Black Desert Online is a beautiful looking sandbox MMORPG. It's key element is most likely the action combat and that you are fairly free to do whatever you'd like.

Honestly, I played quite a bit of BDO at this point and have quite a few characters, but the Story never stood out to me at all and I eventually just skipped it during my first play, if you are looking for a strong, story-driven MMO, then this probably isn't it.
In case I happen to have missed out on something amazing here, please do let me know.

The main features of BDO are probably the Life Skills, the PvP and of course, the Grind.
Grinding anything from money, to experience, to your beautiful gear.
BDO makes use of a rather tedious way to enhance your gear, because simply getting your boss gear by playing/buying it for quite a bit of money isn't enough. RNG.
Many things in BDO make use of RNG, even the enhancing of your gear, which can and will cost you a fortune, no matter if you decide to buy a higher version of it, or upgrading it yourself. The upgrading of BDO ranges from +1 to +15 and after that it goes: PRI, DUO, TRI, TET, PEN. (+1 to +15, I, II, III, IV, V)
Failing an upgrade will cost you durability, which you can restore with the same item or Memory Fragments. For normal gear that's not too bad, but for boss gear it will break your bank.
PLEASE NOTE: NEVER use Memory Fragments for anything less than boss gear.
Going in-depth into the entire system would be very tedious, so it's best to look up guides in case you are interested in BDO and want to understand it well.

Like many games nowadays, BDO also makes quite much use of the cash shop system. Enabling you to buy anything from outfits (Which you might happen to actually buy since the in-game gear doesn't have any visual impact really, apart from boss gear) to quality of life improvements (I say that, but some are mandatory to stay competitive).
PETS! Pets are handy little helpers (up to 5 at a time) that will collect all the loot while you grind (Could say quality of life but honestly, the biggest selling point of the shop). If you want to stay competitive and fast while grinding and leveling, you will need pets. BDO sometimes gives some out during events, but expect to drop a few bucks on them, they're usually 700-1100 Pearls each. (1000 Pearls => 10€)

BDO's combat is probably the best thing about it. It's smooth, looks great and is simply satisfying. The combat is based on combos, which you will eventually get while you level up and are able to practice them already. At level 56 you will get a quest chain for your class unlocking your Awakening Weapon, giving you another set of abilities to work with.
Note: Awakening abilities can only be used with your awakening weapon in hand (have to switch) and non-awakening abilities only with your non-awakening weapon. (Note: This is not the case for literally all abilities of each, but most)

Classes in BDO are gender-locked, sadly. You can alter the appearance of your somewhat preset class/character quite a bit, thanks to it's big amount of customization options.
Some classes are counter-parts to each other, male/female. Though they do have differences in abilities and playstyle.

Musa/Maehwa
Ninja-Kunoichi
Wizard/Witch
Valkyrie
Tamer
Berserker
Sorceress
Ranger/Archer
Warrior
Striker/Mystic
Dark Knight
Lahn
Shai

Quite the selection of classes, but honestly, they're needed. The game also still gets more classes and a new one was recently announced at the time of this review!

The selection of gear is fairly limited, while leveling up you do get a set for free from the story quests (which you should do), apart from that you can choose from a few Sets that can be crafted/farmed or simply bought from the market, and a handful of different weapons, though 1 option is usually by far the best, making others rather pointless.
At around level 56, once you got your awakening and money, you basically keep grinding for boss gear, which can also be obtained by fighting bosses (See: PvP (and PvE) or simply by buying it from other players on the Market.


Life Skills are the "professions" of BDO. Similar to other MMOs many are similar.
You can fish, trade, craft, cook, gather and more.
These activities do take time, a lot of time, hence why the game has a feature to minimize it to tray, instead of closing it, so you can idle. Idling can be big part of this game.
You can reduce the time of course, via In-Game items like food, clothes and cooking utensils, as well as buying the outfit from the cash shop for each profession (if available).
Life Skills consist of different Ranks, which I will list:

Beginner 1-10
Apprentice 1-10
Skilled 1-10
Professional 1-10
Artisan 1-10
Master 1-30
Guru 1-50

There is also a mastery system for Life Skills, which allow you make batches of items (saving time) or be more successful in the skill itself.

BDO is basically a PvP MMO since things like Dungeons or Raids simply don't exist.
There are bosses in the open world which spawn at set times, you can look those up online. These bosses drop boss gear or essences, which you collect until you turn them in to get the piece of gear the boss drops.
Otherwise PvE consists of grinding to make money and level up. (BDO has no max level, at least no reachable one at the moment)
The PvP itself can be quite fun thanks to the fairly fluent action combat, which I personally love the feel of. PvP in the open world is based on a Karma system. Anyone can attack anyone as soon as they activate PvP. (You have to be level 50)
Killing another player who doesn't have PvP turned on will cost you Karma. If your Karma turns negative, guards will attack you on sight. You can restore Karma (slowly) by grinding.
(Note: Dying with negative Karma is probably not something you'd like)
Apart from the open world PvP, there is also the Red Battlefield, similar to other MMO battlegrounds, you join a team and fight for points. The other option is the Arena of Arsha, which you can join and hopefully ask people to 1v1, though many people just want to annoy you honestly. You don't lose durability or anything in the Arena, so that's a nice benefit. Outside of cities are also small Arenas for you to fight other players in.

I had a lot of fun during my hours of playing and will continue to come back every now any then, especially when new classes release. The entry price is rather small and it goes on sale decently often, so pick it up for 4,99€ if you'd like. If you end up liking it and playing more than you thought, you're likely to spend a little extra in the shop.
I would personally recommend the game, though do keep in mind that it is very grindy, RNG heavy and time intensive. (It's an MMO after all)

73/100