BDO Basics - Combat Guide

Introduction

• Black Desert's action combat has ways to resist Crowd Control effects by using skills
• There are also ways to inflict various Crowd Control effects through the use of skills
• Combat in Black Desert also has various damage modifiers that can increase your damage 
• Many classes have skill rotations that allow them to stay mostly protected

 

This guide is aimed at providing new players a quick intro resource to Black Desert's Combat! 

 

Protection in Combat  

Black Desert is known for its combat and if you're new, you might not be too sure about some of the effects present in Black Desert that might not be in some other MMOs. 

 

This section is a very basic breakdown on protection skills that will allow you to understand the benefits of each protection type. 

 

Super Armor (SA)

Skills that feature Super Armor will protect you from any Crowd Control effects other than being grappled (grabbed).

 

You can tell when your character is in Super Armor if you play with Defensive Icons turned on, which is recommended for newer players. 

 

You can see the icon for Super Armor below:

 

 

Super Armor will also provide a damage reduction depending on the class you play because of changed to how Damage Reduction works: 

 

 

Forward Guard (FG)

Unlike Super Armor, Forward Guard only negates Crowd Control effects from the front, leaving you vulnerable to back and side attacks. 

 

Forward Guard has the added benefit of reducing incoming damage from frontal attacks however you can still also be grappled from any direction. 

 

If your class uses a shield, you'll receive less damage when using Forward Guard skills because of combat changes: 

 

Invincibilty Frame Abilities (Iframes)  

Most classes also have access to skills with Invincibility frames which are usually called Iframes. You can usually expect to see these on dash type movements.

 

These avoid all forms of damage and Crowd Control effects, including grapples. 

 

 

You can see which of your abilities feature Super Armor, Forward Guard, Iframe and Crowd Control effects by using the Skill Filter in the skill menu (K) 

 

Simply click on the filter button that's highlighted in the image below: 

 

 

While you're in the skill menu, you may want to look for the skill "Evasion" which is a slow rolling dodge skill. 

 

Its recommended to lock this skill due to how slow it is and that it disrupts the flow of movement, you will have plenty of other dodging options later. 

 

You can lock a skill by hovering over the bottom right corner of its icon in the skill menu (K) and then clicking the padlock icon. 

 

 

Super Armored Forward Guard 

Some classes will have guards that allow them to be in a state of Forward Guard and Super Armor at the same time. 

 

This makes them protected from all forms of Crowd Control other than grapples (grabs) while reducing damage received from the front. 

 

 

 

Crowd Control Effects 

Black Desert has a few standard CC (Crowed Control) effects that are present in plenty of other games, like Stuns, but there are a few unique to Black Desert that people might not be familiar with. 

 

This section will go through each of the CC types, just to demonstrate which ones are available in game. Again you can use the skills window to locate your CC skills. 

 

 

I'll be using the Battle Arena to demonstrate, you can also use it to practice combos. 

 

 

Stiffness

A Stiffness is very similar to a stun, though the animation effect will appear different. The target will remain standing but locked into a hurt animation. 

 

 

 

A Stiffness CC lasts for 1.5 seconds and will not be applied if a target is grounded. 

 

Stun 

A Stun acts in the same manner as a Stiffness except its duration is longer, locking a target in place for 3 seconds and causing them to be unable to act. 

 

 

Like a Stiffness this will not apply when the target is grounded. 

 

Knockback 

Knockbacks are much more common as a PvE CC. The target is pushed backwards a few steps before being put into the same state as a Stiffness CC. 

 

In total this crowd control lasts for around 2 seconds, and like the previous two, does not apply to the crowd control effect. 

 

Bound 

Bound is the first grounding CC to be mentioned on this list. A bound will instantly knock a target to the floor for a short duration of 2 seconds. 

 

Bound CCs are common on grab skills, leaving the target grounded and forced to stand up again.  

 

Knockdown 

Knockdowns are similar to Bounds, except they have a duration of 4 seconds, locking the target in a grounded state for twice as long. 

 

 

With a Knockdown, the target will generally roll up to their feet rather than being forced into a stand like the Bound CC. 

 

Down Smash 

A Down Smash is used on a grounded target and will launch them slightly off the ground before re-applying a Bound CC to keep them locked down on the ground. 

A Down Smash only has a 30% chance to trigger, though there are skill add-ons that you can use if you'd want to, but its not generally picked. 

 

Floating 

A Floating CC is another way to apply a Bound CC effect. Before the target hits the floor they will be launched into the air, making them vulnerable to "Air Attacks" 

 

Air attacks are one of the highest damage modifiers but we'll talk more about that later. A Floating CC also opens up to an Air Smash CC. 

