Heidel Ball: AT Home - Global QA [PART 1]
Greetings Adventurers!
Sorry to have kept you waiting!
We have a lot to cover here. There were many questions answered during the Q&A session at Heidel Ball: AT HOME, but also many additional questions we were unable to answer due to time constraints during the Q&A. Adventurers from all over the world submitted some great questions, and we sincerely apologize for not being able to answer all of your questions.
Even if you don’t see your question answered here today, we ask for your patience!
Then, without further ado, let us begin.
[h3]Post Heidel Ball: Global Q&A[/h3]
Q. It seems that the Adventurers of the Korean servers and the NA/EU servers have different thoughts regarding class balance. Of course, since the meta can be different for each region, it's a given for there to be differences. I hope you will also gather what users are saying about class balance in servers of other regions besides Korea.
A. Since Black Desert is serviced globally, we are able to get feedback from Adventurers across many different regions, and we often see differences in combos and PvE playstyles for each region. So if the opportunity arises, we may consider inviting skilled Adventurers to represent different regions and have a roundtable discussion about balancing the classes. We could also try to carry out events or competition to collect feedback which we can potentially implement towards balancing the classes. As mentioned at Heidel Ball: AT HOME, we will do our best to try to make this type of meeting happen as soon as possible.
Q. Ranger's skills aren't effective if there's even the slightest difference in terrain elevation when using her skills. Is this impossible to fix?
A. This issue is a difficult one to fix. We’ve tried for a long time and only recently found a possible solution. It’s difficult to call it a 100% fix, but we expect it to be a massive improvement over what we currently have. While there are still structural parts that need a bit of tweaking, we hope to implement it sometime after June.
Q. (Korea Server) When will Loyalties be revamped? Can you also go into greater detail on how you will revamp the system?
A. We plan to unveil a revamp sometime mid-June, and we are preparing new products/packages and prices to get this to you as soon as possible. One of our plans is to make Loyalty be usable in-game rather than only at the Pearl Shop.
Q. Any updates or news about the Rich Merchant's Ring?
A. As announced at Heidel Ball: AT HOME, we are currently developing the Rich Merchant’s Ring around the concept of providing a Family-based buff that reduces the Central Market Tax by a fixed percentage. We hope to deliver this update to you before the end of June.
Q. It'd be nice to have a preset function that allows Adventurers to save settings for the skill window, making it easier to switch between Succession and Awakening.
A. We are currently in the final development stages for the new skill window. The existing skill window is rather inconvenient due to having all the skill levels just laid out before you, so we expect the new iteration where all skills will be unified in a tree-format to be much easier on the eyes. We will also be providing Skill Presets, which will even be able to save Skill Enhancements as well.
The new skill window will soon be updated to the Black Desert Global Lab. Since the UI is being revamped, it may at first feel a bit strange and unfamiliar, but we ask that you give it a try after the update and send us all your feedback. We’ll do our best to keep the feedback in mind, as we work to make it more convenint to use the skill window.
Q. Could you improve Horse Training, such as by displaying the Dream Horse attempt success rate like the enhancement system? Or by adding items like Advice of Valks for Dream Horse attempts? Also, would it be possible to add certain mounts that you can't buy with silver, instead must be tamed based on Training Level or Mastery?
A. On June 17 (Wednesday), we are planning on updating the system to show the Dream Horse attempt success rate. However, we will not be making it possible to use Advice of Valks for Dream Horse attempts.
As for Horse Training, we announced during Heidel Ball: AT HOME that we are currently preparing the Old Moon Grand Prix, and we hope to provide Adventurers with new sources of entertainment by being able to race new horses and rear/collect these new breeds.
Q. Any plans to revamp or add new features to Hunting, such as hunting Whales or Khalk? How about increasing the usage of the items you get from hunting bosses?
A. We are preparing new monsters that you’ll be able to hunt. While not quite at the Boss pedigree, they will be in the form of rare monsters that you will have to track and discover first (i.e. gather information before the hunt). We are hoping this will allow adventurers to enjoy the thrills of hunting like an actual hunter.
Q. Are there plans to add special rewards for Adventurers who reach Levels 65 or 66? How about Adventurers who attain certain levels in Life Skills?
