Black Desert

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Kiki

Log Wizard
2,223
1,786
So what's wrong with the game? Just curious because I followed this game for a long time, but never got around to playing it. Everyone I talked to about it seemed to just be lukewarm on the experience.

It's a great game at first. Lots of variety and stuff to do. You control workers and stuff even when you are offline, etc. Tradeskilling wasn't too bad. The problem is when you get to endgame. It's a huge grind, you can lose xp, and RNG for item upgrades is terrible. Spending all your gold trying to upgrade your weapon and having it get worse is the worst feeling. You can lose a months worth of work in 2 seconds. When accessories break they are also lost forever, and you lose two since that's how you upgrade accessories. So thats what endgame becomes. Grind for money, etc. Then RNG your gear. Rince/repeat. Have some backup accessories so you don't get fucked.

I don't mind the grind, but I do mind the RNG for upgrades (downgrades). It was a terrible feeling in Archage, it's a terrible feeling here.

Edit: also microtransactions for stats. you can avoid this a little however with the auction house but it does take work.
 
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Daidraco

Golden Baronet of the Realm
9,071
9,097
So what's wrong with the game? Just curious because I followed this game for a long time, but never got around to playing it. Everyone I talked to about it seemed to just be lukewarm on the experience.

I personally never thought the grind was that bad for leveling by itself. I always played with friends and we would do farm groups that would yield high amounts of money and Id get a level without even trying sometimes. The grind starts with item farming. The items have notoriously low drop rates that make EverQuest farming look like childs play. If you're unlucky, we're talking weeks. Where only a single entire percentage point would put some kind of bad luck protection on you out-leveling the power of the item. If you check out the drop rates of certain items in the game, then you'll be amazed about how they thought the next system was good.

Once you have the item, through purchase or drop - then you have to enhance it. Once you're at a certain level of enhancement, the ability to enhance it may fail. Depending on whats being enhanced, you may have been using the exact same item to boost the enhancement up to the next level. You'll lose the item you tried enhancing yours with on the fail, and in some cases - you'll lose your item and the enhancement fodder. So you have people working the system, looking at the server clock etc. and making sure all the stars align (kidding on that one) to know when to try an enhancement. Last I checked, certain items had a better success chance after you have purposely failed 38+ times. I do not believe there is a hard coded bad luck protection here, only hearsay. Upgrading a fourth tier jewelry piece to a PEN is the most butt clinching moment Ive ever had in gaming.

The game struggles to have a PVE and a PVP audience. Ive heard the PVP is good, but Ive never really engaged in it in a meaningful way. The problem with the PVE aspect is that its not really set up for a traditional trio group. An additional person each time makes stuff easier, and is fun. But you just cant think - "ok, im going to heal. You tank, and you DPS." Because you're all DPS, and the beneficial spells that you may have are jokes in comparison to anything you may think a class should have. You can do a somewhat controlled raid mob in your guild, but you're still going to be dying left and right. Not near as much as going to an open world boss, of course. But the combat just doesnt allow you to walk away unscathed by these mobs and I literally felt like anything I did was a zerg. Making this worse, last I played anyways, you getting an item was based off your characters innate luck and the overall dps that you did during the encounter. So if you was a melee, disregarding luck, you would rarely get anything because of the unavoidable insta kill abilities that all the bosses have. Plenty of the abilities are dodgeable, but there are a few that arent and it was pure bull shit. Especially watching Range DPS the shit out of the boss at a safe distance and then get loot at the end. So much BS in fact, that you could count on seeing that item in trade chat soon after.

Something I became a firm believer on was that characters have innate hidden stats upon creation. Some of which you could see simply by looking at someone of an equivalent level and class and seeing a difference in Hit Points. The luck modifier was always my sore spot - I made three characters. My first was a warrior and I would say he had no modifier to luck one way or the other. If so, it was minor. My Ranger never saw an item drop for her the entire 58 levels I played her. My Witch was flush with items every single g'd time I turned around. We could say its how the pendulum swings, but it just doesnt make sense to chalk it up to RNG only, in my mind. This bugged the shit out of me and it can kick rocks if its actually true.

