Black Desert Online: 18 Things You Should Know Before You Start

A new game should always be started with beginner’s advice. Although the BDO universe is enormous and complex, spending time there is worthwhile.

Contrary to appearances, Black Desert Online isn’t your typical MMORPG. Under the hood, there are many brilliant ideas, but understanding how everything functions can be very difficult. The poor localization of English doesn’t help with this at all.

Not to worry, I’ve got some advice that will start to help you understand the intricate web of crafting, trading, and adventuring in Black Desert. Here are some things to be aware of before you leave on your adventure.

Adventure Has No Shortcuts

Before you set out, you must understand three words that are of utmost importance: no fast travel. Do not be deterred by this; the world of BDO is teeming with life, making walking a busy and rarely monotonous experience. Eventually, you’ll be able to unlock a horse, which drastically reduces your travel time.

BDO doesn’t have a “magic loading screen” mode of transportation if that’s what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for an MMO that will help you fold your laundry, this one is for you. You can also perform some tasks while your character automatically runs to the quest marker.

The objective is Progression

BDO will feel a little bit different for those used to “theme park” MMOs, but there are no major differences. The post-game content in theme park MMOs is typically designed to be challenging enough to keep players busy with one or two raid bosses at a time, until the next content patch or expansion. These games are typically story-oriented.

Additionally, gear and level caps rise regularly and are relatively simple to reach. Players can level up characters or equipment indefinitely in sandbox MMOs, which, especially those developed in Asia, tend to be more free-form in their progression. The strongest characters are typically the result of years of grinding. Other players might decide to grind in different ways, skipping battle to focus on becoming

Optional Massive Multiplayer

If you’ve played other MMORPGs, you’ll know exactly how it feels to move around in BDO’s open world. Although there is a lot of player character traffic in the major villages and towns, the game has a less social feel than other MMOs.

On the surface, that’s not a bad thing because BDO rarely requires you to introduce yourself to other players if you prefer a solo approach to your RPG adventures. Of course, if you want to check out the large-scale PvP modes, joining guilds and interacting with people in the chat log are still options.

Fighting Is Not King

BDO features some of the top combat in any current mainstream MMO. Similar to an action role-playing game or hack-and-slash adventure, skills are used in real time and chained together. Even though Final Fantasy 14 and World of Warcraft remain popular games, BDO spoils players with quick, responsive battle mechanics that make it difficult to switch.

There are plenty of players who choose to ignore grinding mobs despite the game’s excellent combat system. BDO allows you to fish, hunt, sail, process materials, and more as a means and an end, whereas the majority of well-known MMOs expect you to take up crafting and gathering to support your raiding career. You’re feeling down after defeating demons. Up the road is a farm with

Get Rid of your R key

BDO offers thrilling combat, chaotic PvP, a vibrant in-game economy to master, and an engaging story, but occasionally it seems like all of these other features get in the way of the plot. The R key spam, which has currently turned into a community meme, will become familiar to new players very quickly.

Most players find themselves mindlessly pressing R to advance the conversation to its conclusion because there are so many NPCs in BDO who blather on while you’re just trying to figure out which dialogue lines are important. The developers have discussed their intention to prevent R spamming, which should reduce the amount of idle chatter and leave players with only the crucial dialogue.

Your Own Custom Dungeons (For Now)

Another quirk of BDO that will take MMO veterans by surprise is the idea that dungeons are confined but not instanced. That means you are sharing the dungeon space with other players.

There’s no shortage of boss fights in Black Desert, and these can be taken on by player-organized parties, but the game never forces you to party up or places you in one to complete a particular trial.

Idling is Important

If you don’t want to remember the first time a Runescape scammer tricked you into wandering over to the wilderness in BDO, pay attention to safe zones and combat zones. Once they reach level 50 in BDO, players are pitted against one another in a full PvP environment, even outside of PvP-specific servers.

You don’t need to live in constant fear of being hunted by players who haven’t declared their willingness to duel because doing so results in punishment for the offender. However, it’s a possibility to be aware of, so make an effort to always return to a safe area when taking frequent breaks from the screen.

AFK Is Even More Important

You can continue to play BDO even when you’re not. The game’s life skills are broken down into two groups: active skills and passive skills. Hunting, sailing, and horse breeding are examples of active skills, whereas farming and processing are examples of passive skills. Fishing can be done actively or passively.

The player must invest some time in passive skills, but not much else. As a result, it’s common to see groups of fishermen hauling in catches while they sleep or go to work on land at well-known shores. Because of this, BDO players who have played for 10,000 or 20,000 hours are not at all unusual.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome may develop as a result

Whether you play on a PC or console or use a keyboard or controller, all of that real-time combat goodness calls for quick reflexes and ergonomic hardware. With the intricate combos the game demands from those committed to competitive play, FF14 ninjas will fit right in on BDO.

If you intend to stick with BDO long-term, be sure to stretch before and after those long-distance auto-run treks mentioned above, and reward yourself with some new gaming equipment — your physiotherapist will be grateful.

