TERA

[clok1966]

Isnt this out today 5-1-12? I see no threads. From my reading it seems a media darling and some gamers who's opinion i respect seem to have quite a bit of love for it (penny arcade guys) and prefer it to GW II. So anybody have some opinions? thoughts? After the dull crap that was SW:Online.. I'm hoping for something new and worthwhile. With so many Beta's and all games about the same I skipped it (Tera).. so.. anybody, anybody?

 

[xboxist]

I've heard it mentioned a lot in the past week or two. I guess I just don't feel compelled to care much. Diablo 3 coming up, and I'm also sold on GW2 after playing it this past weekend. More than enough gaming to last me through the year, personally. /shrug

 

[Zenoth]

You should check the official TERA forums, there's feedback and game-play impressions being posted there. I've been looking at it myself, I only participated in the beta for a day, but I liked what I played. It's indeed out right now, it was released today. The combat system felt very refreshing for someone who is used to only targeting and locking combat systems in other MMORPGs around. The combat in TERA is entirely dynamic, you don't even click on the mob to target it, you aim the on-screen "crosshair" and swing, fire arrows or use whatever weapon you have at specific body parts or body angles on the mob you have your crosshair on. You can AoE by moving your crosshair or of course by using skills/talents that will do the job automatically.

For example as a warrior (Berserker, focusing on dps) there's a skill similar to a whirldwind 360º spin, you don't have to do it yourself with the mouse and the crosshair. But you can also use your "basic" melee attacks (of course taking an example for melee classes) and move your mouse/crosshair around as the character does the melee animations to hit different mobs around you. The first swing you point at one mob, then you time up the animation for the second swing to hit another mob behind you by moving the mouse (or camera, or crosshair, if you prefer) and you do "slower" AoE that way as well, rather than having to turn the camera to face mobs and lock on them one by one.

It's what I like the most from what I played, the combat. That alone nearly convinced me to go for a subscription plan of six months. I'm resisting the temptation right now though, I have Diablo 3 to buy in two weeks, and I'm considering to pre-order Guild Wars 2 as well. For now, until June 1st, you save some cash (20%, 30%, etc) by subscribing and activating a monthly fee plan of your choice starting at 3 months, then 6 months, etc. In my opinion TERA is worth a try (say... for a month at least). If you buy the game you have a free month (30 days) access to play, after which your subscription monthly fee plan kicks in. If I had no other interesting games to play, I would buy it and at least let that free month of access do its job to give me a solid impression on most of the game's content and features.

In my case however I have plenty to play and I must cool down the hype which playing the beta for a day created. I would recommend also watching recently uploaded and HD footage of the latest version (final release) on YouTube, check for videos no older than maybe a month, otherwise you'll watch outdated features, or quests or content, etc.

 

[Punter]

Tera is a lot of fun.... if you can make it thru the first 20 levels of questing. At 20 you get the first instance and group quests (for Big Ass Monsters) which are loads of fun. The action combat is a riot. Healing is a riot, no locking eyes on healthbars, it is heads up healing - plenty of movement involved as well.

 

[zokudu]

I hate this game. I tried 4 of the beta weekends and the combat is alright. I don't enjoy it enough to pay a subscription for it and outside of action oriented combat it brings nothing to the table. Maybe 4 years ago it would make a splash but right now there are enough f2p action combat MMO's that it will be hard to compete with a p2p model.

 

[clok1966]

Ok, that helped a bit, dynamic combat could be interesting change. I felt Vindictus with a more traditional RPG type setting (eq/WoW) wouldbe fun.. AoC was a step in the right direction to make combat more skill based but the lock on system hampered it (and the fact the game blew after the first 20 levels... awsome graphics though). Though I worry it will be bunny hop in PvP. I'm in.. why not.. $50 is what i pay for most any game.. and most last 10-20 hours.. this comes with 30 days and exploreing and killing, what more could one want?

I am (or was) also in Diablo III and GW II beta's my hype is .. less then most i guess. But as I have Pre Purchased both (i didnt say I didnt want to play um )

Again thanks for some info.

 

[Glitchny]

I have Tera, been playing since the early start. It's great. The closest game i can compare combat to is Kingdoms of Amalur. The combat is great, actually having to hit mobs and dance out of the way of attacks instead of relying on passive stats is very fun.

There really is no grind. I got to level 20 in under a day of playing so it's not that hard at all. The BAM's are a really good challenge, and fun to solo.

I also like how they did PVP where you can attack anyone as long as you aren't in a safe zone. But then you get flagged and everyone can see you as hostile.

The graphics are amazing and overall it's been a great game so far. Also by having an "action" combat system it is easy to separate good and bad players as skill is much more important than anything else.

The system where you can get your guild leader voted Vanarch of a territory is pretty cool as well. If you control the zone you can change things that spawn there, and make a host of other decisions. There is also a GvG system for guilds to go to war with each other.

Also the Elin are a non-issue. They are a race created to protect nature much like tree sprites or fairies in other games. So they are childlike girl characters with animal features such as a tail and ears. It's not really a big deal, they are anime styled characters and it fits the game. They even changed some of the art from the original game for the west.

