Reaching Crimson Desert's third chapter was a turning point in my relationship with the game. That's when you unlock Damiane, the game's second playable character. It didn't fix all of the issues I had with the game, but it put one of the big ones out of the picture for a little bit: how tedious combat and exploration are and how playing as Kliff is flat-out boring. It's just a shame he's still mandatory for a large part of the story. Plot matters little in Crimson Desert, but Damiane even has a more interesting backstory than Kliff. He's a warrior who died in battle and came back to life, which is neat, except he apparently doesn't care (and certainly never bothers bringing it up again in the opening chapters). She's the offspring of a noble family brought low through political conspiracy. He's always fought. She apprenticed herself to a swordmaster to learn how to fight, how to stand up and carve a life for herself no matter the opposition. His clothes are crap. She's stylish. The choice between a lump of stone and a character with an actual personality (even though she's rarely allowed to speak) is hardly a choice at all.
Image: Pearl Abyss via Polygon
On a more practical level, Damiane just fits the world of Crimson Desert better. She starts with a double jump skill, for one thing. Kliff can learn it by watching a group of kids or digging it out of the skill tree, eventually. He also has a clunky combo where he can use force palm to gain height, though unlike Damiane's double jump, this move is strictly vertical — no forward momentum allowed. Her extra mobility makes such a big difference when you're trying to explore (helped by the fact that she climbs faster, too). And it's just more fun to leap into the air and pull out a magic fan glider than it is to lumber along and turn into some weird goo bird like Kliff does. Doing anything as Kliff felt like a struggle, but I went out of my way to explore as Damiane. Turns out when you give players an interesting, well-designed character, they're more inclined to do all the things you want them to do. She's more fun in combat, too. Damiane uses a rapier by default, and her one-handed combos are more agile than Kliff's. Her strong attack is ranged, as she calls a bolt of… something… from the sky to strike foes. It's handy for keeping them at a distance and just generally being badass, slicing down nearby foes, turning a half step, then magic-bolting the poor fool who's trying to run away. Kliff can't do that. Damiane can double jump into the air, slow time, pull out her flintlock gun, fire magic-powered shots at enemies, backflip just for the hell of it (seriously, it's an automatic movement after an aerial focus shot), and land perfectly before going into a sword combo. She's just cool like that. Can Kliff do it? Dunno, haven't tried. Because he's boring.
Image: Pearl Abyss via Polygon
"That was cool!" isn't something I ever thought when I played as Kliff. Usually, those thoughts went along these lines:
"Ugh, can't you move faster?"
"Why are you so clunky?"
"Flashy moves, bud. Shame I've seen them in literally every other game like this already."
"Why are you so clunky?"
I'll give Pearl Abyss some credit for including a bit of world-building in these characters' designs. With Damiane's ties to a kingdom's nobility and her martial training, it makes sense that her kit has more variety. Kliff's just a big dude who hits stuff. It's just a little confusing why you would look at that difference and think, "Yes, the standard warrior man with no flair, no magic, and no technical expertise is the perfect lead for our fantasypunk game."
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