Hi guys,

So, like the title says, I'm just a new player. Well, not exactly, I'm still in the downloading phase but I have few questions before the beginning. I've seen the promo what says that if I can reach the level 50, I will have the game for free and, yes, that's a pretty good thing for trying and play a lot. But, with the trial version, can I play everything? With all classes and all map? Honestly I don't even know which character I will play but, if I can try few of them without restriction, it sounds pretty cool. I also have a question about the population of the game, It is still really played? Or the game is going to be gently depopulated with time? Next question is going to be on the same mood but, what about the servers? Do you recommand one in particular? My english is not perfect but, this is not really a problem to communicate for me, so, even if it's a full english server, I'm okay with that. Finally, do you know a good guide for beginning? The game looks pretty complex, with a lot of things to understand so, if I can avoid easy mistakes and time lost, it can be good.

Thanks for reading and good game to you.

Hey there, and welcome to bdo.

with the trial version, can I play everything?

Yes you can, you can do anything u want and however u want, only restricted by obviously the gear for certain zones because u still new but all good if u wanna try lifeskilling/sailing and so on.

Tip> U can make a trial character in character creation this trial character enters u in a test zone or battle field rather and u get gear and can unlock all skills of the class in an instant, try what u find cool. 

Fast moving classes preferably, mobility is nice on many low ap spots.

Population ? U will wish sometimes that there will be less people XD.

Mostly populated servers are the 3rd ones of each region Valencia3/Mediah3 and so on if u wanna see lots of people. I would say right now its less populated, summer vacation and so on.

Recommended servers are the NEW OLIVIA

Only new or returning adventurers can use this servers, you get extra experience.

Hope this answers your questions.

Dont rush the game, just enjoy it slowly.

Yes, you can get all classes, all quests, the whole map.

It is quite easy to hit level 50, just follow main quest-line. You will also get solid gear.

There should be 200k+ players playing daily over all platforms.

Create season character. Watch youtube videos which one is best for you. There are two main class groups Melee or MagicCasters. They differ by offense, defense, mobility..

I recommend you class which has stronger defense as a 1st char - Striker, Mystic, Guardian etc. (My 1st char is DarkKnight, it's fast fun meat grinder but squishy.)

This game is worth it, it just has 2 big downsides for me:

1.) hitting level 60 is like hitting a wall. Progress almost stops! It takes hundreds of hours to progress further.

2.) upgrading gear is like slot machine. You grind hours to get some "stone". But you will have like 5% chance to upgrade such gear. If you want to have top-upgraded-gear you have to grind-your-brain-off.. 

As far as I know trial accounts have no restrictions, I don't remember seeing any. After the trial period is over you won't be able to log in until you purchase the game. 

As far as servers go, I'd recommend using your regional server. By doing so you will most likely have the lowest ping possible.

Idk about guides better find a guild and ask someone to help you. Guides are a one way road. The game is sandbox-ish and imo it's better to ask a knowledgeable person in game. 

As long as you have access to the game, you won't feel hard limits like missing classes, unavailable parts of the maps ; so if you earn your game pass through the current event, you're good. You'll be able to play any class, anywhere ; the business model is made on all those paying shortcuts you can get through the cash shop, inventory, weight, various enhancement helps which may not help you in the end, and so on...

About population, we don't have a lot of info, but steam charts shows a pretty stable population and that's only a part of the population (players can use PA launcher, or play through Steam. But you can't switch). Not bad, above all for an "old" MMORPG. 

In game, it depends on you, if you go on popular spots you will meet players, if not you can find quiet spots but it will probably be less lucrative.

And the game is complex, really. Take your time and don't try to do everything at the same time! ;) 

Once you get to level 49 and 100% there will be a PvP warning.  It simply says you are now "fair game" for any user to target out on the road.  To be honest, it can happen, but unlikely like getting hit by lightening.  I think last year, I maybe ran across 8 player killers (PKers) in total and this year it has been very dead for them.   They cannot attack you inside towns.  Most of them tend to attack you when you are AFK and I find them the worst of the lot.   Should you return - from whatever else you are doing - to a dead character just revive them back in town and you are good to go.  

Since you are new, play the game from the Stone Chamber and not the Everfrost.  Everfrost will confuse you about  the story as it is really meant to be "end game".  There are few fights and a lot of lore dialog in Everfrost.  Otherwise, if you are not into story, and want to fast track to level 50, after you get to Heidel by following the story, buy some gear off the Central Market.  Then  just grind the following mobs;

1. Head west of Heidel to the Lynch farm and kill imps until level 20 to 25.

2. Move west again and kill Bandits to 30.

3. Move west and kill Harpies to 35.

4. Head out west to Calpheon and north of the city to kill trolls.

5. Southwest of the city Catfishmen will put you to 50 by then.

Grumpy Green Cricket has a blog for leveling and YouTuber EvilDoUsHarm has videos on how to level 1-60.

Depending on the time of day, most players are helpful in chat.  Blue group chat is best to ask questions and don't start up asking, "Can I ask a question?" lol

Great answers in here, just want to play a bit of devil's advocate here to continue the discussion >:)

1)  Well, to be completely accurate, 61 is the "wall"...you can get 60 - 61 by questing, which takes no more than a couple of hours.  1 hour if you know the quest routes. 

That said, I feel this "wall" is great -- it gives a great feeling of accomplishment when reaching high levels.  BDO is a grinder game and high levels shows you did just that!  This is the only reason I want to hit level 66 -- simply for this feeling.  Past level 61 - 62, there are no significant benefit for levels (I think you get, like 10 HP and other minimal stats per level at this point), so levels past these are nothing more than bragging rights, if anything.  You gain access to all skills at all skill levels at level 60 (or is it 61?  Either one)...all you need are enough skill points.

