Black Desert's PvPvE Hardcore Mode Goes Live In Pre-Season to Let Vets 'Take A Breather'

If you're looking for a fresh multiplayer challenge in Black Desert, the Battlefield of Blood and Sand might beckon to you. This new "Hardcore" mode has dropped with the latest update, giving players two hours to smash through quests, monsters, and other players for nifty items for main characters. 

"This Hardcore server, as mentioned in last month's developer update, is content designed for adventurers who have journeyed with us for over 10 years to take a breather," the post reads. 

The Hardcore server isn’t actually a traditional “hardcore server,” as MMORPGs often call them, though. Instead, this version is a daily two-hour PvPvE environment where players have to gather as many points as possible through objectives and combat.

In this mode, players venture into the Battlefield of Blood and Sand to gather Survival Points and Quest Points, both of which you can offer up for Hardcore Honor to exchange for other prizes. Survival points can be earned through killing all types of enemies, including monsters and other players. 

Hardcore has a few rails to try to keep things balanced. Players can only have one Hardcore character at a time, with this pre-season’s limited to Warrior, Sorceress, Ranger, and Berserker. Quest points remain, even if you die, and with the game limit being so short, respawns are instant with a 60 second timer and are entirely unlimited, so long as you’re within the two-hour game limit. Plus, you lose 30% of your Survival points on death, and gear can’t be repaired. 

PvP has some quirks and limitations too. While you normally earn 10% of a player’s Survival Points on each kill, if you have too many points and you kill a player with 20% points less than you, you’ll take a 1,000 point penalty. That said, the players who rank in the top 10 for Survival Points at that moment will show up in the mini-map. (Not sure how that dynamic between earning and losing will work if everyone goes after the big cheeses.) 

This is a pre-season edition, so it seems the team is looking to hear feedback about how things go. There’s a lot to know, so they've also given a quick starter guide on how to get going. 

The full details of the Hardcore Server are on the latest update page for Black Desert, which also outlines the first of many upcoming class changes coming over the week.