New Crimson Desert update lets you permanently tame loads more animals, and I'm going straight for the lion

Pearl Abyss is continuing to churn out solid Crimson Desert updates at a staggering rate, and its latest patch is perfect for all the mount collectors out there. While, historically, certain animals could only be tamed temporarily, the studio will now let you stable a slew of the animal kingdom's finest. There's also a new extraction system, which lets you recover some of the materials used to refine gear, and the Laughing Marionette now has a claw machine, so you can get your practice in before hitting your local arcade.

Pearl Abyss has been very busy expanding Crimson Desert's pet system in recent weeks. Two weeks ago, the RPG opened up the possibility of owning birds, which as an avian aficionado made me incredibly happy. In its last patch, the studio even added a couple of legendary feathery friends for you to bring home to roost. It's a great time; the best time, even.

While Crimson Desert lets you utilize most of Pywel's fauna as mounts, most of these have historically been temporary. Now, bears, boars, wolves, deer, mountain goats, iguanas, raptors, camels, lions, tigers, and the chocobo-adjacent kuku birds can all be "registered as special mounts after gaining their trust." I'm no astrology nerd, but as a Leo I feel compelled to go after my maned amigo. Or, you know, the kuku bird, because chocobos. I do wonder if the legendary lions are also available, and if so, if there's a way to acquire their services even if they've already been defeated - I guess we'll see.

If you've refined a weapon or piece of equipment all the way up to level ten, only to now find it surplus to requirement, it's a pretty feels-bad moment. After all, that shiny new toy you've just discovered is crying out for material that you may no longer have. Well, Pearl Abyss has thrown you a lifeline with its new 'Extraction' feature. By heading to a smithy, you can revert a piece of gear back to the original refinement level you found it at, returning the majority of your resources. All special materials will be returned to you, though you'll only get back 70% of common ones, so be wary of that.

If, like me, you'll be making a beeline to the Laughing Marionette to snag yourself a lion, then you should also take the opportunity to check out the new claw machine Pearl Abyss has added to the circus. There are plenty of useful items in there that are worth gambling away your silver for, including "12 types of lighting items, one type of chair, one type of special headgear, Abyss Artifacts, and Abyss Gears."

Elsewhere in the patch notes, you'll find some smaller, yet welcomed improvements. There's now an item called the Sigil of Valor which, when equipped, will have your pet dog automatically attack enemies - good boy. If you've been frustrated by having to clean and butcher your meals, and siphon seeds one-by-one, then that's now a thing of the past as 'X all' commands have been added. As a final bit of noteworthy visual flair, swords have sheaths now. It's not exactly a revolutionary addition, but it's there for a bit of peace and mind that Kliff and the gang won't accidentally nick themselves while roaming the world.