Though not a Soulslike per se, Crimson Desert is nonetheless a game that loves throwing boss fights at you, some of which can be really challenging and, quite frankly, unfair.
Gimmick bosses are plenty as well, so it’s not even a matter of having to outfight your enemy anymore, you just have to figure out that one specific weakness they have that turns them from a monster into a total punching bag.
The Crimson Nightmare boss, while optional, is one such challenging beast, but there’s one way to make it into one of the easiest bosses you’ve ever fought.
Here’s what you need to do.
Beating the Crimson Nightmare
Now, before you actually get into the fight, I strongly recommend that you get the liberation bar of the base to zero percent. That way you’ll kill Crimson Nightmare and immediately cross into the liberation cutscene, rather than having to endure the entire base in a tight arena and probably with less healing and other useful items.
Once you get to the fight itself, Crimson Nightmare is completely invulnerable unless knocked down. It will continuously attack you with its long-range strikes, doing massive damage, especially to an early-game Kliff. To turn this from a complete s**tshow into the easiest thing you’ve ever had to deal with, you’re going to level up your Focus skill and unlock the Focused Repulsion ability.
With that available, simply walk up to the Crimson Nightmare, enter Focus, and use the Unleash ability. This will immediately knock the boss down on the ground, allowing you to go wild on what’s left of it. After a delay, it will reconstruct its cloud of poison and start attacking again, which is your cue to use Unleash again and knock it back down. Rinse and repeat until the boss is dead and the area is finally liberated.
Many bosses in the game have these gimmicks and specific counters that make them very easy, if not more manageable. Crimson Nightmare certainly stands out, but it’s proof that no boss, no matter how hard, is invincible and can always be brought down via good tactics and strategies.
Crimson Desert, and its Hernand region in particular, is full of challenging bosses, such as the Excavatron, which many players are struggling with in the early game.
