GM Notes Feb 20, 2024, 16:00 (UTC)
Interview with Black Desert Ambassadors: Minarya and Rilma!
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Helping the community is our duty!
Black Desert Ambassadors Interview
Greetings, Adventurers!
Today we would like to interview two Adventurers who have been a part of the Ambassador Program for the last 3 years. They have proven to be the best at what they do: Helping and guiding our community!
What is a Black Desert Ambassador?
An Adventurer who shares their Black Desert knowledge with in-game chat groups or Discord, and creates guides for other Adventurers. They also guide new Adventurers and returnees.
An Adventurer who shares their Black Desert knowledge with in-game chat groups or Discord, and creates guides for other Adventurers. They also guide new Adventurers and returnees.
First, we introduce Minarya from the EU server, who has been an Ambassador since February 2021. That is a long time being part of the Ambassador program, so we have lots of questions about her journey and why she loves the Black Desert community so much.
CM Cadry
Hello Minarya! Thank you for sparing some of your time for this interview. Would you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Minarya
Hi CM Cadry, thank you for inviting me to the interview. I am Minarya, mostly known to everyone as just Mina, or "that crazy cat lady". I've been playing BDO for about 7 years now on the EU server, and have since then been loyal to my favourite class, the Dark Knight. For the last 6-ish years I have been somewhat involved with the BDO community, first through the Dark Knight discords, and then with the Ambassador Program. It has been a lot of fun and I met so many new people, including some quite long-time friends already.
CM Cadry
Why did you initially decide to apply to the Ambassador program?
Minarya
As I mentioned before, I had been involved with the DK community for quite a while already, and also joined other BDO discords, where I ended up speaking to other members of the community, who back then led the Library initiative. It was used to poll and survey players about things to be added to the game and give the option to consolidate feedback from all players. I decided to help out there, as well as become active in the back-then official BDO discord. Helping all these players was a bit of a new challenge for me, but it was great to see how much of a positive effect one could have by just giving a few helpful nudges in the right direction. I ended up joining the Ambassador Program that existed back in the old times of the previous publisher before Pearl Abyss published the game themselves in our region. When the publisher change happened, I was still looking forward to helping more players, in a bit of a more structured form now. So, I applied once again to the program and luckily got accepted. Since then, I have been an Ambassador and Moderator on the official Discord server and got to continue being a part of our community.
CM Cadry
You have been part of the Ambassador program for a long time: 3 years in total. What made you stick to the Ambassador program for so long?
Minarya
It is just fun to me, in many different ways. Not only are we Ambassadors a wonderful little crazy community among ourselves, but I have gotten to know so many other players during my time as an Ambassador. Whether it is helping each other out, guiding new players, or just sending cheeky cat pics back and forth, the positive interactions I have seen in my years as an Ambassador have been numerous (sure, there have been negative ones as well, but such is life). I still love helping new players find their footing, teaching people to read, or diving into different guides, tech support articles, and endless BDOcodex entries to find a solution to some nebulous problem someone managed to get into. Or, as my fellow DK sisters would remind me, spending hours bug testing and recording weird skill interactions and writing feedback to hopefully get some fixes. Overall, it feels very rewarding, and I look forward to continuing.
CM Cadry
As you already know, we check the activity of our Ambassadors every month, and you are one of the Ambassadors with the highest activity on Discord with around 137k messages. That is a huge amount of messages! What makes you choose Discord over other platforms when offering your help?
Minarya
Honestly, it's just the most convenient. Discord offers the option to directly interact with the people you're helping, instead of waiting hours for a reply that may or may not come. Copy-pasting links and picture guides is super easy, and I can tag someone if they have not replied in a long time to check in with them. We also have many guides already on the official Discord server, and with the other Ambassadors and veteran players in the chats, it's also easier to find a solution together, even if my knowledge is not enough to cover something (please never ask me something ocean related, I do not know anything :) ). We also have a ticket system, where a player can open a "private" chat with us Ambassadors, in order to get a deeper look into some issues, especially when they are tech-related. Since this often requires long troubleshooting, it’s easier to have a chat that only a few people can see and type in, to really pay attention to what is going on. I am also rather active on the forums, but to me, Discord just feels more like a home, since this is where I got involved with the BDO community at first. The number of messages also may or may not be related to the fact that I tend to talk too much sometimes, haha.
