One of the best ways to earn some silver in Black Desert Online is to kill stuff over and over again in highly-contested high-level grinding spots. Let's ignore the "highly-contested" part for now, since that's PvP territory. Instead, let's focus on the part where you need to be killing legions of enemies at a fast enough pace to earn tens of millions of silver per hour.
The thing is, some classes are better at that in Black Desert Online than others. It's mostly their different skills and movesets that make them more viable or efficient at jumping from pack to pack. Needless to say, when it comes to PvE content, these Black Desert Classes excel at an almost unfair aspect. You'd do well to utilize them (if you have them) in order to gain more silver through grinding. Also, do note that nothing is constant in the game; updates will surely change up the viability of some classes in the future.
Updated July 27, 2021, by Sid Natividad: Like many other MMORPGs, Black Desert Online has an ever-changing gameplay balance. This is more noticeable for the PvP aspect but PvE isn't insulated from that chaotic rotation. Hence, the "Black Desert best class" roster is always ever-evolving and changing. We're here because of that notion. More classes have become viable for PvE as the game continues to grow.
What exactly does PvE entail in Black Desert Online? That usually refers to the activity of killing hordes of monsters out in the open field over and over again or joining world boss fights. Both are viable money-making methods. Some of the best PvE class in BDO 2021 are certainly better than others when it comes to those aforementioned activities. The update brings you even more options to choose from.
15 Sage
- Weapon type: Ranged
- Lots of defensive skills
- Can grind higher-level places and survive
The Sage is one of the latest classes to explore the open world in Black Desert Online. They have proven to be capable of putting out some decent farming or grinding rates thanks to a versatile set of skills. While not as great as other dedicated damage-focused classes, the Sage can at least defend their own grinding spot.
When it comes to abilities, the Sage has some manipulative attacks and defensive abilities. The Sage feels like many classes rolled into one especially since, they also have Invisibility like the Ninja. This is a rather important feature of the Sage as it can allow them to farm higher-level areas easier.
14 Guardian
- Weapon type: Melee
- Highly mobile class
- Attacks hit slow but hard
A female barbarian character through and through, the Guardian has impressive advantages out in the open. She has good mobility and can jump from pack to pack fast and follow it up with some heavy attacks. She does have one drawback, which is her cumbersome abilities but this is alleviated in her Awakening phase.
In any case, you can't go wrong with this axe-wielding lady. Her skills might have some slow wind up at the beginning but when they hit, they hit true and hard. Her high defense also makes her potion-efficient and she doesn't sacrifice defense for offense since she can generate her own critical rate.
13 Musa
- Weapon type: Melee
- Incredible mobility
- Area damage in melee range is also impressive
- Can be a glass cannon
Before the newer whirlwind classes came along, Musa was one of the most appealing melee champions of PvE. The Musa's wide-sweeping attacks and unbelievable mobility make him a joy to play. That's why beginners who want to focus on PvE and mob grinding will do well with a Musa.
Of course, we're talking about his Awakening version as the base version doesn't have too many big area attacks. One downside of the Musa is their low armor. They're not exactly slippery classes and only have a fairly passable defense. However, that doesn't really matter much in PvE if you're sticking to areas your Gear Score can afford.
12 Mystic
- Weapon type: Melee
- Good combos for stunlocking
- Short melee range
Much like the Musa, the Mystic once sat high on the PvE throne even amidst characters like Wizards or Witches. Mystics do have some complex attacks that are weaker than the Striker's but they make up for it with more impressive combos.
With their barraged of water-themed attacks, the Mystic can stunlock enemy packs and deal some finishing moves. Their area damage also isn't that bad and their only downside is the melee range and somewhat rigid gameplay.
11 Dark Knight
- Weapon type: Ranged
- Medium to long-range area attacks
- Good area damage
The Dark Knight once ran as a contender against more bonafide grinding machines such as the Wizard. She has since received many nerfs that put her in a more niche role. Still, the Dark Knight remains one of the more elegant ways to efficiently kill some mobs.
Despite using a melee weapon, the Dark Knight's most damaging abilities are magic-based. She usually attacks from a medium range but can extend that range even further for more damage. She's not the toughest character out there, however, and lacks some robust healing skills.
10 Warrior
- Weapon type: Melee
- Easy and simple to use
- Awakening grants more mobility
- Melee range is quite short and limiting
The Warrior is one of the friendliest classes for beginners in Black Desert Online. They have a simple and easy-to-learn kit and their playstyle is direct and blunt. Simply charge up to the enemies and smash or pound them to bits.
With the awakening for the Warrior, they become even more mobile and receive some wide sweeping attacks that regenerate their HP or make enemies incapacitated. The downside is that they do all this in melee range.
