Smoking kills.
Black Desert celebrated its 10th anniversary this weekend, announcing a raft of new features and detailing long-term plans for the Korean MMO at its annual Heidel Ball event. Held this year in the French castle town of Beynac-et-Cazenac, the event culminated in the reveal of the game's 28th class: Dosa, a pipe-smoking swordsman with a mysterious past and a deeply unusual fighting style.
As demonstrated in the class trailer, Dosa's combat style combines acrobatic swordplay with vaporous magic. In melee, Dosa leaps upon his foes with fast-paced flurries of attacks, using nimble dodges to evade enemy strikes. This is enhanced by his traditional Gombangdae smoking pipe, which is far more than an affectation. The pipe empowers Dosa with spectral abilities, letting him teleport around the battlefield in puffs of smoke, summon ranks of ghostly archers to pelt enemies with arrows, and spin up a deadly miasmal vortex that crackles with electricity.
Even by the over-the-top standards of Black Desert's combat, Dosa's abilities are impressive, with nearly every move filling the screen in clouds of colourful smoke. But equally central to Dosa's character is his Korean heritage. The first male class to be introduced into the game since 2021's Sage, Dosa is thematically tied to the ongoing Land of the Morning Light expansion, which draws heavily from Korean traditions and folklore. The son of a noble family accused of treason, Dosa's story sees him join the Sangdo school of martial arts, revolving heavily around his relationship with his mentor Gang Hee, whose family was similarly implicated in treachery.
Little else about Dosa's story has been revealed, although the trailer implies that Gang Hee is either killed or goes missing at some point. But further clues to Dosa's story can be found in the meaning behind his name. "There are several ways to translate Dosa to English," says Jeonghee Jin, CEO of Pearl Abyss America. "Dosa in Korean means something like a Buddhist monk. Also, Dosa means somebody who has mastered something, who is very, very skillful." Hence, Dosa's story is gradually assuming the mantle of his mentor, though whether this is to rescue her, seek vengeance for her death, or for some other motivation is unclear.
Either way, Black Desert fans won't have to wait long to find out. Dosa will waft into the MMO on July 3, roughly a month ahead of the Korean launch of the second part of the Land of the Morning Light expansion, named Land of the Morning Light: Seoul. Expect more details about that update, as well as the other announcements made during the 10th anniversary event, on PC Gamer soon.
