Black Desert Online has launched its new Land of the Morning Light expansion. The expansion is inspired by elements of Korean history, myths, and legends.
The expansion brings a brand new region that is inspired by the Joseon period, Korea’s last dynastic kingdom. Pearl Abyss has shared previews of the expansion, showing sweeping takes on the brand new regions that you can explore, with a whole series of landscapes and terrains, historically inspired architecture, and of course, lots to do. In our preview, Bradford called it "a love letter to Korea")
The new story to experience features a nonlinear questline with player choices that involves 80 cutscenes, 40 vignettes, and 6,000 fully dubbed voice lines. Black Desert Online's biggest expansion, and the team was dedicated to visiting certain real locations and collaborating with 11 Korean government agencies in order to recreate historical landmarks and real places in order to fill the new region with “culturally authentic storytelling”. Some of the locations in the game are directly inspired by real locations as a result of this in-depth production process. When you go to Shimnidae Forest, you can look up the Juknokwon (Bamboo Forest) to see just how the real place inspired it.
Also in this expansion are a number of quality of life improvements, including new gear, new housing structures, and improvement to the Panokseon boat. Both the boat revamp and the new housing structures are designed for larger groups. One of the new housing structures, the Shimhyangje, is described as “a spacious manor” with large rooms. other structures are also created for indoor and outdoor social gatherings. Land Of The Morning Light is inviting you to stay awhile, and this is clear from a number of features.
From locations in the real world and historically inspired architecture, the team also decided to incorporate a lot from Korean folktales. This is definitely evident in a lot of the bosses you will find, including tiger-inspired mountain god Sangoon, and the recently-unveiled giant serpent Imoogi, who will be added soon. There are eight bosses that you'll have to face in any order you wish in order to continue to progress through the larger narrative in the expansion. This is a bit of player choice and freedom that the team included in order to emphasize less grinding and more on making your way through this new land with new goals.
The bosses are key to a brand new mode that the team has added in this expansion. Called Boss Blitz, once you defeat bosses in the mode for the first time, you will be able to return and challenge those bosses in customized difficulty levels to compete with others in the rankings every week.
Pearl Abyss has put every edition of Black Desert Online on sale for 50% off to mark the new expansion release, and also added Woosa Awakening to Black Desert Console starting today.
For more on the expansion and full details on everything in it, head to Black Desert Online.
