The most popular complaint about “Crimson Desert” that has recently surfaced in the community is that it is not that the balance is too difficult or that the frame is dropped, but that a seemingly ordinary “Equipment Manual” pops up repeatedly in the game, abruptly interrupting the rhythm of the battle. The most frustrating point for players is that it not only pops up in the normal state, but may suddenly open during a boss battle or even when you press pause.
It will force you to read page after page again!
According to multiple Reddit threads, once the manual pops up, you usually have to turn the page again to close it; some players even report that they cannot be discarded directly, or that they need to complete the associated quest line (such as Elixir Factory) to get out. So the screen becomes: you are about to make a quick move, replenish blood, and look at the timing, but the UI first grabs you to “read”, and then you fall in front of the boss.
it’s timed like a prank
If it were just a tutorial prompt, everyone wouldn’t be so angry. What really explodes is its intrusive design in high-pressure battle scenes, especially when it is repeatedly inserted at nodes such as resurrection, pause, and restart of the battle, making people feel like they are deliberately blocked by the system. That’s why the community nicknamed it the “Haunted Book” and even compared it to The Evil Dead’s Book of Evil.
Some players also suspect that this is not an easter egg, but a pure bug.
The article also mentioned that Pearl Abyss may have started to update and correct it. Judging from the current information, this is more like a vicious experience caused by the conflict between task triggering and interface prompts, rather than the fact that the designer really wants you to develop a reading habit in front of the boss. For players, the conclusion is simple: you can read the storybook slowly, but please don’t force me to read it aloud when I am ready to parry.