Skills
Last Edited on : Nov 19, 2024, 12:58 (UTC)
Skill is the most important factor in combat.
In Black Desert, the more you level up the more skills you can learn. Through defeating monsters and completing quests you will get enough skill experience to obtain all the skill points you require to learn all available skills.
However, keep in mind that when you have acquired a certain amount of skill points, it will become more difficult to earn additional points. The maximum number of skill points obtainable from defeating monsters and training at a dummy is 3,000 points. That said, one may exceed this number with the skill points acquired from quests and adventure journals.
Learning Skills
Skill points needed for obtaining skills can be basically earned through battle.
You can also earn a small amount of skill experience through life skills, and some quests will reward you with skill experience, or directly with skill points.
There are several ways to learn skill points.
1. When you are at a level where you can learn the relevant skill, you will automatically acquire the first level skill automatically.
2. Open the skill menu (hotkey: K) and left click on the skill you wish to learn.
3. Talk to a skill instructor at a city and learn skills.
Note that, if you are able to learn skills, the crossed knife and shield icon will appear.
The number of skills that you can learn will be displayed.
Remember that all the locations of the skill instructors you have met will be displayed on the World Map screen (hotkey: M) with the same icon as the new skill available icon in the bottom part of the UI (below).
After level 56, when you complete the Awakening, Ascension (Archer), or Talent (Shai) quests through the Black Spirit, you will be able to learn skills that allow you to use a different weapon for stronger attacks.
If you want to continue with the same combat style you have been using up to Lv. 56, you can empower your previously existing skills after completing the Succession quests.
Awakening skills can only be acquired by completing the Awakening quests, and Succession skills can only be acquired by completing the Succession quests. Please note that, depending on the class, the order in which you complete these quests might be different.
Until level 55!
Skills that require level 55 or below will automatically be learned without any skill point cost. However, skills and passives that provide additional effects to these already learned skills cost skill points.
Skills that require level 55 or below will automatically be learned without any skill point cost. However, skills and passives that provide additional effects to these already learned skills cost skill points.
Skill Types
Skills are divided into two types: Active and Passive.
Active skills can be used via hotkeys or by inserting precise commands, while passive skills are those where the effects are applied just by learning the skill.
Keep in mind that some skills cannot be placed in a quick slot, so it is important to familiarize yourself with the commands to activate those skills.
If the phrase "Can be added to a Quick Slot" is not there, it means the skill can be only used through command. In the example above, by pressing the walk backwards key (S) and the right mouse button (RMB) at the same time.
You can also use most of the skills on horseback.
In order to enable horseback combat, you must equip your horse with stirrups.
The commands for skills on horseback might be a little bit different from those on the ground, so it is useful to read the skill description.
Things to Keep In Mind
The higher the skill level, the higher the required amount of skill points to learn it.
If you learn all possible skills as soon as you are able, recklessly, you might not have enough skill points to learn the ones you desire.
Therefore, you need to check what kind of skills your character has and learn them more effectively. Through skill descriptions and videos you can learn which skill you need to focus on and finish your own skill tree.
Skill Window
Press K on your keyboard to view the Skill window.
In this window, you can view skill demos on the left, and the skills themselves on the right.
Succession, Awakening, Talent, or Ascension skills can be accessed from the top-right of the screen once you have completed the respective classes' corresponding quests. However, you can still view the main, awakening, and skill enhancement categories through ② regardless of whether or not you completed the quests.
On the skill demo screen, you can select the skill icon or press the playback button at the bottom of the skill demo screen to view a video demonstration of the skill.
You can also read the detailed skill description of the skill of your choice through the skill demo screen. Of course, you can also hover over the skill icon with your cursor to see the skill description.
If you do not want to see the skill demo screen, you can toggle it on/off with the "Toggle Skill Demo Screen" button.
You can also playback the skill demos or reset the camera viewpoint with the "Play Skill Demo" and "Reset Camera" button at the bottom of the skill demo screen.
The skill window's main weapon skills are divided into main, secondary, and passive skills. You can press each categories' title bar to view or hide the skills in them.
Left-click a skill icon to learn the skill, and press Shift + Left-click on a skill icon to continuously learn up to the skill's max level available.
Characters under lv. 56 can freely reset all learned skills, and you can reset an individual skill by right-clicking the skill icon or Shift + Right click it to reset the skill to level 1.
The "Black Spirit's Rage" and "Skill Cooldown Slot" buttons on the lower-right part of the Skill window allow you to disable the application of black spirit's rage for individual skills and set a skill to appear in the cooldown slots on your combat UI.
➤ Please check the [Black Spirit's Rage] page for more information about this feature.
Skill Preset
The skill preset is a feature that allows you to save your currently learned skills and skill add-ons. You can get more skill preset slots by using the Skill Preset Coupon. Two Skill Preset Coupons can also be obtained as rewards for completing each character's Awakening and Succession quest (Talent/Ascension for Shai/Archer).
If you have already completed the Awakening/Succession/Talent/Ascension quests, you can accept the [Skill Preset Coupon] Using a Variety of Skills quest from the Black Spirit to get a Skill Preset Coupon.
