Black Desert Online Beginner Progression Guide: Leveling, Quests & Starter Gear

Character Creation & Server Selection

The season servers are special servers that focus on character progression so that even new Adventurers can adapt quickly to Black Desert's world.

When you log into Black Desert, you will see the Server Selection screen. It does not matter which server you select, as barring season servers, you can freely switch between servers and access all your characters in Black Desert. However, it is recommended for new Adventurers to use the Season-1 (Novice only) server, which provides a variety of benefits for your progression.

Your season character can be used not only in season servers but normal servers as well. Your season character will be converted into a normal character after graduating from the season. After this happens, you can continue playing with your converted season character like any other normally created character, keeping the level and equipment obtained.

Select a class of your preference, as each class has its own unique appeal. Some classes have a 'Beginner' tag. These are recommended for new Adventurers.

If you are an Adventurer playing Black Desert for the first time, it is recommended that you start at the Ancient Stone Chamber to experience the full storyline, and for faster progression. With another character, if you select the Mountain of Eternal Winter or Land of the Morning Light questline, you will begin your adventure in a recently added territory of Black Desert's world and go through a more story-driven experience.

Main Questline Progression & Navigation

The first goal to keep in mind for fast progression after stepping into the world of Black Desert with a Lv 1 character is the completion of the Reliving the Darkness segment of the Mediah main questline, ending with the quest Apocalyptic Prophecy.

As you complete main quests, you’ll be able to obtain weapons and enhancement materials required for your character's progression. You can also quickly reach the mid-50's in level with ease. When you are confused about which quests are the main quests, press the "O" hotkey to open up the Quests window and check the currently active quest on the "Main" tab. You can change the Quest Type at the bottom of the screen once you reach Lv 20.

Quests received through the Black Spirit or NPCs are displayed on the tracker on the right of the screen. First of all, quests from the Black Spirit are mainly related to combat, the main quest, and its rewards. So until you reach Lv 50, it is good to go through its quests one by one. They will reward you with useful equipment and materials such as the precious black stone.

Furthermore, quests help your game experience through the rewards they offer, such as Contribution experience, skill points, consumables, and more that are considered essential for one's time inside the game. However, please do note that certain features can only be unlocked, and important items received, by completing the quests related to them.

Either hover your cursor over the quest tracker, right-click the quest's title, or left-click the red button to activate navigation to the destination. After this, press the "T" key to start moving your character automatically. At the top right of the screen, there is a minimap with a magnifying glass icon to the left. Clicking this will open the Find NPCs function window. Just click on the NPC type you want here and the auto-pathing route will be activated to the nearest NPC of that type.

Combat Skills, Skill Points & Awakening

Once you complete the Apocalyptic Prophecy quest, your level will likely be in the early to mid-50s.

Once this is done, you should then aim for reaching Lv 56, at which time you can proceed with the Succession and Awakening quests for your character. Please take note that areas in western Valencia, such as Desert Naga Temple, are monster zones that'll help you reach Lv 56. Once you've reached Lv 56, talk to the Black Spirit to accept the Awakening & Succession questlines. After completing the Awakening questline, you can continue with the Succession questline. Once you've completed both the Awakening and Succession questlines, you can select one of the two fighting styles and continue your adventure.

Upon selecting Awakening, your character will use its awakening weapon and learn unique skills that are new and more powerful for a different type of combat. On the other hand, if you select Succession, the current combat type and skill type will be maintained. It is recommended to equip both your main weapon and awakening weapon regardless of whether you select Awakening or Succession. However, the damage applied against enemies will come more from your awakening weapon in Awakening, and more from your main weapon in Succession.

Press the "K" key to open the Skill interface and check the skills available to your character. Skills that require level 55 or below will automatically be learned without any skill point cost. However, skills and passives that provide additional effects to these already learned skills cost skill points. The total skill point cost for learning all Succession or Awakening skills is around 1,000 points.

An important facet of Black Desert's skills is that most of them are based on key commands input rather than using quick slots. For your adventures, it is good to start practicing using the key commands, even if they initially feel complicated. You can get used to it soon enough, and it will greatly improve the flow of combat.

Starter Gear & Naru Enhancement

You must focus on enhancing your gear (equipment) to defeat enemies that grow increasingly stronger as you progress.

A good initial goal would be to enhance the Naru gear you obtain from the main questline step-by-step and up to its final enhancement level, PEN (V). In Black Desert, obtainable items include various kinds of equipment, consumables, and materials.

Open the World Map (hotkey: M) screen or check the Monster Zone Info window from the game's main menu (hotkey: ESC) to view other monster zones with recommended AP ranges that are either similar to or slightly lower than your current AP. It is recommended for you to have DP stats that equal around 1.2 to 1.4 times the zone's recommended AP. For example, the currently recommended AP for Polly's Forest is 160+, while the recommended DP is 250+.

Once you have completed Succession and Awakening, set your final season goal to be reaching Lv 61. There is no max level limit in Black Desert, but your combat strength depends more heavily upon your gear than your level, which is why it is recommended that you defeat monsters in monster zones appropriate for your current gear or enjoy a variety of other content once you reach Lv 61. The second way is known as the 'Chenga Run'. The Chenga Run refers to leveling up quickly with the EXP you obtain from completing the quests of a certain territory from Lv 59 to Lv 61.

Essential UI Customization & Controls

Black Desert's interface can be edited via the Edit UI feature.

You can enter the interface edit mode from the main menu (ESC). You can find information about your character and its family in the character profile, the window called My Information. Please press the "P" key to access it. You can check your current character's personal statistics, like its health, karma, or skill points, as well as both its detailed combat and life skill figures.

Most of the chat windows are active at first. If you press the Ctrl key and hover your cursor over the chat window, you will see a gear icon near the chat window. You can customize the chat window by pressing this button. If you press the button ("Separate Chat Window") to the right side of the chat name, the chat window will be separated from the other chat windows and it can be repositioned.

You can switch between the combat and non-combat stances by pressing the "Tab" key. If you move to a location other than the paved road, you can have restrictions on movement speed depending on the state of the road, which is displayed at the top of the minimap. Also, if your character exceeds its own weight limit, its movement speed will be decreased as well.