Lastly, the item shop that you can buy with real world currency has direct power level increases. Some as noticeable as the stats, and then some that affect your overall game play. The pets you get for example could be considered racketeering. You can tier up your pets just like you do items and you get them only by real world money. Several hundred dollars in pets is not unheard of. The armor suits, if you wear the entire suit, gives you a nice set of bonus stats. If it was just cosmetic, you'd still end up buying at least one suit because on the whole - the free, level based armors are just hideous. I believe they changed the Guinee suit or whatever, but at the time, it would literally hide your name plate out in the open world. So if you PVP'd at all, then it was a must have. An option that simply should have been in the base UI.

Overall the game is well worth a play through. Especially if you enjoy crafting, lore, auction market cornering etc. I really enjoyed the sights and exploring. Some of the stuff Ive seen people complain about isnt really worth complaining about. Some people enjoy the combat, some dont. Its personal preference. I would try out different types of classes before I ruled the game out based on combat alone. Some of them play so differently, that you would think you're not playing the same type of combat system.
 
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Grim1

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
4,854
6,812
So what's wrong with the game? Just curious because I followed this game for a long time, but never got around to playing it. Everyone I talked to about it seemed to just be lukewarm on the experience.

Game has some of the best graphics and combat of any mmo. The crafting, fishing, economy, horse breeding, etc is different, very involved and kind of cool. The world feels alive with tons of players always on and filling the main cities.

Haven't played in a while so maybe some of this has changed but for me the endgame just wasn't worth the effort. PvP is all about the grind, and the grind is massive. PvE was just some world bosses and basically more grind. It does have some minor P2W aspects, but wasn't really bothered by that personally.

Haven't totally given up on this game, log in occasionally and press the buttons on my Sorc to watch all the cool animations and combos. Combat really is fun. Just don't have the time to compete in PvP. I would have to get involved in the economy / crafting / etc to find a reason to play.
 

Zindan

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
6,604
4,400
If you're a new player, or even a returning player, the game loves you. You get tons of stuff thrown at you for free; money, items, pets, costumes (time limited). It is super easy to level up to 56, even with the welfare gear you get from the game and the "Journey" quest chain. They have so many events which can give you gear that sells for millions or resources that will help you save money, or make money by selling.

Just go into, or get back into the game with the mindset of "How can I make money?". There are so many guides out on youtube now that will help you make gear choices, grinding advice and lifeskill advice that there is NO reason not to have fun and succeed at getting to or close too the "softcap" for gear. Like right now, there is an event where you can pay 100m and get 5+1 boxes which can have highly sought after (one 50m box, and 5 10m boxes). Get a lucky drop from those and you've made hundreds of millions (or got a nice upgrade).

As a brand new player, be prepared and willing to spend around $60 or so to get some quality of life items from the Shop, but only AFTER you've reach 56 on a class you like (and only AFTER you've looked up how that class changes at its Awakening). Look up guides on how to make the most from Lifeskills for a constant source of supplementary income in addition to whatever grinding you do. Getting your gear (armor / weapons) to TRI (+18) isn't that hard, it can be frustrating, but its alright. Going beyond TRI is where your soul will get crushed... so plan on making as much money as you can and just buy stuff.

Like others have said, the biggest drawback to the game in general is the lack of group play. There is group content, but it is such a small part of the game, and only people at softcap or beyond really do it. The big field bosses and world bosses are mostly generic zergs, but the two most recent world bosses are pretty well designed for BDO (I really like the Garmoth encounter). Its a fun game, enjoy it.
 

sakkath

Trakanon Raider
1,651
1,036
In my opinion BDO has the best combat of any MMO. It helps that my main is a sorc which is just awesome fun to play.

The endgame item grind/rng is what hurts my enjoyment.
 

