'I Want Everyone to Know I Conquered This Before the Fix' — Crimson Desert Players Who Mastered the Brutal Archery Challenge Before Today's Update Are Now Showing Off

Pearl Abyss, the developer behind Crimson Desert, has rolled out a new update that brings several key enhancements to the game. Among these changes, one particular adjustment has players celebrating: the notorious archery minigame has been made significantly easier.

If you've spent any time exploring Crimson Desert, you've likely stumbled upon this challenging activity. It pits you against an NPC in an archery contest where the goal is to be the first to land 10 hits on targets that appear sequentially.

What makes it tough is the control scheme: you must hold a button to aim and release it to fire, which isn't a speedy process. As the contest progresses—and it costs in-game currency to enter—your opponent becomes more formidable. Later rivals seem to channel Robin Hood, anticipating target locations and scoring hits almost instantly.

Before today's patch, many players deemed this minigame nearly impossible, with some even speculating it was bugged due to its extreme difficulty. IGN had previously offered tips to help players cope.

One frustrated player vented, 'Fair warning, the archery competition is literally impossible to win. When the target appears, you have about 250 milliseconds to notice it, aim, and fire—and for some reason, you have to hold the button? The NPC predicts where the target will be and shoots before it's even fully up.'

Another added, 'It's hilarious—the AI shot the arrow before the target started rising and hit it mid-ascent. I swear it fired instantly multiple times. Stuff like this ruins games. How did this pass testing?'

Thankfully, the patch has eased the challenge, sparking a wave of bragging rights within the community. Players who somehow triumphed over the pre-patch version are now proudly flaunting their achievements.

'I just want it to be known that I did this before the patch,' declared FreddyLeeSavage, appropriately showcasing their feat.

How did they manage it? FreddyLeeSavage explained, 'There were times I shot first, but the CPU still got the point. This time, I got lucky—I stayed focused and was often near where the target popped up.'

Fans reacted with admiration, with one saying, 'He is John Crimson Desert himself,' and another joking, 'I beat Radahn before the patch, so we're basically the same.' A more confident player noted, 'I honestly don't know why it was nerfed; it was very winnable, just not a walk in the park.'

The archery adjustment isn't the only significant change in today's update. Pearl Abyss has also fine-tuned gamepad and keyboard/mouse controls, increased health restoration from food and items, and importantly, added new item storage at the Howling Hill Camp.

If you're diving into Crimson Desert's vast open world, check out our guides: Things to Do First in Crimson Desert, Things Crimson Desert Doesn't Tell You (with 28 tips and counting), Best Early Weapons to grab, Best Skills to Get First (including a breakdown of the skills system), and 34 Essential Tips and Tricks to thrive in Pywel.