Black Desert 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app for your Pearl Abyss account

In Black Desert, two-factor authentication is called OTP (one-time password). You set it on your Pearl Abyss ID, the account behind the Black Desert website and launcher in most regions (Pearl Abyss). OTP is optional, but signing up gives every character in your Family the Old Moon Treaty Token, a +5% item drop rate buff (Black Desert).

The codes come from an authenticator app such as Google Authenticator (Black Desert). A 2024 notice for the Turkey and MENA region also mentions codes by text message (Pearl Abyss), but the NA/EU pages don't. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Black Desert steps come from Pearl Abyss's own pages: the Black Desert NA/EU and Turkey/MENA websites and the Pearl Abyss Support FAQ, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. The screenshots in the main guide date from 2021, and Pearl Abyss's pages don't all use the same labels, so what you see may differ slightly. We haven't tested the steps on a Black Desert account. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on OTP with an authenticator app

Pearl Abyss's newest page, its Always-On Events notice, and its Security Guide describe these steps (Black Desert, Black Desert):

1. Sign in to the official Black Desert website and go to My Page > Account Security Center > OTP Settings. The Support FAQ calls the same place Customer Support > Security Center > OTP Setting (Pearl Abyss).
2. Select Register OTP. Pearl Abyss asks you to sign in again before you change security settings.
3. Read the notes on how the service works, then select Register OTP again. The 2021 screenshots call this button Sign up for OTP.
4. Pearl Abyss shows a QR code and a text key. The 2021 screenshot labels the key Password, but it isn't your account password.
5. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the QR code. If it's on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
6. If you can't scan it, tap +, then Enter key manually. Type "Black Desert" as the Service and the key as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
7. Type the 6-digit code from Novaz in Verification Code and select Confirm.
8. Pearl Abyss shows 10 backup codes, with Copy and Print buttons. Save them, then select Confirm.

Pearl Abyss doesn't say how often its codes change. Scanning the QR code is the safer choice, because the code carries the settings. A key typed by hand gets the usual 30 seconds.

Your 10 backup codes

Each backup code works once. You can type one instead of an OTP code, or use one to turn OTP off when your phone is lost or broken. Pearl Abyss suggests printing them or writing them down, and keeping them away from your devices (Black Desert). It also warns that support is hard to give if you lose them.

Later, the OTP Settings page lets you check your current codes, make new ones, or turn OTP off. Unless you've made a Novaz backup with iCloud backup or a backup file, its keys exist only on your iPhone, so keep these codes safe. See 2FA backup codes.

When Black Desert asks for a code

Once OTP is on, Pearl Abyss asks for a code every time you sign in to the game or the official website (Black Desert). The screen is titled 2-Step Verification and has six boxes for the code.

Pearl Abyss says Steam players don't need a full Pearl Abyss account (Pearl Abyss), and its OTP pages don't cover Steam sign-in.

If Black Desert rejects your code

If you merged a Southeast Asia Black Desert account into a Pearl Abyss ID with the same email, and both had OTP, the Pearl Abyss ID's OTP is the one that counts (Pearl Abyss). Use that entry in your app, not the old one.

Otherwise, check your iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when your clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Pearl Abyss's OTP page says that if you can't use your authenticator app, you turn OTP off and set it up again (Black Desert). There's no step for moving it, so do this while the old phone still works. If you use Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

On the code screen, select Cannot enter an OTP verification code? and type one of your backup codes (Black Desert). A backup code also works to turn OTP off.

Without your backup codes, contact Pearl Abyss Support to have OTP removed from your account (Black Desert, Pearl Abyss). Pearl Abyss's pages don't say what proof Support asks for or how long it takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning OTP off

On the OTP Settings page, select Disable OTP services? (Black Desert).

Official Black Desert help

• [Adventurer's Guide] Security Guide
• [Events] Always-On Events
• How do I set up an OTP?
• What if I can't enter my OTP code?
• It says my inputted OTP is incorrect every time I enter it after the Pearl Abyss ID integration.
• Why can't I add a secondary email to my account if I'm using Steam to log in?
• [Notices] Pearl Abyss ID: Everything You Need to Know
• Pearl Abyss Support