The remarkable patch cadence of Crimson Desert shows no signs of abating, with yet another meaty update arriving just this Friday. Patch 1.08.00 brings a big new batch of additions and improvements to Pearl Abyss’ ludicrous kitchen sink of an RPG, including a host of cute new critters and more weapons to brutally slaughter them with.

The headline update, is a new dedicated item slot to equip tools with. Up to now, tools like axes, mallets, shovels and so forth were equipped in players’ secondary-weapon slot. Now, though, implements not specifically designed for destruction have their own dedicated space in your quickslot menu, meaning you can equip a tool without sacrificing your functionality on the battlefield.

The update also adds two new ponds to the game at Howling Hill and Pailune Camp, though you have to complete the relevant “pond construction” mission (that’s a new one on me) before you can build them. You can also release fish into a completed pond, which can then multiply.

By far the most important part of the update, however, is that it introduces 20 new species of small animal to Crimson Desert. Sadly, Pearl Abyss doesn’t specify what those animals are. But the studio does also mention it has added a “Baby Wyvern” mob that can be registered as a pet. Apparently, a future update will allow baby wyverns to grow into tame adult wyverns, which you then will be able to ride as a permanent mount (you can also ride wild wyverns right now, but only for a short duration, as is typical when attempting to ride a wild animal).

Basically, there’s a lot more critters frolicking in Crimson Desert’s world now. But oh no, what’s that? It’s Kliff coming over the hill. And he’s got a gun. Yep, Crimson Desert’s gruff hero can now wield muskets and shotguns (what is this game?) rather implying that he can blast all those animals into next week.

Other tweaks include an ominous new function that “allows you to silence tied-up outlaws,” several improvements in and around photo mode including a new keyboard shortcut to access it, and some adjustments to the controls and camera for Crimson Desert’s rideable dragon Blackstar. I’m also particularly fond of the patch note “improved fish traps so that fish can now be caught with them”. Not to be funny about it, but that’s the minimum I expect from a fish trap, Pearl Abyss.

You can read the full patch notes via this Steam post. No doubt there’ll be another patch in a week or so that adds some ludicrous new functionality to this ever-expanding RPG. Prior to tameable wyverns, Pearl Abyss added the ability to tame and ride bears and goats, while the one before that turned the player base into amateur ornithologists by turning the game into a bird-taming frenzy.