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.

We’re here today to bring you all the details regarding a Q&A where Adventurers from North America and Europe asked the questions they’ve been wondering about ~ ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و

So, take a look at PART 1 of the questions by Adventurers from North America and Europe and the answers from our developers ~ ♡

Question: In a typical MMORPG, a player progresses in level and strength to move on from one area to the next with each area providing resources to continue progression. While hunting grounds in Black Desert are structured in a similar manner that also provides incentives for Adventurers to revisit previous areas so they are not forgotten, many of them are solitary hunting grounds. Will the developers consider adding more hunting grounds, or change some of the existing ones, that feature a party-based grinding experience?

Answer: One of the coolest things to experience in an MMORPG is to go through adventures with other Adventurers within the game world. Black Desert provides more than the party play you see in other games. Rather, in Black Desert, we try to encourage more freedom in terms of party play, in which Adventurers can interact more organically with each other. This is because we believe that it is more natural and appropriate for Adventurers to create their own roles as they play the game.

Though you can certainly enjoy Black Desert alone, there are also ways to enjoy the game with other Adventurers such as when Adventurers play Savage Rift and Altar of Blood, or fight field bosses and Guild bosses. We continue to think about ways in which Adventurers can enjoy the game together. As you mentioned in your question, Mirumok and Gyfin Rhasia Temple are great examples. We are aware of such requests, and are always thinking about ways to make the party play in Black Desert unique. We have also somewhat solidified a direction for the game.

Just like how we have tried new things in other areas, we are also actively trying new things for party play. We hope you look forward to what we have in store for the game.

Question: Many Adventurers are under the impression that "Succession" skills are supposed to be the answer to "class balances", and while they are optimistic about this Skill System, they believe that there are still core fundamentals that need to be addressed. Does the development team consider the "Succession" skill changes to be the "final stages" of class balancing, or will they continue to commit to analyzing and making changes to current classes even after succession?

Answer: After you create a character, you level up your character up to Lv. 56, and then you change the way you fight through Awakening. Once Awakened, your character can perform powerful skills using Awakening Weapons. This caused Adventurers to only use Awakening Weapons. The biggest reason behind why we added Succession was to allow Adventurers to continue fighting the way they used to using their main weapons. Ranger is a good example. Ranger uses ranged skills using the Longbow, and then uses melee skills using the Kamasylven Sword once Awakened.

There was a lot to think about for Succession. For example, if we made Succession to be stronger than Awakening, then this would defeat the purpose of implementing Succession. Instead, it would feel like a 2nd Awakening. Conversely, Succession would become meaningless if we were to make it weaker than Awakening. We believe the Adventurers should be able to select a combat method that suits their taste. We do not want to place restrictions on how they play the characters. Now, we believe the two combat methods (Succession and Awakening) can coexist.

We believe balancing is a separate issue. Of course, as we introduce Succession, more Adventurers will utilize main weapon skills and this might affect the balance of the game. However, we are aware that it is difficult to balance out the game through only Succession.

We will continue to balance both main weapon and Awakening Weapon skills, together. We hope that the introduction of Succession provides you with more options on how you want to play the game, instead of solely playing with Awakening Weapons.

Question: Although Red Battlefield is typically considered as one of the main PvP entertainment outside of Node Wars and Castle Siege, the available area for RBF has begun to feel "stale" for veteran Adventurers. Will the developers consider expanding the content of Red Battlefield to utilize other hunting ground areas so that Adventurers have different landscapes on which to enjoy Red Battlefield?

Answer: We are aware that there are many adventurers who enjoy the Red Battlefield. We are currently preparing a new type of Red Battlefield. This involves introducing a new map, and also a new set of rules. We will think about ways to provide a more varied PvP experience. Thank you for your feedback.

Question: Obtaining the best gear and increasing your power has always been a vital role in the progression of every mmorpg, however many Adventurers believe that Black Desert has fallen victim to the typical mmo problem of "the gear makes the Adventurer" when it comes to PvP content. Previous changes created "gear score caps" on Tier 1 Node Wars and although these changes were very well received, many Adventurers have found ways around those caps. Have the developers considered using Gear Score Caps on other Node War Tiers, and have they considered the other problematic stats that are not capped in T1 Node Wars such as Evasion, Accuracy, HP and Human Damage?

Answer: The core of an MMORPG is the growth of a character and its method would vary between level, skills, understanding of your character, etc.. Items provide a more intuitive growth of your character's growth, which in turn provides relative power levels among Adventurers.

We wanted more Adventurers to participate in Node Wars, so we limited the gear score to lower the barrier to do so. The limits applied to Tier 1 Node Wars are not only AP/DP, but also evasion and accuracy. Stats that are not applied to this limit are, as you mentioned, HP and damage reduction rates. We maintain the current limits because they are closely related to characteristics of the classes, but we are aware that this is not a fundamental solution.

The basics of winning a Node War is to have stronger characters, better gear, and more allies. However, as it is a war, the roles of individuals and strong cooperation are key factors over the power of individuals.

To strengthen the strategic elements of Node Wars and Siege Wars, we're continuously adding and discussing more mount related features. We recently added Ogres and Trolls as mounts to use during Conquest Wars and shortened the process times of the Elephant Nursery and siege towers. We plan to add more content in the future to bolster strategic and cooperative plays in Node Wars and Siege Wars.

Question: Dedicated Node War and Siege Adventurers strongly feel that the Mercenary System has caused a degradation of not only what it means to be a part of a Guild, but that it has also undermined the efforts of many Guilds that have and are continuing to work hard to become better and stronger. Will the developers review the Mercenary System not only in terms of how it affects Node Wars, but how it affects the morale of the Guilds themselves and the meaning of building and growing a Guild?

Answer: The Mercenary system is there not only to support small or weaker guilds, but because there were many Adventurers who continuously left their own guilds to participate in Node Wars and Conquest Wars and then returned to their guilds afterwards. Thus, the system allowed for these Adventurers to participate regardless of the guilds they are in.

Fundamentally, your own guild has to become stronger to participate in higher tier Node Wars, and it is important to maintain good relations with your allied guilds. We do recognise the Mercenary system could affect the morale of those guilds and hinder their growth. As such, we will look into how this system affects guild growth and will continuously improve upon the Mercenary system based on your feedback.

Question: With many updates to leveling and progression, reaching levels 56 and above have become drastically easier. Adventurers often choose to bypass Mediah completely and proceed to Valencia as the monsters are just as easy but offer better experience rates via Marni Stones and better overall value of drops. Adventurers have come to consider Mediah as a "barren wasteland" without much current day value and Adventurers typically have no reason to revisit Mediah on a regular basis for monster hunting. Have the developers considered the decline of desirability of Mediah hunting grounds, and are there any plans to create incentives to make Mediah a considerable option for progression play-through from 52 to 58 compared to Valencia?

Answer: Mediah is an important part of a character's journey to reach higher levels. As it is a part of the journey, it is not where your character remains. While there are many Adventurers who stay for a short duration in Mediah and move onto Valencia, there are still plenty of Adventurers who spend an appropriate amount of time in Mediah. This is because Mediah offers items such as the Asula accessories and Black Abyssal weapons to help you on your adventures.

That said, we do recognise that, based on efficiency, Valencia has more to offer than Mediah. While all zones of Mediah cannot have the highest efficiency in the game, we do agree that it needs some tweaks to make it more relevant. Just like the step up from Sausan Garrison to the Shultz Guard area, and Hasrah Ancient Ruins to Kratuga, we will discuss the best ways to make the adventure through Mediah more meaningful.

Thank you.