Hey now, I use my War Cry religiously on group fights. :P

In the first levels until you get in the level 50 areas the monsters are easy. but when you go to Catfish or the Skelletons on fresh levle 50 character with like 80 AP they take a while... in Media Region you will realise the first "difficulty wall". You should enchant your story gear aka "Naru gear" now slowly to PEN. even then Media Region is kinda tanky unless u reach level 56 and get your awakening/succession.

Yes its a bit weird that the game balance this way, they should bring back the AP caps.. and make Serendia, Balenos, Calpheon Monsters unable to oneshot no matter how much AP you have.

The game goes from "autohit mobs oneshot (velia)" to "skil combo oneshot (catfish)" to "onecombo (mediah/valencia)" and then "tanky"(starsend,aakman,hystria,....)

In the lategame no matter if u are 250 AP or 300 AP.. you will not oneshot mobs anymore. the monsters are just to tanky.

Difficulty wise until level 50 its more a "tutorial" then things get harder until u are level 56 and got awakening. Then things slowly become easyer while leveling up your skills until you enter Kamasylvia aka the 200AP+ zones.

Personaly i think the overall "recommended ap" needs to be adjusted.

Its confusing and silly. that at "Manshaum" a 240 AP zone you need like 2-3 Skills with 240.. But at Stars End the 260 AP zone you need like 10 SKills even if u are 261 AP.  and at Elvia Zone 250 AP you need like 6 SKills when on 250AP...

They should balance the game if you get the "recomended ap" you start 2-3 shotting the mobs no matter if sycraia, aakman, ash forest.. If u have 300 AP you should farm a 300 AP spot like you farm a 180 AP spot with 180 AP.

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I'll play a little while longer, although I've a feeling it may not be my cup of tea in the long run. No disrespect to those who enjoy it, but I feel the constant grindy and lack of any real skill aspect of the combat (at least when it comes to the PvE) will just make me loose the will to live tbh. Perhaps I'll just sail the seas and farm potatos.

i have 281 AP and i believe the PvE content is boring and repetitive, maybe dont be so hypersensitive about people being honest?

For many of us BDO is only a way to kill time until a real MMO releases, as we speak Project BBQ is being developed, it might not be the next open world WOW/GW2 and its graphical style might not appeal to everybody but as of now is the brightest light on the dark path of the self-sabotaged MMO industry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RG8Y254L5Q

This general statement is not true. Other mmo (like ESO or Age of Conan to cite a couple I know well the end game) have PVE contents you will fail forever, even if max top geared, if you don't know how to play your class, you don't know the mechanics of the mobs/bosses or you're not enough skilled as player. BDO has its own qualities, a lot, and I like it but it's not a game where a skilled player can make a huge difference over gear and its PVE design is, in effect, basic.

Precisely, well said!

Everyone has their own preference fpr pve and likes one thing or another.

That being said the game provides you really easy entry (tutorial style) pve at the start and gradually gets harder; not as much mechanically rather than monsters got more cc/hp/ap etc. Which is meant to have players push further up the gear ladder.

The monster zones are not mechanically omplex except for places like Ash Forest and Olun where you need to pay attention and respond to monsters actions appropriately to not get stomped or lose massive degrees of efficiency.

Anyone saying that player skill doesnt matter in grinding is simply being too lazy to optimize or just bad and looking for excuses. 
That much becomes apparent when you look at the results of your average player and compare to someone who min-maxes their pve.

Proper buffs, perfect positioning and pulls, proper combo sequences and CC avoidance all make massive difference in your overall performance in PvE, moreso in high end spots. Skimp on any one of those and your results will take a dip. Sure you can go and mash buttons with enough gear, but you will never perform as well as ppl who actually take the time to play properly do.

In other words, BDO is indeed not a skill-based game but a gear-based hac'n'slash. Even the devs officially stated it.

This factual truth is obvious for every competent gamer, yet Factorial refuses to acknowledge it.

to the OP:

there are alot of noobs in this thread, they are hating on BDO because they cannot be bothered to take the time and effort to make and play a high leveled character with decent gear. in their world the mobs are always paper and easy to kill because they make no progress.

Once you get higher in level and stats, the game opens up to various difficult grind areas and unique monster mechanics. Areas that are required of a 2 person, 3 person, or more are available. 

also, I am not a hater of anyone looking for information, but asking a loaded question on a platform like this one will get you an easy retort from all the toxic players, especially the ones who already have a few hundred negative posts in these little 3 months that the forums have been available. the ones I am referring to only aim to tear BDO down instead of building it up...