Introduction
Black Desert Online, the visually stunning and action-packed MMORPG, offers players a vast world to explore, countless enemies to defeat, and a plethora of activities to engage in. Amidst the intricate combat system, diverse life skills, and expansive crafting options, lies a crucial aspect often overlooked by newcomers: the pet system. These loyal companions are much more than just adorable sidekicks; they are invaluable assets that significantly enhance your gameplay experience. Pets in Black Desert Online automatically loot defeated enemies, providing a continuous flow of resources and freeing you from the tedious task of manual collection. Additionally, many pets offer beneficial buffs, such as increased combat experience, life skill experience, or weight limit. However, to maintain their effectiveness and loyalty, your pets require proper care and, most importantly, the right pet food. Neglecting their needs can lead to decreased efficiency, unhappy companions, and ultimately, a diminished gameplay experience. This guide will provide a comprehensive overview of pet food in Black Desert Online, covering everything from basic types and crafting recipes to optimal feeding strategies and resource acquisition. Whether you’re a seasoned adventurer or a fresh-faced beginner, this guide will equip you with the knowledge you need to keep your furry friends happy, healthy, and performing at their peak.
Understanding Pet Happiness (Satiety)
Pet happiness, often referred to as satiety, is a critical factor in determining your pet’s performance. It represents their overall well-being and willingness to work for you. A pet with high happiness will loot efficiently, providing a steady stream of valuable items. They will also actively apply their beneficial buffs, enhancing your character’s capabilities. Conversely, a pet with low happiness will exhibit reduced looting speed, diminishing their usefulness on the battlefield. Their buffs may become inactive, hindering your progress and efficiency. In extreme cases of prolonged neglect, a pet may even disappear temporarily, leaving you without their assistance. Therefore, maintaining a healthy level of pet happiness is paramount to maximizing their potential.
Checking your pet’s happiness level is a straightforward process. Simply open the pet window, where you’ll find a visual representation of their satiety, usually displayed as a percentage. Keep a close eye on this indicator, as it gradually decreases over time as your pets tirelessly perform their duties. Regular feeding is the key to replenishing their happiness and ensuring their continued loyalty.
Types of Pet Food in Black Desert Online
Black Desert Online offers various types of pet food, each with its own ingredients, cost, and effectiveness in restoring satiety. Choosing the right type of food depends on your budget, cooking skills, and the specific needs of your pets.
Cheap or Basic Pet Food
Organic Feed represents the entry-level option for pet food. It’s easily accessible, obtainable from most stable keepers found in major cities. The ingredients required are relatively simple, often consisting of readily available grains and vegetables. While affordable, Organic Feed offers a modest boost to satiety, requiring frequent feeding to maintain optimal pet happiness. This makes it a suitable choice for new players or those on a tight budget, but less efficient for long-term use. The advantage of Organic Feed is its low cost and ease of acquisition, the disadvantage is that it provides a very low amount of satiety.
Good or Intermediate Pet Food
Good Feed provides a step up in terms of satiety restoration. While not significantly more expensive than basic pet food, it provides more satiety per food unit, making it much more efficient. Players can obtain it by cooking it themselves or purchasing it from the marketplace. The ingredients required may include slightly rarer items than basic pet food, which is why some players choose to buy it. This food is a good mid-range choice for players that cannot cook Organic/High-End Pet Food. The advantage of Good Feed is that it offers a good amount of satiety for a relatively affordable price, the disadvantage is that you may need to purchase it from the marketplace if you cannot or do not want to cook it.
Organic or High-End Pet Food
Balenos Meal, Serendia Meal, Calpheon Meal, and Mediah Meal are the pinnacle of pet food in Black Desert Online. These meals are crafted through cooking and require a significant investment of time and resources. The ingredients often include high-quality meats, rare fish, and expertly cultivated crops. However, the effort is well worth it, as these meals provide substantial satiety restoration, allowing your pets to work for extended periods without needing to be fed. While these are considerably more expensive than the previous food options, they are the most efficient in the long run, particularly for players who spend long hours grinding or participating in other activities that require constant pet assistance. The advantage of this food is that it is the most efficient per food unit, the disadvantage is the time and ingredients required to obtain it.
Special Pet Food
From time to time, special pet food like Honeycomb Cookies becomes available through events or promotions. These treats often offer unique benefits, such as significantly increased satiety restoration or temporary buffs to pet skills. Keep an eye out for these opportunities to acquire special pet food, as they can provide a temporary boost to your pet’s performance. These are usually very efficient, so make sure to stock up on them during events.
Crafting Pet Food
Cooking is the primary method for crafting high-quality pet food in Black Desert Online. With the appropriate cooking level and ingredients, you can create meals that will keep your pets happy and healthy for extended periods.
