Comprehensive 2026 guide to the best Black Desert Online grind spots by AP level, maximizing silver and EXP per hour.
Ask about this video. Answers come from its transcript only — with the timestamp, so you can check them.
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Key Takeaways
- Total AP including buffs is the key metric for choosing grind zones, not just gear score.
- Grinding below the recommended AP drastically reduces silver/hour, while exceeding AP cap yields minimal gains.
- Progress through grind zones sequentially based on your total AP to maximize silver and EXP efficiency.
- Community tools and spreadsheets can aid in planning but verify data critically due to possible inflation.
- Some grind spots remain viable beyond their AP bracket due to unique rewards or convenience.
What the video covers
- Explains how to accurately assess total AP including buffs, crystals, and artifacts for grinding efficiency.
- Details the importance of total AP over gear score for accessing and profiting from grind zones.
- Discusses the 5% AP cap mechanic limiting silver gain beyond effective AP thresholds.
- Breaks down recommended grind spots based on AP brackets, highlighting silver and EXP per hour.
- Provides insights into community tools like spreadsheets and Garmoth.com for tracking grind efficiency.
- Warns about inflated silver/hour claims on Garmoth and encourages realistic benchmarking.
- Explains progression through grind zones from early to endgame areas like Hexe Marie and Ferrion Castle.
- Mentions class-specific performance benchmarks and realistic expectations for damage output.
- Highlights the trade-offs between grinding spots for silver versus other rewards like coffers or crystals.
- Encourages strategic grinding to avoid silver loss from underleveled or overstacked AP zones.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and How to Assess Total AP
- 02:39Impact of AP on Silver per Hour and the AP Cap
- 05:08Class Benchmarks and Damage Expectations
- 07:28Community Tools and Resources for Grinding
- 10:07Early to Mid-Game Grind Zones Overview
- 12:16Mid to High AP Grind Spots and Their Rewards
- 20:07Top Silver per Hour Spots and Endgame Grinding
- 23:12Endgame Grinding and Final Tips
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
What is up, guys? Welcome to my where to grind 2026 guide for Black Desert Online. In this guide, we're going to be covering how to assess where you should be grinding and how to go about that process, and then where the best grind zones are in the game for the various AP cutoffs and where you should be looking at what the options actually are.
Speaker A
zones are in the game for the various AP cutoffs and where you should be looking at what the options actually are.
Speaker A
All right, so the first thing we're going to cover is how to tell how much AP you actually have, okay? And this is important because a lot of players just don't understand this. It used to be that we would talk about AP, "Oh, you got to have 350 AP for this spot. You got to have 390 AP for this spot, or you got to have 250 AP for this spot." That's not how Black Desert does it anymore. Okay, so now we talk in terms of total AP. As a new player, that can be kind of confusing. So, if you open up your inventory, you can tell where your total AP is just by clicking this little sword and shield button.
Speaker A
got to have 350 AP for this spot. You got to have 390 AP for this spot, or you got to have 250 AP for this spot." That's not how Black Desert does it anymore. Okay, so now we talk in terms
Speaker A
Oh, look at that. The number gets a lot bigger, okay? This is your total damage to mobs, okay? This little lower number here, like where I've got 393 awakening AP there, that's my actual AP with all of my gear on, but not including the AP to mobs. So, what in this guide, we're going to be talking a lot about everything included. This is with your crystals, your artifacts, all of the buffs that you currently have running on your character, everything, okay?
Speaker A
Oh, look at that. The number gets a lot bigger, okay? This is your total damage to mobs, okay? This little lower number here, like where I've got 393 uh awakening AP there, that's my actual AP with all of my gear on, but not
Speaker A
So, when I talk about your total AP levels or I'm telling you, "Yeah, you need 1,300 AP at a certain grind zone," it means you need to have that much AP with all of your buffs running, okay? And to be clear, you can actually click this little cog wheel, and sometimes you have specific AP to monsters, like if you're grinding in Kamasylvia or the mobs are Kama mobs, you can click and see what your damage to Kamasylvia mobs are, what your damage to demi-humans, what your damage to humans are, and what your damage is to Aakman monsters if you're that far progressed into the game, okay?
Speaker A
okay? So, when I talk about your total AP levels or I'm telling you, "Yeah, you need 1,300 AP uh at a certain grind zone," it means you need to have that much AP with all of your buffs running, okay? And to be
Speaker A
So, you can see how much damage to monsters you have in this little cog wheel here. Okay, so it's important that you understand how to tell this. And part of the reason that we do this is because honestly, you get so much AP from your crystals and your buffs and stuff. A lot of players, there could be one player that can only reach Hexe Marie despite the fact that he's got a lot more gear score than somebody that's still got some Tuvala gear on.
Speaker A
your damage to demi-humans, what your damage to to humans are, and what your damage is to Aakman monsters if you're that far progressed into the game, okay?
Speaker A
But he's got the proper crystals and he's got the proper everything else equipped, or maybe he just decided to push his AP a lot harder than his DP. I don't know where you're at. This guide will cover basically everything based on what this total AP number is, what you can basically buff yourself up to. Okay, so the reason that your total AP is important here is because all of the grind zones in the game in BDO now are completely gated by how much AP, total AP, you actually have.
Speaker A
honestly, you get so much AP from your crystals and your buffs and stuff. A lot of players there there could be one player that can only reach Hexe Marie despite the fact that he's got um a lot more gear score than somebody that's
Speaker A
For example, when you open up this monster zone info tab here, you can kind of go through here and you can see the total recommended AP that is required for these various grind zones in the game. And if you don't meet this recommended AP level, you literally won't make any silver at that grind zone. It is miserable.
Speaker A
will cover basically everything based on what this total AP number is, what you can basically buff yourself up to. Okay, so the reason that your total AP is important here is because all of the grind zones in the game in BDO now are
Speaker A
You'll be making like 50% silver per hour less depending on how far below the cap you are. Also, if you are over the cap, you basically cannot make almost any more silver per hour if you over stack AP over the cap. So, if you—this is Ash Forest, for example—if I were to go to Ash Forest with all of my gear on right now, effectively I'm going to be doing as much damage as somebody that's only at 1,130 AP. Okay, and I've got over 1,700. I've got like 1,900. Okay, so it's really not that big of a difference.