 

 

The duration of a Floating CC is 3 seconds in total if no Air Smash is applied. 

 

Air Smash 

Air Smashes can only be used against a target that has been knocked into the air by a Floating CC.

 

Unlike Downsmashes, Air Smashes have a 100% chance of activation, and will re-apply the Floating CC when triggered.  

 

Grapple / Grabs

Grabs come in various different options, and can lead to a Bound, Floating or Knockdown CC.  

 

 

The main thing to be aware of with the grabs / grapples is that they ignore Forward Guard (FG) and Super Armour (SA) 

 

Freezing 

Freezing CCs are a lot less common than most of the other types and vary in duration. The freezing effect will lock a target in ice, making them unable to move. 

 

 

During this time, the target will take less damage than normal and will be unable to move or act. 

 

 

Crowd Control in PvP 

A brief explaination is that each CC effect you apply to a target has an inherent cost and a numerical limit which then makes a target safe from CC. 

 

If your enemy reaches the CC limit of "2" then they will become safe from CC for a 5 second period. The training dummies in the Battle Arena will display this number. 

 

 

Stun, Floating, Bound, Freezing, Grabs and Knockdown all have a CC count of 1. 

 

Stiffness and Knockback both have a CC count of 0.7. This lets it bypass the CC counter of 2, allowing you to reach a total of 2.7. 

 

The easiest way to remember this is Stiffness + 2 other types of CC. Same CC types do not stack, so you can't do two Stiffness effects in a row for example. 

 

Down and Air Smash 

Down Smashes and Air Smashes are considered CC extenders, they re-apply CC while ignoring the CC immunity caused from already maxing out the CC counter. 

 

Resistances

There are also built in passive Resistances to CC effects, these can be enhanced through the use of Magic Crystals.

 

You can view your current Resistances in the "My Information" window (P)  

 

 

You'll start with a base resistance of 20% in the above stats, resistances no longer apply to PvP, so don't worry about stacking resistances for PvP content. 

 

Damage Multipliers 

In Black Desert there are certain things that amplify damage, they're all fairly straight forward and easy to understand, its just something to be aware of to increase your damage. 

 

• Back Attacks - Attacks from behind an enemy will deal 150% Damage (120% in PvP)
• Down Attacks - Attacks again a grounded target will deal 150% Damage (120% in PvP) 
• Critial Hits - Critical hits against an enemy will deal 200% Damage in both PvE and PvP 
• Air Attacks - Deal 200% damage against a floating target (170% damage in PvP) 
• Counter Attacks - Deal 200% damage when countering an enemy (PvE only)
• Speed Attacks - Deal 150% damage when moving at high speed (PvE Only)  

 

The damage of these special attack modifiers can be increased through the use of Magic Crystals and Skill add-ons or even food and elixirs. 

 

A popular option is the Corrupted Magical Crystal for dealing increased Critical Hit Damage for example: 

 

 

Z Buff, E Buff and V 

These are terms you'll hear a lot in Black Desert, these are referring to buffs that every class has access to, the Z buff is a built in rage mechanic. 

 

 

In basic terms, you can build your rage up to 100% just by fighting normally, then you'll do an ultimate skill at 100% which will give you a stat buff. 

 

Eventually you'll unlock more skills that use different amounts of your Black Spirit's Rage, all with different effects. 

 

 

A lot of players will lock these by hitting Alt + B, which will keep your Black Spirit Rage stored at a maximum of 100% as standard. 

 

Once it's full, you'll be able to use Z to consume your rage meter in exchange for a buff (the same buff using a 100% ultimate skill gives.) 

 

This is generally why it's referred to as a Z buff. Through using different gear setups, you can increase your max rage but you can also give and take it with other players. 

 

To do this you use Rage Transfer, simply target them and hit X and you'll pass over 50% of your current rage to them. 

 

 

This lets you stack up to 200% which can be used for a more powerful ultimate ability and buff. 

 

E Buff 

The E buff is something that your character gains access to in either Awakening or Succession (Class advancements that are unlocked at Level 56.)

 

Generally the hotkey for using them was E or Shift + E as standard for Awakenings, though the hotkey can vary on some classes. 

 

 

Some classes may have to put their E buff on the hotbar like above and can apply additional effects, so make sure to read the tool tip. 

 

So, did you find this basic overview of Black Desert's combat useful? Let us know!

 

 

-- Change log - Added E, Z and V break downs  - 05/10/2023

-- Updated the guide in line with new combat changes - 21/06/2024

 

 

Why not check out some of our other guides while you're here?