Black Desert Analysis Online
After a long time watching parade Theme Park alternatives in the MMO market, Black Desert finally proposes something different, with dreamy graphics.
Introduction to the Analysis
Those of us who have been involved in the MMO for many years , those who have known the origins outside of the original MUDs, with those Everques t, City of Heroes, Ultima Online, Lineage and the rest of the members that formed the foundations of the genre at the end of the 90s, we have perhaps a somewhat different version of what we wanted and expected for the future. The MMORPG seemed like a natural extension to expand the borders of the RPG in general: great worlds, the possibility of forging a story of its own together or against other human beings, enjoying the necessary elements that make up the drama and comedy of playing the role of table ... It was a natural extension of that digital life that promised the network of networks, persistent massive worlds in which our actions could leave a trace to be contemplated by future travelers.
But somewhere along the way, that dream changed. More people entered the genre, Blizzard did a magnificent job distilling some of the essential elements of the genre and wrapping it in an irresistible presentation package. A design current was generated based on the challenge and the merits, mixing with those previous elements, forming an explosive formula that accommodated millions of players, but which oriented the genre to constant and directed adventure: missions, dungeons, raids by On top of commerce, houses or the freedom and uncertainty of being able to do what you want. It began to draw a clear dividing line: Sandbox (with Eve Online as a great and somewhat solitary referent), and Theme Park (associated with all titles similar to World of Warcraft). Openness and linearity -relatively speaking-, face to face.
It has always been suspected that it was in the sandbox where the true potential was and that the Theme Park did not look too much like each other, but even so, the money was in WoW, so most of them have thrown themselves into that segment. Those suspicions were partly supported by the incredible success of Minecraft, which is not technically an MMO but has shared elements and can be considered a child of that concept of being in the world and leave your mark on it - especially in its multiplayer facet - . But by then, the genre in its more traditional conception accumulated several corpses on the ground, and a new hen of the golden eggs had been raised in the form of MOBAs and competitive online games.
That's why it's so weird to get in front of Black Desertand find an authentic sandbox in the middle of 2016, coming from a land like Korea that does not stand out precisely because of its incursions in this style. But here it is, a completely open game that throws overboard many of the concepts to which we are accustomed in recent years in terms of progression, development, mission design, levels, trade and crafting. There are familiar elements, certain basic concepts shared, but the truth is that prior knowledge of the genre can lead to misunderstandings and confusing first hours if it is your first sandbox (although those who do have experience in that kind of games will not have it easy either).
Part of this is an atypical and interesting design that will change our priorities and open the range of possibilities that we will have in our progression. But part of this is also the fault of the game itself and its clumsy way of exposing the different options, a whole maremagnum of possibilities stacked on top of each other that many times we will not know what they are for or how they are used until long after having found them. first time. The truth is that the principles can be devastating: the beginning of the story is confusing, the screen is full of information that we do not know how to interpret, the map is full of symbols that we find strange and also talking to the NPCs does not help too much , presenting us with a multitude of options that we do not know how or in what order to undertake.
Start of the game
That's why, and this is more advice than a part of the analysis , one of the first things we have to do in Black Desertis to focus and decide what we want to do. We have the option to consider a traditional development, from 1 to 50, following combat missions and history or farming on our own if we wish, but this is only a small part of the game. Instead, or in addition, we can devote ourselves simply to develop tasks such as fishing, trade, the management of our workers and the processing of our products, among other activities, and the game will not put any obstacle to it. If we want to dedicate ourselves from the beginning simply to fishing, it is feasible and a main activity with its own development, that will take us from walking on foot along coast and rivers trying to look for areas rich in fish, to mount our own boat to get into the sea and get superior fishing with which to start a thriving fish business. That is why it is important to focus initially on one thing and not become overly burdened trying to do everything at once; As we become more comfortable and learn a little more about how things work, we will have numerous options to alternate and perform several activities at once.