Speaker A
uh that is required for these various grind zones in the game. And if you don't meet this recommended AP level, you literally won't make any silver at that grind zone. It it it is miserable.
Speaker A
We call it the 5% AP cap in BDO. Basically, all excess AP above the effective limit is limited to 5% of the total extra AP, which is terrible, but I'm not going to get into it. But the reason we have this split up and the reason I'm kind of segmenting this guide into multiple like, "Okay, hey, here's where you should go next. Here's where you should go next," is because your AP fits these zones and this is where you need to grind, otherwise you won't make silver or you're griefing yourself grinding a lower-end spot.
Speaker A
Also, if you are over the cap, you basically cannot make almost you you literally can't make almost any more silver per hour um if you over stack AP over the cap. So, if you this is Ash Forest for example, if I were to go to
Speaker A
Now, there are some spots like Tungrad Ruins right now is a perfect example where just even if you have more AP for Tungrad Ruins than you're supposed to, you're probably going to stay at Tungrad Ruins rather than going to the next most effective grind zone because it's just better. But that's kind of few and far between. Overall, you're basically going to be progressing from grind zone to grind zone. You're not going to be staying at them for a crazy amount of time until you get more progressed into the game.
Speaker A
that big of a difference. We call it the 5% AP cap uh in BDO. Basically, all excess AP above the effective limit is limited to 5% of the total extra AP, which is terrible, but I'm not going to
Speaker A
All right. Now that we have the introduction stuff out of the way and you understand how to assess what the best grind zone of the game is for you, I made this handy-dandy sheet for you, okay? So, there's a few resources that you can use in the community that we have. I've put together this spreadsheet, which I believe is probably the best tool that you can use.
Speaker A
fits these zones and this is where you need to grind, otherwise you won't make silver or you're griefing yourself grinding a lower-end spot. Now, there are some spots like Tungrad Ruins right now is a perfect example where just even
Speaker A
There's also a site called garmoth.com where if you go to Garmoth and you technically have a subscription, it can be better. You can rank all of the silver per hour on the various grind zones and stuff and how many hours people have grinded there, your max AP and stuff. I will warn you that Garmoth people lie about their numbers here. The numbers are very inflated on Garmoth.
Speaker A
you're basically going to be progressing from grind zone to grind zone. You're not going to be staying at them for a crazy amount of time until you got kind of get more progressed into the game.
Speaker A
You're not always going to have the same conditions as them and it kind of lumps all the classes and stuff in together. So, you're going to have to choose, you have to figure out where your class kind of stands at a particular grind zone and I would not necessarily use Garmoth for that. It's a pretty good zone ranked like two or 300 million silver per hour above another zone, okay, well then that zone probably is making more money, but if they're within about 200 million silver per hour, I would be wary about the Garmoth numbers and how your class is performing.
Speaker A
you can use uh in the community that we have. Uh I've put together this spreadsheet, which I believe is probably the best uh tool that you can use.
Speaker A
I also wouldn't necessarily use this list either. The best way to tell how your class is performing at a grind zone is go to YouTube and if you're playing, let's say you're playing Maehwa, for example, I want to know how Maehwa is doing at Tungrad Ruins. Okay, you just type this into the search bar here. There are tons of YouTube channels that just like this, and they'll tell you, "Hey, I made 44K trash with a yellow loot scroll in Aakman, whatever, on my class in 1 hour." It shows them doing it. They're not lying about it. This is the most consistent way to make sure that people are not lying to you.
Speaker A
people have grinded there, your max AP and stuff. I will warn you that Garmoth people lie about their numbers here. The numbers are very inflated on Garmoth.
Speaker A
Now, to be clear, these are the best of the best on their class. These are the people that min-max. You are not going to be pulling 44K on Maehwa or Succ Maehwa at Dark Seeker or at Tungrad Ruins, probably. You'll probably be pulling under that, but it does give you a benchmark for how the other classes and how your class are doing. This is the best way to tell, okay?
Speaker A
stands at a particular particular grind zone and I would not necessarily use Garmoth for that. It's a pretty good like zone ranked like two or 300 million silver per hour above another zone, okay, well then that zone probably is
Speaker A
Garmoth, if you would just want to do it at a glance, be like, okay, well, is Shai the best? No, it's probably not, but you know what? It is what it is, right? Like, you can kind of generally tell if Dark Knight is way at the bottom. Like, if we're way down here, and we're like, okay, well, we know Dark Knight's probably not the best here, but how good is Dark Knight, really? And then you would just type it in here. Okay? This is the best way to tell how your class is doing in a particular grind zone, etc., okay?
Speaker A
performing at a grind zone is is go to YouTube and if you're playing let's say you're playing Maehwa, for example, I want to know how Maehwa is doing at Tungrad Ruins. Okay, you just type this into the search bar here. There are a
Speaker A
That being said, I have this spreadsheet. It's super great. It's a great reference thing. I'm going to keep it up to date. It will tell you when the last time
Speaker A
about it. This is the most consistent way to make sure that you know people are not lying to you. Now, to be clear, these are the best of the best on their class. These are the people that min-max. You are not going to be pulling
Speaker A
44K uh on Maehwa or succ Maehwa at Dark Seeker or at at Tungrad Ruins, probably. Uh you'll probably be pulling under that, but it does give you a benchmark for how the other classes and how your class are doing. This is the
Speaker A
best way to tell, okay? Garmoth, if you would just want to do it at a glance, be like, okay, well, is Shai the best? No, it's probably not, but you know what? It is what it is, right? Like, you can kind
Speaker A
of generally tell if Dark Knight is way at the Holy bro. Like, if we're way down here, and we're like, okay, well, we know Dark Knight's probably not the best here, but how good is Dark Knight, really? Uh and then you would
Speaker A
just type it in here. Okay? This is the best way to tell how your class is doing in a particular grind zone, uh etc., okay? That being said, I have this spreadsheet. It's super great. It's a great reference thing. I'm going to keep
Speaker A
it up to date. It will tell you when the last time I touched the spreadsheet was.
