Greetings Adventurers, 

Pearl Abyss is always listening attentively to each and everyone of our Adventurers valuable voices and striving to freely communicate with our Adventurers on the topics they are curious about.      

Many Black Desert Adventurers in Taiwan took this opportunity to give us the questions they’ve been wondering about!   

So, are you curious to what questions the Taiwanese Adventurers asked and what answers the Pearl Abyss developers gave?  

That’s why we’ve prepared this GM Note! 
Now then, check out the valuable questions asked by the Taiwanese Adventurers and the replies by the developers~

1. Q: While I have a lot of friends playing online games, the ability to obtain equipment for beginners is too limited and there are not enough channels to make friends, so whenever I invite my friends, they quit after a couple of days. That’s why I hope you will hold events for beginner users. Not events like new user login rewards, but something like thank you letters, rewards earned by achieving special objectives and ways for new users to make friends or else new users will quickly leave.   
2. A. We constantly examine and analyze why new Adventurers leave the game, and use the results of these analyses to decide what needs to be applied to the game. In order to reduce the feeling of burden from things like weight limit in the early stages of the game, there was a patch to reduce the amount of trash loot. And due to these reasons, certain quest-exclusive items are given until Calpheon and enhanced Asula accessories are given at Mediah. Your feedback also mentioned “interactions with others” through gameplay, and recently we’ve developed independent chats called chatting groups. We plan to reveal this to you soon as we’re actively looking into updating this to our live servers. In this new soon-to-be prepared space, we hope new Adventurers will be able to settle into the game by being able to freely talk about their common interests. We’ll make sure to present the ideas you’ve given us to in a form that fits Black Desert to everyone. 

1. Q: More minigames would be nice for when existing users are sick of defeating monsters or participating in events.
2. A: Of course, we know that it isn’t easy for those who have enjoyed the game for a long-time to experience something “novel.” We are continuously pouring our efforts into developing content keep giving you fresh content, such as the Adventure Log, Dark Rift, and Altar of Blood contents that were added this past year. We think this idea about minigames is great, and the fact that even small content can also give the game a feeling of freshness  is something we’ll reconsider and pay closer attention to in the future. 

1. Q: It seems like the standard for event rewards can’t keep up with the service period, so users who have been playing for a long time don’t want to participate.
2. A: We think events are an important way to reinvigorate the spirit of the game in the Black Desert world. Nevertheless, if the rewards are too good, then the situation where one is always dependant on events rears its head. We believe rewards should be a healthy way to repay our Adventurers for playing the game. For events, we want to organize them into more fun moments to give you more enjoyment and excitement. Of course, we will continue to think of appropriate rewards that fit this, and also events that can be enjoyed on a smaller scale by a small but diverse group of Adventurers.  

1. Q: Fishing and cooking are relatively simple, but you can earn a lot of Silver. Can’t there be a way for users that love PvE to earn a lot of Silver?   
2. A: We examine the data for earnings from defeating monsters and life content every day. According to these results, we will continue to fine-tune the balance of the game economy. In particular, we agree that defeating monsters requires an appropriate reward as it takes more energy (i.e. more intensive play) than some other content. Hence, we are holding detailed discussions for improving monster zones, and expect to patch it to live soon.    

Additionally, besides the basic loot dropped from defeated monsters, whether or not accessories with high worth or Scroll Written in Ancient Language items (from which you have a chance to get Memory Fragments) drop has a large impact on how much you earn. We are constantly watching and analyzing this. Recently, the reason we lowered the drop rate for Black Magic Crystals is to raise the value of this crystal, so Adventurers defeating monsters can earn more. We plan to make continuous improvements instead of huge changes at once, and are looking into the addition of special items, so each monster can have its own unique characteristics.

