Black Desert STILL Doesn't Teach You These Things in 2026

What is going on, everyone, and welcome back to another Black Desert video. So today, I want to answer or at least try to give my take on one of the more popular questions that I get and the concerns of Black Desert, which is Black Desert is kind of overwhelming and people have no idea what to do. So I wanted to break this down into like four categories. One being gearing, which is, you know, what most are just trying to get the best gear in the game, whether you're a PvEer, PvPer. Life skilling is another branch of gameplay, which people think is kind of like side quest, but it's really just the kind of the same thing except you're doing something else like generic life skills in a way. And what has changed over the 10 years that people think is confusing and it's just too much to learn. Combat with 31 classes is probably overwhelming to people when they see a game with a lot of classes. That's a big concern with balance, but that's another topic in general. But anyway, so yeah, I wanted to talk about what it's like in 2026. Black Desert still doesn't tell you what to do, how to go about doing anything. So I'm just kind of breaking down what is Black Desert in a way just because a lot of people have asked for that. So, let's start with gearing because I think that one is the most important thing. Gearing in this game is not just getting to max level and doing the final dungeons and raids like your traditional MMOs because those are the ones where you can just go from zero to the end in like two or three weeks and you're already caught up. Now, Black Desert is one of those things where you can gear in multiple different ways. And whether you're a PvPer, PvPer, life skiller, there's different builds and everything, but I would say they all kind of connect in a way that you would use one thing to connect to another. So, like if you get normal PvE gear, you can use that for PvP in a way. There are small changes like crystals that you make your artifacts, stones, and everything, but for the most part, it's not as complicated when you're going into PvE to PvP just because there's only minor changes, but the gear itself is the same. Whereas, if you come into this game playing and you want to be a life skiller, that's what you do. You like crafting, you like gathering, cooking, and all the traditional stuff that you see in other games. Yeah, that's basically like playing a different game itself. You could do both of them and not have it affect it. But gearing is like two separate ways and two separate paths for life skillers and PvEers, PvPers. And so, yeah, it's kind of one of those things where I think most people come into the game expecting to, you know, do everything, which you can, but you know, it breaks down into gear, what you do differently. So, what I would say, my recommendation is find something you enjoy doing and add on top of that. So, like for example, you started the game with your friend and you want to get levels and you want to get the most gear and then later on you're like, "Oh, there's life skills. I should do that and supplement my silver or the amount of money you get and do both of them." I think that's what most people do in this game. But it doesn't tell you that in Black Desert. You just kind of have to figure this out all yourself. And I can see why that's overwhelming. Next, we're going to talk about life skilling and crafting. For all of you who come into the game because you like the chill aspect of the game and I know a lot of traditional MMOs, a lot of these like cooking, alchemy are just kind of side activities that you do when you need buffs for your main activities like raiding or dungeons. It's kind of that in a small portion, but life skilling in general is like playing a different game than a lot of other people because Black Desert did a really good job at connecting all the life skills in one way or another because let's say you're gathering materials, you use that for cooking, alchemy, processing, and you know, if you do fishing, you could cook that, which it sounds easy, but then when you it's easy to learn and hard to master. But I think if you enjoy doing those things, Black Desert actually does a really good job because one, they have leaderboards in this game for that and that keeps everyone competitive. The market is pretty healthy. So like you find something you think is profitable. You do that and then you find something new. And then the whole system of all the recipes and cooking things you can do is actually very complicated overall. And it's easy in a way because like you can look at all these and be like, "Okay, so I just gather this and then make all these different things." And it looks simple. But if you like the whole complex aspect of, you know, potion crafting or elixir crafting and all that stuff and that interests you, yeah, you can definitely do that for games and gear as well. So, I think that's a good way to look at it as well. Fishing, you know, every game has fishing, but for some reason BDO is kind of like they're trying to make that competitive, which I think is a good thing to be honest. It's kind of fun. If you plan on doing there's a lot of different kinds of fish to do and it's not just oh generic, you know, press two buttons, which most people do. You just go AFK, but there's active fishing in there which is interesting of itself. But yeah, there's a lot of different things you can do. One thing that I think is unique in Black Desert in terms of life skilling is sailing and bartering. Now, there's a lot of games that have ocean content, but it's all very generic. And in Black Desert, it's kind of more open in a way. The ocean's actually pretty big in general. There's a lot of stuff you can do. Trading, bartering, and building your own ship is probably the biggest accomplishment you can say you did. And then just going out into the ocean, fighting sea monsters, and everything. That's pretty cool, right? So yeah, I would say of all of the different life skills in the game that we currently have, sailing and bartering is probably the most unique in a way and then everything else is a pretty good supplement to what else you're doing. So once again, you know how like PvE, PvP, you have your main gear, if you do life skills, you can supplement that silver and connect it. Or if you're just a straight up life skiller, you have your own set of gear, which is always good. So just multiple different ways of playing the game. And life skilling is actually more complicated than it seems. The next one I want to talk about is the combat in this game. People are saying it's very complicated and right now there's 31 different classes and I can see that because I always had the mindset of the more classes in the game you have, I think it makes it unique and cool, but it makes it extremely hard to balance. And that's another story. Balance of BDO in itself, but I like the idea of most people playing whatever they enjoy playing. There's always going to be those people who reroll to the meta or flavor of the month, which I don't think that's a bad thing. It's just I wish sometimes less is more where I wish they had more balance more than more variety, which I think that's a hot topic. People have different opinions, but I guess ultimately at the end of the day, play what you enjoy. Combat in this game, I think, is probably one of the best. Every skill looks flashy. No matter what class you play, you're probably going to have a good time. I truly believe that the combat in Black Desert is probably one of the better ones of all the MMOs I've played in, you know, the past like 20 years or something. So yeah, it's something you just I would recommend finding a class you enjoy, whether it's meta or not, and then you will get burnt out less because you enjoy grinding or doing whatever on your class that you always do. So yeah, 31.