Speaker A
It tells you what the total AP recommended for the spot is, what my notes are on that spot, like, hey, here's the most AP at this bracket or whatever. Uh or hey, this is a grind or this is the uh this is the group zone at
Speaker A
this spot uh or at this AP level, okay? The top three silver per hour brackets are in red text. That's not always true.
Speaker A
I would just say the top silver per hour uh spots are in red text, okay? In no particular order, okay? Centaurs Herd, obviously, Sherekhan Night, Aakman, right? And you can kind of go through this list, and I'll keep it up to date.
Speaker A
I need to bring a like I think it's up to date, okay? It's up to date. There's a couple things missing that I need to add uh and whatnot, but basically, you can kind of just reference this. It's going to be in the
Speaker A
link to the video description, and you can kind of take a look at it uh and kind of reference it very quickly.
Speaker A
Alternatively, you can just do {exclamation point} grind in in one of my live streams uh or just in my chat when I'm offline, and you can it it it'll give it to you there uh as well.
Speaker A
Our first designation, this is for brand new players. Maybe this is your first grind zone ever. There's actually a lot of different choices at this AP bracket.
Speaker A
Um you've got Let me scroll through these real quick. Hold on. Desert Nagas, Desert Fogans, Gahaz Bandit Layer, Cadry Ruins, Polly's Forest, Crescent Shrine, Centaurs Herd, Round Sulfur Mine, uh Pila Ku Jail, Sherekhan Day, Sherekhan Night, Mirumok Ruins, Aakman Temple, and several other
Speaker A
zones. Okay, so you've got a lot. You've got a lot of choices, okay? I'm going to list out which exact choices are the highest silver per hour, but as a new player, you need to understand that the highest silver per hour is not
Speaker A
necessarily exactly where you want to grind as a new player, okay? Centaurs Herd is technically the best silver per hour uh at this AP level. If you can reach um like the 300 AP bracket, which is like super easy.
Speaker A
If you can reach 300 total AP, you should be able to grind Centaurs Herd no problem, and it's technically the best silver per hour. However, you're basically making almost no EXP per hour, and you're also making uh no progress on
Speaker A
your infinite potion. So, I mean, you can just buy the infinite potion off the marketplace, but there are just kind of better options here. But, if you're talking about raw silver, Centaurs Herd is definitely the best raw silver you make
Speaker A
other sacrifices. Sherekhan Night, you are directly grinding for your potion. Uh the pros, you're directly grinding for your potion. Other pros, it's really high silver per hour at this AP level.
Speaker A
It's insane. Cons, it does require a lot of energy, and as a new player, you probably don't have a crazy amount of energy. Uh and also cons, it's not available all the time. It's only available at night time, which is only,
Speaker A
I don't know, 40% 30 or 40% of our day cycle uh in Black Desert Online. So, it's not going to be available all the time. Aakman Temple pros, technically better than centaurs and every other low-end grind spot that you can reach uh
Speaker A
until you hit the 550 to 600 AP cutoff that you're going to need for Aakman Temple, okay? It is technically the best of the low-end grind zones, but it requires a significant amount more AP than centaurs. Now, you're going to be
Speaker A
blasting through AP, so you're going to be getting free black stars, you're going to be getting a free Saobereoch, you're going to be getting free all kinds of stuff. So, once you get through all that stuff, Aakman honestly you'll
Speaker A
you'll find it come to you pretty quick. You'll reach Aakman Temple pretty fast. So, in my opinion, uh if you're a new player uh and you're not super worried about your infinite potion because you're not going to get an infinite
Speaker A
potion from Aakman Temple, uh the best uh best silver per hour is going to be Aakman uh assuming you can hit that 550 to 600 AP cutoff there. Now, if you're wondering, "Okay, well, what's the best tradeoff silver
Speaker A
like for silver? Like, I want to grind for silver, but I also kind of want to be progressing my infinite potion." Uh that would be Desert Nagas or Desert Fogans.
Speaker A
And I go over this very in-depth in my infinite potion guide, which will be linked in the video description. Uh please like and subscribe.
Speaker A
Uh it it it it would mean a lot. Leave a comment for the algorithm. Uh that being said, uh that'll be linked in the video description. So, if you really want to know exactly where to grind and how to
Speaker A
get your infinite potion, I do have a guide for that. You can look at that.
Speaker A
The long story short of it is that um Fogans and Nagas are probably the best tradeoff. You're going to be making a decent amount of silver there. Uh and you're going to be progressing your potion at the same time. They also have
Speaker A
a decent amount of EXP there as well. Now, if you're a new player and you want to progress if you want to really prioritize EXP and you don't care so much about your your money uh and you're still going to progress your potion at
Speaker A
the same time, Mirumok Ruins is great for a new player. This is a three-man grind zone, though, so you're going to have to play with your friends.
Speaker A
I know that's going to sound crazy. And if you started the game with friends, Mirumok Ruins is one of the only early game grind zones that you can actually go to with your friends and actually have a good time. So, you can grind
Speaker A
there. It says it's a three-man spot, but as a new player, you can totally get away if you only have one other friend, you can totally do it as a two-man or a three-man. Technically, you do it as a
Speaker A
one-man, too, but I'll be honest with you, if you're solo and you want the EXP, it's definitely Polly's Forest, okay?
