Some players may call tier lists for Black Desert a little biased. And, to a point, I agree! In the current state of BDO, this list will convey each class in its current state. Starting from the best Grass Beetle farmers to high-speed, end-game grinding.
Since there are two archetypes for almost all classes except Talent classes, tier lists are diversified. So, A Tier can be considered S Tier. Otherwise, at the current stage of the game, there would be a WHOLE list of classes categorized under S Tier.
S Tier
A conjunction of highly versatile, agile, and explosive classes granting phenomenal grind speed at high-end monster zones.
Awakening Nova — 100/100 / Ranged / Magic / DPS:
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Nova in her awakening form, is one of the best competitors—if not the best—in all zones. She has outstanding maneuverability, star breath for even more speed, and detonative clouds that allow for ranged DPS. Harvest your enemies and draw them closer with her black hole, stunning them and sustaining a high damage output in the process.
Attributes:
AoE
Close Quartered and Ranged
Lightning Speed?
Crowd Control
I-Frames
Nova In Action [BDO | Gyfin Underground - Nova Awakening AP312 after PVE buff]
Sorceress is known for having many self-buffing abilities; in her awakening form, she can easily grind high-end zones and possesses near-infinite I-frames. She is relatively slow movement-wise but walks the shadows in plain sight. Sorc’s awakening weapon is a soul-harvesting scythe that crushes opponents and one-shots various mobs with the infamous ability “Grim Reaper’s Judgment.”
Attributes:
I-Frames
Ability Cancels
AoE Abilities
Insane Damage
Teleports
Sorceress In Action [ Sorceress Awakening Skills | Black Desert Online]
Succession Ninja — 97/100 / Melee / DPS:
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Ninja is an excellent choice for grinding as he has one of the highest attacks-per-minute (APM) in BDO. He is a very challenging class to play and presents high levels of damage in all zones—early, mid, and end-game. This class has a high skill ceiling with a very rewarding payout.
Succession Witch masters the art of unleashing potent magic, focusing her power into a massive area of effect, obliterating everyone. She has monumental movement and can teleport vast distances. Cast maelstroms of snow and rupture the ground with devastating earthquakes!
Attributes:
Sustained AoE
Fast Clear Speeds
Ranged Attacks
Teleportation
Insane Burst Damage
Witch In Action [Succession Witch - Gyfin Test - ILLEGAL DAMAGE]
Succession Lahn — 95/100 / Melee / DPS:
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Lahn's Succession empowers her with agile strides and precision area-of-effect, focusing on close-to-mid-range attacks and aerial maneuvers, making for unique and accelerated rotations. She maims her foes with vicious, fluid movements, dealing devastating blows with her Crescent Pendulum. She's a goddess of the skies and aerial combat.
Attributes:
Extremely Mobile
She Can Fly
Wide Evasions
Great For Lazy Grinding
Lahn In Action [BDO // Succession Lahn PVE // After Buff Gyfin Rhasia Underground // 32.130/H]
Succession Guardian — 94/100 / Tank / DPS:
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Guardian is an exceedingly versatile class specializing in both fields as a tank and DPS. Unleash her wrath with excruciating fire from the depths of Hell. She holds the capability of wiping entire groups with one-shot combos while taking little to no damage.
Attributes:
Self-Buff
Life-steal
Massive AoE
High Damage Reduction
Guardian In Action [Succession Guardian PvE Grind Guide 2022 | Black Desert]
A Tier
These classes aren’t anything to scoff at; they’re equally strong competitors to S Tier classes; only, they might have minuscule aspects that could definitely be looked at
Succession Warrior — 86/100 / Tank / DPS:
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Warrior is a versatile melee class known for its exceptional survivability and offensive capabilities. He excels in combat on the frontlines with his sword and shield, holding a mixture of abilities in all general areas. Warrior is great in defense, counter-attacks, and full-on destruction.
Attributes:
Exceptional Movement Abilities
Ranged Grab
Simple To Play
High Defense
AoE Damage Modifiers
Warrior In Action [Warrior Succession Skills | Black Desert Online]
Awakening Ranger — 85/100 / Ranged / DPS:
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Awakening Ranger specializes in precise and devastating ranged attacks. She foregoes the use of her Kamasylven Sword to complement her archery skills. She can swiftly maneuver around the battlefield while dealing high burst damage to enemies from a distance. Ranger does well in early and end-game.
Attributes:
Evasive
Agile
Burst DPS
High APM
Area of Effect
Ranger In Action [Ranger Awakening Skills | Black Desert Online]
Awakening Berserker — 89/100 / DPS / Defense:
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Berserker, originating from the "Giant" race, is one of the game's four canonical classes. He embodies a tanky melee/hulk-like archetype. Renowned for his chaotic and exhilarating playstyle, Berserker offers an indulging experience in combat. In conjunction, he is a simplistic character to play. Although hard to master. He provides great accessibility into all monster zones.