Lessons
Before all this we must choose a class among all available. One of the many good things about Black Desert is having a class systemquite varied and very flexible game system in order to have alternative characters. The set of movements and skills of the different classes is very varied, with own and spectacular animations and with a good branch of builds that allow us to pose our characters in different ways: distance or melee, more or less mobility, more or less power, greater or lesser ability to annul our rivals, more or less defense ... depending on the type of class we are open several alternatives with which we can play at pleasure. In addition, a part of the knowledge and experience accumulated with a character are shared with the following, so if leveling up a class for the first time is relatively fast, uploading a second is still faster. To this we must add the theme of the itemization, that does not work as in other members of the genre: here we have few possibilities of weapons and equipment, which however we can expand at will, so it is possible that a set that you get at the low level is everything you have for the rest of the game . Of course, it has the counterpart of leaving very little variety in the characters and more than once we will find ourselves surrounded by "clones" with exactly the same clothes. There are payment options to add options to our wardrobe (exclusively aesthetic), but they are excessively expensive. has the counterpart that leaves very little variety in the characters and more than once we will find ourselves surrounded by "clones" with exactly the same clothes. There are payment options to add options to our wardrobe (exclusively aesthetic), but they are excessively expensive. has the counterpart that leaves very little variety in the characters and more than once we will find ourselves surrounded by "clones" with exactly the same clothes. There are payment options to add options to our wardrobe (exclusively aesthetic), but they are excessively expensive.
At this point it would be usual to say whether the design bets on the "Trinity", or not, one of the classic issues when talking about an MMO and something that has been one of the hot topics when it comes to raising new games these years. The short answer is that there is no trinity, no healing class or tanks and all classes are more than capable in direct combat. The long answer is a bit complicated and has a lot to do with how the game is set up: it is very low on PVEcompared to other games. There are no dungeons instantiated (there are some open dungeons, but it is not exactly the same), there are no raids, the most there are some particularly strong enemies that we can invoke to fight in a group (or try alone), but little else, all the rest is based on fighting with normal enemies while we explore the different regions of the world. Therefore, those who seek this kind of classic collaborative experiences will not have them here.
A different MMO
However, Black Desert is a tremendously social game that revolves around the concept of Guilds . The collaborations are therefore of another nature and the end-game revolves around the idea of dominating the nodes of resources that put our production chains above that of our rivals. These nodes provide natural resources that are vital to trade and produce even more valuable items, so the idea is for the guilds to fight for their control and then negotiate the terms for their exploitation. It is also common for guildsthey are created with commercial purposes and specific objectives -such as fishing. All this implies that the final objective of the game is through power relations between clans, alliances and wars that take place to dominate territory, something that has its maximum expression in sieges, the main form of contention Guild Vs Guild based of massive battles - which has not yet been implemented in the western version. All this information is important for players who expect something more traditional, since they will not find it here; It's a different kind of game.
The range of activities proposed by Black Desert is on the other hand very broad, and requires dedication, risk and effort. It is also a very grateful title to have in the background while doing something else, since there are activities such as transport or fishing that can be developed in a very automated way. But in general, the process of collection and production in Black DesertIt is much more complicated than in most MMOs. There is a large amount of products, the process is long and requires organization, since it is not practical or productive to do everything one. Players can hire workers, who will physically go from one place to another to collect materials from accessible nodes. They can also buy houses that can serve both as private homes and storage or processing centers (and it is important, since we are talking about a world in which even the coins we carry have a weight, it is not a good idea to go around with hundreds of thousands of coins in the pockets). The economy is active, prices fluctuate from one place to another and goods do not magically arrive from one place to another but are carried in donkeys or wagons along the roads.
History
However, we must not forget that it also has a more traditional part, although with its own distinctive touch. There is a story linked to a spirit that is inside us, quite confused at first but that is improving a little as we move forward -without being anything of the other world-. Following it, we can have a more or less traditional development, taking missions and fighting against dozens of creatures in different areas as we progress and doing the typical, but with a very different combat system.
