The day and night system in Black Desert works in cycles

Black Desert is a Korean MMORPG that gained enough popularity to get licensed for various other territories, including of course Japan, and in America sometime next year. Playing in the Korean version of the game is a very difficult process, and I have literally zero knowledge of the Korean language, but when the JP open beta was released I felt it was time to finally get a taste of what I’d been waiting for.

Graphics, now, I always prefer content over graphics, but for the love of all that is holy this game looks amazing, AAA game don’t look like this and this is a fucking MMO. The lights and shadows are epic, but the one thing that amazes and makes me drop everything when it happens, is the rain. Once it starts raining, the ground will slowly turn color, puddles will form and hell, rain even affects your abilities in combat. If you fight during a rainstorm, your character is not that sharp due to the bad conditions.

Explore some magnificent landscapes and architectures with some of the most breathtakingly realistic characters with different abilities, from Fighters to Sorcerers, Beasts and Tamers. There’s optional PvP and bind-on-equip items that don’t drop if you’re killed by another player. You’ll be able to buy any property in the cities and even transform it into a shop or crafting area and even create furniture to store your treasure. In the open world the only option is to make a temporary tent.

This game thrives due to its arsenal of features. The weather system is true to life creating realistic environments where players are affected by climate conditions. This system goes hand in hand with the farming, fishing, and breeding features available in-game. A player cannot fish in the desert or grow fruits because it’s unnatural to the environment and climate, but it is possible to raise camels there because the conditions are appropriate. The day and night system in Black Desert works in cycles, where shopkeepers and civilians go about their business in the day and many return to their homes at night. The transition from day to night is progressive, with dawn and dusk visible as the dates transition.

During my time with the closed beta, I played as a sorcerer class that utilized various forms of dark magic, both in ranged and melee attacks. Skills acquired during my play through varied, from a ranged attack that unleashed a stream of dark magic upon multiple enemies to melee-slashing moves with my dark magic-infused fists. It felt refreshing in an MMO to play a character that didn't require any sort of weapons other than the magic within them. In the next closed beta, I'll be eager to try out the other character classes.

But what I did mess around with for PvP gave me the idea that combat is very much the same as PvE combat, unsurprisingly I know, but it does mean you can easily go from PvE combat into PvP combat and be decent. Early on, gear and level will determine how likely you are going to survive in PvP, but as you get higher leveled and geared, that starts getting tossed out the window fast and it becomes more skill and reaction based, sure gear and level will still play some part, but if you are quick and skillful you can take down a well-geared player.

There’s so much to like about Black Desert Online including the fact that Pearl Abyss is taking the pay-to-own approach in the West. It likely won’t trump any major MMO’s on the market, but there is plenty to be excited about. I am concerned about all of the content and how meaningful it will be, but with a ton of quests, engaging content, and beautiful well-optimized graphics, you’ve got to keep an eye on this game.