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1.Introduction
2.Knowledge Categories
3.Knowledge Buffs
4.Ecology Grades and Resetting Knowledge
5.Knowledge (Ecology) Effect
6.Family Special Fame
7.Mini-map Knowledge Tracking
8.Knowledge Bookshelves
Introduction
Knowledge isthe information you learn while traveling and interacting in Black Desert.
When you discover Knowledge, it is entered into your Knowledge base (which can be viewed by pressing H).
Knowledge Categories
There are 9 main categories of Knowledge with multiple subcategories in each one. Discovering all of the Knowledge in one subcategory may reward you by increasing your maximum energy.
I recommend using the Knowledge Tracker Tool by BDOlytics to help you collect knowledge. You can click any topic to view more information about how to collect the knowledge. You can view the monster or NPC location, and check requirements for questlines.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Character | Character knowledge is gained by interacting with NPCs in the world. Each subcategory is split into areas or specific managers. To learn about them you usually just need to speak to the NPC. Some NPCs will have specific requirements, such as talking to another NPC first and may also require a certain amount of amity with another NPC. |
| Topography | Topography is your knowledge of the map and points of interest (nodes) on the map. As you travel through the world you will discover new areas and in turn reveal parts of your in-game map. Topography is split into regions of the map with subcategories as well. Obtaining knowledge of each subcategory will increase your maximum energy. |
| Ocean | Ocean is your knowledge of the islands in the sea. When you travel to them you will discover the island and in turnreveal parts of your in-game map. Ocean is split into sea regions. Obtaining knowledge of each island in the sea region will increase your maximum energy. |
| Ecology | Ecology is the knowledge of the monsters in Black Desert. When you first come into contact with a monster you will not have any knowledge of it and the health bar will not appear to go down. Instead, you will see a color change going from yellow to red, to indicate the monster’s health. When you gain knowledge of the monster, the health bar will go down normally. To gain knowledge of them you must kill them to “discover their weakness”. If you are in a party you must make sure you get the last hit on the monster or you will not get the knowledge. |
| Adventure Journal | The Adventure Journal is one of the harder knowledge entries to gain because it can require you to do various things. Some knowledge can be earned by simply talking to an NPC, or interacting with an object, but many will require you to complete long questlines and some will even require amity with an NPC. The Adventure Journals do give a lot of energy for completing them but can take a lot longer. |
| Academics | Academics knowledge is mostly gained by interacting with objects such as books or speaking to NPCs. Most of them are quite easy to complete but don’t give a lot of energy. |
| Life Skill | Life Skills knowledge is learned from your professions. Currently, this section will not reward you with energy for gaining knowledge of them, but some sections such as the “Certificates” section can be collected to unlock further crafting and processing actions. |
| Learning the ropes of Black Desert | Learning the ropes of Black Desertknowledge is discovered by following tutorial quests throughout the game. This section does not currently reward you with energy for completing it. |
| Trade | Trade knowledge is discovered by collecting various trade materials and consuming them by right-clicking on the item in your inventory. Obtaining the knowledge entry of a trade good will decrease the silver cost of that trade good. |
Knowledge Buffs
When you kill a monster, there is a chance you will obtain knowledge about the monster. If you are successful in obtaining knowledge, then the grade of knowledge you learn is also random. You may learn a lower knowledge grade than the one you currently have saved in your Knowledge Window. Therefore, you only actually “gain” knowledge if the knowledge you learned is a higher grade than what you have already.
There are two different types of Knowledge buffs you can obtain:
- Chance to Gain Knowledge
- This increases your chance of obtaining knowledge when you kill a monster
- Chance to Gain Higher-grade Knowledge
- This increases your chances of the knowledge you learned being a higher grade
You can use a combination of these buffs when knowledge hunting!
| Icon | Item Name | Buff | How to Obtain |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Simple Cron Meal | Knowledge Gain Chance +10% Chance to Gain Higher-Grade Knowledge +5% | Processing (L) > Simple Cooking:
|
 | Special Drieghanese Meal | Knowledge Gain Chance +5% Chance to Gain Higher-Grade Knowledge +2% | Crafted using a Cooking Utensil: (requires Cooking Master 1+)
|
 | Weenie Elixir | Chance to Gain Knowledge +7% (Surging Weenie Elixir gives +10%) | Crafted using an Alchemy Tool: (requires Alchemy Apprentice 1+)
|
 | Looney Elixir | Higher-Grade Knowledge +3% (Reliable Looney Elixir gives +5%) | Crafted using an Alchemy Tool: (requires Alchemy Apprentice 1+)
|
 | Savage Draught | Extra AP Against Monsters +15 Knowledge Gain Chance +12% Higher Grade Knowledge Gain Chance +7% Recover +1 per hit Damage from Monsters -10% Critical Hit +3 Weight Limit +100 LT | Processing (L) > Simple Alchemy:
|
 | [Know-It-All] Lightstone Set | Knowledge acquisition chance +30% high-grade knowledge acquisition chance +5% Attack Speed Level +1 Critical Chance Level +1 Max Weight +20LT Luck Level +1 | Lightstone of Fire: Zeal Lightstone of Fire: Claws Lightstone of Wind: Feather Lightstone of Wind: FortuneMore info in our Artifacts and Lightstones Guide |
| [Wondrous Journey] Lightstone Set | Combat EXP Gain +175% Skill EXP Gain +35% Max Stamina +150 Knowledge Acquisition Rate Increase +20% Max Weight +70LT | Lightstone of Wind: Lungs Lightstone of Wind: Lungs Lightstone of Wind: Alert (Combat) Lightstone of Wind: Alert (Skill)More info in our Artifacts and Lightstones Guide |
 | Scholarly Ambition Level 1 – 3[Guild Skill] | Level 1: Chance to Gain Knowledge +5% Level 2: Chance to Gain Knowledge +10% Level 3: Chance to Gain Knowledge +15% | Guild Skill Duration: 60 mins |
 | Endeless Exploration [Guild Skill] | Chance to gain Higher Grade Knowledge +2% | Guild Skill Duration: 60 mins |
 | Head & Ear Costume Accessory Slot (eg. [Witch] Round Earring) | Chance to Gain Higher-grade Knowledge +5% |
|
 | Eye Costume Accessory Slot (eg. [Event] Glasses Box) | Chance to Gain Knowledge +50% |
|
 | Bird Type Pets with Knowledge Talents | Chance to Gain Knowledge +5% – 25% (depending on Pet tier) Chance to Gain Higher-Grade Knowledge +1% – 5% (depending on Pet tier) |
|
Ecology Grades and Resetting Knowledge
When you gain Ecology knowledge of a monster, you will randomly be given a Grade (C, B, A, A+, S):
- C Grade
- B Grade
- A Grade
- A+ Grade
- S Grade
Obtaining any knowledge grade of a monster will allow you to accurately see their HP bar. Until you gain knowledge, you will only see the HP bar change color from yellow to red depending on the monster’s HP.
