Do note that pre-existing Black Desert accounts won’t natively work through Steam; it’s intended for brand-new players on new accounts rolled through Steam proper.
Over in Korea, the Striker’s been live for over a month already, but his Awakening has launched there today, so we can probably expect that in a month or two too.
Meanwhile, Kakao posted this morning that it’s taken action against players who were caught exploiting the game’s node and worker system, permanently banning the cheaters.
“After a thorough review of the logs we have removed all offending accounts from the game, permanently,” says the studio, eschewing a “wall of shame” and noting it can’t discuss the nitty-gritty of its investigation publicly. “While we do not enjoy this type of action, we will continue with all diligence to maintain the quality and fair environment you, the legitimate players of BDO, have helped us build.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7qjvXvd7Vk&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAuKd_d5UDM
“To better support the additional influx of players, Kakao Games will employ extra Olvia speed servers, some of which will be exclusively reserved to cater for new players that are coming through Steam. Users can choose to play on the exclusive servers or to jump into the greater community straight away. Special Olvia servers will help players to level-up quickly and catch up with the existing Black Desert Online community.”
As for the events:
Striker Level-Up Contest (5/24/2017 – 6/21/2017)Â Players are challenged to take their Striker to the highest possible level. Players have up until the 21st of June (until weekly maintenance starts). The highest level Striker will win an Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop. Furthermore, many runner up prizes such as t-shirts and caps are up for grabs.
Trailer Creation Contest (4/26/2017 – 5/31/2017) Players are asked to create a trailer and upload to YouTube with the tag [Black Desert Fan Trailer] to participate. Once the submission period is over, Kakao Games’ community team will select the top contenders for the best videos. After the top 10 contenders are selected, the Black Desert Online community will vote for the final winner. The top 10 videos will be awarded prizes as well as the top 50 most viewed videos on YouTube.
Cash Shop coupons and in-game bonuses: Everyone will receive two 20% off coupons for use in the Cash Shop (can be attributed to any item, including items that are already discounted). Cash Shop inventory and weight category items are on sale at 20% off (can be combined with a 20% off coupon). Increased drop rates for enchantment items such as Black Stones (Weapon & Armor), Sharp & Hard Shards and Ancient Relic Crystals Shards from the 24th of May (after maintenance) until the 7th of June 08:59 AM UTC. Golden item drop event from the 7th of June (after maintenance) until the 21st of June 08:59 AM UTC. Brand new costumes will be available for each class.