Attributes:
Self-Sustain
Crowd Control
AoE
Tanky
Berserker In Action [Berserker Awakening Skills | Black Desert Online]
Awakening Witch — 89/100 / Magic / Ranged / DPS:
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Witch excels in dealing area of effect damage alongside a wide range of detrimental spells that can kill multiple enemies simultaneously. She is great at social distancing—she can teleport in and out of danger at will while taking an entire army with her.
Attributes:
AoE
Crowd Control
High Mobility
Teleportation
Versatile
Witch In Action [Witch Awakening Skills | Black Desert Online]
Tamer is an all-around functional class that wields a short sword and utilizes her pet, Heilang, in combat. With agile movements, Tamer excels in close-quarters combat, counting on her pet's assistance to overwhelm enemies. She has high mobility and burst damage potential, making her adept at engaging foes quickly.
Attributes:
Sustainability / Survivability
Crowd Control
Fluid Movement
Unique Pet Exclusive to Tamer Alone
Tamer In Action [Tamer Awakening Skills | Black Desert Online]
Musa wields the art of swordsmanship in his Succession form, striking down with swift and powerful melee attacks. This honing of skills enhances his agility and tactics in close-quarters combat. His abilities allow him to take extreme evasive measures if met with imminent death. Musa is most certainly a pain to fight head-on.
Attributes:
Highly Mobile
Successive AoE
Lots of CC Abilities
Musa In Action [Black Desert Online Choose Your Class: Musa]
Maehwa is the female counterpart to Musa. She is great at delivering massive blows in rapid succession. Her mastery of her main weapon—the —makes her an appealing choice for players who enjoy fast-paced gameplay.
Attributes:
Mobile
AoE
CC Abilities
Fast-Paced
Maehwa In Action [Maehwa Class Skills | Black Desert Online]
Maehwa Awakening [Maehwa Awakening Skills | Black Desert Online]
Awakening Ninja — 82/100 / Melee / DPS:
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Ninja is a stealthy, agile melee class known for his lightning-fast strikes and evasive maneuvers. He has access to various crowd control abilities such as stuns, knockdowns and grabs, allowing him to control enemy movements and disrupt groups entirely. His stealth abilities enable him to perform stealth attacks and assassinations.
Attributes:
Stealth
High Evasion
DPS
Agile
Ninja In Action [Ninja Awakening Skills | Black Desert Online]
Awakening Wizard — 81/100 / Magic / Ranged / DPS:
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Wizard possesses several skills that deliver high burst damage, allowing him to quickly eliminate opponents in both PvP and PvE content. He can also teleport to reposition for vigorous combat and strategies. Wizard is considerably one of the best classes for crowd control along with Witch.
Attributes:
Long Range Attacks
AoE
Teleportation
High Mobility
Self-Buffs
Wizard In Action [Wizard Awakening Skills | Black Desert Online]
Wizard Succession [Wizard Class Skills | Black Desert Online]
Dark Knight harnesses the power of the darkness and possesses a plethora of utilities. She is quick on her feet and brings the power of the cosmos to her magic abilities. Featuring a nebula-styled explosive area-of-effect damage. As for her main weapons, she uses a Vediant and Kriegsmesser to carve her path.
Attributes:
Agile
Evasive
Defensive
AoE
Decent Movement
Dark Knight In Action [Dark Knight Class Skills | Black Desert Online]
Dark Knight Awakening [Dark Knight Awakening Skills | Black Desert Online]
Awakening Striker — 81/100 / Melee / DPS:
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If you’re into hand-to-hand combat, Striker is the class for you. With various techniques and combo potential, he overwhelms mobs with flurries of punches. Striker’s abilities can stun. knockback, and CC enemies in their tracks. He is relatively easy to play, and his awakening can grind in all zones with no sweat.
Attributes:
High Defense
High Evasion
Many CC Abilities
Agile
Striker In Action [Striker Awakening Skills | Black Desert Online]
Awakening Archer — 80/100 / Ranged / Evasion:
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Archer employs massive AoE damage, utilizing a bow and arrow to strike enemies from vast distances. He is adept at maneuverability and can snipe enemies just out of render distance. His attacks are swift, precise, and volatile. If you’ve ever tried to chase an Archer, you know just how painful it is to keep up.
Attributes:
Excellent Long-Range Damage
AoE
Nimble
Evasive
Archer In Action [BDO Archer Awakening PVE Combo | Magnus skill]
B Tier
This tier consists of your average content grinders. Where some could be lacking in a few areas, others contain the potential for being better.
Succession Maegu — 79/100 / Magic / DPS
Maegu prioritizes creating massive AoE and using her high agility in succession to stay alive. She can fire ‘magic rockets’ at long distances to keep her enemies at bay.
Awakening Musa — 79/100 / Melee / DPS
Musa uses his Crescent Blade to wipe enemies and to flatten the battlefield. He can dash away at a moment's notice, making him extremely hard to catch.
Succession Woosa — 79/100 / Magic / DPS
Succession remains a viable option to clear monster zones from early to end-game. Although, given there have been additional buffs to other classes, there are better options. Woosa provides faster execution and extended ability duration allowing for more DPS.
In early game, awakening is slightly outpaced by his succession. In the end game, it is the total opposite, he becomes a powerhouse in high-end zones. He is still easy to learn and offers high DPS.
