Universal Introduction to Beginners PvP

A Guide by: Kido

So you are a new player and interested in the best feature of Black Desert, the PvP, and don't know where to start. Luckily for you this guide Plans to help guide you through the onslaught of early decisions. As a self-proclaimed veteran of Black Desert, playing on and off since the launch days of NA prior to the tri-server merge, I believe I have information that may appear helpful to not only newer players looking to improve but also those who cant find the right early path to take and those older players who haven't yet adventured into the brilliant PvP system Black Desert has created. Below can be found my lastest PvP video before I went back to actively grinding to recover my gear:

Section 1: Classes

Beserker: Zerker is your generic big guy, has the capability to grab you whenever you come close and does not fall off too hard on the movement scale with mousemovement being capable of increasing the users mastery of the class. Falls off a bit during the softcap to high gear phase but is still considered stong if you have high enough gear to 1 shot people with Ancient wave and Q buff cannon spam. At current stage the succession tree of zerk seems to be decent for PvE but lacking in PvP aspects.

Ranger: Ranger, one of the original overpowered classes on release and had an incredibly strong succession release.class is still strong and viable with its main redeeming factos being the I-frame on odd skill usage and one of the fastest grabs in the game. Class performs well in nodewars and 1v1s with the correct skill addons some classes will be unable to gap close towards them and deplete their stamina trying to survive.

Sorceress: The I-frame god class, infamously known for being unhittable due to high frequency of iframes and similar looking abilities that will confuse opponents opinion on when best to engage on them. Class has an insanely high skill ceiling with a lot of room for user error in pvp, it is regarded as one of the best classes in PvP due to the fact they can sustain damage and continuously avoid damage in large scale PvP.

Tamer: My previous main class, has the signature pet named Heilang that follows you around and can on command and on certain skill usage cc and pump out high damage. In my opinion used to be one of the best duelists in the game but due to recent nerf adventures and the release of succession the class has greatly fallen off and struggles to keep up with others. Class is still extremely fun to play with nice skill animations and one of the coolest black spirit 100%'s (Ultimate skill for those unfamiliar with BDO terminology). This class is the other infamous I-frame abuser with high single target magic damage.

Valkyrie: Valkyrie is a sleeper in the community, with the succession update the class in my opinion became a walking nuke. Although the class doesnt have insane movement it makes up for it with flashy skills and high burst damage. In awakening the class has a lot of unprotected skills but gains a little more impact for large scale fights with things such as its ultimate and its ability to displace enemies and buff allies.

Warrior: Warrior as of late has seemed to be getting the golden hand treatment by Pearl Abyss. With both Awakening and Succession being viable its up to the player if they want to spec into one or the other. Awakening warrior wields a great buster sword somewhat like Guts, whilst succession is just the enhanced version of the pre-awakening. Class has great movement when used correctly and can easily 1 combo people with the correct combos whilst sustaining a fairly decent level of tankiness.

Witch: One of the godfathers of the siege scene with the infamous Protect Area skill (+999 DR for 9-10~seconds) and Voltaic Pulse (large AoE attack that evasion shreds). Has the ability to instant cast teleport, an on cast iframe that covers a large distance. Falls off a little in the 1v1 scene due to having reduced movement and cc capabilities on classes moving fast and being able to purely focus on avoiding your skills. 

Wizard: Similar to Witch with a stronger succession and an awakening kit that has a lower base dps on combo but is also gifted the grab skill. Grab skill allows you to displace and punish people who are making mistakes with rotating super armours.

Striker: The warrior monk of Black Desert. Sleeper PvP class in the community with a strong Super Armour/I-frame movement rotation, protected grab and increased damage reduction from incoming magic damage. As of current the class does more damage in Awakening in PvP due to the clones counting as a summoned pet with a base accuracy modifier of 50% and high base damage scaling of AP+Summon damage scaling(as of 19th August it is +100).

Mystic: The female warrior from the east, prioritises kicks over the punches that striker focuses on. Is slightly more tankier with higher mobility than striker but has lower damage in PvP in comparison. Has a greater amount of AoE's than Striker and the ability to pop a skill that gives them +999DR whilst locking them inplace with protection. Just like striker it also has the inbuilt damage reduction for incoming magic damage.

Lahn: The flying class of Black Desert. Capable of soaring the skies and dropping onto their victims with dancer-like animations. A high burst assassin like class made for picking off stragglers in large scale and has the infamous ranged grab. Although the class is a little on the unpopular side the class is still viable, but has problems with damage delay and stamina conservation in large scale fights.

Archer: The longbow user of Black Desert. Class has the lowest defensive stats in the game but is capable of sniping out opponents and comboing them without even coming close. With proper practice the class is also very mobile with decent protections. IN the later game if a class is able to make super armour trades with you you are more likely to lose due to your kit making you highly susceptible to being grabbed and bursted or even just losing due to close quarters dps.

Shai: Would not reccomend this class if your focus is pvp. Class only fills the role of a support and even then it feels lackluster and can be easily ignored. In large scale it is capable of making a bubble that prevent combat inside, health buffs and other various area of effect skills. Class is commonly built tanky so as to better sustain their life to support for longer during large scale combat like nodewars and siege.

