izigame.me

I have 10k hours so that's a thing...
The game is a korean grinder with a somewhat aggressive cash shop, so depends if you know your limits or not.
Game is not a theme park mmo, so as soon as you are done with the the tutorial/main story you need to decide what you want to do, this is a problem for some since they need to be led about.
However there is an overwhelming amount of stuff to do and grind for, as the veterans always say BDO is a marathon not a sprint.
The main thing that first attracted me to BDO was the horse training which is surprisingly complicated, the horse animations and skills are very satisfying to use. The mounts also don't spawn out of your characters butt like in most games, when you dismount they are still there in the world, which I think is wonderfully immersive.
There is also all the other usual lifeskills such as gathering, farming, cooking, alchemy, sailing, fishing, hunting, trading and bartering.
Gaming the economy is not really a thing in this game since max and min price of things is managed by the developers, there is also no player trading so don't expect it to be like EVE or ARCHEAGE in this respect.
BDO also has a pretty good housing system with lots of choices of house locations for convenience, roleplay or simple looks reasons and lots of choices when it comes to furniture items.
Also there is no large inital cost or lack of housing, and no loss of said house/houses when you have a break from the game, everything is how you left it when you return.
The action combat is first rate, I think of all the mmos I have played only TERA has better combat, BDO's mob grinding is better though.
Which is just as well since grinding mobs is a huge part of the game and can be a decider as to whether you will like the game or not. (nothing like putting on some music and killing thousands of critters)
This game doesn't do dungeons like most mmos do, it has only 3 which are parts of the same dungeon.
BDO has never been known for its story and it still isn't, some of the newest story content is fully voiced and is quite good, however unfortunately some of the earliest story/tutorial is a real slog.
Also the quality of life in this game is through the roof, every option you can think of for turning stuff off or on, or adjusting UI. Search bars for items/npcs and most items will have a auto path to the npc they need to go to, on a right click or a useful description.
The autopathing is a pleasure, the knowledge system is great and contributes to your entire account. All of your alts have access to almost everything on your account; storage/mounts/pets, its just one big Family, which is very convenient.
Gearing is actually way easier than it was when I started playing in 2017; with the season servers, its almost obscene how much easier it is now, with benefits new and old players alike, a very good change.
The upgrading of gear and the system of doing it are pretty complicated and much complained about but the season servers really do act as a great tutorial for how to works and if you'd prefer to just avoid it and just grind and buy what you want from the marketplace.
Cosmetics are some of the best and most detailed in any mmo however the best of them are in the cashshop, so be aware of that if it bothers you.
The game is very cheap to buy or often free to try with no subscription requirement I don't think its a big deal, there is also ones you can get with a loyalty system/giveaways if you can be patient.
The dye system is extremely good and has many slots to achieve that specific look and is one of the main reasons its nice to have the optional subscription; The value pack.
If you are going to play the value pack is definitely worth having and has a lot of convenience. However the game has no required subscription, so you can just login whenever you feel like it.
The character creation is still one of the best in any mmo or even more modern games, which is kinda crazy and you can completely change your characters face or hair if you get sick of it, provided you have the value pack.
BDO is probably the best most complete open world/seamless mmo on the market, only New world looks better graphically.
The areas of the map look like they fit together naturally like they would in real life, some of the cities are actually modelled off real cities.
One thing I like is there is a distinct style as well, they don't try to do everything; horses are the primary mount, very little fast travel; so mounts are actually useful, and no true flying mounts either just gliding.
The amount of crazy MMO stuff isn't outrageous either, no crazy mounts; flying cars/robots/giraffe monstrosities or ridiculous outfits like final fantasy/Tera. just some usual mmo suspects, battle lingerie being the main culprit, which i'm not opposed to ;)
BDO is one of those games either you love it or hate it, or its a bit of both and you are waiting for a new mmo that never arrives...