Speaker A
Okay, so these are the two options in my opinion for EXP at this particular AP bracket when you're brand new to the game. And in my opinion, I think that you should be prioritizing EXP kind of at this stage for sure. I think that if
Speaker A
you want like the mix of all three, Desert Nagas, Desert Fogans, sure. If you really want to prioritize silver, it's one of these three here, okay? And if you really want to prioritize EXP, it's one of these two here, okay? Uh but
Speaker A
the amount of silver you're making is going to depend a lot of how quick that you're grinding, what your class is, etc. So, All right, so next up, you're going to graduate to the next and you're going to
Speaker A
get through these pretty quick. So, the 700 AP AP or 700 to 800 AP zones, Elvia Orcs, Elvia Rudums, Elvia Swamp Fogans, basically Elvia Serendia in general opens up. So, your options overall are Altareim Baragi Den, Swamp Fogans,
Speaker A
Saunils, Rudums, Orcs, Bloody Monastery, Hystria, Thornwood, uh base Thornwood. Kratuga, Turos, which is now a solo spot, Geffen Rhasa Upper, and Mirumok's Labyrinth, which honestly don't even they don't just bring and then I didn't even say that, okay? Now, of all of the
Speaker A
spots that you can grind, technically, the best silver per hour is definitely Elvia Orcs from the 700 to 800 AP zones, okay? Elvia Orcs, and honestly, it's been that way for god knows how many years, okay? And especially now that you
Speaker A
can just sell the shards outright because they made that change in the game. You don't need to go grind different spots to get different shards.
Speaker A
Orcs is phenomenal. Rudums actually is not bad either and is quite an underrated spot at this AP at this AP level, okay? You don't see a whole lot of people at Rudoms and if you find yourself at Orcs and there's just
Speaker A
too many people interrupting your grind zone, which happens a lot, Rudoms is actually a pretty solid option. You're not going to sacrifice too much silver per hour and it feels kind of similar.
Speaker A
Elvia Swamp Fogans also low-key kind of goated. Great grind zone, gives you the blue shards, super great, really fun. That's the one that I chose to grind this AP level when I was going through there, but honestly I've grinded
Speaker A
it every single one of these zones that I'm talking about, so but these are the top three in here. If you want to grind in a party at this AP level, Giffen Roza upper, not Giffen Roza lower, Giffen
Speaker A
Roza upper, and make sure that you don't go to the wrong version of it.
Speaker A
Giffen Roza is separated into like three different parts, okay? So there's like a really high-end spot, that's a group spot, that we're going to talk about later. Do not hit those mobs, they will kill you, okay? They're You're not the
Speaker A
ones farming them, they're the ones farming you, okay? But if you go to Giffen Roza upper, there should be a five-man Giffen Roza upper up there where you you can technically make a decent amount of money that it's probably the best
Speaker A
silver per hour for a group grind at this AP level, but I'm going to be honest with you, it's significantly less than Orcs.
Speaker A
Now this is not the end-all be-all for this AP zone. You need to understand that Serendia Elvia Agris is terrible, okay? So if you're going to expend Agris at this AP level, honestly, there's not a crazy amount of good
Speaker A
options. Histria is like base Histria is just not as good as your Elvia options, so if you do want to grief yourself a little bit, you can go to Histria, it's really good coffer, so you can also grind for your your compass there as
Speaker A
well, but there's not a lot of really good silver per hour trade-offs here, but your Agris is just not going to be expended super well. But if you're trying to be super efficient about it, there are spots that allow that like
Speaker A
Histria um it is an option. Honestly, the best place for Agris, in my opinion, at this spot outside of history, because again, that's the compass location, is actually Thornwood.
Speaker A
Thornwood Forest uh Agris is pretty darn solid. It gives you a lot of copper stones. You also grind for the Orzeca set, kind of low-key there, uh which is pretty cool. Uh but Thornwood Forest is kind of an underrated zone at this AP
Speaker A
level. People forget about it a lot. Uh and honestly, you kind of get a lot of copper and a lot of the silver per hour there is based on A, the coppers, which you get a lot of, and B, the trash loot.
Speaker A
So, you're not as kind of dependent on the drops, but the Ominous Ring drops there, and that's worth a lot of silver right now.
Speaker A
Okay, so best EXP at these grind zones, by the way, just real quick, Orks.
Speaker A
It's the best money and technically the best EXP, too. Technically, Gefeion Rhasa upper upper, the five-man spot, is also pretty solid on EXP, but I'm going to be honest with you, most people just you just grind Orks faster.
Speaker A
Grind Orks faster. All right. So, for the 800 to 1,000 AP zones, you're into the mid-game now.
Speaker A
You're in the groove of upgrading your gear. You're going to hit these zones. This is going to be the first wall that you kind of really hit in the game. And we have the big three grind zones that
Speaker A
you can grind at this AP level, okay? Lots of people love going to Hongik Base. That's technically the best silver per hour. Depends on the market, a lot of things going on, but Hongik Base is kind of the choice. It's also really
Speaker A
relaxed, which is why a lot of people like to grind Hongik. You just stand there. It's a tower spot. You're chilling. No big deal, okay? Um you compare this with Jade Forest and Elvia Giants. Jade Forest and Elvia
Speaker A
Giants Elvia Giants is going to require about 100 more AP. I think the Elvia Giants requires 970 to 1,000 AP. Jade Forest and Hongik Base only require like 920 to 950, okay? So, Giants requires a little bit more AP than the other two,
Speaker A
okay? Um Jade Forest is packed to packed. So, if you're somebody that likes packed to packed mobs, you like jumping from packed to packed, or you don't want like that super boring uh tower spot kind of grind, Jade Forest
Speaker A
and Hongik Base are very close in silver per hour. Also, it's going to work you towards your uh your flame for your helmet, which you can technically just buy, but it is what it is. Um if you can grind Jade Forest at
Speaker A
like Mach 5 and you're really fast, you will outperform Hongik Base. That's why I have it above Hongik on this list. So, I you can technically do it, but it takes a lot more effort to grind Jade Forest than it does Hongik Base. That's
Speaker A
why you see people there. If you just about that really chill, I'm going to turn on Netflix or Blue Squadron video, or I'm going to watch a a stream or whatever while I grind or The Office or whatever, uh Hongik Base is definitely
Speaker A
where you want to go. And that's the spot that you're going to see most people recommend at this AP level.
Speaker A
Okay. Now, as far as your group grind zones at this AP level, you're talking about Olun's Valley. Okay? Olun's This is baseline Olun's from 1,000 to 1,030 AP.
