Full Review

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Black Desert Online is an RPG similar to both ArchAge and EVE Online, in the way that you can act as a digital civilian instead of a quest-given pawn. This makes it an excellent time-killer and gives you the opportunity to focus on becoming a fisher, farmer or even horse breeder to participate in the game’s digital economy.

Role-playing games often get boring, especially when the only thing you can do is focus on quests and combat. I used to favor the genre over all others until I got bored of the same gameplay used in so many RPGs. Black Desert Online isn’t my favorite RPG by any means, but I find the virtual life aspect of it to be exciting.

The in-game economy is probably the best feature, aside from the outstanding visuals and overall sense of virtual living. Still, there are flaws and cons in this game that I will discuss, such as the terrible heads-up display and argument that this is just another pay-to-win game.

Some games confuse complex features with a disorganized and confusing user interface. Have you ever opened a new game and felt so overwhelmed that you instantly gave up? If so, then you might not want to waste your time with this game.

Once you make it through the first few hours of gameplay and pick up on all the controls you will be fine, but it’s a lot to take in at first and the game doesn’t necessarily introduce you to the key system properly.

I don’t typically read or listen to all the NPC chats in games like this, they are often dull, or even cheesy at times. Black Desert Online is no different, and I must say the characters hardly make sense half the time. You will likely skip all the conversations possible throughout the game because they aren’t worth paying attention to.

This game is all about living that virtual life, as it gives you the chance to be an entrepreneur and sell stuff! The in-game economy is awesome, you can do everything from becoming a farmer to becoming a salesperson.

So, what’s it like to be a farmer in Black Desert? Well, it’s actually better than I first imagined. You can have multiple gardens where you plant, water and fertilize your seeds. Farming is definitely too much work for one guy, but don’t worry because you can hire workers to help!

Wheat can be sold as is, or used to make wheat by adding mineral to it. Use the dough to create exotic wine for an NPC worker, or even making meat pie (for both yourself and your customers). A funny little part of the game is how your workers require so much alcohol to stay in perfect working condition.

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to make money in Black Desert Online. It’s almost like real life, except we’re almost all too lazy to do this entrepreneurial stuff outside of the game.

Fishing is an activity features in so many games, and while my favorite fishing experiences are from classics like Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Dark Cloud 2 – the fishing in BDO is probably the most convenient. This is because your character can fish on his or her own, until you have to replace your fishing pole because it will run out of stamina. When actively fishing, you will play a quick minigame as soon as you get a bite. It’s a brief moment of excitement and I personally feel like the developer did an excellent job on the fishing element to this game. If you need to step away from the computer to eat or answer a phone call, then automated fishing is perfect.

Once you’re done fishing you can dry and sell them on the marketplace, or use them to cook food in your house.

Black Desert Online has managed to do quite a few things differently than other RPGs, and although it’s not convenient, I like how the stashes are local. Let’s say you have hired a miner in Velia to mine for iron ore, but you’re in another city. Your stash of ore is in Velia with the miner, and the quickest way for you to transport it to another location is to buy or build a wagon. To me, it’s a matter of logic, and I like how the game made our stashes local so we can’t access the same stash from all over the virtual world.

While it is a very challenging game in the beginning and some won’t make it far before giving up, the feeling of building an empire and ‘making it’ is very rewarding. It won’t be long before you’re employing a ton of drunk workers and have all the silver you need for top quality armor.

There is so much more to this game than what I have mentioned so far, but it would take hours for me to discuss everything in the game. Instead, I encourage you to give it a shot if you like what you read, as I have already covered the cons in the beginning of this article. Be prepared for a few challenging hours in the beginning as it’s possible to completely miss the tutorial and get overwhelmed.

Combat in Black Desert Online is great, but what I find more interesting is how we can actually invest in cities and farms to increase the monster drop rates. In this game you can never have too many equipment-enhancing items so it’s definitely something you will want to do as you progress throughout the game.

There is also a currency called energy which you will use every single time you cut down a tree, craft an item or mine a rock. It’s aggravating for sure, as it will limit your activity in the game and you will often run out of energy as nearly everything you do requires it (even negotiating with other traders to get a better price).

Conclusion

Black Desert Online has everything you want in an RPG, with the perfect blend of grinding, crafting and trading. The virtual life you will live in this game is tough at times, but it’s much more rewarding as you make progress and grow your business. There are many paths to take, quests to complete, and items to craft. Once you make it pass the first few hours to get the hang of the controls you will quickly see the possibilities are endless.