A simple guide on Vell, the new Ocean Raid Boss

Soojong "Cabon" Lee, Kyung Yun "Yullie" Park

Jan 24, 2018

More on Black Desert Online: BDO KR Patch Notes Jan 18th

Vell, the Ocean Raid boss, will be added in Black Desert Online NA/EU on Jan 24th. Vell has the mouth of a crocodile, while its body and legs consist mainly of tentacles. Vell appears at Vell’s Realm, an area north of Lema Island. A notification message will pop up with Vell’s roar 30 minutes before Vell spawns.

Vell is a huge ocean boss that can only be damaged with cannons. When Vell spawns, a layer of rocks will appear in Vell’s Realm to block the movements of the players’ ships. As you will not be able to move your ship freely, you need to position your ship well for the ocean raid.

Vell will drop some rare and expensive items, including Vell’s Heart. Vell’s Heart has the same item effects as Sharp Alchemy Stone of Destruction, and can be upgraded to a higher level.

▲ Vell’s Roar

▲ Vell is an Ocean raid boss with immense durability and power.

◆ Don’t forget Ship Cannons and Matchlocks!

An Epheria Sailboat or Epheria Frigate is absolutely required, as you have to go to the Ocean and damage Vell with ship cannons. In order to loot Vell, your party or platoon must get raid contribution scores. If you do not have an Epheria Sailboat/Frigate, you should be in a party or a platoon with someone who has a ship.

However, there are also ways to use rowboats and fishing boats. When one of your party/platoon member dies, you can help them get back to Vell’s Realm quickly using your rowboat or fishing boat. You can also use small boats when killing Lopters.

Matchlocks are required to kill Lopters, small monsters that are summoned near Vell during the raid. Lopters will keep on attacking the ships nearby, so they must be killed with Matchlocks. Use Khalk’s Fermented Wine and Hunter’s Salad to kill Lopters faster.

▲ The food will increase Matchlock damage and reload speed.

◆ To the North of Lema Island

Vell spawns at Vell’s Realm, an area at north of Lema Island. You won’t be able to see your location on the mini map, as the area is located in the Ocean. To reach Vell’s Realm, leave from Lema or Tashu island and head straight north. When you enter Vell’s Realm, the name will appear on the mini map so gather up with other players for the raid.

The path is not complicated, but you might run into Phantom ships or a tornado on your way. Switch character or change channels to avoid them.

Returning to the mainland after the raid is easy as well. Simply head to the south, and you will see the mainland eventually and will be able to use the mini map.

▲ Head straight to the north from Lema or Tashu island to reach Vell’s Realm.

◆ For your own safety, do not stand in front of Vell.

When Vell spawns, a layer of rocks will be summoned to make a barrier around Vell. The barrier rocks will block the movements of the players’ ships. A big splash of water that can damage your ship will appear with the barrier rocks, so wait at the borderline of Vell’s Realm until Vell and the barrier rocks are fully summoned.

When the raid starts, players should go between the barrier rocks to enter the inner area or attack Vell from outside of the barrier rocks. If you attack Vell from outside of the barrier rocks, the range and the gauge of the cannon should be at max. If you attack Vell from the area inside the barrier rocks, you will have more chances to attack Vell and get a higher contribution score, but will be more likely to take damage from Vell’s AoE attacks. If you are not inside the barrier rocks you will be safe from Vell’s AoE attacks but will have to compete with more ships to damage Vell.

The direction Vell is usually looking at is the entrance, as the barrier rocks at that spot are relatively far apart. It’s also a good spot to shoot cannons at Vell, but is also the spot where Vell throws its powerful aqua breath attack. Stay in the corner at 8 o’clock or 4 o’clock to play safe.

All members of a party/platoon will get the same amount of contribution points, so even if you did not deal any damage to Vell you will be able to loot Vell by handling the ship or by killing Lopters for your teammates.

There is no death penalty when you die during the raid. If you resurrect at the nearest node, you will resurrect at the ocean nearby. If you resurrect at the nearest town, you will resurrect on Lema Island. Waiting until Vell’s attack pattern is over and then resurrecting will be the best choice, but some parties have one or two players wait at Lema Island so they can give the resurrected members a ride to Vell.

▲ Vell in Vell’s Realm. Go in between the barrier rocks, or shoot from the outside.

◆ A 1.2b-silver-worth reward, Vell’s Heart!

One of the rewards is Vell’s Heart, a new orange-grade Alchemy Stone. The item effects are AP +8, Accuracy +10, Ignore all resistance +5%, Attack Speed +5%, and Casting Speed +5%. The duration and cooldown is 3 minutes. Vell’s Heart will be able to be upgraded to a higher grade in the future.
In KR, Vell’s Heart costs 1 billion (min) to 1.2 billion (max) in the Marketplace. As its high price shows, the chances of looting Vell’s Heart are very low. However, you can also craft Vell’s Heart using an item called Vell’s Concentrated Magic. Vell’s Concentrated Magic can be looted from Vell, and you can craft 1500 Alchemy Stone Fragments and Vell’s Concentrated Magic via Simple Alchemy.
Another reward is the Rainbow Coral Ring, a blue-grade Accessory. Base stats are+5 AP, +2 Accuracy, and +100 Max HP, and AP goes up by 2 per enhancement. The price in the KR Marketplace is 20 million (min) to 26 million (max).

Other rewards are Black Stones, Hunter’s Seals, Cron Stones, Coral pieces, and Gold Bars (10G, 100G, and 1000G). Also, Vell’s Fine Powder, an item that can repair the durability of Vell’s Heart, will be dropped.