So far my level in grind has bottomed out around the mid 30’s. It is a process that is still taking the most of my time bit is where the game starts to really slow you down.
Before the 30’s for some reason feels more like a tutorial to me. The enemies are relatively easy to kills, are easy to cc and come in nice coordinated bundles that you can kill quite easily. Because of that the exp comes in relatively easily but once past that it seems like mobs become a bit more spaced out and they like throwing a lot more annoying ones at you like ranged mobs that hit like a truck if they get your back, and the bigger, stronger more reinvent enemy types that aren’t as easy to cc.
There enemies hit very hard and you will need to know there animations and be able to dodge around them. It starts expecting you to know your skills, how to chain them for damage and be able to avoid at the same time. The more damage you do in a short time means you might stagger, and knock down the big ones which really helps. Stuff up the rotation though and it will take a lot longer.
And there there are like mini boss type enemies out there that look like a normal one but have huge health and damage. This one guy while grinding the kuruto things took me down countless times. Two hits and I would have a sliver of health left, from behind and I was definitely dead. At the same time you’re dealing with the other mobs too and likely the response in the area.
I probably died that many times though because I was being incredibly stubborn. I got into that “I will beat you” mindset I have of wanting to complete a certain challenge that has bested me to kind of… Recoup that sense of honour. It’s weird I know. It would have been faster avoiding them, or waiting to day for stuff to get easier but, I just wanted to challenge myself a little and eventually ended them, getting a weapon black stone afterwards.
It’s here I noticed a few problems with he combat and my experience with it. I’m not sure if it’s my internet, the larger ping from aus (190 which is actually damn good considering), or the server b it I was finding both I, and the mobs would rubber band occasionally although only occasionally. The worst part is that there is a distinct lag between what I see and when I get hit. I have to primitively dodge before the animation in order to avoid. For most mobs it’s easy enough, the have a predictable routine and I can time it based on my specific skills but this enemy had some weird stops and breaks from attacks so I would dodge and get hit at the end. I also find that the damage I do doesn’t show up for a second or two after the action. Overall it feels like those bad movie downloads where the sound is just that little bit out of sync. It’s a great movie you’re watching but it does ruin the experience a little.
The other issue was that quite a few channels on the Edan server are weirdly running out of mobs to kill. Many of the regularly killed enemies just aren’t respawning anymore which is rather weird and entirely unhelpful when you are actually trying to level. What it did do was help me to slow down a little bit to start explore and get my Yuri weapon which is pretty much the best weapon for my class until the next big update. So I journeyed down to Calepheon, interacted with the needed people for the knowledge, and began snoozing the blacksmith to get access to the special shop. Once purchased I enchanted it with the black stones I’d be carrying and I went from a 20+ weapon to a 40+ weapon. Makes a big difference overall.
Oh yeh, Calpheon – it is an absolutely amazing. Such a well done city that feels far more lively than anything else I’ve seen. And yeh,m there are cities that are probably more beautiful, like divinities reach, but this one feels more lived, more real, and more like I place I’d want to kind settle down in. make a home and all that… AND I DID. It’s a little bare atm and just populated with my pre-order stuff but plans for more.
And some pictures of the city
It’s funny seeing this as it kind of opened my eyes more to the rest of the world as well. I started looking around a lot more and it really is amazing how enjoyable it is to just travel along the roads. They are often so busy with traders and other npc’s with their own life and such. Fun little things like roadside dance troops, Drama acts, circus performers. Then there are the large trade wagons that roll by.
One thing I also noticed is that all the workers other people employ are actually filling up the roads as well, you just don’t see the names until you are in a guild with them. I just saw a guild member’s worker going by with na trade pack and it hit me, now I can see everyone’s impact on the world in these more subtle ways. It’s just these kind of mechanics that make it feel lived, which is nice.
It’s also pretty cool to see just how much there is to find if you do take the time to explore. I ended up wandering around some farms, then a digging site, down into a cave where I met this behemoth. Of course I was ready to run in there, poke it with my sharp stick and get squished, but it was a friendly npc that eneded up telling me more about the area and updating a knowledge thing.
Overall it is really warming to me. I’m still not sure how it will all turn out as, like a lot of Eastern MMO’s it makes a good first impression. pretty visuals and effects, fulfilling that bullet list on the back of the box that gets everyone hyped but then you look underneath and it’s all just rather empty. kinda like a macdonalds burger, looks great in the advertisement and you bite in and .. meh. I’m not sure if that is Black Desert right now and while parts of it might be less than it first appears I think the overall experience might be better than I expected.