Overview
Version 1.01.03 was released on March 31, 2026, one day after Patch 1.01.02. Developed by Pearl Abyss, this hotfix addresses a combat issue where certain bosses would stop moving during encounters, effectively breaking the fight and preventing players from progressing. Unlike the Steam-exclusive Patch 1.01.02, this update was deployed to all platforms simultaneously.
The internal build version for this patch is 1.000.173. This is the fourth hotfix released for Crimson Desert since the Patch 1.01.00 content update on March 28, 2026, underscoring the rapid cadence of post-launch support from Pearl Abyss during the game's first two weeks.
Platform Availability
Platform | Version | Status |
|---|---|---|
Steam (PC) | 1.01.03 (Build 1.000.173) | Available (March 31, 2026 at 03:05 UTC) |
Steam (Mac) | 1.01.03 (Build 1.000.173) | Available |
PlayStation 5 / PS5 Pro | 1.01.03 | Available |
Xbox Series X|S | 1.01.03 | Available |
Xbox on PC | 1.01.03 | Available |
Epic Games Store | 1.01.03 | Available |
Mac App Store | 1.01.03 | Available |
Bug Fix
Fixed an issue where some bosses would sometimes stop moving during combat.
This was a high-priority bug that caused certain boss enemies to freeze in place during combat encounters. When triggered, the boss would stop executing attack patterns, stop responding to player actions, and remain stationary. While this sometimes made the boss trivially easy to defeat, it also caused progression issues in scripted boss fights where phase transitions depended on specific attack sequences completing.
The bug was intermittent and did not affect every boss encounter. Players reported encountering it most frequently during fights with multiple phase transitions, where the boss's AI state machine could become stuck between phases. The exact trigger conditions were not disclosed by Pearl Abyss, but community reports suggested it occurred more often when the player interrupted a boss's attack animation at the exact moment a phase transition was supposed to begin.
Because this bug affected core combat progression across all platforms, Pearl Abyss prioritized it as an all-platforms hotfix rather than a platform-specific update.
Known Issues
Pearl Abyss published an updated list of known issues alongside this patch. The following problems remained unresolved as of Version 1.01.03:
Graphics and Performance
Issue | Description |
|---|---|
Upscaling flickering | Using upscaling in certain environments causes flickering in shadow effects and character hair, visual noise in certain skill effects, and rough-looking screen textures. |
NVIDIA Ray Reconstruction frame drops | Repeatedly changing NVIDIA Ray Reconstruction and DLSS options under certain conditions may cause frame drops. Pearl Abyss plans to improve this in the next patch. |
FSR 4 rain artifacts | When using AMD FSR 4 upscaling, raindrops may disappear during rainy weather, or the screen may display blurriness and visual distortion. |
Gameplay and Quests
Issue | Description |
|---|---|
Golden Beer and Sage's Eye effects | The effects of the consumable items Golden Beer and Sage's Eye do not apply properly when used. Players who consume these items do not receive the expected stat bonuses. |
"A Rumor Fueled by Greed" quest | The quest cannot be progressed if the required quest item is obtained in advance and then sold or lost before the quest step that requires it. |
Abnormal character state | Under specific conditions, the player character's state changes abnormally. Wanted criminals that have been captured cannot be turned in while the player character is also in a wanted state. |
NPC Trust reset | If an NPC's Trust was increased during the Prologue, that NPC's Trust value may reset to its Prologue value in certain situations. |
Cloudcart summoning | The Cloudcart cannot be summoned under certain conditions. |
Knowledge double observation | Knowledge acquisition sometimes requires two "Observation" actions instead of one to register properly. |
Persistent Issues
Several issues from earlier patches remained on the known issues list, including:
Attempting to steal fruit at the back of a market stall causes the character to become unresponsive. Requires reloading a previous save.
When receiving damage while holding a tree, the character can become stuck to the tree and unable to move.
During the "Deferred Advance" quest, retrying or abandoning the Ultimate Weapon fight when Blackstar's health is depleted causes Blackstar's health to not fully recover on the next attempt.
Settings may not save properly after using the restore defaults function.
Quest objectives are not always automatically tracked on the HUD after completing a step.
The game cannot be launched properly on ROG Xbox Ally X with the latest driver (V32.0.23027.4002). Players are advised to install the prior version (V32.0.21025.27003) as a workaround.
On Xbox, the fishing reel malfunctions when "Invert Right Stick Y-Axis" is enabled in the controller settings.
Related Articles
Patch Notes (full patch history)
Patch 1.01.02 (previous update)
Patch 1.01.01 (hotfix)
Patch 1.01.00 (major content update)