Shadow Arena saw plenty of tantalizing details in the Pearl Abyss Connect 2019 livestream. The presentation is meant to cover Pearl Abyss‘ various projects, showing off trailers, and Shadow Arena certainly saw a lot of info.

“Byulbram” KwangSam Kim is Lead Producer of Shadow Arena. Shadow Arena was originally in-game content for Black Desert. It is an action-packed battle royale. It received much great feedback from players, but as a mode within Black Desert, it meant it was difficult to change the system just for it. Any changes in calculations for AP and DP, and character controls, would impact Black Desert, so it was decided to develop the mode as a stand-alone game.

In KwangSam Kim’s words, it allowed the team to develop Shadow Arena into an action combat game. The game is also set in the Black Desert universe. Developments in Shadow Arena will lead up to the story unfolding in Black Desert in the coming years. An unseen threat is approaching the world, so the Shadow Knights are working with the Black Spirits to find the greatest hero to face the biggest threat yet. The Shadow Arena was created borrowing the power of the Blackstar. Shadows are projected from the strongest heroes from each Black Spirit’s memories, to find the one who will inherit their legacy.

The heroes are as follows:

• Jordine Ducas, hope of Serendia. Simple and sturdy hero with combos and solid defensive abilities. Good for both beginners and veterans
• Ahon Kirus, the younger version of the Tarif chief. High mobility and destructive burst damage. For those who like playing mages with a high skill-cap.
• Yeonhwa, a hero from a faraway region searching for the cause of Black Death. High mobility, able to counterattack. Excels in fast-paced melee combat.
• Shultz, the legendary gladiator who led the Shultz Guards in the Sausan region of Mediah. Tough and manly. Resists crowd control, charges and can grab enemies.
• Haru, the assassin who fought alongside Calpheon and kidnapped Lord Domongatt of Heidel. Has stealth as an inherent skill, high mobility, easy to use combos. Great for beginners, or for skilled players to exploit stealth.
• Herawen, head of Kamasylve Temple, as herself when she first stepped into the human world. Not very mobile, many ranged skills. Possesses many crowd control effects to harass from a distance. Can summon the Kamasylve Tree to heal herself and allies.

The heroes are playable at G-STAR 2019 and the CBT. More characters will be playable at official launch. More NPCs and legendary figures from Black Desert are planned for Shadow Arena. The CBT has English support, so players can try to sign up for it here.