Zindan

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
6,604
4,400
Nice. The announced that the newest class, the Archer, will be a Global release on Dec. 12th. This class will also be different in that it will have access to Awakening weapon and skills at lvl1, along with the main hand weapon, Crossbow. At lvl56, you will do a quest to unlock the full potential of the Awakening skills. Sounds cool.
Archer

They are also adding a Battle Royale to BDO called Shadow Arena. The brief overview stated that you start the BR as a black spirit that has to go around and find a character to possess (pick your class), and everyone will start off at the same level. Once you pick/find the class you want, you start running around gathering items and killing npc/players to get better gear. You will be up against 49 other players.
 

Barellron

Trakanon Raider
695
1,372
What a waste of resources. Wanna play an MMO? Nope, play our BR game instead. Nevermind they can't get class balance anywhere close to right. You can't have a 'pick your class' Battle Royale with classes like Striker and Ninja in their current state.
 

Zindan

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
6,604
4,400
Its fine. Though I imagine many ppl will get salty about the changes to XP that are coming, lol. You'll be able to level up without the typical mob grind (to some extent, not sure how quickly / efficiently) by running Red Battlefield, Shadow Arena and the Rift. The amount of silver recieved as rewards for those activities will also be adjusted to help people get to where they want to be. No real specifics.

Also, with the Archer release on the 12th, there will be a month of +100% xp for all regions. During the Archer launch event, they are adding a Link system where you can link another character to your Archer and that character will also recieve 100% of the XP gained by the Archer while you level it up, up to 59.99.

They are also adding a new large scale PvP feature where it is Calpheon vs. Valencia, with Mediah being allowed to choose which side to support, no specifics on the system other than they plan on rolling it out in the first part of the 2019. Also coming in the first half of 2019 will be a new area(s); Temple of Kzarka, an area to the West of Calpheon, and a large area to the South of Kama/Dreighan called Od'llyin where the Ahibs are at now.

New Marketplace will be rolled out over time; the subtitles scrolled by too quickly for me to get all the details about the changes, but it seems it will be what most people have been wanting.

And... the Renown system will be removed.
 

Mr. K

Molten Core Raider
364
807
Any particularly good classes/classes to avoid? Not super serious but don't want to play a dud class
 

Cinge

Vyemm Raider
6,986
2,050
Still not sure why they never added some group pve content.

I'd play this again heavily if there was somewhat better balance, group pve content and the gear progression wasnt so extremely brutal(I don't need it handed to me but I also don't need months of work deleted because of rng). I don't mind the exp grind for the higher levels and the rest of the game is amazing for the most part.
 
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Zindan

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
6,604
4,400
Any particularly good classes/classes to avoid? Not super serious but don't want to play a dud class
Can't really go wrong with a Witch/Wizard or Mystic, depending on if you want melee or mage. Leveling is really fast now, so it won't hurt to try out any class you're curious about. Just be sure to check out vids on its Awakening playstyle since it can change a lot.

if you play now, and until mid-Jan, pick the Archer and get the rewards for leveling up, especially if you're new. Plus, the Archer gets access to its Awakening from level 1, so you'll know how it plays immediately.

Still not sure why they never added some group pve content.

I'd play this again heavily if there was somewhat better balance, group pve content and the gear progression wasnt so extremely brutal(I don't need it handed to me but I also don't need months of work deleted because of rng). I don't mind the exp grind for the higher levels and the rest of the game is amazing for the most part.

Not sure when you played last, but they have added group content which are the best xp and best money in the game (Gyfin Temple / Miromuk Ruins), but groups there will want your AP to be quite high, so its beyond most players. They will be releasing an even higher AP place soon-ish (260+) for groups.

Yea, gearing up can be brutal if you enhance everything yourself, but if you spent some time setting up a worker empire, and being around for events, you can earn quite a lot money that you can just buy some nice accessories. The AP threshold to grind at all the best (aside from Kama spots) are very low and they can make you a lot of money just from grinding. Valencia has become the prime XP/Money spots for solo; Kama is the best XP/Money for groups.

