Heidel Ball 2026: Black Desert confirms the Agent class and closes its first grand saga with Edania Part 2

This past weekend, Pearl Abyss gathered around 400 attendees in Southern California for Heidel Ball 2026, the annual Black Desert celebration that this year lines up with the 10th anniversary of the NA/EU launch. And it wasn't just a party: the studio used the stage to lay out the MMORPG's fullest roadmap in a long while, led by a new class, the long-awaited second part of Edania, and a ground-up revision of the leveling system.

The headliner is Agent, the game's 32nd class. It's a male gunslinger wielding a higher-caliber revolver than the roster's other shooters: instead of frantic run-and-gun, it leans on powerful single shots and precision hits, with an assassin's flavor that punishes openings. Beyond the main weapon it packs grenades to cut distance and a special weapon —the Hexround— plus mobility tools like Blink to reposition and vault obstacles.

Agent arrives first on PC on Thursday, July 30, then on console on Thursday, August 6. It debuts with its Succession path, while Awakening is slated for winter; Pearl Abyss noted that future classes will follow this same staggered release model.

The other big reveal is Edania Part 2, which promises an epic close to Black Desert's first grand saga —a story that began with the 2014 Korean launch. Players will finally enter inner Edania to face the world's gods across five domains: Aphrodon (Agris), Hermesia (Markthanan), Magaia (Elion), Aresion (Aal), and Voidekaia (Hadum), with seven individual bosses split between solo and party zones.

Combat gets new mechanics: you'll need to counter each boss's specific patterns using Black Spirit's Rage as a kind of parry with precise timing, and every domain adds its own twist. Loot follows with high-end accessories like the Ekleta —non-tradeable, with its Apeiron variant that can be listed on the central market— plus new Life Artifacts, the Godslayer armor, and even zone-exclusive dyes.

The rollout is phased: on July 29 the Sulfur Golem solo zone opens; on August 12 the remaining regions and items arrive (except the Hadum fight); and in mid-September the Hadum boss battle and the main quests that close the story unlock.

Pearl Abyss also announced a full overhaul of experience and levels. The cap rises to level 70 on August 12 and then 75 on October 7, when the entire EXP structure is reworked. The goal is progress that's more readable —hunting-ground EXP will be displayed— and more humane: the studio estimates reaching level 75 in about two months with 1 to 2 hours of hunting per day. Levels 70 to 75 grant +3 Monster Attack and Damage Reduction per level.

The rest of the show was a long list of improvements: instant character switching in the field, the Family Dispatch System (targeted for November), Marni's Combat Analyzer and the Guild Prestige system (both on August 5), integrated PvP rankings (October 14), and a Master Class tournament to be detailed in September. On the technical side, the engine will add support for DirectX 12, FSR 3.1, and DLSS during August. As an anniversary nod, the login coupon BEYONDTHEJOURNEY is live, redeemable until November 26.

All told, it's the kind of event that sets the tone for an entire year of an MMORPG: a new class right around the corner, the end of a story that's been running for over a decade, and a progression overhaul that tackles one of the community's long-standing complaints. You can read the official recap on the Black Desert NA/EU blog and the full agenda breakdown at Inven Global.