The Skill Preset save feature can be used wherever, whenever, but you will need the Secret Book of Old Moon or a Skill Instructor NPC to load a saved Skill Preset. Using a Secret Book of Old Moon allows you to change your Skill Presets at any place, however, without it, you will only be able to change your Skill Preset via a Skill Instructor NPC.
There is a 1 minute cooldown time if you load a skill preset, and you can load a skill preset at a safe/combat zone when using a Secret Book of Old Moon.
Lastly, your character will perform an animation when loading a saved skill preset.
Skill Effect
If you read the skill description, you can see that many skills have notations of additional effects. These effects enable you to continue the combat in a more convenient and stable manner.
For example, a skill with a "Down Attack" can cause additional damage if you use it after knocking down the enemy. This is the same theory with damage increasing when you make a "Back Attack" at the back of the enemy. So if you know what skill has which effect, you can cause even more damage using it in the best moment.
In addition to the effects increasing damage in certain situations, there is also a way to neutralize the enemy in various forms. You can stun your enemy so that it cannot do anything for a short period of time, or you can knock them down with the objective to apply a down attack on them. By combining these effects, you can defeat your enemies more efficiently.
The following indicates the skill effects available in Black Desert.
| Types | Descriptions |
| Stun | The target gets stunned for a fixed period of time. The character cannot move nor use skill during this time. |
| Stiffness | The target gets stiffened for a fixed period of time. The target cannot move nor use skill during this time. (The CC duration is less than a stun.) |
| Freezing | The target gets frozen for a fixed period of time and receives reduced damage during this time. The character will be knocked down once the freezing effect duration ends. |
| Knockdown | The target falls down on their back. The target receives additional damage from Air Attacks while it is in the air. The target receives additional damage from Down Attacks while it is on the ground. |
| Bound | The character falls on the spot. The target receives additional damage from Down Attacks while it is on the ground. (The CC duration is shorter than a Knockdown.) |
| Grab | The target gets grabbed for the full skill motion of the character using the grab skill. Afterward a second CC will be applied that is included in the skill description. It only counts as 1 CC. |
| Knockback | The target stutters backwards and cannot move for a fixed period of time. (The CC duration is similar to a Stiffness effect.) |
| Floating | The target floats in the air and then falls to the ground. The target receives additional damage from Air Attacks while it is in the air. The target receives additional damage from Down Attacks while it is on the ground. (The CC duration is shorter than a Knockdown.) |
| Air Smash | A powerful attack that sends a target in the air flying. |
| Down Smash | A powerful attack that sends a target on the ground flying. |
Note that, in the case of certain enemies, their basic state is being in the air or on the ground.
If you are aware of the nature of the enemy, you can be more effective when battling them.
Next is a list of the defensive effects skills can apply.
| Effects | Descriptions |
 Invincibility
|
The target will not receive any damage, effects, buffs or heals by both enemies and allies. |
 Super Armor
|
The target receives damage, but it will not have CC applied (However, grabs and debuffs get applied through this effect). |
 Forward Guard
|
The target blocks all damage and effects from the front. (However, grabs get applied through this effect). The target is still vulnerable to attacks and effects from behind. The Forward Guard also has a Guard Gauge that can be broken. |
Finally, certain skills may also possess a damage increase modifier in the right situations. These are called special damage types.
| Types | Descriptions |
|
Critical Hit
|
Deal 200% damage according to the critical hit chance based off of the character stats and skill effects (same in PvP and PvE). |
|
Back Attack
|
Deal 150% damage (120% in PvP) when attacking the target from behind. |
|
Down Attack
|
Deal 150% damage (120% in PvP) when attacking the target prone on the ground. |
|
Air Attack
|
Deal 200% damage (170% in PvP) when attacking the target in the air. |
|
Speed Attack
|
Deal 150% damage when attacking the target while moving quickly. (Only applied in PvE) |
|
Counter Attack
|
Deal 200% damage when counter-attacking an attack by the target. (Only applied in PvE) |
Skill Add-ons
Skill add-ons refer to the additional effects you can "add-on" to certain skills to aid you greatly in combat. They can be easily applied to your skills if you meet the necessary requirements, and the effects are a must-have for Adventurers seeking to improve themselves.
Skill add-ons require you to be Lv. 50 or higher.
➤ Please check the [Skill Add-ons] page for more information about this feature.
Using Skills
You can use most of the active skills with commands, enabling greatly dynamic battles.
If you want to truly experience the dynamic and active controls of the game, use commands instead of using skills put in quick slots. If you want to play the game more comfortably, you can drag the skills into a quick slot and enjoy the game at your own pace.
As for some skills, using hotkeys and commands might have slightly different effects. For example, when using a command, some skills have a faster activation speed.
If you use commands instead of using quick slots, there is also a slight reduction in the consumption of skill resources (WP, MP, SP).
The use of commands also allows you to smoothly link skills together, creating skill combos.
Skills which can be used in skill combos will be displayed on the "Action Combo Guide" on the right side of your character.
Lastly, when using a gamepad, you can set your preferred shortcut keys to better enjoy the experience.
Through the main menu (hotkey: Esc), when you go into Edit UI, you can turn on and off the action combo guide.
When you turn on the action combo guide, you can see the commands of the skills currently available in real time.
* The content of the game guide may differ from the actual game content, depending on the update and content changes.