Sources & Additional Info
Many thanks to the helpful content creators below. Keep up the good work!
- Official Patch Notes
- GM Notes
- bdfoundry.com Land of Morning Light Guide and Korean notes translations. Thanks Tansie! 🙂
- GrumpyG’s Land of the Morning Light Guides
Dev Commentary from youtube.com:
We felt that new adventures in a new region should not be the same as existing regions. Therefore, in the Land of the Morning Light, we removed the repetitive mob grinding gameplay.
Even from the perspective of the Black Desert development team, it was a daunting challenge. However, we rose to the challenge.
In the Land of the Morning Light, the basic gameplay revolves around defeating each boss. The ability for players to set the difficulty of the boss was the very definition of that “challenge.”
The third challenge was to transition from our previous linear quest progression to an omnibus style one.
Adventurers will experience gameplay in the order they choose, based on the storylines they select in Dalbeol Village.
This allows them to focus on each individual story. Each story, including the Balenos reboot and the Mountain of Eternal Winter that were already introduced, as well as improved cutscenes and storytelling in Abyss: The Magnus, will convey various emotions to the adventurers.
You will be able to enjoy each story with a sense of immersion, similar to reading a fairy tale or novel.
Please look forward to what new stories await in the Land of the Morning Light.
With its new adventures, the Land of the Morning Light is a new challenge in Black Desert.
New attempts can be both exciting and daunting. We could have walked the proven path by simply adding new monster zones and bosses.
However, we wanted to offer adventurers a slightly different experience here in the Land of the Morning Light.
While Black Desert provides a reliable play pattern, we also want players to feel like they can embark on a new adventure at any time.
We look forward to the stories you create for yourselves in the new region, the Land of the Morning Light, opening June 14.
Joseon Dynasty & Folklore
About a 100 years ago, a German missionary depicted their impression of Korea’s capital. We wondered how we could effectively convey this impression to our adventurers through the game and kept this in mind as we developed the background for the Morning Light. To create a captivating first impression of the Land of the Morning Light, the territory beyond Margoria, we drew inspiration from the stunning natural beauty of Geogeum Island in Jeollanam-do’s Goheung County. Then, we drew inspiration from the lush and towering bamboo forest of Damyang, which helped bring to life the tranquility and freshness of Shimnidae Forest awash in greens and blues. Dallae Pier reflecting the warming of a new year with its vibrant rosebay paths. Beombawi Valley showcases the majestic silhouette of Taebaek Mountain and the diverse colors of the changing seasons. Byukgye Island displays its serene but restrained beauty like a delicate drop of ink on a white hanji canvas. By carefully incorporating these vibrant colors and natural elements of Korea, we meticulously crafted the terrain of the Land of the Morning Light.
We believe that adventurers exploring this new continent will experience both a sense of familiarity and foreignness, as if wandering through a beautiful, yet undiscovered, corner of our country.
We also created new terrain that tie in with unique characters from Korean folklore such as Heungbu, Nolbu, Gumiho, and the Dokkebi.
We were fortunate to have received assistance from the Cultural Heritage Administration when designing the pottery and ceramics as well.
We also created spaces within the Land of the Morning Light where adventurers could vividly experience the traditional Korean folktales during their travels.
We designed these various folktale-inspired environments to reflect the motives and atmosphere unique to our culture.
We integrated motifs such as imprisonment and corporal punishment, to create an atmosphere reminiscent of visiting the Korean Minsok Village.
We’ve incorporated several picturesque and serene spots throughout Black Desert that are perfect for avid adventurers looking to capture memorable moments.
Explore the captivating landscapes of Gowun Plateau and Beombawi, the Royal Azalea Park, and witness the blossoming Mugunghwa to truly immerse yourself in Korea’s traditional beauty.
We hope that these elements will transport you to the nostalgic ambiance of rural Korea and that you’ll revel in the constant adventure, beauty, and wonder that awaits at every corner.
Bosses in the Morning Light were created using various references to Korean folklore and legends, such as the Spinster Ghost, Songakshi; the tale of Princess Bari, from Jeju Island’s Jin-guktae folklore; and the legends of the Golden Pig.
