A handful of my friends have taken to playing Black Desert Online lately, and I was feeling a bit left out. I don’t normally fall into a hype category these days, and I tend to game to my own beat, so I had barely heard anything about this game until it released (aside from the amazing character creator. Everyone was talking about that). I didn’t know if I wanted to buy the game right away but I was graciously given a 7 day code so I could check things out. I made a spunky sorcerer and headed out into the world (which is absolutely beautiful, but unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably already know this).
One thing I’ve heard over and over about this game is that it’s got a steep learning curve. The game barely holds your hand at all and you’re left fending for yourself when it comes to learning the mechanics. Combat is by far the most simple of these mechanics, and I’ve been told it also plays a very small role in the overall game play. The quests I picked up were your typical ‘kill 10 rats’ variety, and then I was left to my own devices, wandering around talking to a whole lot of NPC in a small village where I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or why I could rent gear from them. Still, part of the charm of Black Desert Online is discovering and figuring out these systems and how they’re supposed to work. Before I knew it I had reached level 10 and I honestly couldn’t tell you what I had done to reach it aside from a few combat quests.
I enjoy figuring out games like this and I like learning about their systems. Sure, there are days when I want a themepark MMO and I’ll happily plunk away in World of Warcraft with no thought what so ever, but then there are the days where I want a little complexity. I’ve only got a couple of days left on my 7 day trial, and I’ll have to decide if I think the game is worth buying full price, or if I should wait until it potentially goes on sale or I have a bit more funds to cover it. There’s no monthly fee (that I’m aware of) but there is an in-game shop that uses real money, something else to be mindful of.
In the meantime I’ve been reading up on blog posts from friends to see their impressions of things. Bhagpuss has been playing, and so has Scopique, and Alysianah from Mystic Worlds. While the overall decision as to whether I want to continue playing or not will rest with me, it’s always great to read about other adventures.
Are you playing? Enjoying it? Have some advice to give? Let me know in comments. As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.
I think a lot of the fun does come from trying to work out what to do and how to do it. that said, the information in game is so sporadic and the translations so bad that you’ll probably enjoy the whole thing more if you do some research when something isn’t making sense. I’ve found the information online to be of variable use and accuracy but I did like those Pvt Wiggles videos – they made a few things clear that the written guides just made confusing.
I’m getting there with my raft. After that I need to look into how to get a horse. The whole trading thing isn’t really doing anything for me but sailing and riding should be a lot of fun.