Black Desert/Gear
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Gear
two numbers, and a long climb
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The equipment window, with every slot labelled From the Black Desert Wiki, Pearl Abyss
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| Summary stats | Attack power and defense power |
|---|---|
| Weapons | Main, awakening and offhand |
| Armor | Helmet, chest, gloves and shoes |
| Accessories | Rings, earrings, a necklace and a belt |
| Best sources | World bosses, and the Blackstar quest line |
| Where power comes from | Enhancement, far more than acquisition |
Gear in Black Desert reduces to two numbers. Attack power and defense power summarize everything a character is wearing, and players describe a character's strength by quoting them rather than by listing equipment.
The slots themselves are conventional: a main weapon, an awakening weapon and an offhand, four pieces of armor, and a set of accessories covering rings, earrings, a necklace and a belt.
What is unusual is where progress comes from. Most games hand out better items steadily. This one gives a character its final equipment fairly early and then expects years of enhancement on it. The sword a player owned early is often the one they still carry much later, many grades stronger.
1 Boss gear✎
The best conventional equipment drops from the scheduled world bosses. A weapon from Kzarka, an offhand from Nouver or Kutum, armor pieces from the others, and each is a lottery on damage share rather than a purchase.
That arrangement makes the boss schedule part of gearing rather than a side activity. A player who wants the top tier attends the fights, and one who does not can buy the same pieces from other players at a considerable premium.
2 Blackstar✎
Blackstar equipment is the alternative to boss gear, and it is made rather than dropped. A quest line beginning in Mediah leads through the story of three legendary blacksmiths, and finishing it produces a piece that competes with the boss items.
The cost is steep in an unusual way. Crafting a Blackstar piece consumes three boss gear items, and only unenhanced ones count, so a player spends the equipment they already have to obtain something better.
Its advantage is specific rather than general, since Blackstar weapons carry extra damage against monsters, which makes them the strongest choice for hunting grounds. The armor gives monster damage reduction and better defense, but costs enough that most players prefer fully enhanced boss armor.
Enhancing it works differently too. The first several steps succeed automatically, and failures beyond that cost durability rather than a grade, which is restored with memory fragments.