How to Use Training Scarecrows in Black Desert Online for AFK EXP?

Black Desert features a built-in Training Scarecrow function — officially named "Black Spirit's Training" — that allows players to accumulate combat EXP and skill EXP without active input. Once a character enters the training stance beside a scarecrow, EXP is automatically granted every three minutes, making it suitable for periods when manual grinding is not possible. Activating the training requires meeting several prerequisites, and several details about purchasing and using Books of Training are easily overlooked.

Getting Started

The character must reach level 50 to use the Training Scarecrow function. Characters below level 50 cannot purchase Books of Training or interact with scarecrows. Beyond the level threshold, there is also a hard requirement for weapon slots — a main-hand weapon and a sub-weapon must both be equipped. The awakening weapon is not mandatory; training can be completed with only the main-hand and sub-weapon. The operation flow is as follows: find Jamey Drucker in any major city and purchase a Book of Training, right-click the book in the inventory to activate the buff, then walk to the scarecrow nearby and press R to begin training. EXP is calculated every three minutes, and no further input is required for the entire duration of the book.

Things to Know

During training, the character must not be in a party — joining any party or platoon prevents interaction with the scarecrow, so be sure to confirm that you have left the party before starting. Books of Training are divided into Combat and Skill types, providing character level EXP and skill point EXP respectively; both types can be activated simultaneously. Available durations are 1 hour, 3 hours, 5 hours, or 10 hours, at a cost of 1,000,000 silver per hour.

Additional details worth noting:

Timer Continuity: Once a Book of Training is activated, the timer continues to run even while the character is offline or while playing another character — do not activate a long-duration book right before server maintenance, as time lost during maintenance will not be refunded.

Buff Stacking: Combat EXP buffs (such as Simple Cron Meal, Splendid EXP Elixir, Book of Combat, etc.) can stack with the Book of Training to further increase the hourly EXP yield.

Level Cap Threshold: Training at the scarecrow can only advance the current level to 99.000% — the final 1% must be earned by manually defeating monsters to level up, after which training at the scarecrow can resume.

Book Requirement: Simply interacting with the scarecrow without an active Book of Training grants no EXP — you must activate a Book of Training (purchased from Jamey Drucker or obtained via events/Black Spirit's Safe) beforehand.

Training Scarecrow Locations

Jamey Drucker appears consistently in all major cities, with the training scarecrow right beside him. The specific distribution is:

Balenos: Velia

Serendia: Heidel

Calpheon: Calpheon City

Mediah: Altinova

Valencia: Valencia City

Kamasylvia: Grána

Drieghan: Duvencrune

Mountain of Eternal Winter: Eilton

In O'draxxia, the training NPC is named Hiznak instead of Jamey Drucker, but offers the same functionality. Use the NPC Search function (magnifying glass icon, top-right of the screen) and type "Jamey" or "Training" to auto-navigate to the nearest location. Velia and Heidel are the two most popular spots — if all scarecrows are occupied on your current server, switching channels or traveling to another city will usually yield an open spot.

Step-by-Step Guide

Find the NPC: Locate Jamey Drucker (or Hiznak in O'draxxia) and open his shop.

Purchase the Book: Buy the Book of Training corresponding to your desired type and duration. Combat Books provide character EXP, while Skill Books provide skill points. You can activate both at the same time.

Activate the Buff: Open your inventory (I) and right-click the book to activate it. A buff icon with a timer will appear on your screen.

Start Training: Approach the scarecrow beside the NPC and press R to start. The character will automatically enter the training animation.

Note: Avoid pressing R to stop and restart unnecessarily after training begins — every restart resets the 3-minute EXP calculation cycle, leading to lost efficiency. Training ends automatically when the book duration expires or when manually canceled by pressing R.

"Black Spirit's Training" remains one of the most reliable quality-of-life features in Black Desert for maintaining steady character progression during downtime. As long as you keep these simple setup steps and prerequisites in mind, you can seamlessly turn your away-from-keyboard hours into valuable combat and skill gains without missing a beat. Happy training!