9 Valkyrie
- Weapon type: Melee
- Tough and tanky class
- Damage can be narrow but powerful
- Lots of healing
Valkyrie is the counterpart of the warrior and they're slightly better at dealing with tons of enemies in front of them. Unlike the Warrior, they do have some ranged attack of sorts and have more consistent defensive abilities.
Their kit allows them to obliterate any enemy in front of them, move past them, and then do the same all over again to other groups. It's not just the Valkyrie's awakening that makes them good, but also the succession. The mostly melee range does hamper them a bit, but the Valkyrie is a safe option for players worried about PvP during their PvE grinding.
8 Berserker
- Weapon Type: Melee & Ranged
- High defense
- Lots of crowd control and grab abilities
Berserkers aren't the best options for newbies but those who manage to stick by them and their complicated moves and combos will know just how viable they are for grinding. Most of their attacks have a wide area of effect, thanks to their size.
The awakening adds a bit of range to their area attacks and makes them a good security option in case someone challenges your claim to a grinding spot. Whatever the case though, you can't go wrong with the Berserker class for grinding.
7 Nova
- Weapon Type: Melee & Ranged
- Tanky class
- Ranged damage with good area radius
- Awakening makes her a mob grinding machine
The Nova is one of the most recently-added classes in Black Desert Online and is similar to spellcaster characters. Their attacks are also mostly ranged and have a decent area of effect. The base version isn't too hot and many players feel it's too sluggish.
The awakening, however, turns the Nova into a high-burst-damage assassin capable of ending groups of enemies in a split second. This is a rather important metric for grinding as it can save time and can come in handy for when someone's trying to outpace your DPS in a passive-aggressive grinding spot duel.
6 Witch
- Weapon Type: Ranged
- Close enough to the Wizard in terms of area damage
- Good crowd control
The Witch, along with the Wizard, was once at the top of the most efficient grinding classes in Black Desert Online. The numerous balance updates and adjustments along with new classes have pushed them off their throne, though.
Still, the Witch is a good class for being efficient in the grinding spots. The skills and spells remain the same useful sweeping elemental attacks that bomb the whole screen. The range is also a big help for trying to pull in several groups of enemies at once.
5 Wizard
- Weapon Type: Ranged
- Easy to play for area damage
- Long-range abilities that can cover the whole screen
- Doesn't fare well against grab attacks and duels
Once the apex standard for grinding mobs in the game, the Wizard has finally met their match (or matches) and some of them can even do better. That doesn't mean the Wizard is obsolete now, though.
If anything, they are still one of the most available and easy-to-learn characters in the game who's also good at killing enemies fast and in high quantities. They can still carpet-bomb the area with elemental attacks and turn monsters into bags of loot.
4 Sorceress
- Weapon Type: Melee
- Dedicated glass cannon, high damage
- Lots of grab attacks and stuns
The Sorceress has always been in a decent spot in Black Desert Online, and now they're enjoying a relatively high perch in the PvE ladder. Their fast skills and ranged AoE attacks make them good at everything.
When it comes to node and territory wars, Sorceresses are usually the go-to for engaging many players at once. The same mentality applies to PvE capability, where they can pull in tons of enemies and maybe even kill some of them in the process. Both this class's awakening and succession are great.
3 Lahn
- Weapon Type: Melee
- Melee class but has a surprisingly good range
- Wide sweeping attacks with her at the center
Lahn was one of the first classes in the game that gave the Wizard and Witch a run for their money when it comes to PvE. The Lahn is a whirling dervish of death that rips enemies apart in a deceptive melee range.
Lahn players can close in on enemies from afar and wreak havoc in their ranks. For that matter, this class places high among the certified mass murderers of Black Desert Online. Put a lahn in the center of all mobs and watch them turn into red mists.
2 Hashashin
- Weapon Type: Melee
- Complex combos
- High damage
- Awakening makes him highly mobile
Many players turn a blind eye to the Hashashin simply because it's a difficult class to master or even grasp. The skill rotations are a bit complex and some of the animations can feel janky.
Those who stood by the class and persevered are probably giggling right now as they actually have one of the top PvE grinding classes in the game. The Hashashin is like a Ninja except the skills have a better area of attack. Meanwhile, the awakening makes them a better version of the Musa.
1 Striker
- Weapon Type: Melee
- Easy class to play
- Deals high damage
- Despite the melee range, they can still deal impressive area damage
Like the Sorceress, the Striker has always been an awesome class ever since the first time it got buffed. It's a better version of the Mystic and has more aggression and mobility to it. It's also simple to use that newbies won't have a problem taking it to the late game.
The Striker excels in both PvP and PvE, though their kit in succession seems to be better suited for the latter aspect of gameplay. Regardless, both paths for the Striker hit hard, true, and wide— at times it even seems like they buffed them too much.