When Black Desert was released in March 2016 in the West, the MMORPG shone with its heavy combat system and stunning graphics. However, more than eight years have passed since then. How does Black Desert perform in 2024? Is it worth starting or returning?
What do I need to know about Black Desert? BDO (short for Black Desert Online) is an MMORPG from the South Korean developer Pearl Abyss, which was released on March 3, 2016 in Europe for PC. On May 24, 2017, it was launched on Steam. Furthermore, there is now a mobile version of the online role-playing game.
At first glance, Black Desert seems like a typical theme park MMORPG with its numerous quests, but it actually has more sandbox roots, focusing on grinding, crafting, housing, animal husbandry, trade, and guild wars.
However, as the level increased, the grind felt tougher. Additionally, the random factor in upgrading equipment, breeding horses and pets, and creating alchemy stones was frustrating. And then there was the cheeky pearl shop, the typical gender lock for Asian MMORPGs, and the unfinished interface.
Despite these initial problems, Black Desert continues to attract our MMORPG enthusiasts to its servers to see what has changed. He will tell you how Black Desert performs in 2024.
The experience for newcomers in 2024
Black Desert may be several years old, but the MMORPG provides you with one of the most powerful character builders of all (online) role-playing games at the start of your adventure. You can recreate yourself or a celebrity, or create a fictional alter ego with just a few clicks or a lot of love.
Not only are the numerous customization options overwhelming, but also the 27 classes you can currently choose from. In addition to typical careers like warrior, archer, or ranger, you also find quirky playstyles like the corsair, who can transform into a mermaid and summon whales.
You will unfortunately have to deal with the fact that specializations are tied to specific races and genders. Some classes at least represent the female or male counterpart of another. For example, you can create a wizard or a witch.
Which starting zone will it be?
Once you have created your character, you will face the next dilemma: Which starting zone will it be? There are three options. “Land of Morning Light” and “Mountain of Eternal Winter” are aimed at veterans, while the “Primitive Stone Chamber” provides the best start.
Create your character on a seasonal server for newcomers to gain particularly fast progress and additional rewards through a season pass. By following these pillars of the main questline, you should be able to reach a level between 50 and 60 relatively quickly.
From level 56, a major milestone awaits you: the questlines for awakening and rebirth, which will give your class a further development. After completing these tasks, you should reach around level 60 and thus reach the endgame.
Free Tier-9 mount at the start
For some time now, Black Desert has been providing old and new players with a fabulous Tier-9 mount that allows you to travel through the world particularly quickly and comes with special advantages. The Pegasus can fly, for example. You will find the mount in your gift tab under rewards after your first log in.
Additionally, there is now a fast travel system that instantly takes you from the fountain of one city to the fountain of another city in the game world – and with your currently active mount. Traveling in Black Desert has never been so comfortable and time-saving.
Black Desert has been moving and thrilling players for many years – this trailer proves it:
That’s why it’s worth playing Black Desert
But why should you give Black Desert a chance? Here are some reasons:
- Black Desert has one of the best combat systems in the MMORPG genre. The attacks look great, feel wonderfully heavy, and can be chained into powerful combos. Each class plays differently. If you want to live out your own power fantasy, you will have long-lasting fun with BDO. At the same time, the design of various classes is so complex that skilled players can clearly stand out from less experienced heroes.
- If you enjoy crafting and gathering professions in online role-playing games, you will also have fun in Black Desert. You can engage in all activities with one character, and there are several; such as cooking, sailing, hunting, or taming and breeding horses. Additionally, you can really dive into these professions and, for example, extensively upgrade your small starting ship to later hunt sea monsters.
- The world of Black Desert consists of nodes such as villages, cities, or other interesting places. These are closely linked with the crafting and housing system because you can invest your earned contribution points in these nodes to place workers or buy buildings. For example, if you enjoy cooking but do not want to farm the resources, you can hire workers to do that job for you.
Let’s continue on the next page with the biggest weaknesses of Black Desert, the pay-to-win question, and my conclusion.
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