Hello and thank you for joining me on land for this interview! Could you please introduce yourself for those who may not be familiar with you? 😊

Hello everyone, my name is Allusive and a Guru 10 Sailor/Pirate! 

I've been playing Black Desert Online since May 2017. What initially drew me in was the game's sandbox nature, there were so many different paths to explore and ways to progress, it felt limitless. I was especially interested by the ocean content at the time, even before Carracks were introduced! The freedom and depth of gameplay truly hooked me from the start. 

In BDO, nowadays I full have immersed myself into the ocean. I basically center all my gameplay around sailing the seas nonstop. I mainly Sea monster hunt and do ship vs ship battles at every opportunity. I have decided to become a pirate in the seas. Although very differently, I actually do it as a way to place a bounty on my head to be open to any attack. It is kind of a way I found to make my own gameplay/roleplay. 

Many know me as the "nice" pirate, because I actually do my utmost best to not sink anyone I come across as my pirate code. Having your ship sunk is pretty penalizing for the players, so I always want to bring more sailors into BDO ocean rather than scare them away. For example, if I run across a ship I will attack them instantly. Sometimes they attack back and that makes it a fun fight for me and I would let off before they sink. I actually used to do this quite often in a Advance Carrack to make myself a more attractive target while I could barter (although pirates can not barter now recently anymore).

Interesting! A "nice pirate" is not something I think most players think about as an option. When engaging with others in that manner, do they understand what you're trying to do? How often do you get someone answering your challenge? 

Usually they do not and flee, but I have macro spams to say fun things like "Prepare to be boarded and fight, ye scallywags!" etc. and then have a *I won't actually sink you at the end.  

 
So initially, I did not get many answering my challenge as most sailors can swap servers quickly. But overtime, people have recognized my ship name and fought back for fun. It happens more often when I run the Balance or Advance rather than the warship (Panokseon) 
 

Especially since people see me on Twitch streaming my pirate actions/ship battles often. The ship name is a unique thing in the oceans and people begin to associate your ship name with your family. I've actually named all my ships Allusive to make it easier! 

Ah I see! Have you ever engaged in any 2v2 or type battles with your ship, or mostly solo battles? 

I have engaged in 2v2 often especially when Duo grinding Saltwater Crocodiles. But the majority of them are solo battles in the ocean, since the population of sailors is smaller. Everyone gets to know each other pretty well in the community and start to request duels for fun. 

 
Ships battles are really unique in BDO, sometimes I do multiple duels for hours and hours

Meanwhile I'm begging for crocs duo! Can you share a story about a memorable battle you had at sea? 

A memorable battle at sea must have been funnily enough during one of the group Blue Whale Hunting spawns! Because this was when I had just started finishing my Volante (which is actually my 1st ship, I barely barter lol). This was kind of my start into ship battles. I thoroughly enjoyed the combat aspect of sailing, e.g. sea monster hunting and using cannons etc. So it was one of my first few encounters with pirates before I became one. 

 
Blue Whale Hunters have discord to communicate in which I started to become a "rescue/escort ship" for them. The role is to pickup hunters falling off the ship and defend against pirates.  

 

As I escorted the hunters around, we were attacked by a band of pirates (2 ships). I would have to do my best along with another escort ship to distract them and hold them off while the whale hunters on the main ship following the whale had to quickly finish the whale and gather its resources. These battles would happen over multiple servers as blue whales spawn all over. We would be doing our best to fight back and distract the pirates. I remember this well because I was still extremely new to ship battles and it would be a challenge even for an even 2v2 matchup to fight against skillful pirates. 

I took a lot of losses that day on my own ship as my crewman (sailor NPCs) were made sick multiple times. Even so I spent the silver/crow coins to quickly recover them and engage back into battle and defended the whale hunters. It was actually a heavy negative loss for me as I could not partake in the whale resources myself. But I was rewarded with extremely fun ship battles and that have since pushed me further and further into them. Now as a pirate myself too! Although I actually still on good terms with the whale hunters so I have received an honorary discord role of: "Great ValueTM Arrr!"

I love that title 😂  Alright, I'm reading this as a sailor with just an Epheria Sailboat, or maybe I'm sitting on 40 billion silver to invest in a ship, but I specifically want to sail the high seas as a pirate. What advice or resources would you recommend to newbies? 

Good question, the pirate role is actually a very endgame/sailing content to look into. The penalites are quite harsh so it would definitely not be recommended for a newbie.  

 
For example, piracy would lock a newbie out of bartering fully because there is only one wharf for them to use (Kuit) and that has no storage feature.  

 
But if a newbie really wants to try piracy. They should invest in a combat ship with speed. The Volante to be able to kite and retreat if in danger. Blue gear would be blue cannons 1st if possible. I would also advise newbies to start building up a strong sailor crew. Stats from them are huge and affect the ship actually more than gear. 

 
Downgrades when sunk are extremely rough too since a newbie can not barter crow coins to retapped downgraded ship gear. So building up a surplus of crow coins and Tidal stones before piracy would be best for a newbie. 

 
This is why there is very very few pirates out there! And those that are pirates are very well geared. 

What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about sailing? 

Biggest would be that there is no silver in sailing. Many people think of sailing as just bartering which does have daily cap of 1.8 billion per day. But many players are surprised when they find out that you can actually grind monsters like land content. However, there are only a few spots to do that. 

During the Heidel Ball, we announced Blue Battlefield as a naval component to Node War. As someone who is already engaging in sailing PvP, what are your thoughts on this content? Are you planning on signing up? 

The announcement of the Blue Battlefield is really exciting for me. This content has a lot of potential to expand the ocean content to players who have not looked into ship PVP. I am definitely 100% planning to sign up as much as possible to help promote it too! 

If Blue Battlefield can really make the Large Guild Galleys be strong or have a big role in it then I believe this is extremely important to its success and exposure of ocean content to new players. It is one of the few things that can be considered group sailing content for the game and guilds work hard to make it. Currently, they are no challenge for a well geared Carrack to fight solo (1 player) vs a fully crewed Large Guild Galley (10+ players). Also I think because that'll also encourage newer players who haven't invested in ships yet and allow them to participate in Blue Battlefield Node Wars. Especially since I believe the numbers of participants may be low initially. 

I'm personally looking forward to it! My boat, the Discovery, is ready to hop into the action.

What’s the most valuable lesson sailing has taught you, both on and off the water? 

The most valuable lesson I've learned is patience. It taught me to truly enjoy BDO by finding my own path and progressing at my own pace, rather than constantly chasing the meta. Through patience, I've found not only steady progress but also a deep appreciation for the game, especially when it comes to sailing. It's where I've had some of my most rewarding and enjoyable experiences. 

Awww, I love that. Anything else you’d like to share to our players? 

I am thankful for the opportunity to have this interview and share my enjoyment of sailing. I truly enjoy BDO and the I've spent time here. Even though all I do now is sailing now, it is an amazing game that can continue improving!  
 
Also, Panokseon skin sooon?