Be Ruled By The Meta And Rule The Meta Back

It is evident that the game has received numerous updates recently from looking back through the YouTube channels of the most devoted BDO commentators, and it appears that 2022 will also be jam-packed with updates from Pearl Abyss. BDO typically receives updates to its equipment and balance every six months, even during slower seasons.

These updates have the potential to significantly alter the metagame, and since mature BDO accounts frequently have characters that are upwards of four years old, creating a character specifically for a given meta is pointless. Favor will have shifted to strikers or archers, etc. by the time your new lahn is competitive. Enjoy your time in the meta sun, and don’t run after it when it sets.

Not every Quest is Worthwhile

Questing is the only way to level up your character in the majority of MMOs. We’ve discovered that the first thing you do when you get to a new town is run around devouring all the quests before going out to complete them. Due to the overwhelming number of quests, the majority of which don’t even offer experience points, doing that in Black Desert Online will only make you dejected.

Instead, concentrate on the ones that will guide you through various mechanics like trading or crafting that you receive from the Black Spirit you encounter at the beginning of your journey and the ones that are available in the town of Velia. Take note of quests marked with an exclamation point as well, as they will be essential to

Gains from contributions

Making everything yourself is for losers, so use your contribution points wisely and hire NPCs to handle the labor-intensive tasks. Contribution points are a refundable currency that you can use in Black Desert to invest in trade routes and production chains in order to quickly and easily make a ton of money.

Most quests award you with these points, and while you may start out with a small number to work with, you will quickly accumulate more. Even though the system may seem a little complicated at first, taking the time to learn how to use it will be well worth the effort. Each region of the world is represented by a node that you can unlock by contributing points and chain as you explore.

Always look for information

Playing Black Desert Online as though it were just another MMORPG is one of the worst things you could do because it isn’t. Although there may be a strong temptation to level up quickly, I strongly advise taking your time to interact with NPCs and take in the atmosphere. Black Desert Online is so dense that attempting to swallow it all at once will only give you a stomach ache.

Furthermore, you will develop your character’s knowledge by moving slowly and discovering the surrounding area. Knowledge is power in the online game Black Desert. Your character’s repository of knowledge is built up as a result of encounters with monsters, items, and other people, and it serves a lot more purposes than just giving you tidbits of lore.

While AFK, there is always something to do

Black Desert requires more of you than simply logging in, playing a few dungeons, and then logging out again. Additionally, you have a lot of choices for after you’ve taken a break to prepare a snack. Consider leaving your character at a fishing location with their line cast rather than logging out.

Even though they’ll fish more slowly, they’ll automatically start, and this is a great way to level up your fishing abilities and make money while you’re away from the computer. You can always stock your donkey with trade goods and put your character on autorun to distant cities to make an easy profit, even if you don’t have any energy left for fishing. Just keep in mind to occasionally check in or plan your routes.

Horses are not only used as mounts

Getting your first horse can be thrilling, even if only for how quickly they can get you places compared to walking. However, horses can be used for more than just faster modes of transportation; they can also be trained to learn new skills, produce offspring, and can also be sold to other players for a healthy stream of revenue.

Truthfully, you could easily spend your entire stay in Black Desert honing your skills as a horse whisperer. Spend some time learning about and properly preparing for your horse. The fact that horses don’t just magically appear or vanish at will makes caring for them a big responsibility. There is a good chance that your horse will perish if you get off and leave it somewhere unattended while you go exploring.

Leveling a different character is more enjoyable than you might expect.

In most MMOs, leveling a “alt” can be quite painful because you have to repeat the same story quests in order to try a slightly different gameplay mechanic.

But because Black Desert is so nonlinear, leveling alternate characters is much easier. After viewing the opening cutscene, you are free to travel anywhere in the world. The characters you create under one “family” share contribution points and have access to each other’s residences and storage, which is even better.

They do not, however, exchange energy. Even though you might be tempted to create a multi-talented character who can do it all, you’ll never have enough energy points to devote to all of those various gathering or crafting activities. Instead, make a dedicated alternate character.

Adopt a guild

Okay, so this one ought to go without saying, but you’d be surprised at how singleplayer-centric most modern MMORPGs are. Black Desert Online doesn’t specifically penalize solo players, but doing so means missing out on a significant component of the experience.

Although they haven’t been made available yet, sieges will let players and their guilds fight for dominance of territory on a regular basis. Without traditional raids or endgame dungeons, the majority of the community will spend its time engaging in sieges once they have reached the level cap. It would be a shame to lose out on that because you haven’t joined a guild.

The structure of guilds is also more intricate than it first appears. You sign a contract that pays you a daily salary from the guild coffers rather than just signing up. In addition to unique guild skills that will give you passive benefits like increasing your gathering speed, you can also take part in special guild quests to raise your daily wage.

You should never go monster-slaying alone because playing with friends greatly enhances the experience you gain from doing so.

And after all, having conversation partners is nice, you know?