With the deepest character customization of any game currently on the market, Black Desert Online allows for unprecedented detail in character creation. Its intuitive controls, beautifully designed world, and extensive lore will enthrall both newcomers and veterans of MMO games and action RPGs.

Travel through the lands in search of treasure and adventure or become one of the top craftsmen in the land. Set up trade routes and breed horses or compete against other guilds in epic siege warfare.

Korean developer and publisher Pearl Abyss held its annual Heidel Ball to showcase a slew of content announcements, embrace its growing worldwide community, and breathe fresh life into its flagship title Black Desert Online and Black Desert Console games on its 10-year PC anniversary.

HEIDEL BALL EVENT HIGHLIGHTS 

Using the 12th century castle Chateau de Beynac as a scenic backdrop to a full-day event, Executive Producer Jaehee Kim and team livestreamed a content roadmap for the summer and autumn this year.

Among its multitude of content reveals, Pearl Abyss announced the new male class, Dosa, and key details about the new bosses, folktale stories, geography, and upgrade systems for its popular expansion sequel, Land of the Morning Light: Seoul.

The development team addressed its veteran PVP players by introducing a new Hardcore Server for competitive players, and revised a fan-favorite storyline for the Jordine Saga, an important character arc in the main storyline of Black Desert.

The team revealed first footage of the work-in-progress native PlayStation 5 version of Black Desert Console. It then looked into the future of its thriving MMORPG by unveiling first details around the snowy expansion sequel, Mountain of Dawn Break, which then, when completed, opens up a hellish Demon Land, a massive defiant fortress where survival is crucial, presenting a harsh environment filled with battles against diverse monsters and bosses.

Finally, the team revealed the concept of the next chapter in Black Desert, a new prequel expansion that takes place thousands of years before the current storyline era.

DOSA, THE 28TH CLASS, AVAILABLE JULY 3 ON PC

The new sword-wielding and pipe-smoking male class “Dosa” debuted in an action-packed video trailer. The trailer showcased Dosa’s giant sword, the “Hwando”, and the diverse uses of his smoking pipe, Gombangdae. Dosa’s pipe enables him to wield smoke to deceive his enemies, while also calling upon ghostly fighter figures to overwhelm his enemies.

Dosa will be playable in Black Desert Online almost immediately starting Wednesday, July 3.

NEW DETAILS: LAND OF THE MORNING LIGHT: SEOUL

The event yielded fresh, intriguing details about the Land of the Morning Light: Seoul’s expansion, highlighted by the continued evolution of LOTML Part 1’s fable-filled storyline. 

Working with the Cultural Heritage Administration in South Korea, Pearl Abyss based its new story in the sprawling Hwanghae Province, re-creating the famous royal palace Gyeongbokgung, which still stands today. Using drones, LIDAR, and other content, the development team scanned key points of interest and incorporated them in-game to generate real-world details, accuracy, and immersion. In it, players will experience eight new stories based on Korean folktales, more than 6,000 lines of fully voiced dialogue, and more than 40 cutscenes.

The renewed Black Shrine now enables a five-player cooperative playstyle to combat all eight fearsome bosses (plus two new undisclosed extras). These boss fights introduce a wealth of new challenging mechanics, including health recovery, resurrection changes, and Guild member rewards and ranking systems. 

Once players complete their narrative journey in Land of the Morning Light: Seoul, they can explore the vividly re-created Gyeongbok Palace, the massive, multi-part capitol city of ancient Seoul. There, they can dig into the new “Palace Management” system, a new life skill in which players can manage various production resources and nodes similar to a resource management simulator. This new system offers players the ability to process and complete trade items, deliver finished products to merchants, and keep a “tab” on the changing production material nodes for an enjoyable, profitable, side hustle.

One of the major new items introduced with Land of the Morning Light: Seoul is a Primordial-grade weapon, Sovereign. Its design was inspired by the Dark Bonghwang (a Korean cultural mythological animal, similar to what we might know as a Phoenix), a boss in the new expansion. Once this new expansion arrives (August 7 in Korea, fall in North America and Europe), the Sovereign weapon will be the highest-tier weapon in the game. The Sovereign can be crafted using PEN (V) Blackstar Weapon, combined with Primordial Flame, or another PEN (V) Blackstar Weapon, or Caphras Lv. 20 Boss Weapon and Gem of Twilight. With the addition of Primordial weapons, all Adventurers will be able to obtain one PEN (V) Blackstar Weapon. The details on how to obtain it will be provided on Wednesday, June 26, on the official website.

INTRODUCING HARDCORE PVP SERVERS

Veteran PvP players are in for a challenge with the introduction of exclusive Hardcore Servers. Seasonally based, these new tough competitive servers are always activated and characters must start from level 60, with pre-provided gear. Unlike normal servers, when characters die, they are shipped away to a holding cell, where they either need to wait to escape or fight other inmates in 1v1 bouts to return to the world.

The goal of the hardcore server is to survive and die as few times as possible to reach a higher rank for exclusive rewards like special titles. This mode is meant to be for those who want to focus solely on gameplay without worrying about gear.

GUILD CHANGES

As a game that’s been serviced for more than 10 years, Pearl Abyss has seen its players evolve and demand new ways to interact with their guilds. One of our big upcoming updates is a revamp for the guild system. This update will give Adventurers the ability to define their guild’s identity, goals, and playstyle. A highlight of this new system is a way for guilds to earn fame from content such as PvP and PvE, granting honor rewards like a rideable dragon. 

REVAMPED JORDINE SAGA

The character Jordine, an important character who has played a major role throughout the main story of Black Desert, is at the center of a major revamp. Many of our current main stories in the Jordine Saga are being revamped with full voice acting, more engaging cutscenes, and gameplay. The Jordine Saga will be released across all regions on Wednesday, June 26, and on Wednesday, July 10, for consoles.   

NATIVE PLAYSTATION 5 BUILD

For the first time, Pearl Abyss shared a short trailer showcasing before-and-after footage comparing current PlayStation 4 footage with PlayStation 5 footage. The work-in-progress PS5 build revealed a stark contrast. The new native build shows off exquisite new details, upgraded volumetric lighting, faster load times, and faster frame rates. Pearl Abyss has targeted December for its first submission for Sony certification.

EXCITING REWARDS

To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Black Desert and the successful Heidel Ball this year, Pearl Abyss prepared a plethora of special login rewards. The rewards include two J’s Hammer of Loyalty, Choose your 10 Years Outfit Box, Advice of Valks (+150), Mythical Censer, and many more.

Key Features

• A beautifully designed open world that’s as expansive as it is alive
• Heart-pounding skill-based combat
• Unprecedented character customization with incredible detail
• Crisp next-generation graphics
• Extensive open world PvP modes (Arena mode, guild vs guild, node wars, castle siege, and more)
• Engaging story with deep lore and epic quests
• Unique farming system - grow and perfect your crops
• A personalized stable - catch, tame, and breed wild horses
• Deep crafting, housing, fishing, hunting, and alchemy systems
• Intuitive action gameplay complete with gamepad support

Get a free 7-day trial for Black Desert Online here.

Black Desert Online is currently available PC, as well as PS4 and Xbox One (titled Black Desert). Also compatible on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.