Black Desert Online is a large scale sandbox-oriented MMORPG that provides a variety of unique experiences with spectacular action and battle. Expect strategy-based castle sieges and sophisticated simulation content such as trade, NPC-hiring and real estate management. Black Desert Online boasts the deepest character customization system of any MMORPG on the market today.
Experience fast-paced, action-packed combat, hunt monsters and huge bosses, fight with friends in a guild to siege nodes and region castles, train your life skills such as fishing, trading, crafting, cooking, and much more.
Players will enjoy jaw-dropping graphics, intuitive skill-based combat, and an immersive story encased in our expansive world that’s just waiting to be explored. Accompanied by a Black Spirit, a companion whose destiny is intertwined with their own, players will discover the secret of the Black Stones and the history of their corrupting effects.
Black Desert Online (Korean: 검은사막) is a sandbox-oriented massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Korean video game developer Pearl Abyss.The game has been in development since 2010, and entered closed beta testing (CBT) in October 2013. Black Desert Online uses Pearl Abyss’ own “Black Desert” engine specifically created to handle the fast rendering required for its seamless world and large-scale castle sieges. It was released in Korea in 2014, Japan and Russia in 2015, North America and Europe in 2016, South America, Turkey, Middle-East North Africa (MENA) in 2017 and South East Asia in 2018. Black Desert Online uses a free-to-play model in Korea, Japan and Russia, while in South East Asia, Europe, North America and South America the game uses a buy-to-play model
Post-launch development
2016
The Mediah Expansion was released in the North American / European version on March 30, 2016. The Musa and Maehwa classes were release for play on April 20, 2016 Mediah Part 2 was released on May 4, 2016. The Valencia I Expansion was released in the North American / European version on June 29, 2016. The Kunoichi and Ninja classes were released for play on July 20, 2016
All expansions and class additions have been free of charge as of July 20, 2016, with no plans of charging for additional future content stated.
2017
At the Taipei Games Show on January 20, 2017, Pearl Abyss stated a Xbox One and PlayStation 4 version of the game is in development. This was confirmed by Pearl Abyss in March.
The Dark Knight class was published in Europe and North America in April 2017.
The Striker class was released in Europe and North America in May 2017.
At E3 2017, Microsoft announced that Black Desert will launch on Xbox One as a Console Launch Exclusive in early 2018.
On August 15, 2017 Pearl Abyss has released an official teaser for Black Desert Mobile.
2018
On April 5, 2018, Pearl Abyss announced that it would be changing service providers on North American servers to improve stability.
Reception
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Black Desert Online has received generally favorable reviews from critics, currently holding a score of 73/100 on Metacritic] and 8.6/10 on MMORPG.com.
In April 2016, Kakao announced that the game had achieved sales of 400,000 copies in its first month on the European and North American markets, and was showing an average of 100,000 concurrent users.
As of March 2017, Black Desert Online has reportedly 3.4 million registered players in North America, and Europe combined.
Black Desert Online takes place in a high fantasy setting and revolves around the conflict between two rival nations, the Republic of Calpheon and the Kingdom of Valencia. Calpheon is very materialistic whereas Valencia is very spiritual.
Long before Black Desert Online starts, the four main areas, Calpheon, Serendia, Balenos, and Mediah, are at peace. This all changes when merchants from Valencia, an area in Mediah that controls trade, starts to spread the Black Plague. Many people from around the world die due to this sickness. If people don't die they sometimes get expelled due to paranoia. Eventually, the three main areas realize the enemy, Valencia. The three regions make an alliance and start a war. The war lasts 30 years and Mediah profits the most. This is because Mediah, during the war, harvests black stones and trades with everyone. After the war, the alliance slowly starts to trade with Valencia again. Tensions rise again when the others discover the importance of black stones. Desperate to gain wealth, the others start to search for black stones. Calpheon has no area that harbors the precious black stones and because of this they start to steal from others. This raises conflicts with Valencia due to Valencia's vast Black Desert that holds the black stones.
The Black Spirit is your guide. Your destinies are entwined on your search for answers concerning the source of power: Black Stones. The Black Stones are said to have corrupted the minds of the ancients, and through their Alchemy causing the fall of their civilisation. They are commonly found in the desert between the capitalist Republic of Calpheon, and Valencia Kingdom, the land of absolute monarchy. Calpheonians call this area the Black Desert and have declared a war to claim the resources there. Valencians call it the Red Desert due to all of the blood spilled there. You will uncover the hidden secrets of the ancient civilization through the histories of Calpheon and Valencia. Lost memories and the secret of the Black Spirit will be unveiled. A journey to seek the true face of the ancient civilization around the Black Desert awaits you.
| Minimum System Requirements | Recommended System Requirements | |
| CPU | Intel Core i3-530 2.9GHz / AMD Phenom 9500 Quad-Core | Intel Core i5-650 3.2GHz / AMD Phenom II X3 740 Black Edition |
| VRAM | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| RAM | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| OS | Win 7 64 | Win 8 64 |
| Graphics Card | nVidia GeForce GTS 250 / AMD Radeon HD 3870 X2 | nVidia GeForce GTX 650 1GB / AMD Radeon HD 7770 1GB GDDR5 |
| Direct X | DX 9 | DX 9 |
| HDD Space | 40 GB | 52 GB |
| Game Analysis | BDO is a great looking mass online RPG that will need an Nvidia GTX 650 or HD 7770, with 1GBVRAM to reach recommended graphics requirements.To reach reliable Black Desert frame rates a Core i5 650 processor or Phenom II x3 740 CPU would need to accompany that fairly low end GPU. The download file size for BDO is around 40GB and you will want to have 6GB system memory to avoid stuttering at 1080p resolution. A beautiful Korean MMORPG, with a new combat system. BDO attempts to deliver a new spark to the mass online roleplaying space, with an interesting combat system and the usual in depth character builder. | |
| High FPS | 200+ FPS ( GTX 1060 ) | |
| Optimization Score | 6.2 | |
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