10 Best Life Skills to Level Up In Black Desert Online

In Black Desert Online, Life Skills offer a welcome break from constant grinding and combat, giving players peaceful and rewarding ways to earn silver and progress. Whether you’re tired of monster hunting or just want a more laid-back experience, Life Skills are the perfect alternative. From cooking and alchemy to fishing and trading, these systems open up new ways to play and can be incredibly profitable when leveled up. Some are more efficient than others, especially if you’re looking to maximize silver or enjoy a relaxing grind. In this guide, we’ll break down the top 10 Life Skills worth developing in BDO, ranked by usefulness, profit, and overall gameplay value.

#10: Training

Training is one of the more casual Life Skills in Black Desert Online, focused on catching, leveling, and breeding horses. It’s simple to get started—just find wild horses in the open world, tame them, and level them up by riding. Once trained, you can either breed them for better offspring or sell them for silver. While it’s not the most efficient silver-making method early on, it becomes more rewarding as your Training Mastery increases. Higher Mastery boosts your chances of catching better horses and speeds up the leveling process, making it a relaxing but long-term investment for players who enjoy a slower, passive grind.

#9: Hunting

Hunting is a unique Life Skill in BDO that lets you take down specific wildlife using a matchlock instead of traditional weapons. From giant whales to dangerous crocodiles, this skill is all about tracking and taking out high-reward targets. The materials you get from hunted creatures can be processed into valuable alchemy ingredients or traded for decent silver. While it requires some gear and preparation to be effective, especially in group hunts, Hunting offers solid income and a refreshing change from typical PvE combat. It’s not the fastest silver earner, but it’s fun, satisfying, and scales well as you level it up.

#8: Processing

Processing is one of the most beginner-friendly Life Skills in Black Desert Online, and it plays a huge role in the game’s economy. It involves transforming raw materials into refined goods—like turning timber into planks or grains into flour—many of which are used in crafting, cooking, and trading. It’s incredibly easy to do: just pick a processing type and let your character work. You’ll often find players AFK-processing near popular cities like Heidel. While Processing isn’t the most profitable Life Skill on its own, it becomes far more efficient with higher Mastery. Unlocking Processing Stones allows you to mass-process items, saving time and turning this passive activity into a steady money-maker.

#7: Sailing

Sailing in Black Desert Online might sound like a relaxing escape, but it’s actually one of the more complex and planning-heavy Life Skills. To make silver through sailing, you’ll need a solid ship—starter boats won’t cut it if you’re aiming for serious profit. Building a ship is resource-intensive, and buying one can be costly, so prepare to invest either time or silver upfront. Once you’re on the water, wind and current mechanics add another layer of challenge, and most silver earned through sailing comes from Bartering, which involves juggling trade routes, inventories, and sometimes a bit of spreadsheet-level planning. Still, once you reach high Mastery, your ship gains significant stat boosts like faster speed and better handling—making Sailing a rewarding but commitment-heavy Life Skill.

#6: Farming

Farming is a laid-back but surprisingly profitable Life Skill in Black Desert Online. With just a bit of Contribution Points, you can rent fences, set up a farm, and grow valuable crops or special resources like Magic Seeds. What makes farming appealing is its consistent return—plants can produce alchemy ingredients, cooking materials, or even rare items like Hard and Sharp Black Crystal Shards. It’s not an AFK skill, but it only requires short, regular check-ins to prune, harvest, or breed plants. As your Farming Mastery increases, so does your yield and quality, turning this calm Life Skill into a strong passive income stream for anyone willing to nurture their fields.

#5: Gathering

Gathering is one of the most essential and profitable Life Skills in Black Desert Online. It’s the foundation for many other activities like Cooking, Alchemy, and Processing, and it gives you direct access to high-demand materials like hides, blood, herbs, and rare drops such as Hard and Sharp Black Crystal Shards. While it uses energy and requires tools like butcher knives or fluid collectors, the returns are worth it—especially at higher Mastery levels. With the right buffs, gear, and tools, Gathering becomes an incredibly efficient way to make silver and fuel other lifeskills, making it a must-have in any serious player’s rotation.

#4: Trading

Trading in Black Desert Online is a Life Skill that rewards planning, patience, and smart route management. It involves buying trade goods and transporting them across regions to sell for profit, with your earnings increasing based on the distance traveled and the value of your goods. While it may seem slow at first, Trading becomes much more lucrative as you level it up and unlock better items and routes. With the help of wagons and crafted crates, you can even automate parts of the process using workers. At higher Mastery levels, you’ll see better prices, higher margins, and faster turnaround, making Trading a rewarding Life Skill for players who enjoy strategizing and managing logistics.

#3: Fishing

Fishing is one of the most chill and beginner-friendly Life Skills in Black Desert Online, perfect for players who want to earn silver passively or unwind between grinds. With just a decent rod—like the Balenos Fishing Rod—you can start AFK fishing almost anywhere, especially near hotspots like Velia. Active fishing offers even more value, letting you target rare fish for better payouts. As your Fishing skill increases, so does your chance of catching valuable species and using less durability per catch. While it’s not the most exciting Life Skill, it’s consistent, low-effort, and scales well with Mastery, making it a great way to stack silver over time.

#2: Alchemy

Alchemy is one of the most intricate and rewarding Life Skills in Black Desert Online. It involves combining ingredients to create powerful elixirs, reagents, and valuable items like Alchemy Stones, which can sell for massive amounts of silver. While the learning curve is steeper than Cooking, Alchemy often offers higher profit margins—especially when crafting rare or in-demand products. It also supports other systems like node wars, enhancing, and lifeskill buffs. As your Alchemy Mastery increases, you’ll gain higher success rates, faster crafting times, and the ability to mass-produce items, turning this complex Life Skill into a major silver-maker for dedicated players.

#1: Cooking

Cooking takes the top spot as the most efficient and accessible Life Skill in Black Desert Online. It’s easy to get into, requires relatively low investment, and has high demand across the board. With basic ingredients from farming or your worker empire, you can craft buff foods that players need for PvE, PvP, and lifeskilling. As you level up your Cooking skill, you unlock the ability to create Imperial Cooking boxes, which can be turned in for a massive amount of silver daily. Combined with high Mastery and the ability to mass-cook, Cooking becomes a reliable and scalable source of income—perfect for both new and veteran players looking to make steady profits.

Conclusion

Life Skills in Black Desert Online offer a refreshing and rewarding alternative to constant grinding and combat. Whether you enjoy relaxing activities like Cooking and Fishing or want to dive into complex systems like Alchemy or Trading, there’s a Life Skill that fits every playstyle. As you develop these skills, not only do you open up new ways to make silver, but you also gain more freedom and flexibility in how you enjoy the game. The key is finding what you enjoy and investing time into mastering it—because in BDO, Life Skills aren’t just side content; they’re a full-on lifestyle.