Desert Oasis: A few improvements I’d like to see in Black Desert for 2020

Part of the reason it’s been so easy to write for the Black Desert Desert Oasis column is that I really love this game. But just because I love a game doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Even though it won our award for most improved MMO, it’s still got a long road ahead of it. There’s so much more this game can do. For today’s visit to the oasis, I’ll discuss improvements I’d love to see in the upcoming year.

Cleaning up graphical issues and addressing pop-in

The ultimate irony when it comes to Black Desert is that despite its beautiful graphics, there’s a ton of graphical glitches that need addressing. The most notable grievance players have is the pop-in. I recently did some grinding in the desert to kill some centaurs, and that pop-in was just so hard to ignore. It’s on a flat plain, so players can see for miles. But with the myriad of tiny shrubs and brushes dotting the desert, they just kept suddenly showing up as you move forward. The same goes with the centaurs suddenly showing up too. And I’m not talking about things that were like hundreds of feet away. Some of them popped up within maybe 50 feet of my character.

As for getting a full-blown fix on the pop-in, I don’t think it’s totally possible. It’s a limitation of the current engine. And even though there’s still plans to put this game on an upgraded engine, that still seems to be far off. The best thing they can do is find ways to hide it. Case in point: Kamasylvia and Drieghan. These locations came much later, and it’s evident the team developed ways to hide it. I think going back to older regions and finding some kind of effect that’ll help hide it is more than enough for me.

But hey, maybe if they manage to put the new engine into the game and it addresses that in 2020, I’ll be one happy camper!

More grindspot reworks!

This year saw the rework of the Fadus Habitat and Polly’s Forest. Prior to the update, people rarely went to these spots. The amount of loot and experience players received from the Bandits, Nagas, and Fogans dwarfed any mid-game area available at the time. But the rework added more spots that were both profitable and gorgeous to visit. I want more of these! It would be nice to take some of the pre-55 areas like the Treant Forest or on the Primal Giant Post and add a high level grindspot near it. It’ll be a nice use of the space, since otherwise most people visit it once during the main quest and move on.

Some small tweaks on all grindspots would go a long way as well. A few months back there was a special event that increased the spawn rates in some spots. I’d love this to happen for all areas. Doing so will make it easier to share the hunting spots and make the game just that more approachable for players who don’t want to join because of the open world PvP. In fact, a recent patch improved the amount of silver monsters in some grindspots drop as well, I’m looking forward to seeing any more improvements to the grinding!

PvP that isn’t gear dependent

While we have red battlefield available and it offers gear limits, there isn’t one where the game automatically restricts everyone’s gear. I’d like something closer to Guild Wars 2 where all the levels and gear are all normalized. That way, players can just dive into the PvP from the start. I really would like to see this because while open world PvP is exciting, sometimes a quick go around with another player on even footing would be fun.

As much as I enjoy the moment-to-moment encounters of an open PvP world, I would prefer to have a mode where its not dependent on how hard a person grinds, but how much skill they have with their chosen class. I also don’t get enough practice because players I face against are either way stronger than I am or die in a few hits. A space where the PvP is both consensual and not gear-based is something this game needs. I’d be happy with just a red battlefield mode where everyone’s synced to 61 with all their skills maxed out and their gear equalized. Since class balance is not perfect, having this environment will help figure out any places they can address balance.

A male Dark Knight

Dark Knights are so edgy. This is really a personal wish. We already have a great-sword wielding male character in the warrior’s awakening, but I’d like one more akin to a rune-knight that uses dark magic to augment their abilities. Its awakening can go from a great-sword to something insane like an even bigger sword or something. I could imagine it having fast mobility but long attack animations. Who knows, if it’s good enough, I would switch mains just for it! Fingers crossed this happens this year. I wouldn’t be against the idea that he uses a rapier for unawakened form and then a massive greatsword as his awakening.

Maybe experiment with a PvE server?

This one is long shot. Some players want a PvE server, but I don’t see this as much of a possibility because of the logistical issues it can introduce. The open-PvP is balanced out by having 30+ servers players can freely switch between. Players who don’t want to PvP can simply switch servers. In my experience, if a grindspot like Polly’s Forest has too many people, I can switch to a different server and won’t have a problem finding a nice rotation to work in. Of course, if push comes to shove, I still have the option to fight for it.

Under the assumption PA does try such a server, it might put in only a few servers to work with, but the only option would be to move. Players would have to use their words, which can go either way, but I’m going to take the assumption players playing on those PvE servers would be using choice words to get players out of their spots.

Of course, I’m open minded. Maybe PA can figure out a way to make it work. I’ll be eager to see what it can do.

Looking forward, I can confidentally say that Black Desert Online will enjoy a bright future, which is much more than I can say for most MMOs lately. I’m excited to see how it’ll grow in the upcoming year. And who knows, maybe around this time next year, the pop-in will suddenly be a relic of the past.