Should I Play on Seasonal or Normal Servers in BDO in 2024?
As a passionate BDO gamer and content creator, my recommendation is:
- New Players: Start on seasonal servers to progress faster
- Returning Players: Focus on normal servers, use seasonal for alts
Below I‘ll compare seasonal and normal BDO servers in-depth, provide gearing tips for each play style, and offer insights to help you succeed in 2024‘s latest season!
Why Seasonal Servers Accelerate Progression
BDO seasonal servers offer timed events that let adventurers power up quicker through:
Faster Leveling and Questing
- 50% increased quest exp rewards
- Higher monster density and exp gains
- Streamlined early questlines
According to Pearl Abyss, the leveling pace on seasonal servers is around 2x faster than normal servers.
Enhanced Gear Progression
- Easier enhancing up to PEN grade
- Seasonal Tuvala gear obtained via quests
- Exchange Tuvala for boss gear after graduation
Valuable Graduation Rewards
- Advice of Valks for enchanting
- Capotia belt and ring (TRI gear)
- Bonus inventory slots
- Silver and upgrade materials
Seasonal Server Exclusive Loot
The standout advantage of seasonal servers is Tuvala gear, obtainable only during the season.
| Gear Piece | Sheet AP / DP |
|---|---|
| PEN Tuvala Longsword | 261 AP |
| PEN Tuvala Armor | 329 DP |
| PEN Tuvala Accessories | 114 AP |
As you can see, a full set of PEN Tuvala rivals TET boss gear given through seasons only!
Normal Servers Offer Established Progression
BDO normal/non-seasonal servers provide:
- Persistent characters and progression
- Access to complete game world and content
- Competitive endgame PvP and PvE
- Trading/crafting with full player economy
- Guilds, clan battles, shadow arena
- No expiration on gear
Veteran, established players reap benefits like:
- High family fame for rewards
- Amassed silver and assets
- Top-tier endgame gear
- Max level alts and life skills
- Hundreds of inventory slots
- Years of loyalty rewards
So normal servers allow you to continue building up your persistent empire at a steady pace.
Comparing Gear Progression Speed
To demonstrate the difference in gearing pace, here is an example gear score progression on each server type starting from 0:
| Week | Seasonal Server | Normal Server | What You Can Do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 500 GS | 200 GS | Mediah Questing |
| 4 | 1,500 GS | 600 GS | Valencia Grinding |
| 8 | 2,400 GS | 1,200 GS | Early PvP |
| 12 | 2,900 GS + Capotia | 1,800 GS | Group PvP |
| 18 | 3,100 GS Boss Gear | 2,400 GS | Endgame Nw/Siege |
As shown, seasonal servers accelerate early gear progression by around 2-3x due to quick leveling and Tuvala gear. This allows you to reach endgame PvP and PvE much faster as a new player.
Veterans continue steady enhancement and silver income on normal servers to push beyond soft caps over time.
Tips for New Adventurers
For new players without existing gear, playing seasonal servers is highly recommended to:
- Quickly learn your chosen class without being outgeared
- Transition faster into mid/end-game PvP
- Earn silver and materials to kickstart your account
- Use graduation rewards to boost non-seasonal characters later
Be sure to complete the Tuvala ore quests which automatically enhance your gear. Getting to PEN Tuvala should be your priority before graduating to normal servers.
Most important – take time to learn your class combos, movement, and defense during the easier early progression.
Tips for Returning Players
For veterans with established characters, use seasonal servers to efficiently gear up alts:
- Level a season alt in 1-2 weeks via seasonal quests
- Obtain another set of boss weapons and armor
- Graduate it for family-wide bonuses
- Tag characters to share AP/DP stats
Seasonal alts can provide:
- Extra daily silver from quests
- Failstack generation at low risk
- Boss alt characters for world bosses
- Energy stockpiles for life skilling
- Skill point farming overnight
Having multiple geared alts offers long-term value, so seasons give you a way to speed up the process that would normally take months on normal servers.
Conclusion
Here is a quick summary of my recommendations:
- New Players: Seasonal servers to progress 2-3x faster
- Veterans: Focus normal servers, but build seasonal alts
BDO seasonal servers give new adventurers a faster power up phase via quick leveling, streamlined quests, and exclusive Tuvala gear. This lets you experience more mid and endgame content sooner.
For established players, use seasonal server alts to quickly build up supporting characters for additional income sources and account boosts.
I hope these tips help you get the most out of your seasonal and non-seasonal progression in Black Desert Online! Let me know if you have any other questions.