A. The reason why we didn’t provide big rewards beyond Lv. 60 was to minimize the pressure of leveling up. It’s the same reason why we crammed most of the ways to get stronger into Lv. 60.
Currently, leveling up beyond Lv. 60 is more of a challenge or a way of obtaining bragging rights, rather than to become more powerful. Yet, there are already some who have reached Lv. 66! As of Monday, June 8th, there are 51 Adventurers (17 in Korea, 14 in Taiwan, 7 in Japan, 6 in Russia, 1 in Thailand, and 6 in the NA/EU region) who‘ve accomplished this feat. Quite commendable, and for these Adventurers, we will prepare additional fame-boosting rewards.
In regards to Life Skills, we don’t have anything specifically planned at the moment, but we will consider a similar kind of reward based on boosting fame. Nevertheless, there are currently no immediate plans for a material-based reward in the foreseeable future.
Q. When will the new updates regarding the Imperial Delivery Gift Boxes be announced?
A. We do plan on handing out new Imperial Delivery Seals. The play patterns of Black Desert Adventurers now are very different compared to the past, and our goal is to introduce these new seals which can be exchanged for a variety of Trade Goods to match the changed play patterns and current flow of the game. This too, is something we will do our best to present to you within the month of June.
Q. Do you plan on introducing new Life Skill content?
A. There are currently no plans to add a new Life Skill content. Rather than entirely new content, we feel it is more important to expand or supplement already existing content just like with the Old Moon Grand Prix that was announced during Heidel Ball: AT HOME. We will reconsider working on new content once we feel that we’ve added more depth and enjoyment to the existing content.
Q. Any plans to improve some of the not-so-popular Life Skill content such as Trading? Trading is clearly unprofitable compared to other Life Skills at the moment, with hardly any merit.
A. Similar to the previous question, for Trading we are referring to Worker Trade, which we tried to update the Workers and improve trading between Calpheon and Valencia, as well as Bartering in the Great Ocean, yet we ended up scrapping all those ideas. We came to the conclusion that we needed to develop upon the current iteration of the Trading system, and so we are currently entertaining ideas to improve the rewards while maintaining the current system. We’re still in the brainstorming stage, and once we decide on the direction, we will make sure to let you know in a future developers’ or GM note.
Please share as much of your feedback regarding Trading as possible.
Q. Do you plan on improving guild rights? There are many Adventurers who deliberately disband their guilds or abuse the current system.
Are there any improvements planned for Guild Mission-related features such as how Adventurers obtain rewards for completing guild missions, how to check the channel for guild missions, as well as the overall quality of the rewards themselves?
A. It’s truly heartbreaking and exhausting, especially for Guild Masters and Officers, for someone to intentionally try and damage a guild. Yet it seems difficult to prevent this solely with the current system. However, to truly nip such occurrences in the bud, we plan on diversifying and dividing guild ranks. By doing so, guild masters and officers will be able to appoint the appropriate guild members with the necessary roles and greatly decrease the possibility of this type of situation. We will do our best to present this system to you as quickly as possible.
Q. Currently, there aren't many guilds participating in the Node/Conquest Wars. The introduction of the Mercenary system only furthered their decline and increased the number of mercenaries participating instead. Will you be addressing this situation? It's especially difficult to fight in Tier 1 Nodes. Are there any solutions in mind?
A. We are currently planning on revamping Node Wars. Like what we announced during Heidel Ball AT HOME, the revamped version will involve conquering each node like a capture-the-zone type of concept. However, we will continue to make improvements to the current Node/Conquest War until the revamps are released. In particular, we have plans for a complete reassessment of the War Hero, and we are considering major adjustments to the large HP buff effect gained during Conquest War. We are working to improve each and every part that negatively impacts the current Node/Conquest War, and we hope to show you a much improved Node/Conquest War.
Q. Will you be adding and improving features for Compose & Play, such as making it feel less clunky when inputting notes or being able to upload MIDI or MML files? Also, will there be new instruments available?
A. First off, we would like to thank all of our Adventurers who have enjoyed Compose & Play. Currently, we are developing additional instruments, and in order to improve the repetitive and inconvenient aspects of composing, we are developing a direct input system that is similar to playing on an electric keyboard. We ask for your patience until we can present you with a more convenient and enjoyable composition system.