what to do. So I wanted to break this down into like four categories. One being like gearing, which is, you know, what most are. just trying to get the best gear in the game, whether you're a PvEer, PvPer, life skilling is another branch of gameplay, which people think

is kind of like side quest, but it's really just the kind of the same thing except you're doing something else like generic life skills in a way. And what has changed over the 10 years that people think is confusing and it's just too much to learn. combat with

31 classes is probably overwhelming to people when they see a game with a lot of classes.

That's a big concern with balance, but that's another topic in general. But anyway, so yeah, I wanted to talk about what it's like in 2026. Black Desert still doesn't tell you what to do, how to go about doing anything. So I'm just kind of breaking down what is Black Desert in a way

just because a lot of people have asked for that. So, let's start with gearing because I think that one is the most important thing. Gearing in this game is not just getting to max level and doing the final dungeons and raids like your traditional MMOs because those are the ones where

you can just go from zero to the end in like two or 3 weeks and you're already caught up. Now, Black Desert is one of those things where you can gear in multiple different ways. And whether you're a PvPer, PvPer, life skiller, there's different builds and everything, but I would

say they all kind of connect in a way that you would use one thing to connect to another. So, like if you get normal PvE gear, you can use that for PvP in a way. Uh there are small changes

like crystals that you make your artifacts, stones, and everything, but for the most part, it's not as complicated when you're going into PvE to PvP just because there's only minor changes, but the gear itself is the same. Whereas, if you come into this game playing and you want

to be a life skiller, that's what you do. you like you like crafting, um you like gathering, cooking, and all the traditional stuff that you see in other games. Yeah, that's basically like playing a different game itself. You could do both of them and not have it affect it. But gearing is

like two separate ways and two separate paths for life skillers and PVEers, PvPers. And so, yeah, it's kind of one of those things where I think most people come into the game expecting to, you know, do everything, which you can, but you know, it breaks down into gear,

what you do differently. So, what I would say, my recommendation is find something you enjoy doing and add on top of that. So, like for example, you you started the game with your friend and you want to get levels and you want to get the most gear and then later on you're like,

"Oh, there's life skills. I should do that and supplement my silver or the amount of money you get and do both of them." I think that's what most people do in this game. But it doesn't tell you that in Black Desert. You just kind of have to figure this out all yourself. And I can see why

that's overwhelming. Next, we're going to talk about life skilling and crafting. For all of you who come into the game because you like the chill aspect of the game and I know a lot of traditional MMOs, a lot of these like cooking, alchemy are just kind of side activities that you do when you

need buffs for your main activities like raiding or dungeons. It's kind of that in a small portion, but life skilling in general is like playing a different game than a lot of other people because Black Desert did a really good job at connecting all the life skills in one way or another because

let's say you're gathering materials, you use that for cooking, alchemy, processing, and you know, if you do fishing, you could cook that, which it sounds easy, but then when you it's easy to learn and hard to faster. But I think if you enjoy doing those things, Black Desert actually does a really

good job because one, they have leaderboards in this game for that and that keeps everyone competitive. The market is pretty healthy. So like you find something you think is profitable. You do that and then you find something new. And then the whole system of all the recipes and

cooking things you can do is actually very complicated overall. And it's easy in a way cuz like you can look at all these and be like, "Okay, so I just gather this and then make all these different things." And it looks simple. But if you like the whole complex aspect of,

you know, potion crafting or elixir crafting and all that stuff and that interests you, yeah, it's you you can definitely do that for games and gear as well. So, I think that's a good way to look at it as well. Fishing, you know, every game has fishing, but for some reason

