Black Desert Online is introducing a mammoth-size 'War of the Roses' PvP mode for duking it out with 599 of your closest friends

Reading about Black Desert's new game mode, War of the Roses, it feels like the next evolution of World of Warcraft's legendary Alterac Valley, a massive battle, 40 players to a side. Despite some issues with faction balance and toxic turtling, it remains a beloved fixture of early WoW PvP. With War of the Roses, it seems as if developer Pearl Abyss has asked themselves "what if we did Alterac Valley, but made it even bigger"?

The game mode is 300 vs. 300. Yes, this galactic battle of anime-inspired MMO brutality features six hundred players at a time vying for fabulous rewards and PvP glory. The first season of the new mode starts today, July 14, and it's bound to be a bloodbath.

At least, it will be for the players selected to participate. You see, this battle only happens once every two weeks, and not everyone gets to play. The Leading Guilds for each side are determined by performance in the Node Wars and Conquest Wars leading up to the event, with the top two guilds or alliances getting to lock in the first 100 fighters per side. The remaining 200 slots on each team are filled by the Third Legion, a randomly selected bunch who meet the minimum gear score to battle (700).

If it sounds complicated, that's because it is. With 300 players on each side, a massive battle map, naval combat for flanking maneuvers or shore bombardments, destructible war machines, minibosses guarding strategic outposts, and leaders giving out tactical advice and missions in real time, the War of the Roses is… a lot.

Ultimate victory is decided by killing the other faction's NPC commander, found in their home base. If a victor is not determined in two hours, the side with the highest remaining HP on their commander wins. 

Responsibility for victory or defeat will ultimately reside with the Leading Guild for each faction, as they not only get to decide a huge chunk of the battle roster but also have leadership powers granted to them. Each Leading Guild selects a Captain and three Lieutenants, individual players with huge powers to decide the course of the conflict. The Captain has access to a special tactical map that allows them to set up objectives for their side and issue powerful in-game effects like summoning monsters or teleporting a platoon from one place to another. The Lieutenants can issue missions to the Third Legion, giving some kind of direction to the 200 randos that have joined up to be cannon fodder.

Those randos will in turn be incentivized to play ball, as completing missions given to them by the Leading Guild will increase their rewards at the end of the battle. The Third Legion will be charged with attacking and holding sanctums, smaller bases along the route to the enemy that give their companions bonuses while controlled. 

It sounds like a ton of chaotic fun, but my first thought is about all those poor graphics cards and processors out there. Black Desert's combat is a lot like a fighting game, with timing counters, combos, the whole shebang. I can't imagine a battle with 600 players all trying to unleash fabulous wushu powers on one another resulting in anything but a slideshow, but what do I know. The preseason for War of the Roses has been running for some time now, and players' feedback has helped Pearl Abyss form the final version of the new clash.

The War is an ambitious new direction for Black Desert's PvP. Developers at Pearl Abyss have said that this mode "reflects a new direction for our large-scale PvP gameplay. We wanted to innovate and create PvP content that places an emphasis on the importance of strategy and objectives." If the new mode takes with the community, it could be fertile ground for the sort of MMO player legends we see from time to time, like the most daring white collar criminals of EVE Online. Time will tell.