Black Desert starts Arena of Solare Season 9, with Heidel Ball PvP events set for July

Pearl Abyss has kicked off Arena of Solare Season 9 in Black Desert, with the 3v3 PvP season running from April 30 to June 25, 2026. The update is live for Black Desert Online and comes with changes to ranked play, two new maps, and reworked rewards.

The studio also confirmed more competitive PvP plans for later this summer. At Heidel Ball 2026 on July 25, Black Desert will host an NA vs EU 3v3 showdown, with top teams getting an all-expenses-paid trip to compete at the event.

Arena of Solare is Black Desert’s gear-equalized 3v3 mode, so players fight with standardized equipment instead of their regular character gear. For Season 9, Pearl Abyss says it has reworked the ranking and point system to make climbing feel clearer, especially in higher brackets. The top Solare tier now also requires both the needed score and a top-30 placement, which makes that final bracket more exclusive.

The map pool has been expanded to six arenas. Returning battlegrounds include Olun’s Valley, Kermelun Wilds, Gyfin Rhasia Temple (Upper), and Neftak Outpost. Season 9 adds two more: Yolu’s Teeth and Darkseekers’ Retreat.

Rewards have been adjusted too. Victory and defeat boxes now give more Gold Bars and Seals of Solare, and the seal exchange list has been expanded with additional items.

On the console side, Pearl Abyss also said The Master Class 2026 tournament has wrapped up after finals held across Europe, North America, and Asia. It didn’t share many extra details here, but the bigger immediate change for most players is that Solare Season 9 is now underway.