Guardian: The female Beserker wielding a huge greataxe. Features large slow AoE's with high damage and protection, class is viable in all instances and even has a full I-frame leap escape or gap closer. High recommend to newer players if they are even slighly interested, class is easy to pick up and enjoy pvp with and is also extremely good in PvE. Like warrior and valk it combos a shield with their mainhand and is capable of soaking up a lot of damage.

Musa: The male gotta go fast class, has high and simple mobility and a decent ranged cc to allow for punishing mistakes. In awakening the class is capable of dealing substantial damage quickly and getting out. Very viable choice if you prefer the skirmisher playstyle in larger scale combat, in the current meta this class is played more as an assassin role with high damage fast combos.

Maehwa: Similar to musa in the fact that it can dash and ranged pun ish but more prioritises single target damage then AoE's. Currently considered slighly weaker than a musa but can also perform just as well if not better in 1v1s. Some matchups this class has can feel impossible though due to not having a grab, similar to musa, to easily abuse super armour rotating classes. 

Dark Knight: The magic Knight of Black Desert, capable of nuking people but is extremely squishy with little gimmicks in their movement that may be infuriating to some. Class has some of the nicest animations and also performs above average in 1v1s. With the inclusion of succession the class is capable of going a full melee build or sticking to mixed midrange that comes with awakening. Class falls off in large scale due to being squishy and mainly focusing on single target damage with small AoE's.

Kunoichi: A classic class option in any MMORPG, runs around in awakening with a hula hoop dancing on the people they 1 tap. In all honestly though this class is another sleeper class, small player base and as a result they have gone under the radar. In succession the class still has insane movement and dps burst and in awakening the class keeps its AoE nukes and protection. Very viable choice for all PvP content in the game.

Ninja: You made it to the last class in the list, my current main until the next class release in the upcoming weeks. Ninja is similar to Kuno in pre awakening with skills that are a little faster and more flashy. In awakening it wields 6 katanas and can be considered one of the best duelists in the game, if you like how it looks and can get over the learning curve this class has it is an extremely fun class and also performs well in nodewars and siege. In succession the class gives up a lot of its protection in trade for higher mobility and burst damage, another extremely fun option.

Section 2: Crowd Control

Crowd Control(cc) in this game is vital and is the key aspect of any PvP system, if the opponent cant move you can kill them easily is common knowledge but BDO's cc's work a little different. Firstly cc's are not guaranteed, infact pretty much everything in this game is RNG. You are capable of building resistances against peoples cc's and even capable of building against peoples resistances. This allows for greater build diversity and enforces a pivotal role in gear efficiency, something I will possibly cover in a different guide. As this is a beginners guide I will keep this simple, first is the list of important terms:

SA - Super Armour (cant be hard CC'd unless grabbed)
I-Frame - Invincibility Frame (cant be hit)

FB - Frontal Block (block skills in a 90-100degree range infront of you)

CC Breakdown:

Crown control can be applied to a person who is not protected and scales up to 2.0 on the cc counter. The cc counter is the games way of telling the system that the person has been cc'd too long and should be able to move again soon. past the 2.0 counter you can no-longer hard cc someone anymore and the game will begin a hidden 5 second counter after the 2.0 cc lands till they opponent can be cc'd again. If there is a stiffen applied before the 2 counter you are capable of creating a 2.7 cc combo, for instance opening with a Stiffen then comboing into dps followed by a knockdown into a dps skill into another cc like a float allows you to use a long combo and get out more dps. Combos can be extended further than the cc counter if things such as air smashes, knockback and downsmashes(much lower chance of success) are involved into the combo as these cc forms are a soft cc they don't have a counter but also cc for a much shorter duration than the hard CC forms. The downsmashes and airsmashes would need to allow for the 5 second interval after the 2.0 cc counter was passed for you to be able to pass this again. Common classes that can achieve this are Sorceress, Ranger and Tamer.

Hard forms of CC:

Stiffen: soft standing cc (0.7 Counter)
Stun: hard standing cc (1 Counter)

Bound: soft floor cc (1 Counter)
Float: heavy air cc (1 Counter)
Knockdown: heavy floor cc (1 Counter)

Below can be found avideo further explaining the concept if you wish to delve deeper:

Thank You for Reading

Hope to see you soon in Battle Arena

Any further questions DM me on discord

Kido#0290

DAAAAAAAAAMN KIDO! This is a FAT guide Thanks man!!! It has really helped me out in my PvP

Thanks man ^-^

Kido best tamer SEA.

wow such a great guide i had a blast reading about every class, i had no idea about any class until this guide 10/10 would guide again love u rabo tha abbo more guides plz 

I gotchu Countess, got a new guide coming soon!

Wait a minute... ISNT THIS THE PREVIOUS BEST TAMER SEA???

Good guide, thank you. Helps with the breakdown of classes to choose. 

Kido#911 Tamer 404 not found
still best tho