Knowledge about the world, its events, and inhabitants is organized in different categories. You can access them via the main menu (hotkey: Esc) or directly by pressing the hotkey H.
As you obtain knowledge entries about all kinds of topics you will gradually complete the different available categories. Once each individual category is completed, you will be rewarded with an increase to your family's maximum energy per character.
 
As an example, go into the Character category. In it, you will see People of Eastern Balenos, and inside of this one Residents of Velia. If you collect all the knowledge entries from this topic, your maximum energy will increase by 2 points.

 

 

As seen above, each category completed will grant you an increase to maximum energy. Categories completed are labeled in blue, and have [Obtained] to their right.
Uncompleted categories are labeled in white, as seen by the People of Calpheon one.

Please note that categories can only be made visible in the Knowledge screen once you have obtained your first entry about them. That means that you will not see a category unless you get at least one entry that pertains to them.

 

The effects of knowing about something is different depending on the topic, and the higher the grade, the better effects you are provided.

 

When you do not possess any knowledge of an enemy monster, you will only see its health bar change color from yellow (full health), then orange, to finally red (near defeated). Once you obtain knowledge about them, you will be able to see their health bar deplete during combat.

 

Possessing the knowledge entries of characters, monsters, events and topics of all kinds is helpful when you strike a conversation with NPCs to increase your amity with them.
 
To increase the grade of monster knowledge, continue defeating them and there is a chance you will obtain a higher grade of its entry. When obtained, knowledge of a better grade automatically replaces that of a lower grade of the same topic.

 

For certain enemies, you will need to delete the current knowledge entry and earn it again. You can delete knowledge entries through the NPC Annolisa Rosie at the Holy College of Calpheon.

 

 

As seen above, if you go to Annolisa Rosie at the Holy College of Calpheon you can delete acquired knowledge or use a completed category to make a bookshelf with that knowledge.

 

Please be aware that crafting a bookshelf from a knowledge category will delete all the earned entries from that category, as they are transformed into the bookshelf you obtain.

 

 

You can delete a knowledge entry by selecting it from the knowledge management window. Deleting an entry consumes 10 energy.

 

Knowledge is overall divided into 9 main categories, with each category being subdivided into a different number of sections and smaller categories.
Depending on the topic, the maximum energy increase that can be obtained when completing it differs significantly.

 

Like with deleting entries explained above, Annalisa Rosie also provides the service to craft bookshelves. Entries are taken randomly from a completed category, used to create a bookshelf, and then deleted from your Knowledge screen.

 

The created bookshelf can be used 10 times, with a cooldown period of 1 hour between each use.

These bookshelves can also be sold through the Central Market.

 

 

The characteristics of each main knowledge category are as follows.

 

• Character: This knowledge is categorized into territory and type.
You can get many of these entries by simply talking to the different NPCs throughout the world, but keep in mind that obtaining the ones for certain NPCs will require more than just that.
Some will require you to advance through the main questline of a territory, or to befriend a different NPC first. They will let you know about the requirement with a yellow text.

 

• Topography & Sea: This knowledge is categorized by territory.
You will automatically get most of these entries when you explore the world on your journey, but some of them can be obtained only through conversation with an NPC.
Some may require you to befriend an amity by raising your amity with them. Others might simply ask you to spend a bit of your character's energy, or complete a quest to obtain it.

 

• Ecology: This category is made up of the monster knowledge of each territory.

 

 

• Adventure Journal: You can get these entries mainly during quests, as their reward, and while interacting with objects in the world. You can also unlock many of them from NPCs you befriend.
 
• Academics: This category deals mainly with background details of the world: The people's culture, their religions, history, and politics.
It is similar to Adventure Journal, and its entries can be obtained in the same ways.

 

• Life Skill: These entries encompass all life skill activities in Black Desert's world aside from those of trade goods. Certificates that allow you to process further materials, gathered items, cooking dishes, alchemy elixirs, fish obtained, processed materials, and more.
They are earned when the item related to the entry is acquired, usually from the related life skill activity employed to obtain the item. In some cases they are given as quest rewards or via NPC conversation.