Speaker A
And I'm going to be honest with you, I'm just going to save you the time. There's also Dekia 1 Olun's and Dekia 2 Olun's, okay? That's as you increase in AP levels. Dekia 1's Olun's is essentially completely worthless. It is
Speaker A
worthless. Don't even bother going to it. You make less money than base Olun's does. It does way more damage, and it one-shots you no matter what your gear is. So, don't bother doing Dekia 1 Olun's. Dekia 2 Olun's is actually
Speaker A
pretty solid. Okay, but Olun Olun's Valley at this AP level is pretty solid. It's about 1,000 AP required to grind at this spot. It's a three-man spot, so just bear that in mind. Your silver per hour is going to vary kind of widely uh
Speaker A
wildly depending on your experience with the spot, how good you are at pulling the mobs together and doing the mechanics. But, yeah, it's actually a really really solid uh silver per hour.
Speaker A
It is not, however, going to compete with Hongik Base, Jade Forest, and Elvia Giants, okay? So, you are going to be making less money at Oluns than the other three, but it's not like insane.
Speaker A
If you really want to grind with your friends, it is the option at this AP level. Your best EXP at this AP level is going to be Gefe Underground, okay? That's going to require about 1,000 to 1,030 AP. It's right on the
Speaker A
upper end of this cutoff, but Gefe Underground is widely known by a lot of players to be one of the very best EXP spots in the entire game. So, if you are only worried about EXP, Gefe Underground is kind of your go-to, okay? Now, that
Speaker A
doesn't mean that you're not going to make any EXP at Jade Forest or Hong Nam, but it is significantly less than Gefe Underground, but you you make more money at those zones. So, again, there is a trade-off there. All right. So, for this
Speaker A
next AP zone, I've got good news and I've got bad news. Good news, you're going to make a lot more silver per hour at this AP bracket.
Speaker A
[laughter] Bad news, there's really only one option. Oh, that sucks. Hex Marine, Hex Sanctuary, whatever you want to call it, at the 1,100 AP bracket is basically the best best silver per hour. It is not even remotely close. The next closest
Speaker A
spot at this is going to be about 400 to 500 million silver an hour less. I mean, like, totally you're making like close to, you know, 1.8 to 2 bill an hour at Hex Sanctuary. Some people are making a
Speaker A
lot more, some people are making a lot less. Um but, like, it depends on your class and how quickly you're grinding.
Speaker A
But, generally speaking, whatever you're making at Hex, just lop off like 30% of it and that's how much you're going to be making basically everywhere else. So, uh your options your other options here are Decia Sulfur, Decia Hystria, Crypt
Speaker A
of Resting Thoughts, Decia Aakman, and Decia Pila Ku. Part of the reason there's a big discrepancy at this is because all of those other spots that I just mentioned, you're either grinding for the Archaeologist Map or you're grinding for the the the compass, uh
Speaker A
like the upgraded Laffy Bed Mountains upgraded compass. Those are treasure items in the game. So, if you're really interested in grinding for treasure items, that grinding actually does open up at this AP bracket. So, you can go to
Speaker A
Drieghan Histria and grind for your compass, or you can go to Drieghan Aakman uh and grind for it there.
Speaker A
Although, you're going to get that piece pretty quick. Uh or you can go get the map. In my opinion, the map is definitely worth grinding out. So, my hot take on this uh AP zone bracket is don't necessarily focus in so much on
Speaker A
how much silver per hour you're making cuz if you do, you're going to be going to Hexe all the time. Um this is the opportunity I would tell you to go get the map. Uh because the map is actually
Speaker A
just like the most useful of all the treasure items. It's not actually required, but it's really good cuz it allows you to teleport to town and then right back to where you were before.
Speaker A
Okay? All right. So, there are no group grind zones at this AP level uh that are really going to be super great for you.
Speaker A
If you do insist on grinding in a group at like 1,000 to 1,100 AP, I strongly recommend just going to base Oluns.
Speaker A
Okay? Some people are going to tell you to go to Drieghan Oluns. Uh don't Those people are Just do the normal normal Oluns. You'll make more money. You have no risk of dying, basically. I mean, like very little risk of dying. Uh and
Speaker A
it'll just be better for you. It'll be a better experience overall. As far as experience goes, well, quite honest, just grind Hexe Marie faster. Um if you if you want to get more EXP. Uh and honestly, it's going to get a little
Speaker A
hairy into the next AP zone. So, we'll see. Okay. So, for our next 1,100 to 1,200 AP zones, your options here start to narrow dramatically. Okay?
Speaker A
Uh you have Ash Forest, like base Ash Forest. Do not go there. That is a terrible spot, but the merchant ring does drop there. So, if you're super dead set on the merchant ring, it is technically on the list at this AP
Speaker A
level. Ya Serend Highlands, Drieghan Turos, uh which is Tungrad. For those of you that don't know. Drieghan Cyclops and Drieghan Thornwood. Okay?
Speaker A
Now, we talk a lot People A lot of people like to talk about Drieghan Cyclops. It's entirely dependent on how the Dawn earring is doing. You're not going to make a super amount of money there unless the Dawn earring is doing
Speaker A
really well in the market and it's not right now. So, it's not really on the discussion list. But, if Dawn earring start doing much much better after the video comes out, remember, honestly, Loki could be pretty good. Just remember
Speaker A
that uh at Cyclops, you can get one shot, okay? So, the mobs do not mess around at Cyclops.
Speaker A
You have to do the mechanic, okay? Best two silver per hour spots here are Yazrid Highlands and Dekia Thornwood in that order. Yazrid Highlands is super chill. It's a tower-ish grind spot. We call it the oil fields, at least a lot
Speaker A
of us call it the oil fields. So, if you're a Republican or you really like drilling for oil out there, baby, Yazrid Highlands is a great zone for you, okay?
Speaker A
Um Dekia Thornwood is also phenomenal if you like packed-to-pack movement and you like to like test your classes movement, you want a little bit more of an engaging grind, uh Dekia Thornwood Actually, I'm sorry, it's not packed-to-pack. Dekia Thornwood is
Speaker A
standstill and grind. But, you do get the ominous ring, which is 180 million silver or something. It's like 120 to 180 mil on the on the marketplace, uh which is really good.