BDO is kind of like they're trying to make that competitive, which I think is a good thing to be honest. is kind of fun. if you plan on doing there's a lot of different kinds of fish to do

and it's not just oh generic, you know, press two buttons uh which most people do. You just go AFK, but there's active fishing in there which is uh interesting of itself. But yeah, there's a lot of different things you can do. one thing that I think is unique in Black Desert in terms of life

skilling is sailing and bartering. Now, there's a lot of games that have ocean content, but it's all very generic. And in Black Desert, it's kind of more open in a way. The ocean's actually pretty big in general. There's a lot of stuff you can do. Trading, bartering, and building your own ship is

probably the biggest accomplishment you can say you did. And then just going out into the ocean, fighting sea monsters, and everything. That's pretty cool, right? So yeah, I would say of all of the different life skills in the game that we currently have, sailing and bartering is probably

the most unique in a way and then everything else is a pretty good supplement to what else you're doing. So once again, you know how like PvE, PvP, you have your main gear, if you do life skills, you can supplement that silver and connect it. Or if you're just a straight up life skiller,

you have your own set of gear, which is always good. so just multiple different ways of playing the game. and life skilling is actually more complicated than it seems. The next one I want to talk about is the combat in this game. People are saying it's very complicated

and right now there's 31 different classes and I can see that because I always had the mindset of the more classes in the game you have, I think it makes it unique and cool, but it makes it extremely hard to balance. And that's another story. balance of BDO in itself, but I like

the idea of most people playing whatever they enjoy playing. There's always going to be those people who reroll to the meta of Flavor of Demon, which I don't think that's a bad thing. It's just I wish sometimes less is more where I wish they had more balance more than more variety,

which I think that's a hot topic. People have different opinions, but I guess ultimately at the end of the day, play what you enjoy. Combat in this game, I think, is probably one of the best. Every skill looks flashy. No matter what class you play, you're probably going to have

a good time. I truly believe that the combat in Black Desert is probably one of the better ones of all the MMOs I've played in, you know, the past like 20 years or something. So yeah, it's something you just I would recommend finding a class you enjoy, whether it's meta or not, and

then you will get burnt out less because you enjoy grinding or doing whatever on your class that you always do. So yeah, 31 classes, find something you enjoy. You could try all the characters, you know, whether you have a trial character, which they give you preset gear and everything,

you could just try to class out or, you know, you could just make a character and buy the character slots and everything. There's always a benefit of having a lot of different characters besides just playing it. It has like you could move your characters from point A to point B

to all the different world bosses. It saves you time. But ultimately, when people ask me, "What class should I play?" I just kind of like ask people, "What is your play style?" And then I could narrow it down and point you in the right direction. But at the end of the day, I would just

find something instead of me just telling you what the meta classes are and then you just hate it.

So yeah, it's one of those things where combat is very complex in this game. I think Pearlis struggles at balancing it. I don't know how they come up with some some of these numbers, ultimately if you're just not PvPing and you don't care about that at all, all you care about is PvE

grinding, I think you'll have a good time for the most part. Most classes are pretty good. And even if it's not, you're it's not too far down the ladder of others. But regardless, combat good, balanced, questionable, and ultimately just find something you like. So, the last thing I want to

talk about is people complain that in 10 years of Black Desert being out, at least here on NA and EU, I think it's 12 years on Korea and 10 for the American and European servers.

There's just a lot of things to learn because, you know, there's a lot of different game modes, which I think is good, but it's overwhelming to newer players. different PvP modes, a lot of different grind spots. So, what I would recommend doing, there's a thing called the

Monster Zone info. If you enjoy PvEing, you just basically filter it by your AP number over here and you just find whatever AP you're at and then try different spots and then see which one gives you the most silver or what you enjoy grinding. Usually my recommendation as someone who's tried

literally every spot in the game is even if a spot gives you a little bit less silver than the other, find something you enjoy going to more because you will feel like you're having fun and not burning out just pushing the midmax. I know some people do that. It is what it is. But, you know, in 10 years

I haven't particularly burned myself out just because I just do different things every day.