Also, since our Compose & Play system is not based on MIDI, it will be rather difficult to convert to such formats. We ask for your understanding regarding this.
Q. Bartering beats earning silver by defeating monsters. Is there a solution for this?
A. The basic principle of Black Desert is that defeating monsters should be the most meaningful and efficient content. This is because it is the content that requires the most effort, relatively speaking, since it requires Adventurers to constantly input moves and commands. We strictly abide by this principle when designing and balancing other content. Excluding Korea, global servers may be influenced by a variety of buffs and scrolls, so we will completely re-examine monster zones and adjust them accordingly.
Additionally, we mentioned specialized servers in a previous answer, and we will focus more on these parts when balancing the game in the future. Our stance that defeating monsters should be the most efficient content is something that will not change.
And regarding Bartering, as more and more Adventures obtain their Carrack, we’ve had to implement several waves of nerfs in light of growing profits. Since Bartering requires consistent time investment and has a limited count, we are in no hurry to make adjustments to its current state.
Q. Lucky Adventurers obtain treasure items within a very short amount of time, while others have yet to see one even after months of gameplay. Don't you think it's a bit unfair?
A. Whenever we hear that someone in-game or even on our team obtained a treasure item in a very short amount of time, we have a process of double-checking the data to make sure there are no problems, even if we’ve previously checked a week before. We want to send a message of encouragement to all Adventurers who attempt the challenge of obtaining a treasure item, and we want to assure you that we will focus on preserving the worth of these items to make sure your efforts are not wasted.
Q. Are there plans to revamp the current enhancement system? Quality-of-life changes such as moving the priests closer to the blacksmiths would be appreciated.
A First, both the blacksmith and the priest have their own unique roles and concepts. We thought of just putting everyone on the Black Spirit for convenience’s sake, yet we felt this wasn’t the direction we wanted for Black Desert even if it was more convenient, so maintained the current status quo thus far. However, we promise to consider other ways to make it more convenient for all Adventurers.
If we decide to make enhancement easier solely for convenience’s sake, the joy you might experience from the fruit of your efforts in undertaking the process might be lessened, as well as the amount of satisfaction you feel from admiring your equipment window.
Stacks serve as a failsafe system meant to compensate for failing enhancements. Hence, we are not considering changing the stack system completely. However, we will look into improving the in-game experience for novice Adventurers, such as quality-of-life changes and tutorials on how to preserve their enhancement levels through Cron Stones, Advice of Valks, Valks’ Cry, etc.
Q. Too many ships dock near the wharfs, so they overlap with each other, even causing accidental kidnapping. Is there a solution for this?
A. After the Great Expedition update, the areas near the wharfs of Velia and Iliya Island are regularly filled with large vessels, and we are currently considering how to address some of the inconvenience caused by this. We’ve implemented features, such as the ship icon which you can press to immediately board your ship or call your ship, yet there are many more inconveniences that need to be addressed. By collecting ideas and developing them, we hope to provide a more convenient and direct way to board ships.
Also, during this process, we will consider upgrades to the Guild Galley’s ease-of-use as well.
Q. Will you be looking into issues with the in-game economy, such as inflation or item shortage? (Overseas Countries)
A. As of late, it’s becoming harder and harder to purchase material items such as Sharp/Hard Black Crystal Shards and Caphras Stones. We are fully aware of this issue, but we have no plans for an update solely meant to bypass this market shortage.
Since Black Desert’s economy is dependent on its supply and demand, we are looking into ways of increasing the number of suppliers or increasing the efficiency of existing suppliers for items in short supply. We don’t want to just raise the prices of Sharp/Hard Black Crystal Shards. We are currently examining ways to maintain the existing system while expanding the number of suppliers and places to use such items.
We know that Caphras Stones are under a global shortage in Black Desert. We originally designed them to always be limited in supply, yet due to the rather large number of Adventurers in need of the item, we are discussing this matter internally. Memory Fragments, on the other hand, had initially seen a spike in prices but have since stabilized, and we feel that this might be what the state of Caphras Stones is going through as well. We will continue to keep an eye on when the prices for Sharp Black Crystal Shards stabilize compared to Hard Black Crystal Shards. Until then, we will try tackling the issue through various means to find solutions for such fundamental problems instead of just applying rushed fixes each time.