Speaker A
You get a lot of copper stones, which is really good. And around this time, you're going to be starting to work on your Dekia I mean, your sovereign offhand. So, not a bad not a bad trade-off. Also, the
Speaker A
best EXP at uh spot in this AP bracket is Dekia Thornwood. So, that's really great, too. That's really great, too.
Speaker A
And if you liked Thornwood at the previous spots, then Dekia Thornwood is a good option for you. Just understand it's a tower spot now instead of a spot-to-spot uh grind there. Uh there are no group uh grind zones at this AP
Speaker A
level, uh sadly. So, again, you're stuck with base Oluns if you want to do that.
Speaker A
And I'll be honest with you, it's so massively outclassed uh in terms of silver per hour by Yazrid Highlands and Dekia Thornwood and even Cyclops in some cases that like I don't really recommend grinding in a group at this AP level. Kind of an
Speaker A
oversight by the developers, if I'm being honest. All right. Welcome to the 1,200 to 1,300 AP zones, where you're going to be grinding the exact same zones that you were grinding previously, okay? Um, Yaz rid I spelled it wrong this time, but it's
Speaker A
oil fields, okay? Yaz rid Highlands is still the best silver per hour at the 1200 to 1300 AP zones. The only two new zones that you get between 1200 to 1300 AP are Quint Hill, which is trolls, and
Speaker A
City of the Dead. City of the Dead is, um, honestly that's where dreams go to die. That's why they call it City of the Dead. It's City of the Dead dreams because you're going to want to kill yourself in game, uh, while you're
Speaker A
grinding there. It's kind of miserable. Uh, that being said, the telescope does drop there, but thoughts and prayers if you want to go grind that spot for that.
Speaker A
Uh, the Quint Hill is actually not bad. It's actually on par, uh, with these. So, I'll actually throw it on here, okay?
Speaker A
But, it's still it's comparable to Drieghan Thornwood. It's comp it's comparable to Yaz rid Highlands, but it's honestly going to one shot you if you don't do the mechanic properly, and that's why a lot of people don't like grinding Quint. Quint can, however,
Speaker A
massively overtake the other two depending on the price of those yellow eggs. What are those things called again? Depending on the price of crystallized despairs, okay? Quint Hill can be a lot more silver per hour than the other two,
Speaker A
but it's rare. It's rare, but I would be looking at the I'd be looking at the market to kind of check, um, on those things. But, if you really want to change of pace, Quint Hill is not bad. Uh, you just need to
Speaker A
make sure that you do the mechanic properly and that you're frontal guarding at the right times, okay? As far as group grind zones, it's the exact same. Olun's one is the only group grind zone available even through this AP
Speaker A
bracket. It's absolutely miserable. I'm sorry. I don't know what the developers are thinking. It is what it is. As far as the best, uh, EXP per hour, again it's Drieghan Thornwood. Quint Hill's EXP per hour is atrocious. So, you're
Speaker A
going to be going back to Drieghan Thornwood for that. All right. So, for 1300 to 1400 AP zones, this is where it's really going to be This is your first experience.
Speaker A
Honestly, it's a huge upgrade in silver per hour over the previous zones. So, once you kind of hit the I think Tungrad Ruins is 1365 to 1395. Yeah. 1365 to 1395 AP bracket, um that, bro, is a huge
Speaker A
cutoff. Massive massive cutoff. Dekia Crescents is an option here. Dekia 1 Ash Forest is an option here.
Speaker A
Dekia 1 Oluns, which we talked about, don't do that. Um is an option here. And Dekia Cadry Ruins is an option here. The reason that I only have Tungrad Ruins listed is because it literally makes like 40% more silver per hour than any
Speaker A
of the other closest spots. Uh for a number of reasons, okay? So, you're going to Tungrad Ruins, okay? For party grind zones, you are unironically better off grinding Tungrad Ruins in a party than you are grinding Oluns like
Speaker A
the the base Oluns at this AP level. Not even joking. Um it is not a party grind zone. Do not do it. But, if you really want to grind with your friend, then just grind with your friend at Tungrad and you'll just
Speaker A
make half as much silver, but it still will be more than Dekia Oluns will, okay? EXP, just grind Tungrad Ruins. I don't know how else I can say this at this point. You're going to be going to Tungrad Ruins. That's That's basically
Speaker A
just how this AP bracket works, okay? So like Yeah, it was rough before. You could only really grind Yaazrid for a for a long time. Now you're at Tungrad and life is good.
Speaker A
Okay, so now we're at the 1,400 to 1,500 AP zones, okay? And the spots that open up here are Dokeebi Forest, Fortunate Pig Cave, Dark Seekers' Retreat, and Dekia Oluns, uh two.
Speaker A
Okay. Uh the top two here are Tungrad Ruins and Dark Seekers' Retreat. It is not close, okay? Dark Seekers' Retreat and Tungrad Ruins make very similar amounts of silver per hour. So, if you're absolutely sick of Tungrad Ruins at this
Speaker A
point, you can go to Dark Seekers Retreat and you will find similar silver per hour there. The other telescope piece does drop from Dark Seekers, so that's really good. Uh you can go there.
Speaker A
Dokkebi Forest is a really relaxed grind, but it is pretty significantly There's kind of a gap here between these two.
Speaker A
Not to be understated though, Dokkebi is probably the most relaxed, easiest grind zone in the whole game. So, if you're okay making a few hundred mil less silver per hour, Dokkebi Forest is a fantastic spot and it's definitely
Speaker A
probably third on this list for sure, okay? The Pig Caves, fortunate and unfortunate Pig Caves. Fortunate Pig Cave is not open all the time, so it's very difficult to kind of put it on the list as that like the top three. I know
Speaker A
I put Night Sherakon on the list before, but like Fortunate Pig Cave is kind of difficult to hit, but if you can hit it, it's it's pretty solid. I would say that it's up there with Dokkebi right in there, but I would still say
Speaker A
you're probably still making less than Dark Seekers or Tungrad, and you can grind those all the time, so not really super great.
Speaker A
Unfortunate Pig Cave Hey, dude, it's pretty good. It's pretty good. It's probably It's below Dokkebi though. It's below Dokkebi though.
