"I Will Not Be Gaslit" Crimson Desert Players Are Split on the Game's Boss Fights

Crimson Desert‘s boss fights have proved to be a point of contention, with some players now calling them out for being poorly designed. While Pearl Abyss made it clear well ahead of release that its latest game was not a Soulslike, it is still full of challenging bosses to defeat, and these segments have come under the magnifying glass lately. There’s no denying that Crimson Desert is a massive success, but the quality of some of its content is up for debate.

After encountering widespread criticism at launch, Crimson Desert has made an impressive recovery. Pearl Abyss quickly addressed many of the most prevalent pain points, helping the game get back on its feet before it was ever down for very long. Now Crimson Desert is shaping up to be one of 2026’s best-selling games, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still nits to pick with it. While it’s safe to say the game is in a far better state than when it launched, players are split on some of its mechanics and design.

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Some Crimson Desert Players Say Its Bosses are “Absolutely the Lowlight of the Game”

A Redditor going by the username BannerThief posted a rant about Crimson Desert‘s boss fights on April 18, saying they “will not be gaslit” into believing these fights are well-designed. While some players have found these moments and the challenges they present fun, BannerThief called out how many bosses are immune to the game’s more in-depth combat mechanics and criticized their teleportation and “extended invincible attacks.” These frustrations are so common between fights that BannerThief says they’ve only enjoyed roughly five of Crimson Desert‘s 75-plus boss fights, and several Redditors in the comments agreed.

The teleportation and rapid attacks came up a lot in the discourse below BannerTheif’s post. It seems many players feel they have to accept hits, keep healing, and slowly chip away at bosses’ health. At the same time, others have highlighted how this difficulty can be a welcome break from relatively easy combat elsewhere in the game and point out how a little parrying can go a long way. People have highlighted before how Crimson Desert’s bosses are easier when not approaching them like a Soulslike, as parrying and blocking work a lot better than dodging, which may take getting used to after coming from Elden Ring or Dark Souls. Still, that doesn’t answer all the complaints others have brought up.

Crimson Desert protagonist Kliff fighting against a large human enemy with an deer's head helmet

Another common theme that came up in the discussion is the size of each boss’s combat zone. While Crimson Desert has an immense open world, many of its boss arenas are relatively cramped. This can make foes’ teleportation and rapid attack sequences all the more frustrating. Even some players who defended these fights for the most part admitted they wish the arenas were bigger to allow for more gameplay variety or give users a chance to retreat or outflank a boss.

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There seems to be a lot of room for improvement, and it’s uncertain if Pearl Abyss will address some or all of these areas in future tweaks. Of course, as with any disagreement in gaming, no solution is likely to please everyone. Pearl Abyss is introducing difficulty settings in an upcoming Crimson Desert update, which may make these fights less aggravating, but the debate will almost certainly continue.