Q. Any plans to add more inventory slots, storage slots, and the Max Weight Limit?
A. Currently, there are no plans to do so.
Q. When will new hairstyles be updated? There are not enough hairstyles available. Also, why isn't there an option to create a bald headed character in customization?
A. Black Desert characters are being made quite elaborately. Due to the exceptional number of customization options, the more hairstyles we implement, the more issues there are for optimization. During last year’s Ball, we were requested to design new hairstyles, and we‘ve been working on them ever since, but due to performance issues, we haven’t been able to implement them. At that time, we placed our priority on optimization, so we put the updates on hold, but from now on we will attempt to release these new styles one by one, since it is difficult to release them all at once.
In addition, we are considering implementing hair ornaments in the style of the beloved Yianaros Headpiece. However, since both new hairstyles and hair ornaments are all closely related to optimization issues, we will be proceeding with these updates slowly.
Q. How many of the Black Desert developers actually play the game?
A. Here at Black Desert, there are many developers who play tons of games. Just like our Adventurers, we too enjoy adventuring in the open world of Black Desert, sometimes laughing, sometimes getting angry, sometimes taking a break, then coming back for more. We will continue to join our adventurers in Black Desert to share the experience and do our best to further improve the game.
Q. When will the Black Desert Goods store be available for global fans?
A. The Black Desert Goods store opened in Korea this past February. To be frank, due to the increase of regions that restricted shipments as well as with the current global issue, we’ve experienced some delays for its launch. We ask for your patience and hope to bring you the good news soon.
Q. Do you have plans to create an aerial region that we could go to via the Sky Balloon?
Also, are there plans to add new types of mounts like an airship? What kinds of new mounts can we expect to see in the future?
A. There are currently no plans to develop an aerial region. We have received a lot of feedback requesting new mounts, and we are currently testing a variety of mounts internally. However, we’ve yet to settle on a mount that seems to fit the Black Desert motif. Nevertheless, we will continue our research based on your feedback.
On the Korean servers, we recently added scrolls which transform Adventurers into Stoneback Crabs, and a good number of Adventurers gave us positive feedback regarding this minor update. While we would never dare to consider this as a new mount, we plan on adding similar toy-like items that will provide some enjoyment to Adventurers. For example, turning into a Griffon in Kamasylvia and gliding down long distances or transforming into a Ferrid to dash through the plains. We will implement these one at a time, slowly but surely.
Q. When will the Great Expedition - Part II and Blue Battlefield, the ocean PvP content, be updated?
A. The Great Expedition – PART II has seen changes in its development and is currently on-hold. Most of the new islands and vessels are already made, so once development starts again, we will be able to share with you in greater detail regarding the new direction.
Q. Will you be adding party-based dungeons? I'd like to enjoy the game with family and friends.
A. We have plans to continue expanding hunting grounds such as Mirumok and Gyfin Rhasia Temple, along with the recently added Abandoned Monastery and Padix Island that require Adventurers to party up. We feel that Mirumok and Gyfin Rhasia Temple are the party hunting grounds that best fit the Black Desert concept.
However, we plan on continuing our support for content that requires adventurers to band together to clear.
Q. Any plans to add PvP contents like the Red Battlefield? I wish we had contents such as daily mini-Conquest Wars or Capture the Flag, and Territory Battle-type arena.
A. As revealed during the Heidel Ball: AT HOME, we plan to release the Thornwood Battlefield update very soon. It’s been quite some time since we released new PvP content, and we hope that all of our Adventurers will be able to have fun and enjoy it. In addition, we are planning to carry out some structural changes to diversify the Red Battlefield, and once finished, adventurers will be able to battle in a variety of locations. We hope this will be very meaningful especially for those Adventurers who may have grown weary fighting in the same battlefield over and over again. Regarding Capture the Flag or Territory Battle-type arenas, we will consider these for a later time.
Q. Are there any plans to implement the Team PvP mode of Black Desert Mobile to Online?
A. There are currently no plans to implement a team battle style deathmatch format. However, Thornwood Fortress, which is currently under development, will be carried out in a competition format with small sized teams.
