the DLC can now explore and dive with their own ship is even larger than the already huge continent from the main game.
There, you will encounter pirate and trade ships, deeply hidden treasures, dangerous monsters, dark ghost galleons, and undiscovered islands. The latter can partially be expanded with ports, sending your gray manes to work to harvest special resources. If you want to explore every nook and cranny, you need a sturdy sailing ship with thick cannons and a large crew – you can buy such a ship for a lot of in-game money or build it yourself over time.
For your dives, you get suits that provide you with oxygen and increase your swimming speed, submarines, or underwater animals as mounts (like sharks, which can be tamed like horses). Equipped like this, you can rush through the water for minutes until huge krakens draw attention to you or you fish out cool lightsabers from chests. You can easily spend hours with this part of the DLC.
For most players, however, the three new story campaigns are likely to be more important. They are sometimes told similarly clumsily as the main story, but they have the heart in the right place. Especially Oongka and Damiane get fresh character facets added that make them more interesting as figures. The trio still just wants to help everyone – which sometimes seems a bit naive, but in a fairy tale, sympathetic way.
It is also nice that the associated challenges do not only revolve around fights (even though there are various bosses). Kliff has to find his way through a huge sandstorm and discover new paths for the affected villages. Oongka learns the basics of engineering and thus has to deal with puzzles and machines. Meanwhile, Damiane combats an impending uprising through good deeds and dialogues with the disgruntled people.
The concluded stories are quite short, and they never reach the depth and quality of Geralt’s last chapter. By the way, those who want to play the new quest lines must have completed the extensive main story.
Economic Miracle, Wedding, and Bug Hunting
The high seas with ship battles, islands, and diving plus the new stories… these are actually just two of the many new features of “Charting the Unknown”. The developers have, for example, significantly expanded interaction with the NPCs, so you can now not only increase your reputation with them but also enter into relationships – all the way to the stylishly staged wedding.
To make that happen, you can discuss a selection of topics with the woman or man of your heart, or you regularly give them something. Since there is a daily limit for reputation gain, it sometimes feels quite grindy, but you will be rewarded with special dialogues or quests with certain NPCs like the sorceresses – and indeed with marriage in the end.
However, you can also invest a lot of time in expanding your corporate power and buying sawmills or restaurants. There, you then initiate the production of goods, set their prices, hire employees, charm special customers, and create a feel-good atmosphere in the stores to ultimately achieve high profits. You can then invest the money, for example, in better sailing ships or the expansion of your own castle.
Speaking of which: Not only can you individually furnish the new castles. You can also demolish your old house and build it anew from the ground up, even multi-story – thanks to a noticeable expansion of the housing options. And in the end, you can live together with your partner in your new home.
If you prefer to tackle challenging endgame challenges, you will find them in the “Garden of Trials”. There, you will sequentially challenge a series of well-known bosses, but in much more difficult variants. You have three lives since you can enter with Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane. However, there are no opportunities to heal yourself through dishes in the garden.
You must play almost flawlessly to succeed here. As a reward, there are special effects in the talent areas of Kliff and Co. that further improve certain abilities of the fighters.
The DLC “Charting the Unknown” is therefore huge. Anyone wanting to discover, master, and expand everything will likely be busy for significantly more than 50 hours. However, the developers also pay for the enormous scope with a relatively high bug density – similar to when it first launched.
For example, I was unable to complete quests because NPCs were not where they should be, or because my gray manes simply did not return from a completed AI mission for the completion of a new harbor.
You have to give the team credit again for rotating around the clock to correct the errors in a timely manner. Just last weekend, there were several updates with hotfixes through which they were able to eliminate various bugs.
I am confident that they will continue to refine the new content in the coming days and weeks. “Charting the Unknown” is already a remarkable DLC, and I am glad that it was released far enough ahead of WoW: Forever for me to play it. Have you perhaps played it too? Feel free to let me know in the comments! Now we turn our attention to a few wild release days: This week is one of the best for MMO fans – which game will you be playing?
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