On the 8th of June, following the Heidel Ball that took place in Seoul Korea, a member of the Pearl Abyss service team published a GM note detailing changes that will come to Black Desert Online during the latter half of 2019. 

Optimizations

1. Buffs

ㆍEvery meal will have its cooldown reduced. This change was planned so that 'accidentally' consuming a wrong meal won't warrant a 30-minute wait. 
ㆍFusion meals and draughts will have stronger effects. The overall number of consumables that you need to take will decrease. 
ㆍThe buff icon on your buff bar will be more specific. For example, if you had consumed a Calpheon Meal, the Calpheon Meal icon will appear in your buff bar. 
ㆍThe buff bar will be separated into three rows, each one representing: long-lasting buffs, temporary buffs, and debuffs. This change was planned so that adventurers can clearly see and know exactly what's affecting their character.

2. NPC Interactions

ㆍThere are planned updates to allow interactions with NPC's and objectives while mounting a horse and/or other mounts. 

3. Enhancing and Failstacks

ㆍMore methods to obtain failstacks will be introduced in the coming updates. 
ㆍIn a later update, you will be able to exchange Dragon Scale Fossils for +40 Advice of Valks. 

4. Class Balance

ㆍWe're now being more careful - but more decisive - with how we approach class balance patches.
ㆍCharacter balance can be affected by time, items, trending classes/strategies, and patches. We'll be more thorough with our data analysis from this point on and provide the most necessary changes. 

In Development

5. New Region: Odylita

ㆍWe're currently developing Odylita to be more than just a region. We're brainstorming ideas to make Odylita stand out amongst the others. 
ㆍOur current goal is to have Odylita released by winter of 2019. Like how we developed Star's End to introduce the Black Star weapons, a new storyline, and new grind spots, we're currently planning to release Odylita with unique objectives, diverse NPC's, grind spots, background, and more, that adventurers can look forward to.

6. Large Scale PVP Territory War, and Raid Party

ㆍWe've temporarily halted the development of 'Territory War'. This was done so that we can make adjustments to node and conquest wars first, as we found it pointless to work on a new PVP game mode before perfecting what we already have. We're currently in the work of revamping the existing PVP game modes. 
ㆍThe Raid Party was designed to give adventurers ways to use their idle mules to make some pocket cash. However, we want to first make proper adjustments to the already existing systems. We've set back on the development of Raid Party as it isn't one of our top priorities. 

Summer Update

7. Life Skill Improvements

ㆍAlthough the coming changes to life skills won't be too massive, we've currently set direction to increase the amount of production from life skills and the profit that comes with it. We'll also introduce more benefits/merits of raising your life skill level. The planned changes will soon hit the BDO Global Lab, so please test the changes and give feedback!

8. More Life Skill Content

ㆍWe're constantly looking for ways to make life content more challenging and enjoyable.
ㆍSea breeze and tidal waves will affect your journey on sea. 
ㆍFishing and Farming gurus will be introduced to new life skills, such as being able to create fish farms and vegetable farms. 
ㆍThere will be new minigames on sea and in bars spread across the BDO universe. 

9. Fadus Habitat Rework

ㆍWe're planning to add a new elite mob in the Fadus Habitat. 
ㆍUnlike the previous elite mobs, engaging in combat with the Fadus elite will trigger the other Fadus NPC's in the surrounding area to attack you. The Fadus Elite can spawn with one of three different weapons, and the strategy required to defeat it will largely depend on what it's using.
ㆍWhile holding a staff, the Fadus elite will attack from range. While holding a dagger, the Fadus elite will have increased attack speed. And while holding an axe, it'll attack solely from melee range. 

10. Polly Forest Rework

ㆍThe reworked Polly Forest will become a grind spot that's on par with Gahaz. 
ㆍWe're trying to make Polly Forest a viable alternative to Gahaz and Crescent Shrine grind spots. 
ㆍPolly Forest's loot pool and difficulty will be adjusted. In addition, some unique and 'fun' features will be added to the area, such as 'Treasure shrooms' that buff your character when it's defeated. 

11. Ash Forest

ㆍAsh Forest is being prepared for the best of adventurers that have conquered Hysteria and the underwater dungeons. 
ㆍRecommended AP/DP for Ash Forest will be 310/400. 
ㆍAttacking certain spirits will decrease nearby mobs' DP, but their AP will receive a large boost. Letting down your guard can easily mean death. 
ㆍAsh Forest is currently planned to be released this month. Endgame gearing will no longer just be meant for PVP content. 

12. Conquest War Rework

ㆍThe current iteration of Node War and Conquest War is centered around brute strength. The new Node War will require careful planning and a detailed strategy to effectively win. 
ㆍTo give both strong and weaker guilds a meaningful goal, we're currently thinking of ideas to unify guilds of one region together, an example is the Balenos Alliance or Calpheon Alliance. 