CM Cadry
Do you have any anecdotes about the Ambassador program that you would like to share with our readers?
Minarya
Probably too many, but let’s go with this one. On the second anniversary of the Ambassador Program, we held a bit of a celebration in-game. A lot of us met up on the NA servers, including many of the NA GMs, and we did a parade from the Blue Lion’s Manor toward and into Heidel, picking up quite a few spectators on the way. We then engaged into Endgame BDO content, aka sitting on rooftops and talking about all kinds of things. And of course, showing off our horses and outfits. It was quite a fun time, and I think the most Ambassadors we have gotten to an in-game meetup to date.
CM Cadry
Could you share with us a case where you helped another Adventurer, and you were really proud?
Minarya
Sheesh, there have been a lot of cases. First off, I may have to mention the DK community once again. We had a few bugs following some skill changes, for which we did long and extensive bug testing. And in more than a few cases, we did actually get fixes to these things we ended up reporting, which always felt greatly rewarding, especially when seeing the hard-earned trust from that not-always-easy-to-handle community.
Minarya
On a more personal interaction, the cases that make me the proudest are usually tech issues. I don’t have any background in these things, but with the support and guidance of some fellow Ambassadors, I do think I learned a lot in the past years. And when we find some players with tech troubles, finally finding the source of these problems and seeing the message “I am back in game, thank you so much” always makes me extremely happy (I do end up getting sent cat pictures as a thank you in some cases, this may also have an influence on that feeling).
CM Cadry
Our last question. What would you say to people that do not know about the Ambassador program and to those who are thinking about joining?
Minarya
I know a lot of adventurers have not yet had any interactions with the Ambassador Program, and are probably wondering, just who or what we are. To make it short, we are a group of experienced players, with knowledge in many different areas (PvP, PvE, Lifeskilling, Questing, Seasons, Tech Issues), who volunteer our time to help other adventurers on many different platforms. You can find us on Discord, the forums, in-game chat groups, Twitch, and probably a bunch of other platforms I am forgetting about right now. We love to support players with their questions and help them find answers. Whether you are wondering about what class to play, how to do a certain quest, how to finish the Season Pass, or where to find a guide for failstacking, we are happy to look into it with you. Come say hi, or send us a message somewhere, if you ever find yourself in need of assistance. Even if one of us might not know the answer, we usually at least know someone who does. So, if you get frustrated or confused because you cannot figure out something in the game, let us know and we can shed some light on the issue.
Minarya
To those who think about joining, you are always welcome to our group. You do not need to be an expert in every area of the game, just bring a helpful spirit, and we can all have fun together (If you have a cat, that is an extra bonus point, but tell no one I said that).
CM Cadry
Thank you for your time, Minarya. Keep up the amazing work you are doing for our community!
Minarya
Thank you as well, CM Cadry. To more years of collaboration!
We have another Ambassador we'd like to introduce, Rilma. She plays on NA and has been an Ambassador since February 2021 as well. Moreover, Rilma has been a Top Ambassador for 15 months in total! What does Rilma have to say about being one of the best helpers in our community?
CM Corruption
Hello Rilma, thank you for sparing some of your time for this interview. Would you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Rilma
Hello everyone! I go by Rilma in-game. I've been part of the Ambassador Team since we started working out of a dusty little Library back in 2018~
CM Corruption
Why did you initially decide to apply to the Ambassador program?
Rilma
Initially it was due to wanting to help out the community "at large" with the knowledge I have gathered over the years! I spent a lot of time researching on my own, so I wanted to share what I had found out from my "solo playing" years with everyone.
