The newly released mobile MMO Black Desert Mobile for Android and iOS is complex and multifaceted. With our tips and tricks in this guide in English for beginners and advanced players, you will progress in the game much easier!
What is Black Desert Mobile (BDM) all about? If you are familiar with the big brother Black Desert Online (BDO), you will quickly get the hang of this version for smartphones and tablets. You choose a character and complete missions to become stronger. Along the way, you will find better equipment and improve your skills. Later on, raids and group activities come into play.
The scope of BDM is gigantic; many mechanics are explained inadequately or not at all. So that you don’t lose track and make the same mistakes I did, here is a selection of useful tips and tricks to make your start easier.
Tip 1: Try out the classes
Not every class is suitable for every player type. Are you more of a melee fighter or a healer? Do you prefer to attack individual enemies from a distance or do you want to effectively mow down large groups?
Unfortunately, BDM currently only offers three character slots for free; you will have to pay for additional slots. However, you can easily delete characters after trying them out. Here’s a rough categorization of the classes:
- Warrior – The classic melee fighter with tank characteristics and balanced offense and defense. A good starter class.
- Ranger – This class is specialized in ranged combat. The lack of defensive capabilities is compensated by great speed on the battlefield.
- Wizard – The wizard acts similarly to the ranger and attacks her enemies with ranged attacks. However, the wizard can also deal a good amount of damage in melee. This class currently offers the highest damage potential, but is an easy target due to limited mobility.
- Giant – The classic damage dealer in Black Desert Mobile. However, the Giant only has melee attacks, so you will have to get up close to the enemy.
- The Valkyrie – The Valkyrie is a hybrid class of Warrior and Support. Especially in groups, the Valkyrie can utilize her strength but falls behind other classes in terms of damage.
- The Dark Wizard (Release in January 2020) – This version of the wizard uses dark magic and is significantly more mobile than the wizard class. She also has ranged attacks but can be found in melee as well.
It’s also worth having multiple characters. Some classes are better suited for defeating certain enemies. For some quests and tasks, it makes sense to switch characters from time to time.
Tip 2: Familiarize yourself with the interface
The user interface is, quite frankly, overwhelming. Countless interaction options are presented to you. If you want to keep track of the battlefield, you should know exactly what is important and what is not.
For better understanding, I divide the interface into four quadrants:
- In the top left, you will find the expandable minimap in two views (map and list), the companions, as well as information on world bosses and daily login rewards.
- In the top right, you have access to various menus as well as direct access to your skills, inventory, and your camp. You can also view the current tasks directly here.
- In the bottom right, you see the equipped skills and abilities you need in combat. Once you are in a safe zone, the skills change to interaction options with NPCs.
- At the bottom, you will find information about your level, health points, active buffs, as well as technical info about the connection and your battery status.
Just try out all the options. You will quickly get the hang of which elements are more important than others.
Tip 3: Level the Black Spirit!
What is the Black Spirit? The Black Spirit is your companion in BDM and handles various tasks for you:
- It enhances your equipment, weapons, and accessories.
- It allows you to enhance your equipment through magic crystals.
- With the help of light crystals, you can gain additional bonuses.
Just like you, the Black Spirit can level up. And this is beneficial for you, as the Black Spirit increases your attack power with each level. Currently, I derive a third of my total attack power solely from my companion.
How to efficiently level the Black Spirit: The cute little guy is a true garbage disposal. He eats all your equipment that you no longer need as well as an item called “concentrated Black Energy.” This comes in various rarities and can be purchased in a special shop with silver (the main currency of BDM).
The shop is called Talish’s Mysterious Shop. You can find this in the Pearl Shop. In addition to items that you can purchase with Black Pearls, you will also almost always find chests with concentrated Black Energy. It’s especially worth buying these at the start of the game.
Tip 4: Sell on the market!
You will quickly find out that you need vast amounts of silver to level skills, buy equipment, upgrade companions, and so forth. While you earn silver by completing missions, this is far from sufficient. Therefore, you should sell unnecessary equipment on the market.
