Is The Game Pay-To-Win?
I said the last thing I wanted to mention was the future of the game. However, the reality is that “BDO is P2W” has been thrown around a LOT since its release. It’s understandable, to a degree, considering the prices of the cash shop. In my opinion, Black Desert Online is NOT Pay-to-Win, but is rather Pay-for-Advantage. And a very slight advantage at that. It’s a very fine line, honestly, especially when you come in with a price tag on the game right out of the gate. But there is absolutely no way that you will “win” if you spend money on Black Desert Online. No matter how much you invest in the game, it’s all down to how good you are as a player and how much effort you can invest into the game.
Just about everything you get from the cash shop – from the pets, to the costumes, to the furniture for your house – will give you some benefit. If you can afford it, you can buy a piece of furniture from the cash shop that will allow you to interact with it for a two-hour long buff that gives +2 luck. That piece of furniture is around $4, I believe. Another example are the outfits. These come in multiple pieces and each piece gives you some bonus stats. For example, many outfit pieces give +10% experience. I’ve got two outfits, one I purchased by getting $30 (because they only allow purchasing of $10, $20, and $30 worth of pearls and the outfits are all over $20 in pearls), and I got one outfit with my pre-order of the game. I definitely have an advantage over players without a cash shop costume AND I have an advantage over players who only have one cash shop costume.
Will this advantage put me in a better position than other players? No. But it does make my life easier. By combining pieces of my two costumes, I can get a bonus of +20% in Amity gain while talking to NPCs. Considering that conversing with an NPC costs two energy and some NPCs can be a real hassle to gain Amity with, that +20% is a real boon. But when I combine those two ‘cosmetic’ costumes with a ‘physical’ costume I manufactured via in-game means, I get a total of +35% Amity gain. So, because I spent an extra $30 on the game and bought the $100 pre-order, I get a bonus of +20% Amity gain that a player who doesn’t want to spend money on the game will never be able to achieve. And that’s not the only bonuses – some of my costume pieces give bonuses to stamina, which means I can evade more and therefore means I can more easily stay alive in combat as evading (at least for a Witch) is incredibly important. It’s a very slight advantage, but it’s there.
Pets are another example. Because I have pets, I literally never have to worry about looting. Now, the pets do provide a slight money sink – I have to either buy or produce pet food. One is expensive in silver, the other is expensive in energy. Not terribly expensive, but when you want to do other things with your energy it’s a hassle. Perhaps, though, the most prominent example on why people may mistake the game being pay-to-win is the ‘Ghille Suit.” This is a cash-shop only suit that gives players the option of hiding their name. Now, this won’t give you a massive advantage in combat UNLESS you’re facing someone unprepared or someone who is lacking in experience. A lot of people rely on the name-plates to keep track of their target, so when they come across someone in a Ghille Suit they panic and then lose, calling it an unfair pay-to-win advantage. Personally, I’ve yet to have an issue facing someone in a Ghille Suit and I personally refuse to buy one. The +1 gathering it also gives is lucrative, but I personally feel that the Ghille Suit is pushing the bounds between “pay-for-advantage” and “pay-to-win” a bit too much.
Conclusion: Beyond Excellent
Black Desert Online is, to date, the best MMO I’ve ever played. Previous holders of this title were Age of Wushu and ArcheAge, sadly both of which never saw their true potential due to management issues. The amount of features available to you means that, as long as you are willing, you will never run out of things to do in the game. There’s so much there that you’ll want to keep your character in the game 24/7, even if you’re not actively playing. Sure, some of the features are a bit rough around the edges, yet are still immensely satisfying to partake in. I wouldn’t mind if the Marketplace was fixed as, in its current incarnation, it’s an absolute hassle to use. And I would like it if I could trade with my guildmates directly at least. Overall, though, Black Desert Online is pretty damn great and I’m sure (well, hoping) Daum will do what’s needed to ensure their game stays the best. Don’t ruin another top tier game like all the other publishers Daum. How you manage Black Desert here is how the western audience is always going to remember you!
So, ‘Greatest Game Ever Made’? Perhaps. It’s certainly the game I’ve gotten the most joy out of in recent years and it completely blows away the competition in terms of innovative features. Hopefully more games will come along that are just as good, or maybe better than Black Desert Online. For now though, in my opinion it certainly deserves the title, and raises the bar to a point that won’t be topped any time soon.
Features: 5/5 – Almost too many to count.
Customization: 5/5 – Not many games offer more customization.
Graphics: 5/5 – Blurring the lines between virtual and reality in detail.
Controls: 3/5 – The stupidity when it comes to interacting with things in-game cannot be forgiven.
Community: 4/5 – Active and passionate, but your average MMORPG clusterfest.
Overall: 5/5 – Do yourself a favor and play this game.
Bonus: Tour of my House!