We also depicted the Korean Dokkebi in various forms. They are said to have a human-like appearance and have the ability to inhabit everyday objects, which we brought to life by designing them as sieves or pot lids.
In addition, some elements, which already existed in Black Desert, were transformed into their Korean counterparts.
The Korean versions of the Papu and Otters are from the folktale, “The Hare’s Liver,” and the Mudang Wraith was created by imagining Hexe Marie as a mythical Korean creature. Following “The Hare’s Liver,” the characters were originally intended to be designed as tortoises, but due to their potentially intimidating appearance, we depicted them as turtles instead.
To draw more representation from Korean culture, the boss Sangoon, was modeled after the traditional Korean tiger from Korean folktales rather than a typical tiger.
Additionally, the illustrations, which play a supporting role in various stories, were designed to look like traditional ink paintings, reminiscent of traditional Korean fairy tale books.
As we searched for ways to make the commoners’ clothes more interesting, we found ourselves inspired by the vibrant colors and intricate patterns of traditional Korean embroidery. By incorporating such elements into the design of their clothing, we were able to create a visually stunning and culturally authentic representation of their attire.
We wanted new NPCs animations in the Morning Light to be natural and realistically depict the lifestyle of the Joseon era.
You’ll find old men smoking pipes, laborers weaving reeds, and drunks stumbling around, to children asking neighbors for salt or playing games like Jegi and Tuho.
We included every possible detail to immerse players in a truly authentic experience that captures the essence of the past.
Bosses such as Gumiho, the Dokkebi King, and Sangoon are legends that were designed to show their movements and behavior come to life.
We gave careful thought on how to portray the Mudang Wraith, and by designing her to resemble someone who’s received a divine revelation and casts spells with that power, we were able to create a character unlike any other.
You all probably encountered Yeonhwa in the pre-quest updated last week. As your companion who experienced life and death with you in the Magnus returns to her hometown, I believe your hearts must have been touched by the scene where she invites you. Yeonhwa longed to return to her hometown so badly.
The distant and mysterious Land of the Morning Light will welcome our Adventurers with refreshing sunlight on June 14.
Global adventurers, you must have grown up listening to interesting tales of the past from your grandparents.
Korea also has many such fascinating stories. Since these stories are not yet well known in other countries, they may be somewhat unfamiliar to you, but that just means these fresh and exciting stories are bound to surprise you.
These stories have been passed down orally for generations because they’re such gripping tales.
We have chosen the most relatable themes, such as the love of parents, or long-hidden love, and we’ve adapted them so global adventurers can easily understand them. With over 80 story cutscenes, more than 40 vignettes, and over 6,000 fully dubbed lines, we know you’ll be fully immersed.
On June 14, you will receive an invitation from Yeonhwa and arrive at Nampo Harbor in the Land of the Morning Light.
Yeonhwa is busy, and leaves you in the care of Dolswe, who will accompany you on this adventure in the new land.
From day one with Dolswe, you will be dragged into mysterious incidents. You will be unjustly accused and even imprisoned.
Through your adventure, you must uncover the truth of these events and find out who the culprit is.
Oh, and the fate of certain bosses in the Land of the Morning Light may vary depending on your choices.
Listen and read the story carefully, and choose the path your heart tells you to follow.
Then, your own “Collection of Tales” will be written as you go along.
The boss battle scenes in both the Mountain of Eternal Winter and the Balenos reboot began with a dark screen that brightened to reveal the boss being summoned before the start of the battle. Some adventurers felt this transition was a bit abrupt and disconnected. We put a lot of thought into how we could make these boss battles a more seamless experience, and we’ve implemented a new system where we’ve allowed boss battles to begin in the middle of cutscenes to avoid disrupting the flow of the story.
We also developed many new mechanics for the bosses which appear in cutscenes and paid attention to details like camera focus and character expressions that were previously lacking.
Black Shrine Boss Blitz
This time we have tried a new combat style in the Land of the Morning Light. There are no typical monster zones, but instead, the region consists solely of boss encounters.
It’s called the “Black Desert Boss Blitz.” In the Land of the Morning Light, instead of monster zones, there will be eight bosses, each with their own story and traits.