Cooking as a Method
Cooking involves combining various ingredients at a cooking utensil to produce meals, beverages, and other consumable items. To craft high-end pet food, you’ll need to level up your cooking skill and acquire the necessary recipes.
Balenos Meal Recipe
Balenos Meals require ingredients like Meat, Flour, Cooking Wine, Egg, and Mineral Water. It provides a moderate amount of satiety.
Serendia Meal Recipe
Serendia Meals need ingredients like Meat, Flour, Cooking Wine, Egg, and Milk. It provides a moderate amount of satiety.
Calpheon Meal Recipe
Calpheon Meals are made with ingredients like Meat, Flour, Cooking Wine, Egg, and Olive Oil. It provides a moderate amount of satiety.
Mediah Meal Recipe
Mediah Meals require ingredients like Meat, Flour, Cooking Wine, Egg, and Special Pepper. It provides the highest satiety of this type of meal.
Cooking these meals will produce byproducts, like Witch’s Delicacy. These byproducts can be exchanged for contribution points or other valuable items. Using advanced cooking utensils and increasing your cooking mastery will improve your chances of producing higher-quality meals and reducing the number of ingredients required.
Farming Pet Food Ingredients
Acquiring the necessary ingredients for pet food can be accomplished through various means, including gathering, farming, hunting, and fishing. Each method offers its own advantages and challenges.
Gathering
Gathering involves collecting resources from the environment, such as herbs, minerals, and animal products. Meat, a key ingredient in many pet food recipes, can be obtained by gathering from dead animals or butchering certain creatures. Optimal gathering locations depend on the specific ingredient you’re seeking. Using gathering tools, like axes, picks, and hoes, will improve your gathering efficiency. Increasing your gathering level and utilizing buffs will further enhance your yields.
Farming (Crops)
Farming allows you to cultivate crops, such as potatoes, wheat, and barley, which are essential ingredients in pet food. Establishing a farm requires renting fences from NPCs and planting seeds. Tending to your crops involves watering, fertilizing, and pruning to ensure optimal growth. Harvesting your crops will yield valuable ingredients for your pet food recipes. Using fertilizer and pruning regularly will increase your crop yields.
Hunting
Hunting involves tracking and killing animals to obtain their meat and other resources. Animals like foxes and wolves provide valuable meat for pet food. Optimal hunting locations vary depending on the animal you’re targeting. Utilizing appropriate weapons and gear will improve your hunting success.
Fishing
Fishing allows you to catch fish, some of which can be dried and used as ingredients in pet food. Fishing can be performed in various locations, from rivers and lakes to the open ocean. Utilizing different types of fishing poles and bait will affect your catch rate.
Optimizing Pet Food Usage
Maximizing the efficiency of your pet food consumption requires understanding several factors, including pet tiers, pet skills, and feeding strategies.
Understanding Pet Tiers
Pet tiers influence their hunger rate. Higher-tier pets generally have lower hunger rates, meaning they require less food to maintain their happiness. Pets can be upgraded to higher tiers through the breeding process.
Pet Skills and Food Consumption
Some pet skills, like increased looting speed, can increase their hunger rate. Balancing pet skills and food consumption requires careful consideration of your gameplay style and resource availability.
AFK Feeding
Black Desert Online allows you to set up automated feeding for your pets, allowing you to replenish their happiness even when you’re away from your computer. This can be configured in the pet settings menu. While convenient, AFK feeding requires a sufficient supply of pet food and careful monitoring to ensure it functions correctly.
Marketplace Considerations
The marketplace offers a convenient way to acquire pet food. Comparing the cost of buying pet food versus crafting or farming it can help you make informed decisions about resource management.
Advanced Tips and Tricks
Consider adjusting your pet food based on your activities. For example, if you’re grinding for extended periods, using high-end pet food will minimize the need for frequent feeding. If you’re engaged in life skilling activities that don’t require constant looting, you can use cheaper pet food to conserve resources.
Special events can significantly impact pet food availability and cost. Keep an eye out for events that offer bonus pet food or discounts on ingredients.
Conclusion
Proper pet care and feeding are essential aspects of playing Black Desert Online. By understanding the different types of pet food, mastering crafting recipes, and optimizing your feeding strategies, you can ensure your furry friends remain happy, healthy, and performing at their peak. A well-fed and well-cared-for pet will significantly enhance your gameplay experience, providing invaluable assistance and unwavering loyalty throughout your adventures in the vast world of Black Desert Online. So, take the time to invest in your pets, and they will reward you with countless benefits and unwavering companionship.
