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.

Pearl Abyss held its annual Heidel Ball 2025, celebrating the vibrant Black Desert community and unveiling a sweeping lineup of updates, features, and content that will reshape the world of Black Desert. From long-awaited quality of life improvements to PvP rebalancing, and the reveal of a brand-new class and region, this year’s event highlights new features for the game’s future.

“Start of the Journey” – A New Era for New Adventurers

In an effort to ease onboarding, new Adventurers will now receive a 10 billion silver allowance spread out across progression quests. Additionally, the Olvia Town area is being completely revamped into Olvia School, a beginner-friendly area designed for hands-on training and peer interaction with a “semester” experience. New players can practice combat, cooking, and alchemy with designated tools and bond with peers in alumni hangouts.

Massive UI and Quality of Life Enhancements

Pearl Abyss introduced several key improvements to the game interface:

• Buff Status Overview: Players can now view all 33 buff types and their specific effects from the in-game profile.
• Enhancement Inventory: Stores all enhancement-related materials like Cron Stones, Valks’ Advice, and Fairy's Blessings, freeing up valuable Pearl inventory space.
• Enhancement UI Improvement: The “Use Cron Stone” option now clearly reads “Protect Enhancement Level” for direct material selection and intuition.
• All-in-One Preset: Automatically switch builds for different content like PvE and Arena of Solare.
• World Map and Event Page Updates: Set to roll out through July and August, making navigation and event tracking seamless.
• Adventure Log and PvE Reworks: Completing Igor Bartali’s Adventure Log now consolidates all stat bonuses (AP, DP, stamina, etc.) once spread across multiple logs. Other logs will now offer cosmetic rewards such as rare colored titles.

Wukong Arrives – A New Class Enters the Battlefield

Inspired by Journey to the West, the new class Wukong is a fast-paced melee combatant who wields the Power Pole and an awakening weapon, Jade Pillar. Wukong’s “Fighting Buddha” state summons clones and extends his pole for devastating AoE combos. He rides the Flying Nimbus, showcasing dynamic mobility and flair. Early access begins June 28 on the Global Lab.

A New Continent Emerges: Edania

The long-rumored continent of Edania—north of Valencia—is finally revealed. Split into two parts, Part 1 launches with five major castles, each with its own lore and difficulty. Monsters in this region form a new “Edania” species, and new artifacts, crystals, and alchemy recipes will empower players in both PvE and PvP. The new monster type, Edania, introduces the “Extra Damage to Edanian Monsters” stat and new crystals.

New Sovereign Sub-Weapon & Mythical Horse Concept

A new Sovereign-grade sub-weapon is on the horizon, combining the powers of boss Kutum and Nouver into a single item. Like existing Sovereign gear, it can be enhanced to DEC (X) and will offer three options for crafting.

Pearl Abyss also unveiled a new tentatively named mythical dream horse that merges the abilities of three mythical dream horses—Doom, Arduanatt, and Diné. This versatile mount can sprint on land like Doom, glide through the skies like Arduanatt, and run across water like Diné—its final name will be selected based on community input.

Overhaul of PvP Systems and Balance

Pearl Abyss is committed to making PvP more intuitive and skill-based:

• Accuracy, Evasion, and Damage Formulas are standardized across classes.
• Super Armor Damage Reduction is now additive, aligning with other mechanics.
• Extra Damage to certain species has been redefined to separate PvE and PvP effects.
• Summon Mechanics will now use the same damage calculation formula as your main character.
• Resistance Removal in PvP: All resistances, including grapple resistance, will be removed in PvP settings. Items with these stats will be converted to silver.
• Mouse Movement will be disabled to reduce desync and improve combat stability.
• Grouping Class Damage Modifiers: Class damage modifiers are now categorized as Guard, Charge, or Assault types with adjusted modifiers to balance inter-class performance.

These updates will begin rolling out gradually for testing in the Global Lab.

PvP Tournament: Master Class – Coming This Fall

Pearl Abyss announced the first-ever MASTER CLASS Tournament, a global 1v1 event to crown the strongest player of each class. With 30 classes—including Wukong—participants will compete in standardized gear to determine the strongest of each class. Winners receive exclusive griffon mounts, titles, and a chance to be honored at the next live event.

New Outfits & Heidel Ball Rewards

Two new seasonal outfits, Summer Getaway and Ocean Spray, are coming soon. Attendees of the Ball and players will receive generous in-game rewards, including 20,000 Cron Stones, seven J’s Hammers of Loyalty, Rare Hammer Selection Box, Advice of Valks (+300), Weapon Exchange Coupons, Inverted Garmoth’s Heart and 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 (compatible on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S), with native PS5 and Xbox Series X|S editions expected in first half of 2025.