The eight bosses include the enchanting fox spirit Gumiho, the Bamboo Legion from Korean folklore, the Changui, evil spirits of those who died from a tiger attack, the powerful Mudang Wraith, the Songakshi also known as the Spinster Ghost, the mischievous Golden Pig King, the king of the Dokkebi, Duoksini, and the tiger king, Sangoon, who is terrorizing the Land of the Morning Light.
Each of these bosses has their own story and distinct characteristics. As adventurers, you can gradually conquer these challenges by learning their traits and patterns.
Today, I would like to focus on one particularly boss, the Golden Pig King.
With a massive sword befitting his size, he exhibits intimidating attacks that resemble an executioner.
He has an audacious personality. So, he shouts how cowardly it is for you to keep running away.
Another boss that stands out is the Songakshi, one of the most famous ghosts in Korea.
The Songakshi is the spirit of an unmarried woman that died in an unexpected accident.
With long hair covering her face and wearing a white funeral robe, the Songakshi is synonymous with horror.
The story of how she became a spirit is a tragic one. Each boss is unique in terms of their appearance, personality, and combat style.
I hope all adventurers enjoy the diverse experiences they provide.
By playing through the main quest and learning the background stories, you can immerse yourself more in the battles with these bosses.
Therefore, I recommend enjoying the main quest before facing them.
That’s not everything! Since all these bosses are released in Korea, those who’ve been keeping up with game might feel a bit less excited about the content for its global release. That’s why we added one more boss, specifically for the global update, the monster, Imoogi. Imoogi will be released for the first time to all our global adventurers. I hope you will enjoy this fresh and new experience.
The difficulty of the boss battles are divided into 10 levels, ranging from Calamity Lv. 1, the lowest, to Calamity Lv. 10, the highest.
Initially, you’ll be able to conquer the lower levels without much difficulty, but as you progress, new attack patterns will emerge, creating more intense challenges. Therefore, if you are not familiar with boss battles or find them too difficult, it’s okay to start from a lower level and gradually work your way up.
Each of the bosses in the Land of the Morning Light possesses one of three attributes: Sun, Moon, or Earth.
These attributes affect the bosses’ AP and DP. Therefore, it will be difficult for you to defeat the bosses effectively as soon as the Land of the Morning Light is released.
During your adventure in the Land of the Morning Light, you will obtain a special item called the “Light Orb” in limited quantities.
Light Orbs are like points that allow you to enhance the Sun, Moon, or Earth attributes.
For example, by investing three Light Orbs into the Earth attribute, Earth AP and DP will increase.
This will allow you to deal more damage to the bosses and reduce the damage received.
Additionally, all the bosses in this update have their own weaknesses, represented by the Sun, Moon, and Earth attributes.
If you invest heavily in the Earth attribute, you’ll have a huge advantage against bosses like Sangoon and Gumiho, who are weak against Earth.
The number of Light Orbs you can obtain is limited. As adventurers, you can strategically invest your points, designate the boss difficulty, and make your own builds.
The DP ratio is also set the same way. With these ratios, it enables adventurers just starting out to face these bosses after they play through the Land of the Morning Light.
We believe that we need to continue thinking about accessibility for more people with new content, like the Arena of Solare, and as a result of this consideration, we have decided to implement Attribute AP and DP.
We may make changes to it over time, but our goal is to make it accessible. So we’d like to ask our veteran adventurers for their understanding.
Let’s move on to new loot and items. I’m certain that many of you are brimming with anticipation. But first, I’d like to reveal the subjugation rankings that is part of this update.
The subjugation ranking shows how fast you cleared each boss by difficulty level. But unlike the existing ranking system, this one will be applied to each “class” individually rather than collectively.
The difficulties of each boss won’t be fully available at first, but they’ll gradually unlock as each class successfully subjugate the previous difficulty.
For example, if you were playing Warrior, An adventurer must initially clear a specific difficulty as a Warrior in order to unlock the next difficulty level for all other Warriors.
As each class in Black Desert possesses their own set of unique abilities and combat style, strategizing a plan may be more or less challenging, depending on the characteristics of the boss and that particular class.
In the end, we adopted this approach to give skilled adventurers who have extensively studied and gained experience with a particular class the opportunity to achieve greater glory. We hope that this opens up more challenging opportunities for adventurers.