Compared to the previous categories, this one and the ones below do not reward you with an increase to maximum energy when they are completed.
 
• Learning the Ropes of Black Desert: This category covers various topics considered basics of the game, such as class Awakening story entries, certain special NPCs, Fughar's basics on the various content features, and more.
 
• Trade: These entries are about the different trade goods once available for trade within the world. You can get them by talking with the Trade Manager NPCs in every city.

 

As explained previously, a category will open and appear within the Knowledge screen only when you obtain your first entry included in it.
The entries you have not obtained yet show up as question marks, and if you hover your cursor over them, you can see some simple hints that will guide you toward acquiring them.
Certain entries also offer hints that can be earned by offering a drink to some NPCs in inns and taverns throughout the world.

 

Additionally, the chance to gain a knowledge entry is the same no matter what your character level is. A high level character can obtain the entry of a low level monster.

 

 

• Conversing with NPCs: If you talk to an NPC with an exclamation mark above its head, you will get the character's entry. Some NPCs offer more entries than just their own when approaching them. These might require you to spend a bit of character energy to acquire them, or to befriend the NPC by raising your amity with them.

 

Keep in mind that some entries are provided by nameless NPCs without exclamation marks, such as soldiers or villagers, so be sure to speak with all NPCs you encounter at least once.

 

 

• Quest Reward: During some quests you can earn entries. This can happen during the quest either coincidentally or because the quest asks you to obtain them, or as part of a quest's reward.

 

• Exploration: You will get topography & sea entries when you discover new areas of the world.

 

• Life Skill Activity: You can gain certain life skill entries at a chance when you perform life activities such as gathering, fishing, or hunting, for example.

 

• Production: When you produce a new item by preparing a cooking dish, synthesizing an alchemical elixir, or processing a material, you will always earn their entry.

 

• Hunting: You have the chance to get monster entries when you defeat them.

 

• Objects: Objects that serve as node managers will give you node manager entry when you interact with them. You can also get entries from books and all types of objects found throughout the world, such as writing on a wall, a campfire, an armor stand, and many more.

 

 

As seen in the image above, it is possible to get knowledge entries from unassuming objects.
 
• Knowledge Bookshelf: You can get entries by buying a bookshelf from the Central Market and interacting with it after installing it within your residence.

 

 

• Knowledge Vendor: You can learn knowledge entries right away after buying them from a knowledge vendor NPC. They can usually be found in the biggest cities.

 

This refers to the knowledge topic that an NPC is interested in, and it is the topic you talk about when you have a conversation with them.
 
These only show on the NPCs that you can have conversation with, and if you do not possess a minimum amount of entries about the topic the NPC is interested in, you cannot have a conversation with them.

 

An NPC's interests are displayed when you go close enough to them and see a small circle, or within their interaction screen in the Interest Knowledge Status window to the left.

 

 

 

Remember that you cannot start a conversation with an NPC if you do not have enough entries about the topic that interests them.

 

 

Through a conversation with an NPC, you can earn amity. The more amity you have with them, the friendlier they will act. In many cases, a certain amity amount is required for them to give you further entries.

 

➤ You can read more about this topic in the [Amity] page.

 

You can get hints about knowledge entries that you have not acquired yet by visiting a tavern or inn in towns such as Velia and Heidel.

 

If you talk to certain NPCs after purchasing a Dark Beer from the innkeeper NPC, you can get hints about the whereabouts of undiscovered knowledge entries.

 

 

Buy a Dark Beer from an innkeeper or cook, depending on the town.

 

 

When you have a Dark Beer in your inventory, you can talk about certain topics with a villager or drunk NPC in inns.

 

 

When you exit the conversation with the NPC, the result of your action will be displayed. In some cases it might be a tip on what to do. In other cases, it might be a list of NPCs you can get entries from and their location indicated in your world map.

 

On your character's profile (hotkey: P) you will see four types of family fame: combat fame, life fame, special fame, and overall family fame.

 

The special fame of your family of characters is calculated from the accumulated knowledge and contribution points of all your characters.

 

Increasing the different types of fame will reward you with a daily silver allowance sent to the Black Spirit's Safe (hotkey: B).