CM Corruption
You have been part of the Ambassador program for a long time: 3 years in total. What made you stick to the Ambassador program for so long?
Rilma
Truthfully, I didn't realize it had been that long! I keep up as a member of the Ambassador Program as I just enjoy being able to talk and assist everyone! It's been such an enriching experience for me over the years.
CM Corruption
Times does fly by, especially when you love what you do!
CM Corruption
As you already know, we check the activity of our Ambassadors every month, and during your time as an Ambassador, you have held the Top Ambassador title for a total of 15 months! You don't stick to helping players in official avenues but many times you reach out in community Discords, fansites, and Twitch. Why do you often times decide to help out in unofficial locations?
Rilma
It certainly wasn't an easy thing to do! I have such a wide variety of places that I reach out to because of one simple fact: Many players are shy or embarrassed to ask their questions in official channels. In some cases, we have players who feel intimidated by the sheer number of people present, and in other situations, we have people who would feel embarrassed asking questions outside of an area of relative comfort. Due to this, it's important to maintain a presence outside of official platforms so that the players know that there are always knowledgeable players around to answer the questions that they might have.
CM Corruption
That's fair 😯. I know when I first started BDO, I stayed clear of the official Discord and was more active in the community discords!
Rilma
I was very much the same way when I started, too. I believe that it's something that happens to many, many players, and that's okay!
CM Corruption
Do you have any anecdotes about the Ambassador program that you would like to share with our readers?
Rilma
By Sylvia, there's been quite a few by now. I'll share one of the more recent ones, though! In one of the many community discords, there was a particular player who really wanted to obtain a certain outfit as their end-game goal. This particular player was extremely distraught as they were looking at their gear and comparing it to the requirements for one of the spots where you can obtain the outfit. I worked with them to start learning how to play the Shai class as their "off main" class so that they might be able to obtain this outfit one day. While it's hard to read into text on a screen, you could tell that they had some hope that they would be able to one day obtain the outfit of their dreams! And, if that particular player happens to be reading along with us, I wish upon them all of Sylvia's blessings in their quest!
CM Corruption
That's really sweet! I love that you figured out how you could help rather than ignoring them because the end goal was likely very far away.
Rilma
I'm very glad that I was able to help them out as well! It still makes me feel warm inside when I look back at that conversation. It means a lot to be able to make a difference like that, and there have been plenty of others that I've helped in similar ways as well. One of my favorite things to do is to bring a new player onto the back of my horse and do a "guided tour" of the game world by bringing them to each capital city, and summarizing what happened in the game's past in each city.
CM Corruption
Maybe I'll take you up on the guided tour sometime to brush up on my Black Desert lore knowledge!
Rilma
Perhaps if the Grass Beetles of lore are willing to assist with the timing!
CM Corruption
Okay, let's go into our last question. What would you say to people who do not know about the Ambassador program and to those who are thinking about joining?
Rilma
Oh you left the tricky one for last! Sneaky sneaky minion of Kzarka! To those of you who don't know about the Ambassador program, I'd like you to know this: We are fellow players who have decided to volunteer our time to help better the community. We are always around, even if we don't have our title or tag visible. If you have questions about the game or need guidance, please reach out to us so that we can help. We have all been in a position where we were unsure of what to do next! Let us be your lighthouse in the storm.
Rilma
For those of you who would like to join, if you want to help your peers and meet some really cool folks while you're at it, please apply! The worst thing that can happen is that you are told "No" for that particular month!
CM Corruption
Thank you for your time, Rilma. Keep up the amazing work you are doing for our community!
Thank you to all our Ambassadors for making our community a positive and friendly environment for all our Adventurers! This would not be the same without you! (づ๑•ᴗ•๑)づ♡
Do you need help or guidance from the Ambassadors? Visit our official Discord!
Our Ambassadors will always be there for you in case you need guidance with a quest or some tips on how to master your class. You will be able to find them in-game, and other official platforms such as the forums or Discord. Do not be shy and approach them if you see them!
Thank you to everyone who read the interview and see you in the next one!
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