2)  This is true, which is why many players opt to forgo enhancing and get a 100% upgrade rate by utlizing the Central Market.  This, of course, requires an investment of time, planning, steady progress, and a great degree of patience, especially for top shelf items like PEN Blackstar.  Some will argue that the grind for said top shelf items is too arduous....that the grind is too long, too hardcore, too much -- to that, I say, "yes, but these are 'top shelf' items....the absolute best items silver can buy -- these should be hard to get!  If it were easy, the top shelf items wouldn't be as valuable, getting them wouldn't be as satisfactory, and it makes the overall "Adventure" [the grind] much, much shorter -- limiting playtime / gameplay / goals".  Jetina guaranteed PEN (including an accessory) helps a ton, even Bronte's Bolt, which is a free, questable, accessory that's nearly on par with a TET Dawn Earring.  But for PEN?  Yep, the grind is hardcore...by design!  Why keep playing if you can get everything easily?  What goals to strive for if everything was quick?  BDO is meant to be a long-term game, not some 30 hour game...so by saying the grind takes forever, I say, well, it's doing a good job at what it's meant to do, right?

That said, top shelf items are not mandatory, even for things like competitive, high-end PvP.  Normal boss weapons, such as Kzarka and Dandelion are still viable -- they just require Caphra's Stones to increase their strength to be on par with Blackstar.  In regards to PvP, Dande and Kzarka are, in fact, better, in that, they offer more All Species Damage than Blackstar with identical AP and Accuracy --> at C20, a Kzarka / Dandelion will outperform Blackstar for PvP and it's cheaper, but that's a side note.  Main point is that absolute BiS isn't mandatory to grind top end mobs or compete in high-end PvP -- Damage in-game is very high right now.  You don't need more than 289ish AP (or less) to combo down 401 DP, the last DP bracket and 281 - 289 AP is very, very achievable, and at around 281 - 289 AP, you can grind almost anywhere efficiently with almost any class and skill.  Of course, higher gear is always better, one reason to keep at it.  Also, FoTM grinders exist, PvE performance tier lists exist, but the gap between class PvE performance has never been slimmer than it is today.

It's a pay to win / pay for convenience game. It has very few pay to win items available so it's mostly pay for convenience. Almost all costumes are cash shop so if you want to look good you either have to buy it with in-game money from other players who are selling the cash shop items or buy them yourselves. Some times aren't available outside the cash shop. That's why they give away the game for free. You end up buying things like a value pack which is essentially your sub or a tent etc... It's not required but it's strongly recommended. I wouldn't spend a dime on this game for the first 2 or 3 months so you know if the game is worth it to you or not.

@Tooshai you are normally so optimistic about this game.  I would say, it is pay for cosmetics, but we just got a few free outfits given to us. 

Most of the boys here buy their women sexy undies for $7.50 a pair. My underwear in the real world isn't as sexy,  but it does cost about the same.  If I have a gripe about real cash items,  it is the dyes.  Permanent dyes sell for roughly 50 cents each.  However buying the box of red dyes gets you random reds.  Meaning you can get Snow Red which is mostly white or Gloomy Red which is mostly black or something Indigo which is mostly blue.  Buying dye from my point of view is akini to buying lottery scratch off tickets.  Meanwhile you cannot buy a horse in the Pearl Shop with real cash.  You either pay silver or you catch a horse on your own.  But the fancy horse gear will be cash for the best dressed horse.

I don't buy Value Packs  (VP) for cash any more, I am still running on 90 days from my collection, and I get these from the CM (central market). They do cost about 333 million silver at present, but the wait isn't too bad.  They include discounts and buffs, it is stuff I can live without, but since I have them I do use them.  You can get the one day VP from login rewards every 14 days you will earn 2800 loyalty points to buy one from the Pearl Store.

I never expect anyone to play just as I do.  You will discover a lot more of this out on your own.  Most of my cash buys are reserved for great outfits and furniture.  

Have fun!

Oh I agree, the dye system needs to.... die. And it's a one-time use AND you have to buy bleach to remove it and can't use the VP's dye system to dye over it without bleach. Horrendous system. AND they sell merv's pallete as expensively as the value pack but the value pack comes with it, so it makes zero sense to ever buy it.

Guild wars does it right. You get a dye and it's in your family dye set for life. There's no undoing what you got, it can be used forever and ever as many times as you want. You find dyes in the game, during events and by purchasing them.  It's such a nice system and let me just say that GW2 has the single best wardrobe system in any game with the exception of the inability to mix and match. But it's the fact that once you collect, you own. FF14 does a fantastic job at mixing and matching and permits you to create glamour plates which are style combinations like this hat, this shirt, these pants etc... BDO unfortunately offers none of these conveniences but they claim it's in the works. But we have seen a lot of "in the works" features that just mysteriously disappeared in the development cycle. I'm talking to you climbing feature :'(

I agree with the VP and costumes Looney, although as a Shai main, my ability to procure costumes on the central market are very slim. People tend to sell shai costumes few and far in between so I have to wait until they are on sale or I have a good enough coupon during the event like halloween or whatever. But the rest can be obtained relatively easily on the CM if you're patient. I have spent maybe $600 for two accounts (one and my SO's) over the years and that's far less than subscription fees for FF14 which was close to $1000.

All-in-all, BDO doesn't require any purchase but it's a super strong recommendation to at least get the tent when it's on sale. Always, always, ALWAYS buy things on sale because everything eventually goes on sale. There are quests that gives 20% off coupons as well, so keep those until you're ready to use them if there's no coupon to use.