Should you main Scholar in Black Desert Online (2024)?

Scholar is the brand-new melee class in Black Desert Online. Unlike other classes, it doesn't have the standard Succession and Awakening specs. However, it offers an Ascension path like the Archer. This grants you access to Awakening skills and weapons. While the Scholar is not the strongest class in the game, it's very easy to pick up and play.

With the highly-anticipated sequel to Land of The Morning Light on the horizon, fans are eagerly awaiting its release. This leaves many gamers wondering — is Scholar the right class choice to catch up in Black Desert Online? This article addresses such questions and assesses how well the class is performing in the title a month after its launch.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and solely reflect the writer's opinions.

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Black Desert Online: Scholar Class review

Scholar is a spectacular new addition to Black Desert Online. Its animations and over-the-top visuals are second to none, seamlessly complimenting the overall class aesthetic.

When it comes to the gameplay, the skills and core mechanics harmonize well together, creating a flow in combat that is easy to understand and fun to play. Moreover, it also leaves ample opportunities for veterans to push their skills further with the extra layer of added depth to its gameplay.

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Skills and Gravity shenanigans

The Scholar in Black Desert Online manipulates gravity to avoid any fall damage. This allows it to teleport across distances and perform acrobatic stunts mid-air, leading to earth-shattering hammer collisions on the ground.

Utilizing certain skills can buff the jump height, which increases the potency of these hammer attacks. Additionally, the Scholar's Critical Hits with Awakening skills increase Defense Nullifying Damage. They also apply a debuff to enemies, which decreases their Recovery effects.

It takes some getting used to the constant movement of Scholar's gameplay. However, as you get accustomed to the flow of combat, it becomes an immensely enjoyable experience. You can land combos and teleport between different enemy packs in a thrilling, earth-shattering style.

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Keeping it grounded: Is Black Desert Online’s Scholar a good class?

Scholar with anti-gravity device in Black Desert Online (Image via Pearl Abyss)

Yes, Scholar in Black Desert Online is a good class. However, it's not without its fair share of issues. In the early game, the class struggles with mobility, slow animations, and small AoEs. Warping from enemy packs to packs often glitches out, making you constantly spam the same ability for it to work as intended.

That, along with the animation speed and small size of AoEs, makes it harder to hit the large number of enemies that are spread out in a pack. While the mobility issues persist, the damage issue gets somewhat resolved over the mid-to-end game.

In PvP, the Scholar is quite potent in one-on-one scenarios. However, when engaged in small to large-scale battles, it lacks the required burst damage and performs unsatisfactorily.

So, this class stands somewhere in the middle of a tier list. While it's fun to play and easy to learn, the warping bugs make the gameplay frustrating. Moreover, the lack of burst damage, particularly in PvP, places it below many other classes in terms of performance.

That said, if you like the aesthetics of Scholar and find its gameplay fun and riveting, there's every reason to make it your main. The issues mentioned can likely be addressed through a minor patch and shouldn't hinder your overall enjoyment.

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More on Black Desert Online:

BDO tier list || Calpheon Ball summary || Best starter classes || What to expect from BDO in 2024