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Black Desert Online will soon receive one of its most substantial expansions yet, entitled Land of the Morning Light, which brings a huge new Korean-inspired region to the MMORPG. The long-running game comes from developer Pearl Abyss, which has several other open-world adventure titles in development, like Crimson Desert and DokeV. Screen Rant attended a special hands on preview for the expansion to learn more about what the new area has to offer.
The MMORPG has expanded quite a bit in recent years both internally and externally, with several recent expansions as well as the release of Black Desert on Xbox and PlayStation consoles, but this endeavor is one of the most impressive yet. The Land of the Morning Light is a new, standalone island that's narratively explained as a port that's just opened to outsiders. The area is inspired by the Joseon Dynasty, the longest dynasty in Korean history, and draws from real-life locales and folklore to create a wholly new experience. Players just starting out can even choose the island as their starting zone, a rarity for the game.
Black Desert's Expansion Has A Larger Narrative Focus
Land of the Morning Light pivots from past expansions in several ways, particularly in its larger focus on storytelling. As players explore the island, they'll encounter over 100 minutes of cutscenes and over 5,000 lines of dialogue - much more than any previous release. There are eight different stories told across 15 chapters, which center around eight folklore-inspired bosses. These bosses serve as a replacement for the game's typical monster zones, which are completely absent on the island. For all the new plotlines, players are accompanied by new character Dolswe, an informative, loyal, and often humorous companion.
After a few preliminary region quests, players can choose which story they'd like to begin, and each one must be completed before the next one can be started. Screen Rant's preview offered enough time to play through one of the eight narratives in its entirety, and I chose to follow the tale of the Songakshi, a ghost who has been terrorizing a village out of grief for her dead fiancé. This entailed a lot of exploration of the lush landscape, delving into the history of the two lovers, a uniquely spooky boss battle, and a branching choice of how to solve the haunting problem.
Boss Blitz Brings New Competition To Black Desert
While players can reach each of the Black Desert expansion's boss fights through narrative means, they can also jump straight into them via a new mode called Boss Blitz. Here, players can tackle each of the eight epic battles - the brutal overlord Golden Pig King, Black Death-inspired Oduksini, the undead Changui, wraith Bari, vengeful ghost Songakshi, the ferocious leader Bamboo Legion Lieutenant, giant cat Sangoon, fox spirit Gumiho, and goblin king Duoksini - and place on a leaderboard based on the time it takes to defeat them. During an overview presentation, developers also teased a ninth boss that can be unlocked and a tenth for global release, the serpent Imoogi.
Ten different Calamity Levels can be selected before each fight, which determines both the difficulty and magnitude of rewards players will receive. Each boss has a certain elemental weakness - either Earth, Water, or Fire - that players can exploit via the new attribute system. Before each fight, a character's attributes can be tuned for who they'll be facing in an effort to make these battles more accessible even without high-level gear.
Land Of The Morning Light Brings Homes, Gear, & More
Alongside a vast land to explore, Land of the Morning Light contains two manors in which players can take up residence. Both are large, Korean-inspired estates, and can be filled with a myriad of new traditional furniture. An incredibly powerful piece of gear, Dahn's Gloves, can be crafted from materials in the region, and will allow for specialization in either evasion or damage reduction. Fittingly for an island area, players can now utilize the Panokseon, a customizable ship that can be used for exploration and naval combat.
Black Desert Online Has Taken A Bold New Direction With LOTML
Land of the Morning Light is arguably one of Black Desert Online's most ambitious expansions yet, tackling an area that is much different thematically than any other the game has seen. The new island is not just impressive in of scale, but its level of authentic Korean detail as well, with geographic and cultural inspirations shining through in every aspect of the game. Land of the Morning Light will especially appeal to players that have always wished for a larger narrative component to the MMORPG, but it seems as though the Black Desert Online expansion will have something for everyone.
Source: Black Desert Online/YouTube
Land of the Morning Light for Black Desert Online will release June 14 for PC, with console updates to follow at a later date.
