Black Desert Mobile First Impressions

Black Desert Mobile is a mobile Fantasy MMO based on the popular Korean MMO Black Desert Online.  Published by Pearl Abyss, the game does not have cross-platform play but instead seeks provide the Black Desert Online experience tailored for mobile.  While the game is already out on KR, TW, and JP servers, it will soft-launching on October 24th in Canada, Chile, Sweden, Malaysia, Turkey, Ireland, and Australia.  The full launch for North America and Europe is slated for December 2019.  

These are my thoughts summarized, with my full gameplay commentary below and FAQ coming out soon.

Pros

• The game feels like a full MMO experience.  Areas are split into manageable chunks and dungeons for better loading, but the expansiveness and variety definitely reaches that of a PC-level MMO world.  Skills feel natural to use and the simplification doesn't gimp core gameplay.

• The amount of QoL features is definitely worth praising.  Autopathing helps makes general navigation easier, while the tutorial missions are straightforward.  Systems like enhancement and mounts are streamlined compared to Black Desert Online for mobile experiences.  There is also autoleveling, in which players can AFK farm to level up overnight.

• Core combat is engaging.  I enjoyed lobbing fireballs at the Rednose while dodging his belly flops.  While strong equipment is still necessary, the real-time combat focuses on player skill through positioning, targeting, and dodging, making it more than just grinding for stat-checks.

Cons

• The UI menu might be overwhelming for people not used to MMO's.  Although the UI in general is pretty intuitive, there are a lot of features that are easy to miss/only mentioned briefly in the tutorial.  For example, Achievements, which can be claimed for premium currency and more, aren't super obvious without exploring the notifications (a claim-all would be nice for that, too.)

• Auto-targeting and camera focus can be awkward in combat. This is mostly for newer players not used to the controls, but some of the optimizations for mobile result in camera angles that obscure your actual target, while instantly snapping onto the nearest enemy on kill means players can easily engage and aggro enemies they don't mean to fight.

• The beginning of the game is mostly just kill-quota quests with NPC dialogue/tutorials sprinkled in between quests.  This is more of a nitpick - I don't mind grinding that much,

Overall, I enjoyed my time playing Black Desert Mobile.  I live for shenanigans and the game (whether intentionally or not) did not disappoint.  Here were some of my favorite parts:

• Naming my player "Mymoney."  Unfortunately due to how naming works no one called my character by her name, "Take."  There were still some fun mentions though, like "Steel Mymoney." It also makes NPC's seem extremely materialistic and capitalist.

• Focusing on leveling Fireball. Unfortunately skill books are specific to each skill, but I farmed for Fireball books like no tomorrow.  My goal was to put all my leveling resources into Fireball. Unfortunately, Veterans, the metagame, and skill system might have a few words against that.

• Imp Culture.  Sure, people are cool (I guess), but being able to walk around the enemy camp without randomly getting agrro'd and seeing what the Imps are up to was pretty interesting.  They had worship, camps, and observable society.

• Hit and Run.  Players can call the horse from anywhere.  After blowing up said Imps, I could hightail it out with my personal getaway vehicle instantly.  

• Game Oversights.  I didn't mind these as much because I found them hilarious.  After taming a horse it walks over to the person who attaches a saddle, but summoning your horse there brings in a completely different horse.  Likewise, some enemies will aggro if their comrades aggro, but I stood in the middle of an Imp village and farmed them while other Imps stood by doing nothing, slaves to their preprogrammed routine.

If you're looking for: 

• Real time combat with impressive skills and progression.

• A true MMO experience. 

• Decent monetization practices and F2P experience.  Cosmetics and the best gear require premium currency, but PvP matches are based on gear strength so it evens out.

Consider playing Black Desert Online!  If you're interested in more information, check out my playthrough and FAQ, coming soon!

*Note: I played through the tutorial of Black Desert Mobile with practically no knowledge of the game beforehand, and little experience in MMO's.  Veterans from the other game servers or MMO aficionados might have wildly differing opinions and expectations. My playthrough was also gated to the starting experience, so I was unable to experience higher level or actual multiplayer content.  Likewise, I am unable to judge long-term gameplay, such as grinding for gear and raising multiple characters.