 

[JJ650]

I have Tera, been playing since the early start. It's great. The closest game i can compare combat to is Kingdoms of Amalur. The combat is great, actually having to hit mobs and dance out of the way of attacks instead of relying on passive stats is very fun.

There really is no grind. I got to level 20 in under a day of playing so it's not that hard at all. The BAM's are a really good challenge, and fun to solo.

I also like how they did PVP where you can attack anyone as long as you aren't in a safe zone. But then you get flagged and everyone can see you as hostile.

The graphics are amazing and overall it's been a great game so far. Also by having an "action" combat system it is easy to separate good and bad players as skill is much more important than anything else.

The system where you can get your guild leader voted Vanarch of a territory is pretty cool as well. If you control the zone you can change things that spawn there, and make a host of other decisions. There is also a GvG system for guilds to go to war with each other.

Also the Elin are a non-issue. They are a race created to protect nature much like tree sprites or fairies in other games. So they are childlike girl characters with animal features such as a tail and ears. It's not really a big deal, they are anime styled characters and it fits the game. They even changed some of the art from the original game for the west.

There are publicly known mods to revert back to the game's original art. It's not hard to do and isn't anything that can be blocked server side. It doesn't add much (save for an occasional nip slip), but the patches are easy to get.

 

[Glitchny]

There are publicly known mods to revert back to the game's original art. It's not hard to do and isn't anything that can be blocked server side. It doesn't add much (save for an occasional nip slip), but the patches are easy to get.

Yea I saw that, it also adds in the correct armor textures for the Elin instead of them all wearing just different colored shorts.

 

[Mem]

I hate this game. I tried 4 of the beta weekends and the combat is alright. I don't enjoy it enough to pay a subscription for it and outside of action oriented combat it brings nothing to the table. Maybe 4 years ago it would make a splash but right now there are enough f2p action combat MMO's that it will be hard to compete with a p2p model.

I hated it too,the graphics are nice however I did not like any of the classes and I did try them all in beta,one of those MMORPG you will either like or hate IMHO.

 

[Robert Munch]

Reminded me of Aion somewhat was trying to figure out how to Glide kept smashing spacebar but, then I realized what game I was playing. Was bored with it in the beta.

 

[NoSoup4You]

It's not everyone's cup of tea. Some people hate the art style, some hate the fact it's Korean, some people look at the Elin and see sexualized children, some people hate the uninspired questing mechanics.

I sub'ed for 6 months. I went into the open beta knowing nothing of the game and left wanting more, lots more. Fortunately they didn't reset the servers from the open beta so I was able to pick up my level 20 Warrior where I'd left off. Solid.

The combat is fluid and dynamic, the closest comparison I can find are the spectacle fighters God of War and Devil May Cry. The combat is intense, although some of the character classes are a little on the dull side - Lancer and Berserker have to sit there blocking a lot. But healing is intense and fun, there's no staring at life bars. It plays exactly like an action RPG should, the game doesn't target anything for you. You need to aim your attacks or you'll simply not hit. There's weapon swings are wide and hit many targets at once, and the enemies often attack in the dozens so you'll often find yourself hitting 6+ enemies with a single swing. There also isn't any noticeable latency, you feel like you're playing offline in that respect and it make the combat really come alive.

Taking a spectacle fighter's combat and throwing it into a huge, persistent world with a deep stats system is exactly what I've wanted MMO's to be for a long time, I despise targeted based combat and I don't see the point in heavily instanced MMO's like Vindictus.

The graphics are top notch and the controls tight and responsive. I like the art style and the Elin are completely over blown - they're pixie chicks and they're quite heavily clothed in the Western versions.

Will I continue playing after 6 months? I'm not sure. Can TERA sustain itself with a subscription model? I don't care, the game is certainly worth an investment now and the content is there to get your money's worth. I'm level 23 now and the game does open up once you reach level 20 now that the so-called "Bad Ass Monsters" are showing up. So good this game is.

 

[gothamhunter]

I think it's be fun, but I'm officially done with p2p games. LOTRO, GW2, and D3 for my online needs.

 

[Zenoth]

I watched videos of it again for the heck of it (since I'm still considering the game), and I noticed something that I forgot to mention in my previous post, which is something I definitely noticed when I played the beta. There's no lateral and diagonal animations, zero. I was watching some guy playing his toon and mounted his horse, he pressed the 'A' key to "strafe" to the left, and the horse along with the toon immediately faced forward to the left, and the camera didn't follow that movement, so the change in character (and mount) direction is instant, but you find yourself looking at the left side of the character without an actual animation for the transition of the change in direction. So when you move left, right or diagonally your character (or mount) will instantly face forward to that direction without a single body rotation, head rotation or hip rotation, or ANY animations along the lines.

