Still Trying to Decide on what Pre-Order Package to Buy?

If you are still on the fence trying to figure out which Pre-Order Package to buy you have yet another reason to order right now: Character name reservations began yesterday. An important thing to note is that with ANY pre-order package (regardless of cost) you get one Family name reservation and one Character name reservation. While the most common names have likely been taken by now, you still may have time to get a lesser known name before it gets snapped up. Another thing to factor in making your purchase is Beta access. Only the Explorer and Conqueror packages grant access to Beta 2.

Otherwise, the three packages are differentiated by the extras they offer, including Head Start Time, number of extra Character Slots, Cash Shop items, Exclusive Skins, and in the case of the Conqueror's package, $25 in premium game currency. You can order one of the packages here.

But which one should I get?

My advice is if you are completely new to the game, gain access CB2 from February 18-22th either by acquiring a beta code or purchasing the Explorer’s package, and see how much you enjoy the game. You can upgrade any pre-order package to a higher tier up until the 26th of February. Black Desert is an amazing game, but it is also a different game than you may be used to, and I would hate to see someone drop a large amount of money on a purchase without knowing if they are going to fully enjoy it.

If you are familiar with the game by either playing in a previous beta, or playing a foreign version of the game, the choice then comes down to two things. First, the perceived value of the items contained in the packs, and two, how much you want to support the publisher. I personally plopped down $100 for the Conqueror's package (that’s right, this member of the media did not receive a complimentary copy–nor am I compensated for any copies sold), because the perceived value of the package is worth the money in my eyes. I am also very excited about how receptive Daum has been to the Western market, and wanted to show the appreciation with my wallet. Here is a breakdown of each package:

Traveler’s Package	Explorer’s Package	Conqueror's Package
3 Housing Decor Coupons	5 Housing Decor Coupons	10 Housing Decor Coupons
3 Unknown Dye Boxes	5 Unknown Dye Boxes	10 Unknown Dye Boxes
1 Appearance change Token	1 Appearance Change Token	1 Appearance Change Token
3 Partial Skill Resets	5 Partial Skill Resets	10 Partial Skill Resets
1 Steel Toolset Package	1 Steel Toolset Package	1 Steel Toolset Package
1 Day Headstart	2 Day Headstart	4 Day Headstart
	1 Tier 3 Horse	1 Tier 5 Horse
	1 Horse Whistle (Permanent)	1 Horse Whistle (Permanent)
	1 Pet Coupon	1 Pet Coupon
		2500 Pearls ($25 value)

In addition, for pre-ordering the game only, each package also contains a Title, +1 Character slot per tier (a Conqueror will get +3 slots), also both the Explorer and Conqueror packages receive a free weapon skin (redeemed on a single character), while the Conqueror package alone gets a free costume (redeemed on a single character).

Value

It is somewhat difficult to judge value as we still don’t don’t know the prices of individual cash shop items. The costume and skin are exclusive–you will not be able to purchase them again (although there will be plenty of other costumes in the shop at launch). Excluding the items you get in every package (such as the appearance change ticket), I have come up with some rough estimates as to what the value to these items could be in the cash shop.

For the items contained in each package in varying amounts, I have estimated the cost of the Decor items at $5 each, Dye Boxes at $3 each, and Partial Skill Resets token each costing $1. The horse whistle in the tier 2 and 3 packages I have set a value of $15.  For the weapon skin, I picked a price of $3 and the Costume $12 (I’m guessing a full costume might cost $15, and I’m not adding any value for the skin being unique–to you there may be extra value there).

The mounts can be easily obtained in game, but will get you moving through the world a little faster at the start. I would not make them a deciding factor for which package you purchase. If I were to put a price on them it would be $5/Tier 3 in the Explorer’s package and $10/Tier 5 horse in the Conqueror's. I guessing the pets are going to cost around $10, which are included in the later tier packages. The pre-order character slots I would value at $8 each.

I really can’t place a value on the head start time. It really depends on how much spare time you will have to play during the head start period. If you are the type of person that wants to get to highest level as quick as possible, then this could be very important to you, but if you like to take things at a slower pace, I really don’t see it as being that much of a big deal.

Please note, I have absolutely zero inside knowledge as to what the prices in the cash shop are going to be. All we know is they are going to be less expensive in some cases over their Korean counterparts. I am largely basing my estimates on what other MMO games sell in their shops. If prices end up being higher than the prices I’ve estimated, than the value of the packages are also higher. There will also likely be discounts to bundles of some of the items, such as X number of Skill Resets for a discounted price. I have not taken this into consideration for the purposes of writing this article.

Here is a comparison using my estimates of the dollar value of each package:

Traveler’s	Explorer's	Conqueror's
$35	$84	$179*

*The Conqueror's package also gets an additional bump with the added $25 in premium currency (neither the Travelers or Explorers package get any Pearls).

Final Verdict

If you know you are going to be playing this game quite a bit, I would recommend spending the $100 for the Conqueror's package based upon the value it provides–if it is within your budget to do so. Both other purchases are viable options, but if you want to play in CBT2, you will need to get at least the Explorer's package if you don’t manage to snag a beta key somewhere. Also, as the BDO isn’t free to play, you won’t be playing the game at all if you don’t purchase the it either now or at launch.

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