Speaker A
Um EXP, Dark Seekers Retreat EXP, don't be sleeping on it. Don't be sleeping on it.
Speaker A
It's pretty good. It's pretty good. If you want to grind at a party, it's definitely definitely Dekia Oluns 2.
Speaker A
That's the big change at this AP zone level is that you can go from grinding base Oluns and skip all the way to Dekia 2 Oluns.
Speaker A
It's a three-man spot. It's pretty darn good, and the merchant ring drops there. It's not going to be comparable to Tungrad Ruins or Dark Seekers. You're definitely going to be making pretty substantially less money, but you do get
Speaker A
to grind at a party, and it's not a complete grief, so there is that.
Speaker A
All right, so now you're moving to the 1500 to 1600 AP zones, and I'll be honest with you, it's probably been quite a trek to go from, you know, like the 12 or the 1300, you know, I'm grinding Tungrad all the way up to the
Speaker A
15 to 1600. This is a grind. You're in the thick of it here. Fortunately, Orzekia opens up for you at this AP level, and Orzekia is a massive increase in silver per hour here. Orzekia gaps Dark Seekers Retreat and Tongue Rad
Speaker A
Ruins on most days in terms of how much silver per hour you're making there. It is going to be harder, but it's going to be a change of pace. You're probably going to like it a lot more. I know I
Speaker A
love Orzekia. It's super great. Um the only thing Orzekia is not very good at is E X P. Not super great at E X P, and I've gotten a decent amount of it. Um now, your other options here are Decatia
Speaker A
Ash Forest 2, which kind of sucks. It used to be a lot better. Now, it's not super great.
Speaker A
Um Unfortunate Pig Cave uh is in this in the in this running. Again, the Pig Caves, you're comparing them to like Orzekia.
Speaker A
But, apparently, Fortunate Pig Cave is open all the time now, so you can just go into the do the fortunate one. But, again, comparing it to Orzekia, it's really not even remotely close. You also have Decatia Mirumok at this level.
Speaker A
You also have Decatia Mirumok at this level, okay? And I Forgive me. I I I I had Owens 2 down there uh from before there. Uh and you also have a Ferrion Castle. Now, a Ferrion Castle is the
Speaker A
very first Adonnis zone. So, I don't think that you can really just go to Orzekia and kind of write it off here.
Speaker A
Yes, it's the most silver per hour by a landslide, but the problem here is that uh Ferrion Castle really opens up the later grind zones in the game because you can start grinding for your Adonnis crystal Adonnia crystals there, uh which
Speaker A
are going to help you get more Adonnia damage, which are going to help you reach the higher end Adonnia zones faster, which are the best grind zones in the game. So, you are going to have to go to a Ferrion
Speaker A
probably for a little bit. Now, what some people do is they go to Orzekia and they just keep getting gear. And then they'll go to Nymphamir Castle, which is the next step up. Uh they'll go a little bit early like before they're supposed
Speaker A
to and they'll grief themselves a little bit, but they'll get the Nymph Amear uh crystal and kind of skip Aakman altogether.
Speaker A
That's totally doable. Uh Aakman is not very good silver per hour, but it is the best EXP uh at this particular uh AP bracket, so bear that in mind. Uh party zone, Decia Mirumok opens up at this AP
Speaker A
level and it's actually pretty darn good. It's not going to be making as much as much as Rasekiya is, but it's actually really really solid. The drops are good there uh and I would say that it makes competitive silver uh at this
Speaker A
AP level, so you do have an option. It's a three-party grind zone, so you can go check that out.
Speaker A
Okay, so now we're graduating up graduating up to the 1600 to 1700 AP zones. Now you're a big boy. You've got some big dick upgrades.
Speaker A
You're getting close to the end game at this point. You're pushing your way through the end of the mid game grind.
Speaker A
It was kind of a slog, but now you're here, okay? Uh Nymph Amear castle opens up for you, so it's the best solo spot in terms of uh silver per hour at this AP bracket level, okay? But technically Gyfin Upper
Speaker A
currently is better silver than Nymph Amear is. I do expect that to change uh over time over the next couple of months here uh as people grind the spot a little bit more, but hey, it's very very competitive at this point. But remember,
Speaker A
it's Gyfin Upper Decia, not the not the one we talked about before like the baseline one, okay? Um EXP, okay?
Speaker A
Technically, Gyfin Underground and get a Decia Mirumok are both really solid EXP. I've been told that Decia Mirumok is better than Gyfin Upper, but they're both pretty solid for EXP, so you know, you're you're splitting hairs here, but
Speaker A
technically Decia Mirumok is what I've been told is technically better. Now, you have two options for party zones here, Mirumok or Gyfin. You can go to whichever one is kind of open or whichever one you prefer to go to. Gyfin
Speaker A
just makes more money and you're still going to be getting it, right? From 1700 to 1800s, you're now into the end game of Black Desert Online, so welcome. Also, go back because it's going to kill you. It's going to hurt.
Speaker A
Orbit highest DPS mobs in the game coupled with uh so a lot of DP debuffs makes that spot the most dangerous grind location in Black Desert Online, period dot. Okay? Now, they've made The devs have made a couple steps to try to make
Speaker A
it less dangerous, but it's still easily the scariest grind zone in the game, especially at nighttime, so be very, very careful grinding there. That being said, it is definitely the best silver per hour.
Speaker A
If you want to risk it, it's definitely best silver per hour here. Otherwise, you could just go back to Nymph Mire, you can go back to Upper Gyfin. That works. As far as EXP in party, nothing has changed.
Speaker A
Uh Mirumok and Gyfin are both your party grind zones. Both of them are three-man spots, and both of them uh make EXP.
Speaker A
Again, I was told that Mirumok makes more than Gyfin, but the spot's basically just came out, so uh take that with a grain of salt.
Speaker A
Okay, one point to add on that is Orbit is actually kind of goated on EXP, uh but again, I think it's two steps forward, one step back because you're probably going to die a lot, which is going to lose you EXP. So, make sure
Speaker A
you're using your tears, in which case you know, you should be okay, but it is really good on EXP, too. But again, you got to risk it to get the biscuit.