Also, in the coming months they will be rolling out the new Marketplace, which will get rid of the bidding system, and allow the price for items to be more heavily influenced by the player base, rather than being strictly set by the devs. They have stated that the base price of an item will be influenced by the number of pre-orders which are higher than the base, while also saying people could place pre-orders for a price below the base value (kinda like buy orders in GW2 I'd guess).
 

Zindan

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
6,604
4,400
Drieghan is alright, though I think most people ignore it because they think they can't make money due the grind spots not dropping mem frag scrolls. The grind spots are ok, Sherekhan Necropolis (210ap, just a large open area, not like a creep cemetary), the Blood Wolf Encampment (190ap, upgraded Manes), and Tshira Ruins (140ap, a bit misleading, reminds of Hexe Cemetery, but swampy plant people), each has Marni stones. I have the most fun at Necropolis on my 211ap witch, the fights are quick but dangerous, and you can make solid money there (especially if at softcap+. I probably make the most XP at Ruins, since any skill one shots packs, but it has the lowest cost trash loot. Blood Wolf area is strange and a bit buggy. I'd swear they either have high evasion or high magic resist since my witch has really inconsistent dmg there compared to the other spots for some reason.

Drieghan came with several other interesting features, like the Manos Hoe, the Dragon Slayer awakening weapon or the new set crystals. The Dragon Slayer weapon is like the budget Dandelion, since you can craft it, and in addition to using mem frags to repair, you can craft a different type of mem frag out of "black stone residue" which drops at most grind spots across the world. At TET the Dragon Slayer has 1 less AP at the bottom, but same max. Takes at least 20 days to craft, since it requires items via a daily quest. The Manos Hoe is used to gather the Lakari Plant, which is a minigame like Minesweeper that can reward you up to 100m (very rarely).

Lots of other stuff too. New world boss, Garmoth, that can drop a companion/pet that increases your HP and an item to further enhance your offhand weapon. A new field boss, and a new weekly scroll boss that can drop an alternative to Bheg Gloves (for evasion).
 

tarb

Trakanon Raider
111
134
Cool, Thanks for the update. I have never been one to only grind "the best" grind spots, I go where I feel like killing the mobs and whats not camped. Drieghan seems more interesting than Karma from the previews, I haven't been there yet. I was kind of bored going through the Karma questline and haven't finished it yet. Is that required to start the Drieghan questline or is it just level locked? Also is soft cap still considered full TRI or is it higher now?
 

Cinge

Vyemm Raider
6,986
2,050
Prices set more by players just makes me think things will go way too high in price. Pre-orders were already brutal for high end items last time I played. And things like costumes/pets etc in a player priced market would be just crazily high. I actually didn't mind prices being set by the developers as it kept most things in the realm for possibility for almost every player.
 

zombiewizardhawk

Potato del Grande
9,315
11,900
The only thing set prices ever hurt were the items that were in high demand and super cheap because there was little reason to sell them and very high demand because everyone wanted them. Definitely helped give people a shot at boss armor/dandes/etc. though because even if you couldn't pay the triple price preorder you could play the bid war and eventually get one. If you don't already have 70billion silver then it's probably gonna get real hard.
 

Cinge

Vyemm Raider
6,986
2,050
The only thing set prices ever hurt were the items that were in high demand and super cheap because there was little reason to sell them and very high demand because everyone wanted them. Definitely helped give people a shot at boss armor/dandes/etc. though because even if you couldn't pay the triple price preorder you could play the bid war and eventually get one. If you don't already have 70billion silver then it's probably gonna get real hard.

Pretty much. I didn't mind the bid war as i was getting a shot at something high in demand for a price I could afford(And I got a kzarka, dandi and costumes this way). But if that's gone and players set the price, only the most hardcore will be able to afford anything.