In Black Desert players discuss whether the Korean MMORPG is also a gamble for money in high-level play.
Currently, there is a discussion about loot boxes happening in gaming. Blockbuster games like Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Star Wars Battlefront 2 have ignited and fueled this discussion.
Players spend money on a loot box but do not know what item they will get. Isn’t that essentially gambling and should it therefore be treated and regulated like gambling? One would think that children should be protected from such things.
Wait, if loot boxes are gambling – what about Black Desert?
On the forum reddit, a discussion about the Korean MMORPG Black Desert has erupted. There are hidden random mechanics deep in the endgame that an angry forum poster considers “unethical.” After all, Black Desert is rated for players aged 16 – young people must also be protected from the developers’ methods.
In Black Desert, players spend a lot of time “grinding” mobs. They kill the same enemies over and over again. One player has ground for 2000 hours to reach level 62. These enemies drop loot.
No Auto-Loot in Black Desert
The problem is: In Black Desert there is no proper auto-loot, you cannot simply crouch and with a push of a button loot the corpses of 400 pirates.
Instead, players have pets for the job. In the European version of Black Desert, each player can employ 4 pets, in Korea even 5. These are dogs, cats, or birds.
These pets then automatically loot the corpses. Pets come in 4 “tier” levels. The higher the level, the faster the pet loots.
If the pets are “too slow,” a pile of loot remains unused. A nightmare for anyone trying to get the most out of their gaming time.
RNG for the best possible pet?
The problem is, to obtain a “higher-level pet”, you must crossbreed two lower-tier animals. In the process, these animals disappear and a third pet is created, which can have the next higher level – or not. Here is where the randomness comes into play.
You can combine pet A (T3) and B (T3) and then get pet C.
- If pet C has T4, then everything is fine.
- If pet C only has T3, then players have effectively lost a “pet T3.”
These pets are mostly tied to the cash shop of Black Desert. It costs money if you want to take the chance for a better pet – and in principle, you can lose money there.
Therefore, one faction believes:
This is clearly gambling. Subtly, Black Desert forces me to part with money to play the game optimally. If I don’t do that and let only weak pets collect loot for me, then I have a significant disadvantage.
How bad is this RNG effect?
In principle, there are two opinions regarding the discussion.
- One side says: Yes, this is the trick of Black Desert. It’s all aligned with the cash shop if you want to keep up in the endgame. This is typical for Korean MMORPGs to pull such tricks with RNG. When you reach the end of Black Desert, you realize: You constantly need to keep the PC running to generate passive income, which you then invest into such RNG upgrade games.
- The other side says: Well, that’s also exaggerated. You don’t necessarily need these highest pets. You can do without. Black Desert may have weaknesses – but not in terms of pets.
In any case, this discussion shows how difficult the topic “Pay2Win” is in such complex MMORPGs. Because to understand where the problem lies, one must be familiar with the game and dive deeper.
It is often argued regarding Black Desert that: One can also buy the pets from the auction house for in-game silver. To which others respond: Yes, but no one ever puts them up because no one is foolish enough to do so.
Mein MMO says: These elements that tempt hardcore players to spend a lot of money in the shop are opaque and hidden. It’s about “game enhancements” and “game advantages” that only appear deep in the endgame.
Such RNG elements in upgrading items can become significantly expensive – but one typically only realizes this after investing a lot of time in an MMORPG, making it difficult to resist.
Korean MMORPGs like Black Desert or ArcheAge divide opinions with their cash temptations. Those who approach these MMORPGs with the ambition to compete at the top will be much more confronted with these elements than someone who is “just playing for fun.”
The topic may become more prominent in the gaming public’s consciousness in the future: Black Desert is planning a port for PS4 and Xbox One.
More on the topic:
Pay2Win – the black mark: Why it is so rare to talk about cash shops