Gameplay
Black Desert is committed to a combat systemthat reminds us of Japanese Beat'em Up as Devil May Cry (in style, rather than in the background), all in real time and with quick and broad movements designed to reach several enemies at once. We can string very fast hits and use different keyboard combinations to quickly access our special abilities, which are recharged quickly so as not to give our enemies respite. Unlike other exponents of the genre, individual enemies are usually not very big, so you are encouraged to try to cover many enemies at the same time, using skills capable of quickly ending a group and putting some necessary pressure on us so that do not be a glander. NPCs are generated very quickly in the world,
Technical section
Of course, an analysis of Black Desert could not be complete without talking about the graphics , what can we say that can not be seen in the images and videos? The game looks simply spectacular, to the point that it can compete in beauty of its landscapes to any game that is on the market. It was believed that being an MMO should always mean a certain commitment in graphics and animations, but Black Desert and its owner engine show that these limitations are already overcome. There is a factor that is particularly exciting to us, and is that after arguing more than once about the importance of a single world, without charges or unconnected areas, something that is not usual to find in an MMO in recent years, we finally return it to see in Black Desert:a huge, varied and coherent world , where there are no charges that remind us that we are facing a video game. There are no teleports or quick trips, increasing realism and forcing us to be part of the world at all times, without shortcuts. It may seem like a minor detail, but it is not, it is a huge help to create that feeling of immersion.
Despite the technical strength and the Korean taste for the ornate and lavish, the title is committed to a fairly realistic world visually, which gives it a different charm compared to the Aion, Tera and other titles of the court. This realism is spiced by the use of effects, the way the rain changes the terrain, or the lighting depending on the day / night cycle or the position of the camera, making every moment with it a pleasant one. It is also quite well optimized and will look great on computers with a few years (in fact, the minimum configuration is really modest: Intel Core i3-530 2.9GHz, 4 GB RAM and GeForce GTS 250 / GeForce 9800 GTX / Radeon HD 6770). Of course, it will also depend on the circumstances, since there are moments with many enemies and characters on screens where the framerate can suffer, and on the other hand the problem with pop-in is quite generalized, by which many objects and characters can appear on the screen only when we approach; is the only weakness of a title that really impresses in this section and is placed as an immediate reference for the genre.
Payment model
On this one, he has been fully successful with the Pay to Play modelwithout subscriptions, similar to Guild Wars 2. The title has needed an important adaptation of its original F2P design, but the result is an experience that we see more satisfying and accessible than the Korean model and its PaytoWin elements-immediate resurrections via credit card , advantages, etc-. For the kind of experience that Black Desert offers, that initial investment opens the doors to a long-distance game that will offer us tens of hours of exploration and content before offering us the possibility to participate in their particular "Game of Thrones" once Let the clan wars begin at the nodes. We also have in the future the additional content of the Korean version, with more classes and new territory to discover,
conclusion
Black Desert is not a game for everyone or for any MMO fan. It is a different proposal aimed at Sandbox lovers, closer to Ultima Online, Galaxies or even Eve: Online - saving distances, they are very different games but they share that spirit. If you're looking for an alternative to World of Warcraft similar to your PVE approach, it's better to bet on Blade & Soul, Final Fantasy XIV or Guild Wars 2, conceptually closer games. But if you are inspired by the idea of living in a virtual world and developing in other ways than raising levels and defeating enemies, it is a very interesting title with a lot to offer.
The best
- A different proposal within the MMO scene
- A great open world, without charges or teleportation, that invites exploration
- Fast, dynamic and fun combat system
- Spectacular graphics
- The freedom to define the activities we want to do
- The West has won with the P2P payment model against F2P
Worst
- I start hard, confused and not too well explained. You will need hours to pick up the rhythm.
- Little variety of costumes and very expensive prices in the store
- More content of PVE could not be helped
Game of remarkable finish that we will enjoy and remember. A good purchase, highly recommended for lovers of the genre. It is well cared for at all levels.
Gameplay 8
The systems are somewhat confusing at first and the game does not do a great job explaining concepts and ideas, but with a bit of perseverance we will begin to understand everything better. The combat system is a delight, fast, colorful and with many possibilities for PVP (which on the other hand is completely voluntary.
Graphics 9
It can be said without a doubt that it is the most powerful MMO graphically that has been made, and also with a good performance, only spoiled by the constant pop-in. It is a pleasure to travel a world so attractive, without loads, turning it into one of its most attractive elements.
Sound 8
Well planned melodies that give ambience and invite us to stop and contemplate what surrounds us and immerse ourselves in the world.
Multiplayer 8
Black Desert is an eminently social game, with an endgame very oriented to the PVP between clans - although there is also a component of PVP by teams and individual-. Apart from that, it offers a large number of activities to develop for those who want to live in the world.
1-6 IMAGECREDIT
Great overview. I pretty much only play black desert and oldschool runescape nowadays.