Pearl Abyss is giving us a peek into the future, with a new Black Desert Online dev commentary video, featuring design head Jeseok Jang, talking about the road ahead, the next expansion, Land of the Morning Light Seoul, and more improvements and changes on the way.
It has been a while since we had a deep dive into development for Black Desert, but they’ve been working on many things, hence this packed video. Some PC balance changes and adjustments to class hits and optimizations should start rolling out in weeks in Korea, with global release to come. The full video details much more on what the team has been busy working on.
These adjustments include down to the number of hits on each class's skills.. The number of hits per skill, particularly in large scale combat with a lot of players, has needed optimization for performance. Part of the reason this is taking a while is the number of classes has grown over time. Also coming? A way to use the 200% Black Spirit's Rage skill. Following this patch, they will also add safeguards to help stop exploitation by equipping and unequipping accessories in combat. This comes as they promise the Deboreka Ring is coming.
For the musicians, expect a note increase and new musical instruments, the horn, clarinet, and the electric guitar. There is also a new spring outfit on the way, Primavera. Plenty of colorful and practical quality of life updates for various playstyles.
As for Land of the Morning Light: Seoul, we get a new development update, along with some new screenshots. As with the original expansion, the team is taking inspiration from real locations and using them to build the new content. We get a look at locations first revealed at the last Calpheon Ball, Gwanghwamun and Gyeonghoeru, before being introduced to the Royal Investigation Bureau, a location mentioned as featured in a number of K-dramas, and so familiar to some. Showing off Dongshipjagak and Mt. Ahshi serve to give some idea of just how big this will all be.
The Flower Sunken Swamp is a colorful, almost peaceful looking area, but there’s a fog in the air, and of course, some dark secret ahead to discover. Jang mentions that, if you watched the Calpheon Ball coverage, this is where the tale of Janghwa and Hongryeon, based on the Joseon-era folktale, will take place.
For now, the peeks at the expansion are mostly teases and locations, but the placement of Calpheon Ball info is also helpful in getting an idea of what the Black Desert team is creating in this next edition of an expansion love letter to Korea.