66. Q: Users usually stay around Lv. 62 with users who like defeating monsters leveling up to 65 or 66.  However, it is not very rewarding to level up so high, and some users don't think it's not worth it.
67. A: This part is directly connected to the direction of Black Desert. We wanted to make sure the player’s level did not have a large impact on the balance or rewards. We believe if the effect levels have goes up, it’ll just be another thing, in addition to equipment, to worry and stress about. Furthermore, this would only widen the gap between existing Adventurers and new Adventurers. Nevertheless, the fact that there is a lack of feeling of achievement and glory for those who achieve Lv. 63 or higher, is something we believe we missed. We will update the game content or find another way to alleviate this when there is an opportune time.

1. Q: I hope you add more game content. Like an amazing battlefield, or dungeon content.  
2. A: This is something we are very worried about. While it is difficult for us to give you a definite and clear reply, we can say that we've been constantly thinking on how to approach this. However, whatever form such content may take, we don’t want it to be content where you can be on equal footing with other Adventurers without putting forth the effort, because we believe this would be a betrayal to the Adventurers who have diligently played the game.

1. Q: Why did we get the Great Expedition update when we haven’t gotten the Territory War update?  When do you plan to release the Territory War update? 

A: The reason why the Territory War update has been delayed is because we decided to first prioritize improvements for Node/Conquest War. In order to evolve more fun and tension-filled war content, we are developing new elements and trying new things. We are continuously making changes to provide a more combat-focused atmosphere, such as more improvements for the preparation process for the Node War and Conquest War, and faster installation of new siege weapons and buildings in the beginning stages.   After the Node/Conquest War has been revamped, Territory War will be introduced to you in a more polished form.    

1. Q: I’m a user who enjoys Node Wars. However, I don’t want to play the same areas all the time, so it is great to join a different guild and to experience different areas. While I’ve heard similar answers before, I wish you’d remove the restriction where new guild members cannot be War Heros.     
2. A: We added the Guild Apprentice function to prevent the abuse of receiving guild incentives, etc. by switching guilds every 24 hours. Thus, we plan to keep the apprentice-tier restriction and ask for your understanding in this case. Why not take the apprentice period to first become familiarized with the guild, and then begin your fun War Hero career? 

1. Q: What new regions do you plan to update over the next two years? 

A. According to our long-term plans, new regions are continually being developed and we’ll announce them when the time arrives. So far, we’ve endeavored for new updates every week; we’re preparing and planning a variety of content everyone can enjoy - such as new regions, monsters, boss raids, and new classes - that we’ll showcase in the future. Presently, we’re focusing on a new class and O'dyllita, and hope to reveal them to you soon. Afterwards, we’re preparing an expansion to the Great Expedition, which includes new ships and a variety of new content.   

1. Q: Do you have to keep changing things? The reworks are too fast. 
2. A: This is something that we really think is very important. While change can be a joyful event for existing Adventurers, on the other hand, it can also cause anxiety. It’s the reason why we announce the update details and patch updates to the Black Desert Global Lab in advance before applying changes to the live servers; to alleviate this anxiety and get more feedback from our Adventurers.    

However, we believe games must have change to maintain a certain level of freshness. While keeping the changes well-thought out and careful, updates of Black Desert will continue in the future. 

1. Q: Has there been any recent plans to change the description or function on how to obtain “Rich Merchant's Ring”? I want to have it, but the risk is too high. 

A: Originally, the “Merchant Prince’s Ring” was set as the highest rarity among the “treasures” of Black Desert, because it had a really powerful effect before the Central Market rework. However, this item’s effect became meaningless as our game pursued a free market economy after the opening of the Central Market. Therefore, we plan to rework this item’s effect, and once this process is finished, its rarity will also be changed. With so many Adventurers awaiting this for a long time, we will make sure this patch is updated as soon as possible

1. Q: Will ship skills be changed? I hope ship skills of the sailing tier will be revised. The skills I have now are useless. I work hard every day sailing, but I’m really sad that I only get skills that I can’t use when I level up.
2. A: The artisan sailing skill, AbruptTurn, was greatly improved with the recent Great Expedition update. Yet, it is true that this skill has no much use for the current ocean topography and barter content. However, we expect its use to increase significantly with the introduction of navel battlefields in the future. The master sailing skill, Smooth-Turn, is a skill also designed for combat. Before long, we will try to design and release master skills that will help you maneuver your ship.         