Q. Will there be more social systems added, such as a Marriage system?
A. There are no plans to implement marriage as a separate system. We will focus on creating more beautiful scenery, more fantastic characters, and a whole variety of contents.
Recently, due to COVID19, we saw a couple in Europe hold their wedding in Black Desert.
We‘d like to take this time to extend our congratulations for the couple. The wedding was held in Grána, Kamasylvia, in which many beautiful and handsome characters (adventurers) took part as guests in offering their congratulations to the lovely bride and groom. An ensemble of Shais gathered to perform the wedding march. It was truly a moving and joyous occasion for all to witness.
Q. Now that Compose & Play has been released, do you plan on adding dancing animations?
A. We always consider Black Desert’s mood and motif when designing all content. As for dancing, we honestly tried and dropped its development many times. Recently, we dabbled with the waltz and tango, yet the results were the same. Unfortunately, for all the Adventurers who’ve been waiting patiently, we’re sad to announce that we will no longer be working on dancing animations.
On a side note, we’ve introduced brief dancing animations as social emotes in Shadow Arena. That is the extent of dancing we’re willing to implement. We will continue our efforts to add a variety of movements other than dancing to further expand our character’s actions.
Q. Can you tell us about the new regions that are scheduled to be released? When do you plan on opening the Kingdom of Haso?
A. The new regions we are currently preparing include the ancestral home of the Guardian, the “mountain of eternal winter,” which is always covered with unceasing snowfall, along with the home region of the Hashashin, a place filled with all sorts of danger tentatively titled the “demon lands.” As we briefly introduced in the road map during Heidel Ball: AT HOME, in the game’s current state it is rather difficult to expand beyond the Kingdom of Haso. However, just as we have done before, we will keep at it with new attempts and work hard to deliver better news to you soon. Please look forward to it.
Q. When will the remaining pieces of the Fallen God gear or additional Blackstar gear be added?
A. While there is no specific timeline set at the moment, additional Blackstar gear will be added around July to August at the earliest, September at the latest. However, since the Blackstar armor is currently the strongest in-game, we plan to take our time in developing this update. We are also considering an entirely different method of acquisition and crafting compared to the armor, as our goal is to develop gear worthy of being known as the best.
Excluding Korea, global servers will see Blackstar armor updated first, then O’dyllita and Fallen God added afterwards.
Q. Are there plans to release a class with special abilities or in the support role like Shai in the near future?
A. Shai was regarded as an experimental character even internally. Thankfully, many adventurers came to welcome her with open arms, which greatly boosted our confidence. Hence, we will continue in our efforts to develop special characters like the Shai. However, there’s always the risk that not all of our adventurers will welcome such special characters, so we predict that it will take quite some time before the next announcement. There’s still plenty of time before official development begins, so we request that you send us any good ideas you have regarding the next special character.
Also, we’d like to give a shout out to the adventurers who’ve consistently requested a Papu class, to which we extend our thanks for their passion towards the game.
Q. What is the direction of Black Desert after Crimson Desert launches? What are the development and operational/management goals?
A. There is no change in the development direction and goal for Black Desert. We will continue to do our best to deliver the most entertaining game to all our adventurers.
Q. Not many Adventurers go to defeat World/Field Bosses these days, especially Field Bosses. Would it be possible to improve the rewards? Also, obtaining Garmoth or Vell's Heart is dependent on luck. Do you have any plans to change this?
A. We also have concerns regarding bosses. Most adventurers of Lv. 60–61 are already equipped with boss gear, so they may not feel the appeal in tackling bosses, while for a novice adventurer, bosses may still be attractive. So we don’t want to go about administering any big changes. Thus, in the spirit of preserving the status quo, yet also applying some change, we will be implementing “Absolute Bosses” into the game. Each boss, which spawns at a certain preset time, will now have a low chance to appear in a form possessing fantastical power. Absolute bosses will be quite strong, and rewards fitting of their upgraded stature are currently being prepared as well.
Also, on the Korean servers, we have added a quest where each Family can craft one additional Heart of Garmoth. This will be updated on the global servers when O’dyllita is released.
Q. When raiding Vell, there are too many large ships that block the cannons, making it difficult to attack. Can you expand Vell's Sealing Stone?