The irony is that ALL existing animations in the game ARE looking good, smooth and are of very good quality generally speaking (even if some are exaggerated, like the leaping and hopping about from the Elin). I was just wondering and scratching my head when I saw that the first time. Why would the animators of the dev team take the time to create all those beautiful combat animations, but wouldn't even create the most basic strafing and diagonal body animations and rotations in a game released in 2012 with superb graphics and art-style. It's a bit beyond me, I don't get it. Note that I myself still am considering to buy the game, mind you. That "mishap" animations-wise isn't going to stop me from playing it or enjoying it. I'm still considering it exactly because I liked the beta. But despite the enjoyment I had... when I moved my character around just pressing my 'A' or 'D' key reminded me each time that the animators forgot to animate my characters for those movements. It's not even a case of "bad looking" animations, there's simply none!

 

[PowerYoga]

I really didn't notice that with the character animation, but with the horse its very noticeable. I don't really need to see my character turning in a full circle to go the other way anyway, but the horse its pretty annoying to see it snapping left and right...

 

[abaez]

This game is amazing. The combat is great and lag free. The graphics engine is optimized as hell (I can have 40 people on screen with no lag). The questing is typical MMO grind, but the positives make up for it. I'm having a blast.

I especially like how it takes a modicum of skill to actually fight things. If you're good enough to react and block/dodge BAM attacks, a well made group could take down a boss BAM without a healer easily. The typical MMO constraints of absolutely needing a tank, healer, and dps is much more loosely defined and it's refreshing.

 

[HarvardAce]

Yes, the Elin are controversial for good reason. Shame people turn away from the game cause of them. I wish they were out of the game entirely.

I must be missing something. I haven't played as an Elin, but based on my limited seeing them in game (I'm usually too focused on not getting stomped by a mob so the graphics are secondary) and understanding of what they are, how would they be more controversial than Tinkerbell in Peter Pan? Aren't they just fairies?

 

[Punter]

I must be missing something. I haven't played as an Elin, but based on my limited seeing them in game (I'm usually too focused on not getting stomped by a mob so the graphics are secondary) and understanding of what they are, how would they be more controversial than Tinkerbell in Peter Pan? Aren't they just fairies?

ya they are not such a big deal. wish i would have left them out of my post. will edit now.

 

[VashHT]

I though the combat was really cool compared to other MMO's, I thought it was a bit slow but I was trying out the berserker. I'm guessing a class like the warriors are probably a lot faster?

I was really impressed with the graphics engine, looks amazing and runs just as amazing, also I didn't really notice any lag in the combat. I can understand why a lot of people would be put off by the styling but I thought it looked pretty cool.

Overall I would have definitely bought it if it was f2p, I'm still tempted to pick it up and try it for a couple months though.

 

[smackababy]

I must be missing something. I haven't played as an Elin, but based on my limited seeing them in game (I'm usually too focused on not getting stomped by a mob so the graphics are secondary) and understanding of what they are, how would they be more controversial than Tinkerbell in Peter Pan? Aren't they just fairies?

They are like lolis and cats put together. Lolicats, if you will. If this was the race I was thinking of. My roommate played for an hour or so in the beta and I watched. I just can't see the game being fun with people running around as lolicats. No thanks.

 

[PowerYoga]

They are like lolis and cats put together. Lolicats, if you will. If this was the race I was thinking of. My roommate played for an hour or so in the beta and I watched. I just can't see the game being fun with people running around as lolicats. No thanks.

That seems like an awfully shallow reason to not try a game. Also there's plenty of other t&a in the game and you're focusing on elins?

 

[tigersty1e]

does this game require a monthly subscription?

 

[smackababy]

That seems like an awfully shallow reason to not try a game. Also there's plenty of other t&a in the game and you're focusing on elins?

Plenty of other things in a lot of games and I won't try those games either. I am sure there are plenty of great things in the Twilight series, however, I am of the persuasion that a vampire whose only weakness is they sparkle in the sun is stupid. Therefore, I don't read those books or watch those movies.

 

[Glitchny]

I especially like how it takes a modicum of skill to actually fight things. If you're good enough to react and block/dodge BAM attacks, a well made group could take down a boss BAM without a healer easily. The typical MMO constraints of absolutely needing a tank, healer, and dps is much more loosely defined and it's refreshing.

Yea I really like that you need to actually know what you are doing in this game compared to other MMO's I've played. I have solo'd every BAM quest I've had so far, except for the Oviliths around SM. That slow/poison is a bitch to deal with on my own.

I though the combat was really cool compared to other MMO's, I thought it was a bit slow but I was trying out the berserker. I'm guessing a class like the warriors are probably a lot faster?

Yes warriors are much faster. They are focused on a lot of small hits happening very fast, Berserkers are more of a charge up and do a massive single strike play style.

They are like lolis and cats put together. Lolicats, if you will. If this was the race I was thinking of. My roommate played for an hour or so in the beta and I watched. I just can't see the game being fun with people running around as lolicats. No thanks.

LOL It's styled after anime character designs. The Elin are designed as cherub like race, designed by their god to protect nature, they are just fairies. I don't really see how that would be a reason to not play a game, sad really.

Yes the game requires a subscription.

 

[smackababy]

LOL It's styled after anime character designs. The Elin are designed as cherub like race, designed by their god to protect nature, they are just fairies. I don't really see how that would be a reason to not play a game, sad really.

There were plenty of other reasons I disliked the game, however, art style and direction are a huge factor in any game I play. If I hate the way something looks, why would I want to spend hours playing it?