We’re talking, of course, about an Aion-style enhancement system that employs the Valks’ Cry and Cron Stone items. Essentially, you use these cash shop trinkets to boost your chances of success when upgrading your own gear. Being able to directly (and indirectly) buy such items on the cash shop (or disenchant them from cash shop costumes), the argument goes, gives you a measurable financial advantage in-game over other players.
Two years ago Kakao said Valks’ Cry had been “specifically removed” from the western version of the game “to prevent the advantages it would offer” – indeed, the studio said at the time, “It has never been a part of our version and has no place in our version.” That’s changing now, as Pearl Abyss and Kakao say that they’ve tweaked the system, and yes, players will also be able to pick up equivalents through in-game means (questing and login rewards). But of course, those using the cash shop for them will have unlimited access.
“The original enhancement system was designed with a steep difficulty,” Black Desert’s devs say. “Valks’ Cry was initially added with the intention to help adventurers new to the unique enhancement systems of Black Desert Online. In a recent internal study, it was concluded that NA/EU players were far less likely to engage in enhancement than other serviced regions. We believe the introduction of Valks’ Cry will add to our ongoing efforts to lower the hurdles of enhancement.”
Reddit is currently duking it out across multiple threads, with some folks calling it pay-to-win, others not, and still others agreeing that it’s pay-to-win but not nearly as bad as other problems plaguing the game. Expect it live next week regardless.