A. This past June 4th, after the regular maintenance on the Black Desert Global Lab, we improved the World Boss Vell raid by lowering the height of the Sealing Stone located in front of Vell so adventurers could have an easier time approaching and bombarding Vell. This isn’t the perfect solution, so we will continue to try to improve the fundamental issue.
Q. Could you add an ON/OFF feature for the Agris Fever buff?
A. We introduced this feature during the regular maintenance on June 3rd (Wednesday).
Q. Ash Forest is part of Kamayslvia, yet why don’t Caphras Stones or Ancient Spirit Dust drop from monsters there?
A. The Ash Forest was developed with the purpose of creating a “challenge” for adventurers. We didn’t want the region to become a “farmable” place with good loot, so we distinguished the items that dropped from this region as well.
However, given that the only real current challenge for the adventurers in Ash Forest is getting the Deboreka Necklace, we are discussing the possibility of adding another reward to this region. We predict that this will take some time to update, especially for the art department. We hope today’s answer may have offered a slight hint of what our adventurers may look forward to.
Q. Guild Missions being limited to 10 per day regardless of the guild size seems a bit too few. Are there any plans to increase the daily Guild Mission count based on guild size?
A. We have neither increased the daily limit for Guild Missions due to the fear of adding additional pressure on adventurers to participate more to complete them, nor is there any plan to do so for the time being. Instead, we plan to add Guild Missions that require a bit more of a team effort to complete.
For example, these new missions could require teaming up with a guild member who’s good at hunting, another with a member who enjoys gathering, or with those who are expert navigators of the sea, and so on.
Q. Are the stats for Ogre Ring and Laytenn’s Power Stone completely the same?
A. Yes, they’re completely the same. I remember there was a developer from way back who had a TET Ogre Ring, thought that the TET Laytenn’s Power Stone’s icon was prettier, and sold the Ogre Ring to buy the Laytenn’s Power Stone… Those were the days.
Q. There’s an increase in users who give up after a short period of time due to the copious amount of quests and boredom from defeating monsters, or not being able to gather enough Silver for higher levels of Life Skill content. This is really impacting the in-game experience so are there any plans to resolve this growing issue?
A. The new class Hashashin, the Old Moon Grand Prix, specialized servers, Thornwood Fortress, and Bounty systems are all content we unveiled here at the Heidel Ball: AT HOME where we focused on active and engaging gameplay.
Our updates are heavily impacted by the current in-game atmosphere. We have on-going analyses to achieve a proper balance of inactive and active content, and we will continue to work hard at doing so.
Q. I returned to Black Desert due to the Season Servers. I really thought the Season Servers with the Tuvala gear content was a good idea, to the point where I was even suspicious if this was the same Black Desert I’d start playing ages ago or not. However, it’s always sad to see continuous failure in enhancement and dwindling enhancement materials. It is indeed possible to guarantee enhancement to TRI with Refined Magical Black Stones, yet I felt that I needed to at least enhance the Tuvala gear to TET and exchange them for normal boss gear to consider my time spent on the Season Servers worthwhile. Are you planning to make the enhancement system a bit more novice friendly in the next Season?
A. First off, we’re truly thankful that players in the region where it was released enjoyed the Season Server content. It was a challenge for us, and we are only grateful that many adventures were able to enjoy it.
During this Season Server period, we collected a lot of feedback from customer support that enhancing gear was quite difficult, and yet, the only thing that we can do, unfortunately, is to offer but words of encouragement. We deliberately made enhancing Tuvala gear to TRI-TET-PEN harder, and we have no plans to make that process any easier. We didn’t want the Season Servers to be a place for novice adventurers to easily obtain gear, but rather to get a mild taste of the enhancement system, as well as providing a space for them to bond with existing adventurers as well. We felt that this would be a healthy transition and an enjoyable way to adjust. On the other hand, once the first Season Server ends, we will be analyzing all of the data to work on pruning parts that were considered too cumbersome.
Q. For the next season, please solve the issue of the wait time between moving from season servers to normal servers, and vice versa. Since normal characters can’t enter season servers, there were a lot of issues regarding looting efficiently, world boss raids, etc.
A. This is something we will most definitely seek to resolve or improve upon. If impossible, we will consider a different direction altogether.
[h3]Part 2 of the Q&A <HERE>[/h3]