You can view your Ecology knowledge on the monster HP bar by turning on the setting in your Knowledge window (H).
To increase the grade of monster knowledge, continue defeating them and there is a chance you will obtain a higher grade of its entry.
For certain enemies, you can only obtain the knowledge entry again if you delete your current knowledge first.
You can delete a knowledge entry at the cost of 10 Energy, by going to an NPC called “Annalisa” in the Calpheon library.
Talk to her and select “Knowledge Management”, then choose which knowledge you would like to reset, and click “Delete Knowledge”.
Please be aware that there are some monster entries that cannot be regained once deleted, as they’re only given once. For example, the knowledge entry of the world boss Garmoth, the Crimson Dragon cannot be regained.
Knowledge (Ecology) Effect
As well as Ecology Knowledge Grades giving you buffs against each individual monster, you can obtain a passive Item Drop Rate buff which is applied to all monsters.
For each Ecology Knowledge Grade, you earn a certain amount of Ecology Points:
- C Grade – 1 Point
- B Grade – 1 Point
- A Grade – 2 Points
- A+ Grade – 5 Points
- S Grade – 10 Points
The Item Drop Rate % you have depends on your total Ecology Points.
For example, if you have 4,023 total Ecology Points, you will gain a passive Item Drop Rate +16% buff.
You can view this information in the Knowledge Window (H).
| Total Ecology Points | Item Drop Rate Increase |
|---|---|
| 501-1000 | Item Drop Rate +5% |
| 1001-1500 | Item Drop Rate +7% |
| 1501-2000 | Item Drop Rate +10% |
| 2001-3000 | Item Drop Rate +12% |
| 3001-4000 | Item Drop Rate +14% |
| 4001-5000 | Item Drop Rate +16% |
| 5001-6000 | Item Drop Rate +18% |
| 6001-7000 | Item Drop Rate +20% |
| 7001-8000 | Item Drop Rate +23% |
| 8001-9000 | Item Drop Rate +25% |
| 9001-10,000 | Item Drop Rate +27% |
| 10,001 or higher | Item Drop Rate +30% |
Family Special Fame
Family Fame is shared across all characters on your account and gives you a higher daily payout depending on the number of points you have under each section.
For more information about Family Fame, check out our Family Fame guide.
There are 4 types of Fame points:
- Combat Fame
- Life Fame
- Special Fame
- Family Fame – your total fame points combined
You can view your current fame points under your character info (P).
Special Fame is calculated by dividing your total gained knowledge by 10, then adding your contribution points.
You can view your total gained knowledge by pressing (H).
For example, my total gained knowledge is 3946 and my total contribution points are 346.
(3946 / 10) + 346 = 741 Special Fame
Mini-map Knowledge Tracking
You can track up to 20 Ecology Knowledge entries by going in the Knowledge Window (H). The targets will show up as a different color on your mini-map so you can see them easier. This is useful for tracking specific knowledge entries, or if you are hunting treasure items that only drop from specific monsters.
- Go to the Knowledge Window (H)
- Select a specific monster, or a full monster sub-category under the Ecology Category
- Click the “Target” button to start tracking
Knowledge Bookshelves
Bookshelves are furniture items that can be placed in your Residence. You can then interact with a bookshelf to read a book.
- It takes 1 hour to read a book from your bookshelf and will not repeat once it is complete
- You will obtain a random knowledge entry in a sub-category
- The knowledge you obtain may be one you already have or a lower grade than you already have. If this is the case, it will not replace the knowledge entry.
- For a list of all knowledge you can obtain from each bookshelf, you can check the official website.
- The bookshelf must have durability and each time you read from the bookshelf, you will consume 1 durability even if you did not receive new knowledge.
- You can read a bookshelf on an alt character while you play your main character
- Interact with the bookshelf on your alt character (R), then go to the ESC menu > Disconnect > and swap characters using the Character Portraits
- However, disconnecting from the game or changing channels will end the reading interaction.
Bookshelves can be bought from the Pearl Store for 300 pearls, or created by sacrificing a completed knowledge sub-category. Bookshelves created by players can also be registered and exchanged on the Central Market.
To create a bookshelf, go to Annalisa Rosie in the Calpheon Library.
- Click the “Knowledge Management” button at the bottom
- Swap to the “Craft Knowledge Bookshelf” tab at the top of the window
- Select a Knowledge category, then “Craft Bookshelf”
- Crafting a bookshelf will cost silver depending on the knowledge grades in the category
