I have now spent roughly 130 hours there Crimson desertand I think I could get hundreds more out of it if I really wanted to. In fact, I absolutely do, and I intend to give it a try. I'll admit the game has its issues, but honestly, it's been one of the most memorable experiences of my life, simply because I can't get enough of its world. I've played many open world games in my time, but I've never witnessed one like this Crimson desert's where I can interact with almost everything I see and there always seems to be some new discovery for me to stumble upon. However, for all the praise I'm willing to lob at it, there's still one feature that I think would trump the whole experience: the transmog.
The transmog is one of those things that may seem like a pretty insignificant feature to some, but is a game changer to others. For me, allowing me to change my character's appearance without forcing me to change gear means I can immerse myself in the game, especially during cutscenes, and, as superficial as it sounds, just have a good looking character. But in Crimson deserttransmog would go a lot further as it would at least partially solve one of the game's biggest problems. It's actually one of the first times I thought a transmog would offer more than just customization options to the game and actually target what I see as a flaw in its design, so that's saying something.
Crimson Desert Review: A remarkable open world that often asks for too much
Crimson Desert offers one of the most impressive game worlds, but the deeper you go, the more it asks you to experience it on your own terms.
Transmog would reduce one of Crimson Desert's biggest problems
For starters, there are countless sets of armor and parts Crimson desertwhich makes sense given the sheer size of the game. They can be obtained from boss fights, purchased from vendors, and even obtained as reputation rewards. But what's more, each of them has such distinct and detailed features that a transmog would surely complement that variety. The ability to change the appearance of any piece of armor to another once looted – similar to a transmog system such as Hogwarts heritage's, for example — would be nice, especially s Crimson desertLimits on player inventory and storage.
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Abyss Artifacts are the real reason Transmog would mean anything
But the real reason transmog is so important Crimson desert this is due to how much the game relies on Abyss Artifacts to develop stats, skills, and equipment. It's been known for some time that players will need to acquire Abyss Artifacts to power up their character, but what wasn't clear (at least to me) until I played it was that it's also necessary to upgrade gear past a certain level. Specifically, once you've upgraded a piece of equipment to level 4, attempting to upgrade it further requires the use of rare Abyss artifacts, which are also necessary to upgrade your character's stats and skills.
Maybe it wouldn't be a problem if it didn't have three playable characters Crimson desert who share nothing but stats and certain basic skills. In other words, to get the most out of any character in the game besides Kliff, you need to spend a significant amount of Abyss Artifacts on each of them to get them on par with Kliff naturally, as he is required for most games. Crimson desert's story content and ultimately has better skills. Because of this, I really don't want to spend Abyss Artifacts on gear that I won't use long term.
The real reason transmog is so important Crimson desert this is due to how much the game relies on Abyss Artifacts to develop stats, skills, and equipment.
And therein lies another, perhaps more pressing problem. Because there are so many different pieces of armor and sets Crimson desertInvesting valuable Abyss Artifacts to upgrade them past a certain point doesn't really make sense as you tend to trade them in as soon as you find something better. It's possible to power up a piece of gear with Abyss Cores once you've unlocked the crafting system for it during the main story, but not only does this only apply to gear that already has Abyss Sockets closed, it also doesn't help when making sure your character's appearance is exactly how you want it to be.
This is something I've noticed especially with gear obtained through Crimson desertA reputation system that is actually one of the weakest elements in the game, but also one of the best looking. It already takes enough time to get enough reputation points to spend on this gear, there's almost no point in focusing on it or even spending those points once you've got them, simply because at that point you've probably found better gear anyway. However, what if I want the look of this gear without wearing it? If Crimson desert it had a transmog system, I wouldn't have a problem grinding for that transmission and eventually buying it, as I like the way most of it looks, but I don't necessarily want to wear it.
Reputation in Crimson desert it is regional and can be earned by completing certain parts of the main story, completing side quests for villagers, and even giving money to beggars.
I will say that Abyss Artifacts can be obtained in a variety of ways in the game, be it open world quests, solving puzzles to unlock them, randomly getting them after defeating a certain number of enemies, or getting them as a quest reward. It makes them sound abundant, and they actually are. But the skills and stats in Crimson desert they get more and more expensive to unlock, starting with only requiring one Abyss Artifact and increasing that requirement to four and beyond as you go. That's ultimately what makes them so valuable, not that they're few, but that they're so vital to character growth.
At the end of the day, it's what keeps the tension between how valuable Abyss Artifacts are and how temporary most gear feels. Crimson desert from full use of own depth. A transmog system wouldn't fix development or suddenly make every decision easier, but it would remove the hesitation that comes with investing in something that will likely be superseded very soon. It would at least give me a reason to care more about every piece of armor I find, be it for power or style, and allow Crimson desertIncredible diversity that really matters in the long run.
- Released
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March 19, 2026
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developers
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Pearl Abyss
- Publishers
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Pearl Abyss
