The MMORPG Black Desert Online is still one of the most beautiful games in the genre. Now the developers are providing a hardcore server, but it doesn’t sound that hardcore to fans.
What is the new server all about? The hardcore server should be interesting for all players who currently find Black Desert Online too easy. On this new PvPvE server, you fight for survival in the vast desert of Valencia, also known as the Black Desert.
How the hardcore server works is explained by developer Pearl Abyss in a roughly 5-minute video on YouTube:
Only one character, focus on PvP and daily quests
What does gameplay look like on the new server? First, you need to create a new character that you can only play on the hardcore server. You are only allowed to have one character at a time on this server, and the selection of classes is also limited.
Currently, the following classes are playable on the hardcore server:
- Warrior
- Black Mage
- Ranger
- Giant
The playable classes are expected to change in the future depending on the season and theme. By the way, your new character starts directly at level 63, with 3,000 skill points, and the choice between “Awakening” and “Rebirth” of your class.
You can play up to 2 hours per day on the hardcore server. During this time, you collect as many survival and quest points as possible. The latter are obtained through dailies and “Sudden Quests” that can be randomly assigned to you while fighting monsters.
You earn survival points by defeating monsters and other players. However, upon death, you lose 30% of your survival points. The same applies if you eliminate a player who has less than 20% of your survival points (starting from 1,000 points). This penalty is likely intended to discourage players from deliberately hunting down newbies.
New mode “as far from hardcore as possible”
How is the hardcore server received by the community? Particularly in the comments below the developers’ explanation video on YouTube, the criticism is loud. A major topic is the limitation of classes: With only 4 out of a total of 29 classes, there is a high chance that your favorite class is not included.
Some players also criticize the focus on daily quests. “Daily quests are a great way to ruin the game mode and make it a tedious obligation for adventurers,” writes YouTube user Allergic2Feedback, for example.
For FakeUni, the touted “hardcore” server is not even really hardcore. He writes in his comment: “You have developed a mini-game mode that is as far from what hardcore actually means as possible.”
For mirainokiokuha, it is already clear what needs to change. “The penalty must be removed. Daily quests must be removed. More incentives to play. Don’t cater to casuals on a HARDCORE server,” writes the user.
Do you want to try the new hardcore server or do you have plans to do so? Feel free to share your opinions and impressions in the comments. If you want to convince friends to join you in Black Desert Online, now would be a good opportunity: Black Desert Online is currently only one euro on Steam
