Many know Black Desert Online is a harsh game, though it can be generous for anyone with spare time or dedication. One of the most precious resources in the game is silver. It's abundant enough, but the value is a little too low, so you will want to make sure you're raking in tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, of silver every day. This is because silver pretty much dictates how well you can do in Black Desert Online's endgame, which is the gear upgrade roulette.

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In order to get silver, you will need to be more creative or industrious with what the game allows. There are many methods of earning silver, but only some of them are efficient and can yield the aforementioned results. Some of them involve hands-free AFK operations while others require more active participation. Either way, there's a method for everyone here.

Updated on May 3, 2023: If you're looking to get your hands on more money in Black Desert Online, these are the best ways to do so. We've updated this guide for readability so you can start raking in the cash.

Questing

Visiting A Merchant To Complete An Objective

The true money-making standard for an epic RPG is questing. Although there may be the main story quest, that can easily get buried under mounds of side quests, which can pile onto your plate faster than you can finish them.

Harder quests have a higher probability of yielding more silver, or at least valuable loot that can be sold to merchants.

The issue is that this is one of the slower methods, so make sure you have the best gear tailored to whatever quest you decide to undertake.

AFK Fishing

black-desert-online-auto-fish

AFK fishing is by far the simplest, borderline-free method of earning silver in the game.

You don't even need special equipment for it — just a good fishing rod (Balenos Fishing Rod), a high fishing skill, and maybe costumes that give bonuses, as they can help a lot.

Then, find a fishing spot (it doesn't matter how much fish it gives) and start auto-fishing.

You mostly need to be on the lookout for Ancient Relic Crystal Shards.

These fetch a price on the Marketplace of several hundred silver each.

NPC Trading

bdo wagon by road

Trading requires a lot of setup and high life skills in order to get good returns, but once you've placed your investments, you'll never be poor again in Black Desert Online.

Trading means going to the Trade Managers in the game, and procuring whatever is in demand on their lists. They'll buy those, and you'll get tons of silver.

This can be anything from crates of sunflower to food. The trick is to bring the goods from far away, since the farther you've traveled to bring them, the higher their price will be, just like in real life.

For this, you need a wagon and some good horses along with all the life skills involved with whatever product you decide to bring.

Horse Breeding

bdo dream horse

Speaking of horses, they're also quite profitable in Black Desert Online. The rarer the horse, the more useful it is, as the benefits are not just aesthetics.

Catching horses won't cut it though, as the income from selling horses that can be caught is a bit mediocre.

You have to take some risks and breed them instead to get higher-quality horses that can only be obtained through breeding.

Worker Empires

bdo village view from management screen

Worker empires by themselves don't exactly bring in raw profit. Instead, consider them an investment.

Your worker empire network is a basic framework of what you need to rake in millions. They can get tedious to set up, so it's best to start early.

Workers bring in raw materials or they process them. The stuff they bring is needed for improving your life skills or crafting your own goods. Of course, you can also sell those raw materials they produce, but they won't fetch as much unless they're rare or in demand.

Making Investments

Finding The Bank On The Map

Even in a world full of magic and monsters, you can make silver by dealing with Investment Banks.

This involves converting your coins into gold and then investing them with a bank to earn interest.

While this allows your gold to increase in value, which can be turned in for a silver profit, it takes time and is better left to happen in the background.

Keep in mind that you'll need to attain a high Housing reputation wherever the bank you want to invest in is located.

Marketplace Flipping

bdo marketplace

Marketplace flipping is rather risky and requires advanced knowledge and foresight.

Marketplace prices vary depending on player demand or item supply. Events such as those that give relics or black crystal shards tend to lower the prices of these things in the Marketplace.

What you can do is purchase them in bulk while the cost is low. After certain events that lowered their price are gone, their value will increase due to the lower supply.

This is where you can make a profit. It will take more patience and discipline, but that's the key to earning silver in Black Desert Online.

Bartering

two characters on a sailboat

Bartering requires a sailboat at the very least. Those can be a chore to make and might even make millions of silver as well, but the returns are decent.

Bartering is simple enough: you just need to bring certain items to certain ports.

The amount you get depends on how heavy the items to barter are, so it pays better to have a bigger boat or ship.

Farming

Dernyl_Farm overview

Farming is a tried and tested way to get a good and semi-effortless amount of black crystal shards, whether sharp or hard.

Harvesting each plant or even cleaning them can yield these crystal shards from time to time. It can't be done AFK, though.

All you have to do is set up a farm, plant some crops, and attend to them. After a while, they'll get some crystal shards.

It's based on luck, but it can be consistent. Thereafter, you can decide if you want to sell those shards or use them for upgrades.

Gathering Reagents

Gathering Reagents In The Field

There are many kinds of plants growing throughout Black Desert Online and you can pick as much as you can carry. After your pouches are full, you can put them towards activities like Alchemy or sell them to merchants for some easy silver.

Alchemy

character using alchemy table

Brewing up stuff that people need is another sure way to earn reliable income in Black Desert Online.

Potions come to mind when it comes to brewing. The market can get rather saturated, so it pays to be smart about which items you craft through alchemy.

Crafting Alchemy Stones, especially the rare ones with an offensive stat boost, can sell well. These tend to be rare and, the higher their tier, the less competition there is in the market.

By then, you can grab the highest price offered by bidders.

Enhancing And Selling Gear

Risking Enhancing At The Enhancement Screen

It can take a while before you find quality weapons, and you may need to save up just so you buy a better alternative to your current equipment.

When you finally have it, you can be tempted to make it better through the process of enhancing it. This skill can yield some great results worth a fair amount of silver, but it can just as easily backfire.

As such, you should reserve this method for fodder equipment or duplicates of gear you already have.

Cooking

character in a kitchen cooking

Like Alchemy, cooking is another life skill that can bring in tons of silver while also being a fun activity.

Cooking also tends to be a low investment since the materials can be readily available from your worker empire.

Raise your cooking life skill high enough, and you'll be able to make Imperial Cuisine packages. You can sell these packages to NPCs for some hefty sums.

If not, then you can make tons of in-demand food buffs you can sell on the Marketplace to other players.

Killing Mobs

BDO Character using bow on enemy in field

If you want a more active way to earn silver with the highest silver-per-hour ratio, there isn't much that can beat killing enemies over and over again.

Going to grinding spots and setting up a rotation (which is easy enough) and then sticking to that for a few hours can net hundreds of millions of silver.

That, however, depends on the grinding spot and your character's gear.

Hot grinding spots include Kamasylvia or Pirates. Beware, though, as players tend to be territorial with grinding spots.

Take On Dark Rift Encounters

A Powerful Mob On The Hill

The Dark Rift is a type of event that will happen randomly during gameplay, with an unavoidable notification informing you that a rift has opened and unleashed some dangerous monsters into the area.

While these monsters are no small potatoes, if you happen to be in the area and geared up, it's worth it to take it on.

The risk will be worth your while for the silver and valuable gear these enemies are likely to drop.

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