Review: Black Desert Online
Now, I know that MMORPGs in 2016 is a bitter sweet topic. On one hand the technology used in games have improved to the point where we can explore vast, open worlds with our warriors in shining armor, usually for free. However, many modern MMOs now have pay to win features with boosted experience, exclusive gear etc. Many MMOs start off huge and after a few months they die down due to lack of end game content or the grind to max level is too unbearable without paying. I myself have felt wronged by game companies who hyped their game only to deliver lackluster content and expected users to pay a monthly subscription fee to for it.
It was because of these reasons that I was initially skeptical of Black Desert Online, which is none other than a MMO in 2016. However, Black Desert Online is different from any other MMO IÂ 
have played before. One of the main differences between it and it’s competitors is the fact that they have a crazy in depth character creation system. From the width of the hair strands to the depth at which your cheeks sink in, you can customize your character to look exactly how you’d like.Want half your face to look drastically different from the other half? You can do it.The amount of detail placed in it is immense. I myself made a warrior and planned to have him very simple, maybe a cool hair style and scar but I ended up spending an hour fiddling with his arm size and the length of his legs compared to the rest of his body. I found myself enjoying being able to make a hero that was all my own instead of being restricted to a few select hair styles and faces.
There are a few draw backs, for one the class and race combinations are restricted to not only one race but also one gender. It seems odd to me that they would put so much detail into being able to make any character you want as long as it conformed to select races/genders/class. It was a bit disappointing but I moved forward.
I began my adventure in the starter town, watched the intro video explaining that the world was once at peace and then these creatures came and destroyed quite a bit. You, as the hero, have experienced amnesia, is discovered,m and recruited to help out in your local kingdom. It’s a standard MMO trope, but in Black Desert Online you don’t have a set series of quests that simply leads you to being an end game raider. Instead, you are introduced to the world and are given the option of doing quests, participating in PVP, or jumping into crafting. No matter which path you choose, you’ll receive experience for completing task that helps make your character that much stronger. You can literally focus on being nothing but a blacksmith and have a rewarding experience.
One new feature of Black Desert Online that surprised me was their auto travel feature. In most MMOs you grab all the quests you can, find the location on your map, and then hike to the location to complete tasks. Unfortunately, the time in between accepting the quest and completing the quest is where most players lose interest due to getting lost or having the wait between quests causes doubts about the game. Paying $60 to walk for 15 minutes isn’t very fun.
 The auto travel feature completely eliminates this issue by auto running your character to the area. At first I was offended by such a feature because I am all about exploring vast open world but as it turns out, it was nice being able to look at everyone pass me by on the road who also auto traveled, it made the world feel more real. I took some time to appreciate the area, mapped it out for myself, not to mention take a break to check my phone, when I arrived at my quest area I jumped right into the combat and knocked out all the quests then headed back. This simple addition made my 
experience so much more enjoyable since I got right into the action and was able to finish quests back to back. If a friend logged on, I could just as easily travel to them without getting super lost in the bigger cities. Granted, sometimes you’ll find your character running into a barrel just was just wide enough to black your path and you need to manually side step before traveling again but still, it’s a small price to pay for such a huge convenience.
The art of Black Desert Online is fantastic at higher graphics settings, yet you can turn down the quality if your computer isn’t built with top tier parts to enjoy the game. The water graphics are on point, characters are all detailed and the environment is something to be marveled. My only issue with the graphics is that players and NPCs will constantly pop in and out as you travel which can remove a bit of the immersion. But for such wonderful artwork, NPCs, and various other features, it is a small price to pay. A majority of the world and the characters that inhabit it are drenched in fantasy. Expect to see Dwarves, Goblins, Deerfolk and so many others, I hope in future expansions players will be able to become one of those races as the only available races are humans, giants, and elves.
When you are out adventuring you’ll quickly discover that there are no dungeons at all. The entire world is open so if you’d like to join up with friends to take on harder content, the area be in a valley just beyond the normal area that you can run in and battle whoever you’d like. I do believe they use instances in their level design to prevent any one area to be congested with players yet leaves enough to help out. You’ll be able to see your group and various other players in the area who might come and assist if you have the same target.
I have yet to reach max level so I can’t quite speak about what life is like at max level but I do know that popular choice for end game are Guild Wars and simply doing quests or leveling professions. As a lover of PvE, I am hoping I’ll discover something similar to raiding in some form or another.
 The combat in Black Desert Online is fast paced, certain abilities can only be activated by a combination of buttons that you must call upon in real time while enemies surround you. It keeps things fresh as I had almost no time to consider anything other than killing the monster in front of me and, over time, the combinations came to me on instinct. During some battles in World of Warcraft, combat can easily take up to a few minutes if you lack the damage output which can make the game dull if your quests involve nothing but monster slaying. The fast paced combat makes for an engaging experience that can make you easily lose hours of your day while still being challenging enough to require you to think on your toes as you decide between going on the offense, revert to defense or pop a healing potion. Every class seems to have their own unique fighting style and depending on which path you take on the talent tree, your character could be vastly different from others of your same class.
Overall I very much enjoyed Black Desert Online, it’s a new experience for me in a lot of ways and stands out from the other MMOs out currently. At the price point of only $30 and no subscription fee, it’s a great deal. The minor drawbacks is that your race and class combination is limited, there are many micro transactions that would make the game easier for you, and players often pop into existence as you travel across the map. However, these are small issues when compared to the massive amounts of benefits the player can receive. I’m not certain if I’ll stay to see end game content but this is primarily because of how busy my personal life is.
Black Desert Online
Pros
- Fast combat
- In depth character creation
- Auto travel
- Sand box world
- No subscription fee
Cons
- Restrictions on class and race combination
- End game PvE limited
- Players load constantly
Chicano | Fighting/Writing for Diversity | DM since 08 | Anime Lover | Site: https://www.thegeeklyfe.com | info@thegeeklyfe.com | http://twitch.tv/that_deangelo | https://linktr.ee/deangelomurillo
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