Kinda hard to recommend or encourage someone to play a dying game lol but welcome back?

Considering the content release schedule, i hardly believe we are talking of a dying game.

How can you say that? Just pissed off because havent got yet your desired gear upgrade?

In your dreams.

You're in a good spot to come back to BDO, it's a mature and healthy game. To take things into perspective, a regular player needs about one year to reach endgame areas such as Hadum. Less if you have real cash or lots of time to invest.

What I would recommend is stop using the forums as they're full of bitter people such as this topic shows and join a nice guild who is new/returning players friendly. You'll get actual and up to date information unlike here.

Welcome back to the game.

You'll find it has changed/advanced and many many many improvements from when you first played.

You'll also find many things you are familiar with as well.

I would recommend like Smileybones, find a good guild.

Take some time though, first, to relax a bit solo with the game-do some quests, check out armor/weapons,  lifeskills, fight some mobs , and check out the the lands.

Come back try the game out. I high recommend against spending money on this game. Until you've come out of Olvia and Seasonal channels and experience the real game for about one or two months. The game has advanced in a few ways. So now is as good as a time as ever to try BDO again.

Like Smiley said, you are looking at about a year until you start to enter endgame areas. More if you plan on being competitive in endgame areas. That's all saying, only if you don't enhance and buy your gear. So with decent RNG on the drops, and not enhancing. You are looking at about 1,500 to 2,500 hours of hardcore grinding, or spending tens of thouasnds of IRL money to get into endgame. It's not bad considering it's a Korean grinder.

I hope you enjoy your time in game.

Oh yeah also becareful maining Sage. Because I heard that the Devs are soon nerf the living daylights out of Sage. Till it becomes most players lifeskiller character.

While the game is indeeded on downfall, it's free, so you can just get it and have some casual fun around.

For a free game, it's worth it's cost.

Tho there are loot of other mmos that gonna launch soon in the west(including the one who killed bdo in it's own home country), so it's not exactly the best idea to have long term plans.

true, bdo is not dying, its in a stable coma together with others (gw2,eso), from time to time fingers and toes twitch more often than usual, but still in a potato state.

Meanwhille, several new healthy babies about to be born and one child is happily playing with his friends outside and having fun (ff14 and others)

And a middle-aged man watching it judging its every move because it used to be that young and agile (wow)