A companion in Crimson Desert is summoned, then held with d-pad up

A Reddit player described a party mode many people missed after the patches. The character-switch menu has a Summon command. When the second hero is on screen, hold up on the d-pad. A party option appears, and the other characters follow Kliff.

In a fight the player can switch between fighters. In the world the companion helps clear camps. The limit is hard: during main-story quests the mode does not work. Those quests were built for a solo run as Kliff.

Against that find and the patches, Steam reviews in the note are already Mostly Positive, after a mixed start. The text does not explain how to beat specific bosses.