Speaker A
Okay, welcome to the 1800 to 1900 AP zones, where your options again are narrowing substantially. But fortunately, you've reached Tenebrous, which is a super fun grind uh to do.
Speaker A
I've done a lot of Tenebrous grind. Uh it is not nearly as much EXP as Orbit is, but it's much safer to do. You're still at risk of dying, but like honestly, if you're paying attention, you should be just fine. Tenebrous makes
Speaker A
a lot of silver per hour at this AP level. The party zone that also opens up at this spot is called Dark Energy Floodlands. There's technically three types different types that you can do, and right now I think the red uh
Speaker A
Yeah, the red the Great Red Sea one is technically the best silver of the three of them.
Speaker A
So, yeah, take that for what it's worth, but it could change because they that spot literally just came out. They could be buffing it. We're not sure yet. It's still in kind of adjustment phase, but it's a really solid spot. A lot of
Speaker A
people have been complaining about it, but to be honest with you, it makes less money than Tenebrous, but it is competitive for this AP level. So, if you want to go there as a party, you can absolutely go there. As far as EXP goes,
Speaker A
again, you're stuck at Orbis if you really want to pump EXP, but again, you're risking it to get the biscuit there. You can also go to the group spots, Dekia and Mirumok or Gyfin Upper are also really solid for EXP as
Speaker A
well. So, you can choose to go to those spots. Okay, and welcome to the tippity top tier. You are the no lifing end game giga chad alpha male dick hanging out of your pants.
Speaker A
AP brackets. Okay. Currently, the best zone in the entire game, it is not close, is Sycraia's Castle.
Speaker A
Okay. So, if you're just trying to make silver, Sycraia's Castle kind of pumps. With the addition of the new sovereign like dyes and like the the armor dyes and stuff, uh it's huh bro, you're talking about five bill, six bill an
Speaker A
hour there. It's it it's insane. It's as long as you have Agris. Uh Star's End is also really good, but I'm going to warn you that Star's End is very scary. Those mobs are spooky. If you're one shotting
Speaker A
them and you're and you're pushing through and you're locked in and you're making sure you kill them before the mobs get up, you're totally fine, but that's how Star's End works is everything's fine until it's not. Uh the
Speaker A
if the mobs stand up, they will two shot your frontal guard and then two shot you. You have maybe four auto attacks before you're dead, and that's with end game gear. So, just be aware, okay? But that being said, it's really good silver
Speaker A
per hour. Uh Sycraia underwater is also phenomenal, and I would say in my opinion, it's my preference of the three spots. It does make less money than Zephyrus uh and technically a little less money than uh Star's End does, but
Speaker A
you're absolutely no risk of dying at Sycraia Underwater. It's a super safe grind zone. Uh I mean, unless you go AFK. If you go AFK or you just like take your hands off the keyboard for like 30 seconds,
Speaker A
you're probably going to die. But, like for the most part, Sycraia Underwater is really chill. It does make a lot of money. So, if you're looking for a relaxed grind, ironically enough, it is not the tower spot, which is normally
Speaker A
what we would say is you would just go to the tower spot if you want to relax grind.
Speaker A
No. That In that case, Zephyrus Zephyrus does a lot of damage. If you're not paying attention, you will die. Uh but, in terms of safety, I would say it's Sycraia Underwater, then Zephyrus, then Star's End in terms of how much risk
Speaker A
you're putting yourself at. In terms of how much silver, Zephyrus, Star's End, Sycraia. So, it's entirely what you want to prioritize there. Uh Sycraia also does drop like a crazy amount of magical shards uh through the sealed black
Speaker A
crystals, which is insane and some people need a lot of those. Everybody needs a lot of those, so that's really good. So, if you need those, uh that's where I would go.
Speaker A
As far as EXP goes, pretty much all these spots are really good for EXP. Uh Orbit is still technically kind of edges them out, but I'm going to be honest with you, you're making a pretty good EXP at all these spots uh in addition to
Speaker A
the silver per hour that you're making. I've heard that Sycraia Underwater is really, really good for EXP. I've grinded like I don't know, 20 or 30 hours here. I have not been tracking my EXP though, so I can't tell you
Speaker A
necessarily which one is is going to be better, but they're all pretty solid uh for EXP at this level.
Speaker A
Uh so, you can kind of take your choice. Uh as far as party goes, you only have one option. It's the Dark Energy Floodlands uh and it's not going to feel very good because when you compare that silver That's why people say that it's
Speaker A
really bad is because all the end game players are like, "Hm, I can grind at Zephyrus uh and make like a billion silver per hour more than I can grind than I can make at Dark Energy any of the Dark
Speaker A
Energy Floodlands spots." Uh kind of rough, right? So, like as you get into the end game, there's really not much of an option here. We're hoping that they buff at least some of the Dark Energy Floodlands so that, you know, it can be
Speaker A
at least close to them, but like they don't want to make it too much above 10 from there. But guys, uh that's going to be all of the AP zones currently in the game. I'm going to keep this guide
Speaker A
completely up to date for you guys. It would mean a lot to me uh if you like and subscribe, leave a comment down below um and for the algorithm, helps tremendously. But uh yeah, I'm going to be updating this guide every three or
Speaker A
four months or so uh to make sure that it's completely up to date. That being said, um remember the link in the video description to the Google Doc is there or the the Google Excel spreadsheet is there if you want to look at it. Uh it
Speaker A
will list I'll keep it up to date. It'll say when it's listed and it'll highlight all of the best zones in the game for you at your particular AP level. So it'll have notes there as uh things get
Speaker A
adjusted. So if you want like the real-time updates for what the best grind zones in the game are, I'll try to keep that uh spreadsheet up to date for you. It's in the link to the video description, so check that out. I'll
Speaker A
catch you guys in the next guide. Peace.
Topics:Black Desert OnlineBDO 2026grind spotsattack powersilver per hourexperience per hourAP capgrinding guideBDO grindingBDO endgame











