Black Desert?
So, Black Desert is currently on sale on Steam for $6.
Considering it is a B2P game, I was considering just picking it up now and then playing later at my leisure. Something was making me hesitate though, even at this low price-point.
Then it came back: Gevlon had a series of money-making posts regarding Black Desert, and I remembered what bothered me. Specifically, the fact that wealth generation in the game entirely revolved around keeping the game running on your computer overnight/while you were at work.
Offline progression doesn’t particularly bother me in the least. Nor, of course, needing to actively grind. But being AFK while your computer runs all day? Some people in the comments to those posts were talking about how doing X is better than Y if you couldn’t remote desktop to your PC while at work in order to restart production. What the literal shit kind of game is this?
The sale is on till Wednesday, so perhaps I’ll pick it up regardless just to say I gave it the ole college try. But if you have played Black Desert and can explain some of its redeeming features, I’m all ears.
Posted on May 28, 2017, in Miscellany and tagged AFK, Black Desert Online, Crafting, Gevlon, Steam Sales. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.
In An Age 
Hmmm let’see. Excellent graphical effects, day/night/weather. Interesting idea of a mix between a management game and an MMO. Action-combat with neat special effect (at least if you’re a magician). An interesting knowledge system connected to a half-assedly designed minigame (too bad, it was anice idea).
But also, P2W PvP, not extreme as ArcheAge, but swiping helps. Shallow combat system (whatever the “pro” player may think). Full Korean grind mode endgame. Very slow travel (no teleport), which gets aggravating quite fast and makes group play waste way too much time.
The “production runs only if you’re logged” thing is not as bad as you think: you can minimize the game (it has a specific option) and it uses VERY little CPU (but hogs RAM quite hard….).
For that price, definitely worth a try.
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You know a surefire way to avoid that nonsense? Come back to FFXIV instead!
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After an 11 min queue into the mandatory Ifrit encounter, followed by several quests that asked me to travel back and forth to Vesper Bay with no particularly fast way to get there, and past the two extra loading screens… I wanted a break. :P
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Ugh I had forgotten how bad those trips to Vesper Bay were until I started levelling that alt in Cactuar. A faster way to get there is to take the ferry from Limsa Lominsa directly to Vesper Bay, but there are so many loading screens involved that it still takes ages.
If only there was a medium to communicate over long distances… Oh wait, there is. And Minfilia just uses it to summon you to Vesper Bay.
I don’t really know what the devs were thinking there, having you run all over the place every couple of quests. They did better in layer content, from what I remember.
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I’ve played BDO a bit – for about a month initially and then two different stints of a few weeks at a time. It never holds my interest, it’s like some kind of fantasy “mundane life” simulator. I love the ideas on paper but just do not find the gameplay of the non-combat aspects that engaging. As Helistar mentioned above the conversation system could have been the next best thing since Vanguard’s diplomacy system, but it just seems random and inconsistent. My character isn’t even level 30 mind, so I’m no authority on later gameplay, but then most of what you do (outside of grinding mobs) doesn’t reward character XP so that’s totally my fault.
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At that price point I’d say give it a go. It’s one of the best-realized quasi-medieval fantasy worlds around (in terms of street planning, architecture, surrounding countryside etc) and any Bartle explorer is going to have a great few weeks just roaming around. Also the combat is exceptionally relaxing and enjoyable – probably the best MMO “action” combat I’ve tried.
The housing is also pretty good and the Conversation and node systems are both fun to work out (not so much fun once you understand how they work though).
On the down side it has a very poor inventory system, it’s wildly incoherent and apparently the end game is 100% grind (I wouldn’t know, I stopped well short). Not a game I’d keep laying for long but definitely fun for a few sessions (I lasted about six weeks playing most days if I recall correctly).
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