Why, of all games, BDO?
stargrace 
I’ve been talking about BDO for a few weeks now, and even after New World released, I’m still feeling this game more than anything else out there right now. I know it might seem a bit confusing, the game isn’t ‘new’ (it released in 2016); so why the sudden influx of posts about it? I decided to clarify with my main points – and I’ll list some cons at the end too. It’s not ALL sunshine and roses (but it’s pretty damn close).
- The game is absolutely beautiful. It surpasses any other game I’ve played, especially if you set the graphics to remastered.
- The combat is incredibly fluid, and yes I know classes are gender locked and no one likes that in 2021 – but there are so many choices and most choices have a counterpart, so I’ve never really felt upset by it. Hold down the left or right mouse button and ping off some combos and you feel like a master – and it LOOKS great.
- You can highlight a quest objective (hit control to free mouse look, then click on the run icon on your quest on the right hand side) and hit T and you will auto run to your location. That’s right, you don’t have to search maps or hunt down where you’re going next just highlight it and hit T. You’ll run or ride there. Need to get to the other side of the map? No problem, you can auto ride / run your way there and go take care of something IRL.
- Speaking of maps, the world is ENORMOUS and the maps are AMAZING. They have sun and moon cycles on them. They’re probably some of the most involved maps I’ve ever seen in a game. You can watch events happening on the maps in real time.
- There’s player housing. There’s crafting. Incredibly involved crafting. There’s crafting you can do while AFK so when you can’t actually play but you want to play – you can! You can make progress while at work. Legit not cheating progress. You can make coin, level your horses, you can even sit at a training dummy and gain experience and skill experience that way. There’s harvesting. Farming. Fishing. Leveling your horses. Breeding horses. There’s a barter system. A sailing skill! Boat missions. Trade missions. Alchemy. Cooking. Hunting. There is SO MUCH TO DO. There’s also achievements to go after if that’s your thing in the way of titles.
- The community is active. It is a pvp-centric game so yes you’ll always have ‘those’ people around, but it’s active and most people are more than happy to answer questions. This game has been called the MMO where you never HAVE to play with others, and that’s exactly what I’ve found. I joined a guild where the key point was ‘life skillers where you never have to say a word’ – perks of a guild, without having to deal with folks if I don’t want to. That being said, you can create your own guild too and do all that if you want. It’s completely your choice!
A few cons –
- Yes, it’s a pvp game. It’s not optional like it is in new world, but I’ll be honest I’ve never even seen any PVP in all the time I’ve been playing. Number one if you’re below level 50 you can’t and number two, for the most part, people are in very specific areas doing PVP so it’s avoidable. You can fish and train your horses in secure locations, or just never accept the quest to ding level 50 – and you’ll never have issues.
- There is always chat about the game being ‘pay to win’ – but if you don’t concern yourself with what everyone else is doing, this honestly isn’t a big deal. There are TONS of goodies given away on coupons and codes to redeem and daily login rewards and events that I haven’t bought a single thing from the pearl store and I have no idea how they make any money. Sure, you can pay and make things easier. Faster. Less RNG. They are items I would consider pay to win – but what exactly are you ‘winning’ – there’s only one dungeon in the entire game (they’re adding a second). Most of the ‘winning’ is whatever you personally set as a goal.
- The UI is a confusing mash up of buttons and buffs and icons. It’s daunting to look at all that and have no idea what any of it is for! Guess what. You don’t NEED to know what any of it is for! Give the game a week, a solid effort of actually playing, and watch some of the beginner videos by EvilDoUsHarm on YouTube. Stick with it, and just honestly ignore the UI. Play the game, run to quests, do some of the AFK chores. I found it incredibly overwhelming when I started too but I plugged along and honestly, this is one of the best games I’ve played in ages.