Succession Berserker — 78/100 / Melee / DPS
Berserker is a great grinder in PVE, and even better for PVP. He brings vital tankiness, mobility, and DPS. He is easy to play and his combos are simple, making for a relaxing gameplay.
Awakening Lahn — 77/100 / Melee / DPS
Lahn’s awakening form is very consistent in damage output and grinding end-game. However, Pearl Abyss recently gave buffs to other classes she has become very overrated, as she has below-average health and is particularly squishy.
Succession Striker — 77/100 / Melee / Evasion
Both of Striker’s forms are great for general PVE content. However, his succession is a tad lackluster in performing AoE attacks. Succession requires a higher APM which is much more viable in later game content.
Awakening Mystic — 77/100 / Melee / Evasion
Mystic’s Awakening is beginner-friendly, easy to learn, and a great choice for general content. She has the potential to be S tier, but her lack of mobility and AOE in late-game content hinders her.
Shai — 76/100 / Melee / Support
Shai is a more situational class and excels in group content. She is a great support, bestowing health, attack, defense, and mobility buffs upon her party.
Awakening Guardian — 75/100 / Tank / Melee / DPS
Awakening Guardian has one of the best AOEs in the game, unleashing an inferno and wiping out hordes. Currently, she is decent for end-game whereas early to mid-game, she is subpar.
Awakening Hashashin — 75/100 / Melee / Evasive
Awakening Hashashin offers broadened AoE with relatively speedy cooldowns. Consequential to his abilities, his movement is very immersive and fun.
Awakening Valkyrie — 74/100 / Melee / Tank
She offers a high APM in grinding with a decent payout. However, her AoE is rather small which makes her more considerable for single target farm spots.
Succession Hashashin — 73/100 Melee / DPS
Hash is difficult to learn, although, extremely fun to play! His movement is fluid and beautiful alongside having powerful AOEs. One thing to note, is his tornadoes do not benefit from applied PVE buffs, thus he may be outperformed by other classes.
Awakening Maegu — 72/100 / Magic / DPS
Awakening is notably slower than her succession and suffers in relaying rapid damage to mobs early on. Maegu’s awakening is still a great choice for the end-game, however, she has yet to receive any buffs/changes to her awakening set.
Drakania’s succession possesses modest damage output, but suffers from slow animations and long cooldowns. Her awakening on the other hand is extremely unique. There are tons of abilities and cancels in this skill tree. Yet, she is sensationally fun.
Awakening Warrior — 72/100 / Melee / Tank / DPS
The awakening skill tree falls off in the end-game due to its higher APM requirement. Awakening provides smaller AoE and delivers damage in bursts.
Corsair’s cooldowns are comparatively slow among other classes. She can still hold her own when grinding any given area, and rather tanky considering you’re building evasion.
C Tier
Not the greatest overall, still awaiting changes or only performing well under certain level content.
Awakening & Succession Kunoichi — 68/100 / Melee
Kuno’s succession is a nice pick for end-game content, whereas her awakening still suffers from her core damage skill, Pinwheel Fury. She is still a fun class to play, but if you’re looking for performance and efficiency, I advise otherwise.
Awakening Woosa — 67/100 / Magic / Ranged
Woosa’s main damage is not actually viable at all. Her succession significantly outperforms her awakening skill tree. In higher-tier spots, it is a game of hot potato choosing the skill tree that outputs the best damage.
Succession Sorceress — 65/100 / Melee
Her succession form deliberately suffers from the lack of mobility and damage. In contrast to her awakening, it does perform well in burst damage.
Scholar — 60/100 / Melee / Ranged
Under current circumstances, Scholar is a new, unique class, considerably noob-friendly. There haven't been many changes made to her since release. Her skill tree is valiantly different as there is neither awakening nor succession. Instead, she has a new tree called an “Ascension.” As such, players tend to stay away from her until Pearl Abyss decides to “fix” her.
D Tier
More or less, situational, or unable to grind the majority of areas proficiently.
Succession Ranger — 58/100 / Ranged
Ranger’s succession form excels in early game content and starts to descend rapidly upon reaching endgame. She has high DPS, but it doesn’t fare too well in high-end zones. She is squishy.
Succession Valkyrie — 55/100 Melee / Tank
Not the greatest choice, her DPS and mobility are entirely underwhelming. However, she is great in places like Gyfins due to the zone’s mechanics allowing her to use one-shot combos.
Succession Mystic — 52/100 / Melee
This skill tree isn’t the greatest in most content. She might be fun for a new player to dip their toes in the water of Black Desert, but her awakening is far superior and surpasses succession’s damage output.
F Tier
Worst of the worst, Pearl Abyss’s outcast and underperformer.
Succession Nova — 21/100 / Melee / Tank
Nova’s succession was already in a bad spot, and with recent changes, they made a tremendously negative impact on her. Nova’s DPS is lacking in all areas in this skill tree. Choosing any other class would be your best bet. What the heck happened, PA?
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From the misty shores and crater-filled highways of Michigan, I come armed with caffeine-imbued elixirs, diving headfirst into adventures and tribulations alike.
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