Crimson Desert devs know combat "became less frequent" the more players progressed, so a new patch adds re-blockades and rematches for 69 bosses

Developer Pearl Abyss is aware that Crimson Desert's open world gets less dangerous the more players progress, so a new patch aims to make the mammoth map feel a little less sparse with rematches for bosses and stronghold fights available now.

"We understand that as more regions of the continent were liberated, opportunities for combat naturally became less frequent. So to keep the sense of challenge alive, we've added the Rematch and Re-blockade content," the studio writes in its latest patch notes. "We are continuing to refine these features, and this update serves as the first step by implementing their core, foundational systems. Building upon this base in future patches, we plan to progressively refine the content and craft a deeper world, so we hope you're looking forward to what we have in store."

Boss rematches are rolling out for 69 fights today and are available as soon as you beat any particular baddie by lighting a lantern at the site of their encounter. Boss rematches are available with any of the playable characters, and there are also two different modes up in the settings: Reminisce, which resurrects the boss exactly as they were, and Resonate, which scales a boss' stats to match yours as long as your stats are higher.

"In Rematch, any consumables used will be restored to their prior state once the battle ends, and no separate loot can be obtained," the dev notes, explaining that this feature aims to test player skill and allow for playstyle experimentation.

Re-blockades are a similar situation, allowing enemy factions to retake once liberated strongholds. "Re-blockades will occur at a set probability for strongholds that meet specific time and condition requirements," the dev explains, and you can also tweak how often bad guys pop back up again with three frequency options: Stable, Conflict, and War.

Despite Crimson Desert's popularity, almost 80% of Steam players haven't made it halfway through the story yet, proving how massive Pearl Abyss's open world is