In the MMORPG Black Desert, the first EU player reached Level 66 in March. We spoke with him and reveal who is behind it and what his tricks are.
What is special about Level 66? Black Desert has an open level cap. Up to Level 62, leveling is actually quite easy, but from there, it takes a lot of time. The required XP doubles each time.
At the beginning of January, the first western player, an American, reached Level 66. However, it is said that players in Taiwan managed to do this beforehand. Then, on March 27, the first European player followed, a German with the gaming family name RisingSun.
We at MeinMMO spoke with him about his gaming behavior, his tips for leveling, and also his general view of the MMORPG.
A mix of active and passive grind
These are his tricks: In the conversation, RisingSun revealed how he experienced the journey from Level 65 to 66. He plays about 4 hours a day and often, but not always, spends this time grinding.
He usually plays alone and prefers spots that are not very crowded. This has several advantages, as he mentioned:
I usually grind alone and not in groups, like others do. Because I was alone at my grind spots, I was able to use the server bell buff. This is an item that increases XP by 100% for a channel.
I then asked in various chats where such a bell is active and went there.
Also, I try to avoid spots where a lot is going on because I don’t like PvP. Unfortunately, in Europe, it’s been agreed upon that a duel settles who gets to use the grinding spot if multiple people want it. This has to be accepted. And I try to avoid it as much as possible because, as a Level 66 with no PvP experience, I lose against a good Level 60.
What else does he use? However, just grinding 4 hours at quiet spots is not how he became the first Level 66. Instead, RisingSun uses a trick to gain AFK XP:
My computer essentially runs 24/7, even when I sleep and work. I make use of the training dummies, which are available in every city. They can be rented for 1 million silver per hour, which is relatively cheap.
You just have to stand next to it and beat it up. The funny thing is: it scales with the level, which many don’t know. It always gives the same percentage, whether you are Level 60 or 65. You gain experience every 3 minutes when you “practice” on it.
How much XP does the dummy give? According to RisingSun, the dummy allows you to earn about half a percent per 20 hours. He used this time almost every day, even when he wasn’t at the computer.
Who is actually behind the character? The player behind the character family “RisingSun” is named Florian, 26 years old. He is a long-time and very loyal MMORPG player. Before, he played Metin 2 for many years before switching to Black Desert with its release.
Since then, he primarily plays Black Desert and focuses on PvE, which his Twitch profile also shows. On the account “PvEnvironment”, he regularly streams his adventures in the MMORPG in a mix of German and English. He also answers many questions from beginners.
RisingSun entered the level race late
What is special about the success? On February 1, 2019, RisingSun reached Level 63. At that time, others had already reached Level 64 and were working on the next level-up. The first player reached 65 in early May 2019.
He then decided to play less for a month. However, on March 3, 2019, a Hall of Fame was released for BDO’s birthday, mentioning the players with the highest levels. That sparked his ambition:
I play the class Dark Blade, and the highest Dark Blade was in 3rd place on the leaderboard. And I thought to myself: Yes, it would be nice to be the highest Dark Blade on such a list.
He was almost 64 at the time and was kind of the first rival who motivated me.
With rivals, RisingSun also continued. After he was the most successful Dark Blade, his goals also increased:
It was then at the end of May when I had just reached 64. Then the incentive came: I was now third, can I also manage the other 2?
With the player in first place, who has a funny character name Khviftwqtz and also comes from Germany, a race began:
He didn’t level up for a while, around 64 and 70%. When I then reached about 50% of the level-up, a little race began between us.
In September, the first European reached Level 65. However, it was Khviftwqtz. He was about 2 weeks faster. RisingSun, however, wanted to be the first player to be at the top of another Hall of Fame. But this did not appear in 2020.
Why does RisingSun grind so much? Besides personal ambition, there are also other reasons why he plays so much and enjoys grinding:
For me, it’s a good distraction. It takes my mind off the crap we’ve been through. Many gamers play for that reason. For me, it’s important that I also connect with others.
While others use social media or watch series for this distraction, he would rather play and share about his hobby.
“What matters is that you just enjoy the game”
What does RisingSun advise other players? Besides the discussion about the level race, we also talked generally about Black Desert. The record player has a very interesting view:
Find a guild, a community where you feel comfortable. Then play what you want: Whether professions, quests, role-playing, or grinding like I do. BDO offers you many possibilities.
Don’t care about which class is the best, but what makes you feel most comfortable. Currently, there is an event that lasts indefinitely and offers you good equipment for 1 silver.
What matters is that you just enjoy the game.
We as editorial staff can only agree to this advice. If you’re currently considering starting with BDO, we have put together 9 activities you can do in the MMORPG.
