On the one hand, the second MMO title in one of the world’s most well-known RPG series, Final Fantasy XIV (14), launched in 2010.
And on the other hand is Black Desert Online, the giant sandbox MMO first launched in Korea, 2015.
And then, there’s you.
Looking for a great high-fantasy MMO to quench your thirst for a great game, you can play for a long time.
Unsure about whether you should pick up Final Fantasy XIV or Black Desert Online.
Well, I’m here to help you extinguish your doubts! These are the differences between these two popular MMOs:
Table of Contents
Combat
Final Fantasy XIV‘s combat is one you might be familiar with if you’ve played a few MMOs before.
It uses a tab-targeting system, where you can target an enemy and attack it without the need to aim. You cast fireball, and the fireball automatically follows your target.
Meanwhile, Black Desert Online’s is one that has grown in popularity over the last few years. It is action-based and fast. No autotargeting enemies with your abilities and attacks, you gotta aim everything. It also has a lot of moving and dodging around.
Final Fantasy XIV FFXIV Character Creation
Final Fantasy XIV offers great character customization, in both how your character looks and what cool powers he can use. On it, you can choose between 10 Basic Classes that can advance to a more powerful version of themselves, called Jobs. They are:
- Marauder; Warrior
- Gladiator; Paladin
- Lancer; Dragoon
- Pugilist; Monk
- Rogue; Ninja
- Archer; Bard
- Thaumaturge; Black Mage
- Arcanist; Summoner or Scholar
- Conjurer; White Mage
The game’s expansions also added new jobs exclusive to them, which are:
- Dark Knight
- Astrologian
- Machinist
- Samurai
- Red Mage
- Gunbreaker
- Dancer
And there’s even a limited job (forbidden from accessing certain content), the Blue Mage.
But you don’t choose just your race. Final Fantasy XIV also has eight unique races to choose from:
- Hyur – Human-like race
- Elezen – Elf-like race
- Lafallel – Small, child-like race
- Miqo’te – Cat-like race
- Roegadyn – Large, barbaric race
- Au Ra – Dragon-like race
- Viera – Female-only rabbit-like race
- Hrothgar – Male-only lion-like race
You also get to choose which deity to follow. There are 12 different choices, two for each of the elements (Ice, Water, Wind, Lightning, Fire, and Rock). Depending on your choice, you will gain a different elemental resistance bonus.
The character’s appearance is also hugely customizable. With dozens of hairstyles, hair colors, different faces, and much more, you can spend hours tinkering your character to your liking.
Black Desert Online BDO Character Creation
And then, there’s Black Desert Online, with its 18 different classes, that like Final Fantasy XIV, can also evolve to a new class, called Awakening. They are:
- Dark Knight
- Striker
- Mystic
- Warrior
- Sorceress
- Ranger
- Berserker
- Tamer
- Ninja
- Musa
- Maehwa
- Valkyrie
- Wizard
- Witch
- Kunoichi
- Lahn
- Archer
- Shai
Black Desert Online technically has three races. However, you can’t choose any of them, as they are restricted to specific classes. For example, the Berserker is the only Giant, while Rangers, Archers, and Dark Knights are Elves-only. Most other classes are Human-only.
Black Desert Online classes are also gender-locked, meaning each class has a specific gender that you can’t choose or change. Many classes have both Male/Female variations, though, like Wizards and Witches.
Where Black Desert Online’s character creation truly shines, though, is in the appearance customization.
You can make your character look like anything you want.
Seriously, go ahead and try it.
You can try to recreate a dear friend of yours, a fictional anime or video game character, or even famous people.
Gathering and Crafting
Final Fantasy XIV has eight Disciplines of the Hand, which are crafting professions. They are:
- Alchemist
- Armorer
- Blacksmith
- Carpenter
- Culinarian
- Goldsmith
- Leatherworker
- Weaver
You can perform as any of the crafting professions, as long as you have the necessary tool item equipped.
Crafting is an essential part of the game, as the Culinarian can make Food that buffs characters (which is practically required in the endgame), it lets you make equipment for combat and repair your own gear.