Um, everyone who enjoys questing and knowledge, I would recommend doing your adventure logs. This is probably one of the more confusing things for most people just because they don't all unlock at first. You kind of have to do quests and then it unlocks another journal at a time. So,

what I would recommend doing is here adventure log. It gives total family stats and basically that means you're having you get an advantage over people who are new. So let's say you make your character, you do these adventure logs, right? This gives accountwide stats. So let's

say you make another character, you're going to have that plus, you know, x amount of stats over someone else who made a new character and you're, let's say you're both like level one, you're going to have these bonuses. So this is something I think is important. I'd recommend doing like the

Igor Barali one. This is probably the first one you unlock. Everything else is a bunch of side quests and like quests or main story that you'll do at the same time. So, you guys just unlock that at the same time. if I was a new player, what would I do? Go to your quest tab. Just do

everything in your main tab and then experience the story once because it unlocks a bunch of different things. without spoilers, of course. uh progressing through the story unlocks more areas and quests and stuff you can do in the game. So yeah, I'd recommend a main story and

then there are some suggested. I would not really worry about these until you think it's a problem.

So, let's say, for example, you're a new player and you want to get more inventory because you've found out you ran out of it or something. There are a bunch of quests that you can increase your inventory. There are some quests that you can get like a free pet or two. Usually, a lot of these

are kind of irrelevant, so I would hold off on them until you think you are going to do something and actually then you start doing it. but if you're if you enjoy questing, just do everything at the end of the day. Like that's what it is. Reoccurring is just weekly and daily quests. So

um just find the things once again that you enjoy doing. And then new is a current events that are going on. So let me try to explain it to a new player. What what does Spio feel like? If you were

to start the game today, what would I do? One, do your main quest line. that'll just get you caught up more or less and then unlock everything you can in the game. While you are doing that, I would do adventure logs uh right here and then start with the Igor Barali just to get your family

fame bonus up. This one probably will take you a little bit of time just because these aren't the most obvious things. I know they like made it easier over time and then it tells you what to do and then you go talk to the NPC. There's a bunch of guides on the internet just telling you what

to do these days. So, just recommend doing that. Aside from that, if you're thinking about, oh, I want to do everything in the game, I would work on your main gear for PvE and PvP, or even if you

don't PvP, just PvE grinding gear, and then find a life skill or two that you enjoy doing first.

I know there's a lot of them. Find one you enjoy and then as you get better at it, add another one on top of it. and then another one just because if you try to learn everything at once it just

gets confusing overwhelming. So just start with uh small steps one at a time keep adding to it.

Same with you know gearing. If you're confused with gearing in general that's another story.

But what I'd recommend is working on one piece at a time because people who are like oh I want this upgrade and then this upgrade and then this upgrade. It gets a lot to remember. So just work on generally one piece of gear at a time like weapons or armors at a time and then everything

else. It's a little bit more complicated than that and I have videos of that. I'll leave a link in description if you care whether you're a returning player or not. But anyway, yeah, just focus on one thing at a time. Once you completed the story uh and then you have you're just kind of grinding

or doing whatever life skilling then I would work on you know look at events. These are obviously limited time things that happen and just find out what's happening in the games. Look under your suggested reoccurring and new. Do those and you're basically good to go. So yeah, I see how in 10

years of Black Desert, things are very confusing. People get lost. You just kind of learn it that the game doesn't tell you anything. It's just like here, put you in the world, figure it out. That's how I learned when I started the game when it came out. So happily, I'm happy to make guides and help

people, you know, point you in the right direction because I know this game is overwhelming. So yeah, if you have any questions, feel free to drop in the comments or you could join the Discord. I have a question for or I have a channel for questions, help desk, gearing, life skills. If you need help

with anything, happy to help you guys with that. So anyway, I just wanted to break it down. Black Desert still doesn't tell you how to play the game. You just kind of have to figure it out.

but if I was a new player, those are the four things I would work on. gearing, life skills to combat and just learning how to do like the story and everything else. So, that's the those are the four important things that I wanted to talk about. And if you enjoyed it, maybe I'll do

a part two. There's a lot of things I could talk about in this game, but I didn't want to make like a three-hour video. So, anyway, thanks so much for watching. If you're new to the channel, hit that subscribe button. We talk about a lot of current events in the game, as well as, you know,

whatever is new and what's happening. And yeah, with that said, I'll see you guys tomorrow. Peace.