The MMORPG Black Desert Online is another title that takes players to an enchanted medieval fantasy world – keep reading to find out how the game holds up in its current beta phase, and what you can expect from the full version once it’s released in the coming year.
Story At the beginning of the story, your character awakens in a cozy little village. Not only do you soon learn about a small, shadowy figure known as the “Black Spirit”; you also discover that you are one of a select few who can enter into contact with this being.
To learn more about who you are, you’ll need to talk to various people around the village, who will ultimately refer you to the village elder, Igor. He informs you that you are in Olvia, a small settlement in the realm of Balenos. He recognizes you as an adventurer and recommends that you speak to other people living in the village who know a thing or two about adventuring and the dangers you might face in the outside world. The first person you meet is Edan, a specialist in artifacts and ruins, and after you talk to him, you’ll end up with your “Skill Instructor”, who will try to teach you the basics of combat in the world of Black Desert Online.
It’s from this trainer that you will learn your first skill, which you will be able to test out in a practice battle. You will meet instructors all throughout the game world, who you will be able to learn new attacks and other skills from by trading in the skill points you earn in combat. The attack skills are not only helpful in combat, but also hunting.
In the course of your journey you will visit a wide variety of different locations, where you will continue to meet new characters who will help you delve deeper into the mysteries of the game world.
Gameplay
At the beginning of the game you can choose from among six different character classes, each with their own unique skills and attributes. So no matter what style of play you prefer – melee or ranged combat, for instance – you should be able to find the right character.- Warrior: This class fights with sword and shield and tends to jump right into the fray. The Warrior strikes a good balance between attack and defense, making it one of the easiest classes to play.
- Ranger: The elves who make up the Ranger class are distinguished most of all by their ability to overwhelm their enemies with swift, agile attacks. However, they aren’t able to take much damage themselves, requiring a rather tactical approach.
- Sorcerer: As one of the magic-wielding classes, the Sorcerer specializes in the use of dark magic. The allows them to deal enormous amounts of damage, even at long range. Sorcerers are nevertheless quite weak in head-to-head melee combat.
- Berserker: Members of this class are brutal and extremely tough melee fighters who smash and rip their enemies apart with powerful attacks. Their incredible strength comes at the expense of speed, however.
- Tamer: Players who enjoy using more advanced methods to take their enemies out should check out the Tamer class. This class fights alongside a divine beast known as “Heilang”.
- Wizard: This is the class for players who just want to play as a classic magic-user. The Wizard makes use of the various elements to perform powerful magic spells that can annihilate your enemies from a distance.
Before the game really gets going, the camera pans over the world where your adventure is about to begin. You are shown the various regions, allowing you to get a good overview of the vast and detailed environment of Black Desert Online.
The controls are really intuitive, making it easy to get the hang of things right away. You move your character using the WASD keys, and you can also use the mouse to look around. If you want to move faster, hold down the Shift key while moving in a certain direction to sprint. The "R" key is used to interact with other characters and to pick up items. Tab allows you to switch back and forth between movement and combat mode. In combat mode, you will have various attacks at your disposal. In addition to two standards attacks – activated using the left and right mouse buttons – you can also use various special attacks and skills by pressing the number keys. And you can press the "S" or "F" keys in conjunction with the left or right mouse button to deliver a more powerful version of your standard attack. This practical keyboard arrangement allows for some real fast-paced and fluid action with minimal effort, which allows you to react quickly even in especially dicey situations. If you want to get an overview of the keyboard layout at any time, you can check it out in the game’s options menu. The most important commands are also displayed on screen during the game as well.
One thing that really helps you get an overview of what’s going on in the world is the 3D map you can call up using the "M" key, which displays the game world as well as the location of your next mission objective. And since you can rotate the map however you like, you can view the world from all sides. There’s also a mini-map in the upper right corner of the screen which usually makes it unnecessary to switch over to the map screen. A highly visible blue arrow shows you the path to your next objective, with the exact distance shown in red numbers.
If you find that the distance to the next objective is too far, the game features an auto-run function activated by pressing the "T" key. While it’s possible for your character to get stuck on various features of the landscape sometimes, this feature is a nice addition that makes traveling through the game world a lot more convenient.
You can open your inventory by pressing the "I" key, allowing you to view all the useful items you’ve picked up in the course of your adventure, along with various other pieces of equipment for your character to wear. You can also use this menu to activate healing potions and other helpful aids.
The main screen is really well designed and offers a nice overview of all the important things you’ll need to be aware of. It shows your current level and the number of skill points you have in the upper left of the screen; and on the right side of the screen, your active quests and the recommended level for each one, right below the mini-map.
In addition to the main quest, Black Desert Online also allows you to practice various “Professions”. You can decide, for instance, to tame wild horses that will allow you to move through the game world more quickly, but even fishing and trading allow you to use a wide variety of resources to your advantage. And if your idea of work is more of the hacking and slashing variety, you can dedicate yourself to knowledge to learn useful information that will come in handy later in the game. You can also specialize in “housing” to build and decorate you own humble abode however you like.
Graphics The pseudo-medieval environment of Black Desert Online is an authentic fantasy world of its own. In terms of graphics, they’ve done an excellent job using color and other details like trees, lighting effects, and shading. Nevertheless, they seem to have placed a lot more emphasis on creating a certain atmosphere than they did on being extremely realistic, and to great effect – from the very beginning, the world of Black Desert Online feels believable and even welcoming. The same goes for the short sequences that accompany conversation with different characters throughout the game.
Sound In terms of music, the game features medieval-sounding tunes with instruments like flutes and lutes, and the music does a great job accompanying the hustle and bustle of village life as well as the feeling of adventure when you’re out and about in the world itself. During combat the music switches over to dramatic strings underlaid with percussive elements, which pointedly underscores these scenes as well.
As of this time, the Beta version available in the West is in English only. Nevertheless, after installing the game, you can see that there are placeholders for other languages – you just can’t select them in the Beta.
pls key :)
:o give key? pls :3