Building comparison
head to head
Black DesertvsElite Dangerous
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is reads, and it is a single point.
Black Desert
Optimization · Practiced Mastery
An MMO where grinding out solvable gear-enhancement systems dominates over its action combat.
Elite Dangerous
Optimization · Practiced Mastery
Galaxy-spanning space sim about flight and trade.
Black Desert leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Elite Dangerous leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Black DesertElite Dangerous
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 6
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Black Desert
combo-based combat needs real precision
Elite Dangerous
Flight controls, docking, combat aim
Reads3 vs 2
Black Desert leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Black Desert
PvP siege battles reward reading opponents
Elite Dangerous
Light PvP reads, mostly PvE
Variance4 vs 3
Black Desert leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Black Desert
gear enhancement is heavily randomized
Elite Dangerous
Procedural galaxy, mission variance
Optimization8 vs 8
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Black Desert
grinding routes and builds are solvable
Elite Dangerous
Ship build, trade routes, engineering grind
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.