The ability to level up AFK is coming to Black Desert. This is not a bug, but a desired feature. Fans of PvE activities can also look forward to adjustments to the Horde mode “Cruel Rift”, making it more profitable.
Since the end of 2017, players in the Korean version of Black Desert AFK leveling. For a certain amount of silver, players can let their computer run in the background while their character cheerfully beats on training dummies. Now this feature has also made its way to Europe.
Players with little time can finally level up
Reaching the level cap takes a long time: Anyone wishing to climb to the highest levels in Black Desert must prepare for long grinding sessions. Even after hours of monster killing, players are only a few percentage points closer to their goal.
However, if players don’t have the time to kill monsters for hours, they can pay some silver, the in-game currency of Black Desert, and level up AFK.
When leveling up AFK, you can choose between combat EXP and skill EXP:
- Combat EXP increases your character’s level
- while skill EXP grants you additional skill points.
This is how you level AFK in Black Desert
This is how Black Spirit training works: To start AFK leveling, players need to purchase a training book from the NPC Jamey Drucker. This NPC can be found in the cities of Velia, Heidel, Calpheon, Altinova, and Valencia.
They then need to activate the book in their inventory and train with one of the training dummies in the city. EXP buffs also affect the experience points gained from AFK leveling.
The Cruel Rifts are getting even crueler
Shorter playtime, fewer rewards. Some changes have been made to the PvE activity Cruel Rift to make it more rewarding for players.
- The monster spawns have been reduced by 40%. This is meant to shorten the duration of individual runs to about 20 minutes. Before the changes, a Cruel Rift took about 30 minutes.
- Additionally, the cooldown for siege weapons has been halved, allowing players to use them more frequently.
Although players can complete individual rifts more quickly due to the changes, the rewards they receive for each completed rift have been reduced. Overall, players should receive more rewards in the same amount of time due to the shortened playtimes.
A new event takes place in the Cruel Rift
Event lures players to the rift. From August 15th to August 29th, an event will take place to celebrate the overhaul of the rift. Players will receive additional rewards for completing monster waves.
After wave 25, it sometimes continues. In each run of the Cruel Rift, there is a 50% chance during the event that an additional 26th wave will appear.
Part of this wave is the wild ogre. It leaves behind a reward box from the Cruel Rift. The box always contains a Dirty Ogre Ring and a trace of Wildness. If the group fails to kill the ogre, they will only receive rewards for 20 completed waves.
AFK Leveling – Players have mixed reactions
Mixed reactions. The reactions of players to the AFK leveling feature, which is already known from Korea, are varied.
Some players like the “new” feature and want to try it out immediately.
Others believe it to be unnecessary. If you level your character overnight, you can’t fish or engage in other crafting activities. Leveling AFK simply isn’t worth it in the eyes of some players.
We have already critically addressed the topic:
