Vast majority of the people playing BDO ironically are PvE players mainly. I can't recall when this poll was, if someone can find it please post it because there was a poll for BDO a while ago on Reddit in which the question was asked what people saw themselves, PvE or PvP players. I remember around 30% stated they were mainly PvP players while about 70% stated being mainly PvE players.

If you look at the current content and even planned updates, it does seem like PA is mainly catering towards PvE players first because... well any sensible company will cater to the majority of their players while only throwing the occasional scrap at the minority. That's just how companies work really.

Would it be nice to have a good amount of PvP content come into BDO? Yes definately. But will that happen at the cost of PvE content? It doesn't look like it for now.

I think it's pretty much dead haha.  Sure, The Transfer from Kakao to PA helped sucker in tons of new players and Returning players like myself to sub back into the game.  They even released Sage and Elvia grinding spots.

But, there's really nothing to do ingame but grind monsters and lifeskill.  Quests are boring.  Story is non-existent.  New grinding spots are designed for ppl with a ton of Gearscore so 90% of the playerbase have nothing new.

When i came back on the last week of February, the guild i was on was dead.  I was able to fill it up to 100/100 with mostly Olvia players.  Now there's barely 20 online, I myself am bored of killing the same mobs or gathering herbs/trees/rocks for hours. 

PVP in this game is dead,  Nodewars is boring and Siege is a joke.  When FFXIV's Tab Targetting PVP is more "Accessible" and fun than the supposed PVP game AKA BDO you know something is wrong lol.

The only thing fun about BDO is the ability to minimize this game and still kinda play it while you play a real game.

BDO has basically been the same for over 5 years and is doing very well.

thank you for keeping your belief at home.

You hate BDO ?
Move on.  nobody force you here.
You believe that the game gonna *Die* this years ?

Why losing your time here complaining? Big cognitive dissonance ! Stop being Hypocrite
How to uninstall BDO

Now Deleting your account.
https://account.pearlabyss.com/en-US/DashBoard

And follow the rest of the Step.

Happy day.

Here is the problem...not that it is at an epic level yet, but it will be soon...

PVP is not voluntary!

I bet that most players were not aware that they do not have to be on a PVP server, or even flagged as PVP, to be GANKED?

I bet most players are not aware until it happens, that your tradable items such as fish are destroyed when you are GANKED?

I bet most people are not aware that they will be one shotted at level 61 with 290DP, without being flagged PVP or on a PVP server.

And now, with pets that fix karma, lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

So as soon as all the 12 year olds figure out they can grief players that are not flagged PVP and are NOT on a PVP server, and cause them to lose millions in a single one shot GANK, it will be open season on the peaceful players, and the game mechanics wilkl cause great discontent...just wait and see :-)

It use to be the opposite though. It only shift toward majority being PVE focused players because PA has been ignoring the issue pledging the PVP scene for years now. As well as not even trying to improve on ok idea that could clearly be better like how RBF and NWs are designed. Simple put the balance in this game has never been remotely close to prefect (not saying perfect balance is possible) there has always been a class that is virtually unplayable in a PVP scenario and there always been a class that has dominated the PVP scene in this game's history. Now usually developers implement game changes that fix these balancing issues. However, in PA case over last 5 years PVP has become less balanced not more balanced an is continuing to do so. This way many players have slowly stopped caring about PVP in this game, in-fact if you ask most of the people that started playing this game for it PVP an also quit they'll tell you it because PA never even tried to balance the game an have actually made the game more unbalance over time than balanced.

Also PA is notorious for never improving features in BDO example is RBF an the trading life skill. Players have been asking for overhauls and changes to these two systems for years because of poorly designed they. This is also now the case for NW and siege now that players are hitting full PEN gear it very clear that base structures in NW and siege weren't balance for people in full PEN. Sense back when people averaged tri gear a flame tower actually took a while to kill an it damage was actually a threat, but now with full PEN players structures melt from 100% HP to zero in literal seconds. This is why once the defender of a base gets wiped once there usually stuck only defending their base until it dead. Since if they leave their base for even a second their tower will crumble before there even half way to the enemies base. But again PA has shown no interest in implementing a fix to this clearly poorly designed outdated mechanic an has left it as is for years now.

I'm personally very optimistic for the future of BDO. I mean, I don't see BDO ever dethroning the top MMOs and being more popular then ever, but I do see BDO continuing to get updates & exist in a state I enjoy playing, for a long time to come.  You don't need to be a massive game to still have the revenue to continue development and stay fun for the fans. And fortunately BDO is still pretty popular all things considered!   

I hope that Pearl Abyss doesn't take their playerbase for granted. Never rest, and try harder to fix things that players consider broken or in need of help & freshness. I don't think the game dies anytime soon. But PA better stay energetic and keep working hard to identify flaws and fix them and it's going to need more than just new zones & classes - we need some love & care on old features here, and an *honest* try at PvP balance even if just for the sake of shaking up a stagnant metagame. 

IF BDO dies it'll be because people logging in every day start thinking "nothing ever changes except the scenery whats the point? I grind in a new spot but it feels no different. I try the new class but go right back to my main. I fight a new week of Nodewar and each team still has 50% casters. I go to RBF and it's the same map and the same cycle. Please shake things up, end the stagnancy!"

Well the facts says otherwise.

BDO is stagnating. It's not dead (yet), but ain't growing either.

Now with PA takeover players logged in their accounts to transfer it, hence the active population up by 50%.

Whathewer will happens onwards is up to PA. If they start actually care about the game (highly doubt) it might gain increase in popularity on long term.

But what is more likely, that most players will just drop it after they found out, that the game literately not improved anything since they left it...

I'm actually curious what will happen. PA is really trying to advertise the game, and there are bdo ads everywhere... though at this point it's rather pointless tbh, this isn't a new game, anyone who wanted to try BDO already did, and know how "great" it is. Advertising it with a new class ain't going to wash out their sour experience like the p2w factor, the grindiness, shallow content, lack of ballance, trash, not userfriendly UI etc. the list is long...

As you said, the game barely did change in the past year, hence it did not improve, and most of the issues still persist. Seeing this, wasting money on advertisment seems pointless, as people might try it, but why would they stay?

The way I see it, BDO will persist and persevere longer than any of us can predict. The total active player base, a number we don't have access to as customers, will have to significantly plummet for the game to die before the year ends. I don't see this as probable because I will continue playing BDO throughout the year, and many others will do the same. 

The game is just that good for most of us, especially whom don't even visit the forums. 

And that's the funny thing. for the few tens of thousands of players, these * issues * are not.
The *Balance* does not exist. Its never existed, a myth.

the ad serves to capture those who understand and appreciate the genre that BDO brings. The others must keep quiet and go their way.

BDO which changes is BDO which dies. BDO must remain BDO otherwise BDO is no longer.

BDO does not need anything that the traditional cycles already implemented since the release.

Only and only players who like BDO should be heard and still only minimally .. and only ideas that follow to maintain the main philosophy. Aka the Sandpark Pvpve centric mmo genre that i love, like the historical Lineage 2 that I played with passion from 2004 to 2016.
L2 Private in C4 for be more specific . Because NCsoft did the stupidity of Themeparkiser , Casualising their games and Wowifier, to listen to those who don't like it.

It is by staying true to yourself that a game become a good game.
Otherwise, we would have flying mounts and Pet battles on CS: GO. As most pests demand ( No joke). the Casual plague cancer player.
Always level down, for a sacred accessibility to casual. And that make all the games are *fun for everyone*. That a game reaches the widest possible audience.
The worst mistake. The worst crime. the ultimate stupidity.

Gaming has never been a question of wide sharing, The most beautiful paintings are appreciated by few and are the most expensive. It's a learning, A precision , an Art. A surpassing.

Today 99.99% video games are no longer an Art. It is a disposable morphal commercial product. Even the goty game ones have nothing qualitative, they are no better than the popular mode outbursts of a hand spinner.

We don't repaint the Mona Lisa because morons don't like its nose. BDO must never change.

I agree that game should stay true to it core design and shouldn't cater to the wishes and wants of those who fail to see the game for what the game is. But, this doesn't mean changes to the game can't happen MMORPGs are suppose to be game that evolve over time an those changes shouldn't interfere with the game's core design. If game was made to be open world and encourage open world activities than yes instanced zones should never be added to the game it creates contradiciting game design chooses and creates an identity cries with the game which results in the death of a game, because now it trying to be everything at once at once and fails as a result.  It why I'll never understand why people that go into a game an ask for contradiciting features to be added to that game I don't play BDO expecting RTS elements just like I don't play XCOM expecting action combat.

But with that said change isn't a bad thing in it self for a game. Look at EVE online for example on how change can improve the game without changing the core design of the game. EVE online been around sense 2003 it had major overhauls in 99% of its mechanics but it has never once suffered from having an identiy crise despite the fact that the EVE online version in 2003 feels like a completely different game from the current 2021 version that exist now. An when I say they've overhauled everything in EVE online I mean everything. The game has had a complete overhaul in how combat works, exploration works, how holding territory works, how missions work, how mining works, how manufacturing works, etc. An to this day the game is still releasing overhauls on old systems and improving them.

But BDO well BDO had the same untouched unimproved NW system for 5 years now an it clearly showing it age an how it desperately needs an overhaul and improvements, same with the trading life skill (I mean really now how many people know about and even use the smuggling system in BDO using the trading life skill here?), the fishing life skill, the crafting system in regard to workshops for say armor, weapons, and accessories. These system are old outdated and desperately need improvements cause as it stands I don't know a single person that activitly makes grunil gear anymore using the workshop in mediah. I bet if you removed the smuggling system and the ability to make grunil armor than people literally wouldn't even notice because not a single person does them. 20m registed players not a single one of those 20m even partake in these systems.