You can use the Disciplines of the Land, which are gathering classes, to help you gather the necessary resources and materials to craft equipment. The three Disciplines of the Land are:
- Botanist
- Fisher
- Miner
Black Desert Online professions, also known as Life Skills, are the following 10:
- Alchemy
- Cooking
- Farming
- Fishing
- Gathering
- Hunting
- Processing
- Sailing
- Trading
- Training
Like Final Fantasy XIV, you can also perform each of the professions without being restricted.
Many Black Desert Online’s Life Skills can be used while AFK (Away From Keyboard), and mainly how they’re used. Since killing enemies will reward you more money per time invested, Black Desert Online’s professions usually are only performed when AFK.
Player versus Player (PvP)
Final Fantasy XIV has six main PvP modes:
The Wolves’ Den – 4 vs. 4 arena
The Feast – The only one with a competitive ranking, 4 vs. 4 or 8 vs. 8
Rival Wings – 24 vs. 24 battle
Frontlines – Three team battle, 24 vs. 24 vs. 24
Seal Rock — Like Frontlines, it is a 24 vs. 24 vs. 24 team battle
Field of Glory – Similar to the previous two, it is a 24 vs. 24 vs. 24 battlefield
Dueling is also available in the game, but it is restricted to the Wolves’ Den Pier zone.
The game doesn’t feature Open-World PvP.
Despite the many modes, PvP isn’t a top-rated attraction in Final Fantasy XIV, as players generally focus on PvE (Player versus Environment) instead. It can, however, be a lot of fun. Jobs also have PvP-only classes that can lead to different playability.
Black Desert Online has four main ways of doing PvP:
Open World PvP: Players can fight and kill other players when outside specific zones. If you kill players who are not in PvP mode, you accumulate Karma Points. When you have enough Karma Points, you get several different weaknesses, such as dropping your items when you die.
Guild Wars: When Guilds declare war on each other, you can kill players from the enemy Guild without receiving any Karma Points.
Sieges: This is the most significant battlefield of Black Desert Online, where you can get over a hundred players, all fighting for control of a castle, which grants you the ability to set taxes and profit from its ownership.
Caravans: Players that use caravan to make money also put them at risk, as other players can try to rob it. Whenever a caravan is being stolen, its owner will be incentivized to defend it, triggering a PvP conflict.
Quests, Dungeons, and Raids
Final Fantasy XIV sports a traditional system of Quests, Dungeons, and Raids. Players have access to hundreds of quests, which can be completed for gold, items, and experience.
It also has a normal Dungeon and Raid system.
Dungeons are private instances that can contain a group of up to 4 players, and they are unlocked through questing.
Raids are the most essential part of the endgame. It has the most exceptional items to reward players, and they’re also the most challenging encounters you’ll find in the game. Normal Raids have 8-player groups, while Alliance Raids have 24-player groups. Regular Raids can also increase their difficulty by choosing the higher-difficulty Savage Raid and the Ultimate Raid.
Black Desert Online is very different, though. It is a sandbox game with little care for Quests, Dungeons, and Raids.
Quests are few and far between, and although they can give you some pretty sweet rewards, they don’t award you Experience Points. You need to kill monsters to level up.
It also doesn’t have normal Dungeon or Raid systems.
The only two dungeons: Aakman Temple and Hystria Temple are just grinding zones, they don’t require groups, nor are they particularly tricky.
Black Desert Online doesn’t have any raids. No epic dungeons with legendary rewards that need big groups to be completed.
Instead, the endgame is mainly focused on PvP activities and interactions between different groups and guilds.
Platforms
Final Fantasy XIV is exclusive to Microsoft Windows.
Black Desert Online, unlike most other MMOs, isn’t a PC exclusive. It is also available on PS4, Xbox One. And that’s not all, it even has a mobile version for Android and iOS!
Conclusion
So, which one caught your attention more?
The PvP-driven sandbox world of Black Desert Online and its many platforms to play on?
Or Final Fantasy XIV‘s solid all-round MMO that has a little something for everyone?
Whether it was Black Desert Online or Final Fantasy XIV, you do have another option…
You can always try out both of them!
At the end of the day, there’s no better way to see if you like a game than to play it!
Sources
https://www.blackdesertonline.com
https://wiki.blackdesertonline.com/index.php?title=Main_Page