13. New PVE Content: Altar of Blood

ㆍAltar of Blood is a PVE content that adventurers participate in with their equipped gear.
ㆍFundamentally, Altar of Blood is a 'defense' type of game that requires a party of 3 adventurers to defend the altar's relic from waves of monsters.
ㆍYou'll never be able to clear Altar of Blood solely relying on gear and brute strength. Communication and careful coordination with your party members will be required to successfully defend the relic from the hordes of monsters.
ㆍAltar of Blood is a game mode meant for everyone. A leaderboard ranking system will be implemented for those who wish for a sense of competition. Altar of Blood can also be enjoyed for those who want to play casually with friends and guildmates.

14. Console & PC BDO: Unified UI

ㆍThe UI will be reworked so that both the PC and console versions of BDO could share the same UI.

ㆍIn order for the UI to be practical and convenient, we require the adventurers to give us thoughtful and active feedback regarding it. Even if the UI feels unfamiliar and awkward at first, please try it and tell us how you feel about it!

15. New Class: Shai

A new class, completely unique from the rest, has been added. 

The previous classes all specialized in combat, but the new class, Shai's expertise is in supporting her allies. Due to her traits as a supportive class, Shai will have a limited number of skills - but that could very well be one of her strengths, as she won't require a series of complex key commands, and she will be far more accessible for beginner players. 

Shai is equipped with a boomerang that is as large as she is. She also carries a piece of magical equipment, 'Bitsari', to protect and heal her allies. 

A few of her key skills include: 'Hop!', 'Found You!', and 'Don't Get Hurt!'. The skill, 'Found You!' locates all nearby stealthed enemy adventurers, and 'Don't Get Hurt' is an ability that can heal allies. You can kind of already tell what 'Hop' does, right? 

A supportive class like Shai isn't for everyone, and therefore, as game developers, we were worried during the development of the character. We thought deeply about how we can make Shai's launch a successful one. 

BDO players from around the world made many requests for such a class... We have created and launched 17 different classes and 17 different awakenings so far, so we decided to use our experience and know-how in game development to take on the new challenge of creating a character like Shai. 

Unlike the other classes, Shai specializes in 'Gathering' and 'Alchemy'. Right off the bat, she will start as a 'professional' in both life skills. 

Shai can create campfires with her alchemy. Although the campfire was developed as a social skill at first, we're planning on releasing it with more added effects. In addition, Shai is not a combat-oriented class. However, she's currently being developed in a direction that'll put her on par with the other classes when it comes to PVE grinding. Her awakening will also have little to no combat skills; but coming equipped with powerful support abilities, Shai will be able to play a unique, 'special' role in the battlefield. 

You can explore the  BDO universe using Shai's unique skills that revolve around the 'donkey' mount. Three new types of donkeys will be added along with Shai in the next update, hope you have fun with them!

Shai is currently available for testing at the BDO Global Lab, and you can pre-register at the official Black Desert Online website. You can pre-create your own Shai class beginning on the 12th(BDO KR). 

Some of you may be concerned that Black Desert Online is starting to wander off in a different direction with character development. BDO has created tons of stylish combat-oriented classes. We also have a rule at the office that specifies to never create a class that doesn't fit well into the BDO theme.

So after countless debates, we asked the question: "How about creating a class that is based on an actual race from the game?" Even if Shai ended up becoming an unpopular class, we wanted to fulfill our goal of showing our players a new type of class completely unique and never-before-seen in the BDO universe. 

16. The Great Sea

There isn't a 'ton' of people that enjoy exploring the massive sea that BDO offers. However, there was always a handful of you that wanted more of it. 

We went back to zero and started brainstorming about the game's sailing system and the great sea. The previous iteration of sea exploration revolved around fishing and fighting sea monsters. It was difficult for us to come up with a way to combine the previous sailing system with something new, so we decided to rework the entire thing. 

To begin, there will now be tidal waves and sea breezes. If you're well-knowledged about the sea - or simply really lucky - you will be able to sail across the sea at lightning speeds. But on the contrary, if you enter the water with little to no preparation, you will struggle to navigate at a decent speed. Hiring talented crewmen and equipping your ship with the proper equipment will be necessary to truly defeat the sea.

We're also preparing a new type of sea vessel for this update. In addition, the old ships, as well as the ones in development, will all come with reworked controls that'll make sailing more enjoyable than before.

To add depth to the Great Sea update, we've added new islands and quests that revolve around them. Each island will be unique to its own name, and they'll all have its own intriguing storyline and content. 

This screenshot is of a ship that is currently in development. We're also developing new crewmen that allow you to fire the cannons on your own while controlling the boat's movement. 

The Great Sea update is filled with different content, so we're planning to divide the update into two. Part 1 of the update will come with the new islands, new ships, and the basic outline of the Great Sea. Part 2 will come with the rest of the content, unique to the Great Sea.