Black Desert Online – Your Guide to the Savage Rift

Black Desert Online‘s horde mode, the Savage Rift, has finally arrived in NA/EU, making it one of the first PvE activities to be added to the game since its release.

Each Savage Rift pits you and up to 9 other players trying to defend their tower against 25 waves of monsters and bosses over 30 minutes. Rewards are given out based on wave completion. This mode is releasing alongside a timed event which gives players a chance to earn some special rewards and titles for performing well in the Savage Rift.

How to Join a Savage Rift in BDO

There are a total of 18 Rift instances,one on each 2, 4, and 5 channel (you access the list through your menu). This means participation will be very limited –especially early on, with everyone scrambling to give the new mode a try.

Furthermore, there are a few requirements that must be met before you join a Rift:

1. You must be level 56 or higher.
2. The Rift cannot already have 10 participants.
3. The Rift cannot have progressed past wave 3.
4. The Rift was completed (or failed) within the past 3 minutes — they’ll be marked as “Barred”.

Also, while you can join any channel’s Rift regardless of what channel you’re actually on, you have a higher chance of entering a Rift if you’re in the same channel. For example, Mediah 2 players trying to join the Mediah 2 Rift will receive priority over players that aren’t on that channel.

If you’re having trouble joining a Rift, be sure to watch out for Rifts that are either Barred or near completion (at wave 20 or higher) and preemptively switch to those channels.

Tips for Fighting in the Savage Rift

When you first join a Savage Rift, you’ll be credited with 30 points. You can spend those points to purchase anything from the Rift store, but you should always spend your first 30 points on acquiring a Matchlock and ammunition, as you won’t be able to use your regular weapons (or non-Rift matchlocks, for that matter) to fight monsters in the Rift.

Last-hits will earn you more points, which you can then use to purchase items like healing wares, siege weapon emplacements, and barricades. You can also transfer you points to another player if your team is looking to make some big purchases.

Strategies for Completing the Savage Rift

Generally speaking, basic node war strategy applies in the Savage Rift, as you’ll be defending your Rift tower with the same siege weapons and barricades you use to defend your node fort.

You should create choke points with your barricades such that monsters are forced to funnel straight into your flame towers.

You have a lot of freedom in where you set up your hwacha ballistae, but you absolutely want to make sure that nothing is blocking their line of fire, as you do not want to interfere with their ability to take out groups of approaching monsters from afar.

Also, if you happen to have any Medkits during a boss wave, be aware that your allies will automatically revive upon defeating the boss, so don’t waste your Medkits if you can beat the boss without them.

Savage Rift Rewards

The Rift will close if, at any point, one of these conditions are met:

1. All players are dead.
2. Your tower is destroyed.
3. Wave 25 has been completed. (You won!)

You’ll earn silver based on how many waves you’ve completed, ranging from 100k (for 4 waves completed) to 7mil (all 25 waves completed).

At every 5th wave, you’ll also face off against a boss, like Giath or Bheg. You’ll have a shot at earning their boss item (in addition to some standard boss rewards, like Hunter’s Seals and Black Stones), though the drop rates for those are undoubtedly abysmal.

Some bosses will also drop a few Mutant Enhancers upon death, an exchange item that can be traded for accessories.

Savage Rift Bonus Event 

To celebrate the release of the Savage Rift, there’s a timed event that lasts until September 20. To participate and earn the event rewards, all you have to do is reach certain wave milestones in a Savage Rift. Here’s the breakdown:

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If you’re looking for a fun, new way to enjoy Black Desert Online, then be sure to give the Savage Rift horde mode a shot! You might even get lucky and earn some boss gear, or maybe even enough Mutant Enhancers to purchase an Ogre Ring!

Be sure to check out the rest of our Black Desert Online guides for even more tips and tricks both in and out of the Savage Rift.