Black Desert Online KR went through some big changes last week. The characters will not get bonus AP and bonus DR, and these stats increase at a larger scale as your character gets stronger.



Related: BDO KR Patch Notes for April 12th - New Enhancement system, Bonus stats from GS



There were many changes for PvE, but the most significant changes happened with PvP. The preliminaries for Arena of Arsha KR were held last Saturday, and it was a good chance to observe how the changes affected PvP.



This article will consist of how the changes affected PvP in general and how each class was affected by the changes (based on their performances in Arena of Arsha), along with KR players’ comments on what they think about the changes.

▲ How did the bonus AP/DR affect PvP?

Among the changes that were implemented last week, bonus AP and bonus DR affected PvP the most. A new stat called Renown Score, which is determined by [(Main AP+Awakening AP)/2]+DP, will give additional AP and DR based on the score.



The bonus stats are not negligible. A character with the typical end-game gear setting, TET Boss Weapons/Armors and TRI Yellow Accessories, will have 251 AP, 253 Awakening AP, and 283 DP. The Renown Score will be about 535 with this GS, and the bonus stats will be 20 AP and 60 DR.



AP and DR do not work at a 1:1 ratio, but the majority of players are saying that they are dealing less damage than they used to against the opponents that have the same GS. In contrast, players that have low Renown Score and thus low bonus DR now take more damage from the opponents that have high GS.

The bonus stats brought some significant changes to the KR server. First, the price of Accuracy-focused Accessories like Red Coral Earring has dropped. The Renown Score is not affected by Accuracy at all, and Accessories like Red Coral Earring which have low AP and high Accuracy are not as viable as before. Tree Spirit’s Belt and Sicil’s Necklace are becoming less popular as well.



It seems like the changes are working better for DR-based characters than for Evasion-based characters. DR-based characters like the Warrior, Valkyrie, and Berserker are taking much less damage compared to before, especially when they use guard/block skills.

▲ The price of Red Coral Earring used to be around 4 million.



The preliminaries of Arena of Arsha KR, which were held last Saturday, showed how the changes affected PvP. As the DR bonus increased each character’s defensive ability, there were less cases where a character died from burst damage in a 3vs3 battle.



The Mystic was still the most frequently played during the Arena of Arsha and was still the most powerful character. Warriors and Valkyries showed some great performance in the battles. Rangers could deal massive damage when they were well protected by their teammates, Berserkers had some deadly grabs, while Musas and Maehwas showed swift movements and mobility. There was only one Lahn among hundreds of participants, and unfortunately she did not make it to the next stage.

▲ Mystic is still the most powerful, but Warrior, Valkyrie, and Berserker received some good level of buffs with the bonus DR.



A lot of debate has been going on in the KR community since the update. Some players welcome the changes, while others think that the changes only made the game worse. Below are KR players’ comments regarding the recent update.

KR Players’ comments on the bonus AP/DR update (Positive)

- No more one shot kill!

- The DR bonus is amazing. I don’t get one-shot-killed anymore.

- Now that I don’t get one-shot-killed, I have a chance to counter my enemies.

- Before this update, whoever knocked down the opponent first won the battle. Now inflicting CC at the right moment and hitting the opponent became more important.

- This update does not intensify the gap between players. GS was crucial in PvP even before this update. You don’t need Cron Stones anymore to get 100% PEN, so the p2w issue is solved now.

- You can’t win against someone with 270 AP if your AP is 230 anyway. Also, it’s not that you absolutely have to spend money to get a TET.

KR Players’ comments on the bonus AP/DR update (Negative)

- Pearl Abyss is going the wrong direction. If one shot one kill was the problem, then they should have changed how AP works instead of giving DR to characters based on their GS.

- You still get one-shot-killed if your GS is low. This does not solve the fundamental problem.

- Action MMORPG is about action, not about gear. This update only made gear more effective. Where’s the fun if you can’t even try to fight?

- Upgrading your gear is more important than getting good now.

- If Pearl Abyss is not going to revert this, they should nerf potions and buffs. I can’t kill anyone.

More BDO News: The Caphras Stone and the Caphras Enhancement added in KR