1. Q: It’s a lot more difficult to enhance Capotia accessories to PEN than regular gold-colored accessories. And the two have the same use. Why do users have to use the Capotia system? 
2. A: We’ve added the enchantment of Capotia accessories for the future rather than for the present. Of course, we think that Capotia accessories have enough merit on their own and that they currently work well as a foundation for leveling up. However, we judged that there should be a device for increasing the performance of this type of accessories, as their merit would become weaker with the passage of time. Hence, we added a way to enhance them into a new form. But if this enhancement becomes easier than it is now, we believe it would betray the efforts of countless Adventurers who worked hard to enhance other accessories. Thus, we plan to maintain the current situation for now.  

1. Q: I’ve been looking forward to the airships. Do you have plans to continue updating or begin updating flying mounts?  
2. A: After the release of the Sky Balloon, we have not considered further development of flying mounts until now. A little further in the future… if Black Desert undergoes a big change, we will actively consider something appropriate. 

1. Q: It’s been a long time since the guild system has been updated. I hope you would make up a more meaningful system or way to play the game. Right now, it is unclear why the guild exists. It’s just people gathering together and chatting; there isn’t much interaction between members. Sometimes I wonder if I’m just playing an RPG instead of an MMORPG. I would like you to add a guild lobby to the guilds and let guild members decorate this guild lobby; let members create a variety of furniture that can be installed for points, based on which buffs, AP, and EXP can be added. This kind of system would make users feel more engaged.  
   A: We are making preparations with the goal of providing a bigger variety of guild content. Our current belief is that the main point of guild-type content is “ to say your hellos and goodbyes in a good mood.” The difficulty level of guild raids is low and things like Afuaru’s Summoning Scroll exist in order to preserve this kind of easy atmosphere. While the newly added Khan raid requires strategy, its difficulty level isn’t too high either. Honestly speaking, we’d like to get more feedback on guild-only content from our Adventurers (which will vary from country to country). There are many things to consider, such as whether expanding the guild content will create stress and whether these things will truly be fun or not. We will continue to study and evaluate guild content, and conduct more development tests based on the feedback you’ve given us. Thank you.        

1. Q: Last year, we were promised that the same hairstyles would be available for all genders, but why haven’t we heard any news yet? 
2. A: Creating a new hair type requires more time than one would expect. We are currently making new hairstyles for both genders, and preparing class-exclusive hairstyles to be available for other classes. It seems like it is possible for this to be updated to the live servers sometime next year. 

1. Q: Besides Altar of Blood, do you have any plans for another type of group dungeons? 
2. A: We are always studying how to design dungeon-type content that will fit Black Desert. Looking forward, we will try to add content that can be enjoyed alone or together with other people. The development of the instanced dungeon - Altar of Blood, which you mentioned before, has already been completed. However, we are careful when it comes to the introduction of specific connected content. This is because we want Adventurers to have their own playstyle in the vast world of Black Desert, and we think our top priority is for Adventurers to be able to enjoy the experience. It’s why we are so cautious when telling you how we will introduce dungeon-type content right away. Still, we are always open to adding something new, and will always consider how such things can make playing Black Desert more enjoyable.

1. Q: I want older systems to be updated. For example, Team Battles and Savage Rift
   A: Team Battles were developed for friends or guild members to enjoy PvP without feeling too burdened. We’ll look into ways to revitalize it, such as adding more honor rewards. Requested by Adventurers, Savage Rift was the first instanced dungeon group content introduced to Black Desert. Afterwards, we’ve gained a lot of know-how through the Altar of Blood, and we’re going to either update the the way you defend in these modes or change it completely with a new set of rules. 

1. Q: Please make it easier to separate each position or permissions within the guild. 
2. A: We recognize that Adventurers lack this part when running or sharing a guild, so we are preparing improvements. As a start, we updated a guild storage log in Korea on the 20th, and will further divide guild positions so you can set the right permissions for each position. 
   
   Thank you.