I am level 53 on Black Desert. Level 55 is the goal, although you can go higher than that. The grind is soul destroying as the only way to achieve it is to grind mobs. The character abilities are maximized not to kill difficult mobs but to kill lots of mobs. In other words, the better a player you are then the more mobs you will kill. Thousands of mobs. Over and over again. For some players this is not a problem. They put on some music and zone out while they complete the required task. Keep in mind that it takes around 7 hours of this to get from 52 to 53.

I can’t zone out. I resent this type of gaming. It’s not even gaming. It’s grinding through a slog so you can get to the gaming part. No other gaming milieu does this – only MMOs. In order to game I have to do something else for a long period of time that I don’t want to do.

Here’s the thing – my time is precious. I get a lot done on a day to day basis. Gaming is supposed to be my escape, my chosen method to unwind. Instead I log on to discover that I have no escape. I must work online in my game as well as all day at the numerous activities I do. I left ArcheAge because of a similar situation. I was really enjoying that game. Running with my guildies, smuggling trade packs over the oceans, engaging in huge pvp battles and punching way above our collective weight. Fun times. But then they introduced an expansion that required weeks of grinding in the most god-awful dungeon I have ever seen. Our game immediately went on hold while we had to all complete this hideously awful and unnecessary task.

I lasted about 10 days and then I though, fuck it. I gave away all my stuff, got rid of my properties, logged off, and deleted the game from my computer. It went from being a fantastic escape, (which is why I pay for it), to an awful chore that I needed to complete every day.

BDO is going the same way for me. I don’t craft anymore. I don’t farm. I don’t explore. I don’t do quests. Sure my workers toil in the background and the mats pile up but I barely look at it all. I know that when I log on I have to buy some more mana pots and head out to one of three locations and grind my face off against a brick wall. So I’m getting to the point where I’m avoiding logging on. I’ve been playing some poker again. I get to enjoy myself and take people’s money. What’s not to like about that? But then I feel guilty for my guildies that are depending on me to get my ranger to max level so they can have my awesome pvp skills at their disposal and I log on again and I grind some more. Maybe I get 8% towards the next level. Yippee!

Shoot me now.