This also means that you cannot sacrifice everything to the Black Spirit. I’ve noticed that sales are significantly easier when offering equipment with purple rarity. These already yield a decent amount of silver (about 500.000 silver depending on the item). But how can one obtain equipment? In addition to missions and random drops, a special shop is the best option.
Tip 5: Use Shakatu’s Armor Shop
Black Desert Mobile also has a gacha system known from other games, where you can randomly obtain equipment by using a certain currency, ancient gold coins. While you only very rarely receive something truly valuable, you can profitably sell the equipment, use it yourself, or feed your Black Spirit.
Where do I get these coins? The best sources for these coins are the subjugation missions where you can face bosses you have already defeated, as well as the ancient ruins, a raid instance for up to 5 players. For both activities, you need special items, which you can find quite frequently.
For subjugation missions, you need to collect boss stamps, while for the ancient ruins, you need ancient stone plates. You should start both activities as early as possible as they provide some of the best rewards in the game.
Tip 6: Knowledge is power!
Every piece of knowledge you acquire in BDM actively increases your character stats. This way, you can easily boost your attributes. Simply rushing through the main quest will leave you significantly weaker than a player who takes the time to look into everything in detail.
How do I know where to acquire knowledge? If you open the list instead of the world map, you will see a small square with a question mark next to some NPC names. This symbol represents the places where you can gain knowledge. You will also find these symbols above the heads of enemies.
Therefore, you should always
- talk to all NPCs that show the knowledge symbol
- defeat all enemies until the knowledge symbol disappears (in my observation, the number is random)
- collect, mine, and fish in every new area
- complete all side quests (marked with a green exclamation mark)
This way, you will gradually unlock the knowledge of the regions and receive bonuses to your character stats like health, attack power, and defense.
Tip 7: Save your Black Pearls
In addition to silver, you also receive another currency by completing tasks and challenges: Black Pearls. However, you should save these diligently. The most valuable asset in Black Desert Mobile is companions. They come with useful abilities and primarily collect loot for you, which you would otherwise have to pick up manually.
You receive one companion for free at the start of the game; for additional companions, you will have to spend real money, with one exception! Once you have awakened the Black Spirit to level 4, you can purchase a black cat for 400 Black Pearls. You should definitely take advantage of this offer to receive another companion.
Tip 8: Use the world map for fast traveling
Without orientation, it is really difficult to navigate the world. The fast travel feature is also well hidden in the menus.
So you access the fast travel feature: In the top left quadrant, select the map option and then click on the globe icon in the bottom left corner. You will then receive an overview of the areas in BDM and can navigate to each one. This way, you can visit several villages without detours or head directly to battle sites with a click.
Tip 9: Enhance your equipment
If you feel like reaching a wall and not getting further, you should first try to enhance your equipment even more. However, to do this, you need to collect black stones. You can find these randomly or as mission rewards.
Even a few enhancement levels can make a big difference, so you should always enhance your equipment as far as possible.
Tip 10: Use the Black Spirit mode
One of the best features of Black Desert Mobile is the function that allows you to continue playing even while the app is closed. In the so-called Black Spirit mode, which you unlock after a few levels, you can choose whether you
- continue engaging in battles,
- collect resources, or
- catch fish
For you to be able to catch fish during your absence, you need to be logged out in an appropriate area (body of water) for this to be possible. Especially in battle mode, be aware that you are not invulnerable and will consume healing potions depending on the enemy’s strength. So ensure you have a sufficient supply.
While gathering, you also consume stamina offline. So take some stamina potions before gathering.
Tip 11: Invest in your camp
If you still want more after all this, you can play a game within a game with the camp. Your camp includes further mechanics and features that you can invest a lot of time into. You are able to
- construct buildings,
- hire and improve workers,
- collect resources,
- produce potions and equipment
- etc.
This not only is fun but also brings you additional rewards that help you progress in BDM. However, if you are time-limited, you should focus more on the story and improving your character.
Do you have any other tips for our readers? Share them with us in the comments!
