Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown launched on October 29, 2026 at 10 PM GMT with ships, underwater exploration, new character quests, romance, housing, castles and boss challenges. Pearl Abyss’s paid expansion arrived alongside Update 2.04.00 for Crimson Desert Enhanced.
The new activities have different unlock requirements. You can begin the ocean quest after Howling Hill and enough Greymane Camp progress, while the post-story adventures and Garden of Trials require Journey’s End. Here’s what the update adds, how to access it and what you should know about saves on other platforms.
Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown release time, price and platforms
Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown went live worldwide at 22:00 UTC on Thursday, October 29. That was 10 PM GMT in the UK, 6 PM Eastern and 3 PM Pacific. The announced UK price was £19.99. The game has a Buy DLC option on its title screen, and the expansion requires the base game.
Patch 2.04.00 is available on PlayStation, Xbox, Steam on PC and Mac, and Epic Games Store. Pearl Abyss announced Mac App Store availability for the DLC, but its patch notice originally showed the Mac App Store game update as a separate rollout. Install the latest game version before playing. Mac users may need a one-time download of the full-size game package.
New stories and the A Wider World quest
Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown adds an individual adventure for Kliff, Oongka and Damiane. After finishing the main-story quest Journey’s End, open the Journal to access the new character quests. You don’t need to search the world map for a single shared starting character.
For the ocean storyline, complete Howling Hill and expand Greymane Camp far enough to open A Wider World. This part doesn’t require Journey’s End. Our Howling Hill walkthrough and Greymane Camp guide cover the base-game steps.
Ships, diving and underwater treasure
With Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown, you can sail to uncharted islands, explore sunken ruins and trade by sea. Construct a ship using port dispatch missions or purchase one from a fleetmaster. Fleetmasters in Demeniss and Delesyia also sell ship parts. See our shipbuilding guide for the ways into this system.
Diving uses a breath gauge. Refining your diving suit increases maximum breath capacity, while certain foods restore breath temporarily. Equipment also allows the A.T.A.G to operate underwater. New underwater mounts can be subdued or fed until their Trust is high enough for registration. Treasure maps add hidden rewards to search for on land and underwater.
Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown marriage and housing
The romance system in Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown adds an extra Trust level. Select Interact > Flirt, then Gift or Chat to build that level to 100 and unlock a proposal. Each type of interaction can raise it once per day. Some characters have further requirements, including a sanctum quest for witches.
Spouses appear on your map, can travel with you and may give gifts. The update adds 17 residences built by dispatch missions, allowing a spouse to live in a designated home. Greymane Camp festivals attract trusted visitors, some of whom can join as Honorary Greymanes for dispatches.
For expanded house building, establish camp at Howling Hill and complete Luke’s Request. Select Home Decoration > Layout > Free Construction to place structural features including walls and windows, rather than only arranging furniture.
Castles and business management
The final Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown patch lists two claimable castles. Drakesfall Castle needs Journey’s End and stronghold liberation; Flame Knight’s Castle needs Damiane’s Politician quest and liberation. The earlier features preview mentioned three castles, but the launch patch names these two. Owned Greymane strongholds now show light blue on the map.
A new Facilities tab on the map allows management of restaurants, sawmills, smithies and tailor shops in eligible liberated strongholds. These businesses can keep working when you’re away. Complete the relevant faction quest and establish camp to access the region’s facilities.
Garden of Trials: location, rules and rewards
Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown adds Garden of Trials near the Axiom Archive Abyss, available after completing Journey’s End. Its ten groups can be entered with up to three selected characters from Kliff, Oongka and Damiane. You choose their battle order, with the next character replacing anyone defeated.
Food healing is prohibited during the challenge. Completing a group strengthens an existing skill, making this a meaningful post-game activity. Additional bosses, equipment and some Memory Fragment rematches also arrive with the update. Our Garden of Trials guide covers the challenge format.
Other changes in Update 2.04.00
The expansion adds Banker’s Dice in Demeniss and Delesyia, a Relic Collector to exchange exploration relics, barber shops, insects, wagon equipment and decorative objects. The map can zoom farther out and shows clearer regional statuses. There are also new everyday tools that work as combat weapons.
Players with compatible PC hardware can select upscaling and frame generation separately, including DLSS upscaling alongside FSR Frame Generation. The patch also includes specific fixes to storage, character attacks and quest interactions.
Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown save compatibility
A save created with Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown installed cannot load in a game version that does not include the expansion. The restriction also applies to cross-save. Check that the DLC is installed and the game updated on the destination platform before moving a save between devices. Don’t overwrite an older compatible save while sorting out a version mismatch.
For the full compatibility checks, see our DLC saves guide. To begin playing straight away, open the Journal for A Wider World after the camp requirement, look for character missions once Journey’s End is complete, and visit the Axiom Archive Abyss area for the Garden of Trials.
Related Guides
Official source: Pearl Abyss Update 2.04.00 patch notes.
