2 May 2013 | |
Pherephassa
Ever play a game and wonder what’s the most popular race? Class? What about the deadliest monster or the richest player? Race and class especially, those are near the top of the list of questions I see in every game I’ve played. And to celebrate the first anniversary of TERA, En Masse Entertainment has fulfilled these burning questions with a special infographic displaying a few of these statistics! Plus, there are a host of special events and celebrations happening throughout the month of May. Who doesn’t love a birthday celebration, especially one that has gifts for everyone?
Hit the jump for the details, as well as some delicious tidbits about upcoming content!
Continue Reading
4 April 2013 | |
iTZKooPA
Shortly after the successful transition to a freemium option, En Masse Entertainment is morphing its action-oriented MMORPG once again. The change isn’t as drastic, especially to current players, but speaks volumes to on-going attempts at instantaneous gaming. En Masse Entertainment announced that Happy Cloud will enable TERA: Rising to be streamed eliminating the pesky task of downloading and installation.
What better way to support your F2P initiative than to eliminate any delay in participation? Backed by Happy Cloud’s technology, players new and old can begin playing with only 10% of the game downloaded. That’s 2.2 GB of data instead of the previous 22 GB.
“Improving our user onboarding process for TERA: Rising is a priority for us, and using Happy Cloud’s system is an easy way for us to get more players into TERA’s immersive, 3D world,” said Soo Min Park, COO at En Masse Entertainment. “Taking a graphically rich, fast-paced game such as TERA: Rising, which contains hundreds of hours of gameplay, and delivering the bytes in the order they’re needed is no small task, but we’re confident this will provide an even better experience for our fast growing legion of fans.”
15 March 2013 | |
iTZKooPA
What’s that? IGN is claiming that TERA, the action-oriented MMORPG from En Masse Entertainment, has seen its playerbase drastically increase since introducing a free-to-play option? No, really?! Color me shocked!
After making the move to the increasingly popular freemium model in early February, TERA has gathered quite a following. It shouldn’t come as a shock to many, as the game featured incredibly enjoyable boss battles, computer-crushing graphics, a healthy amount of new content and all the features and gameplay elements gamers have come to expect from a AAA MMORPG. However, the subscription model just didn’t sit with so many gamers, especially with the consistent complaint of being a grindfest in today’s age of casual-friendly titles.
With the paywall removed and no monthly subscription required everyone interested was free to dabble in the world of Arborea. This caused an influx of over 500,000 accounts, bringing the total to over 1 million registered users and the addition of six new servers by publisher Gameforge.
The Elder Scrolls Online is the only major release coming out not firmly in bed with F2P, while Square Enix believes the relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV can demand a subscription in today’s crowded and F2P friendly market.
Granted, there was no mention of revenue increase or increased profit margins, so time will tell if TERA’s change is another feather in the F2P cap or a sign of its decline.
5 February 2013 | |
iTZKooPA
No Ragnaros, but pretty big.
Discussed yesterday, TERA is now part of the growing behemoth that is the F2P MMOG genre. The folks over at En Masse Entertainment felt that the conversion performed earlier today for the action-oriented MMORPG from its original AAA subscription model to the F2P model warranted a little more than simply new content.
Coming in at just under two minutes, the all-new trailer doesn’t dance around the title’s rebirth at the hands of the F2P conversion. It doesn’t skimp on the action either, showcasing a half dozen boss battles from every angle of the holy trinity. Barely touching upon the other details surrounding the recent patch, the trailer does get ones blood pumping and ready for action versus some big ass monsters.
Hit the jump for the all-new TERA: Rising trailer and a selection of accompanying screenshots. Continue Reading
9 January 2013 | |
iTZKooPA
Following in the footsteps of Bluehole Studios, En Masse Entertainment announced early today that TERA players will have a subscription-free option heading their way. The action-oriented MMORPG announced that it’d be transitioning to F2P in Korea and Japan just days ahead of the New Year.
Sticking with what is now a tradition of business model changes, TERA will be coming in three flavors: Founder, Elite and Standard. Elite will retain the current access as today’s subscription option, complete with the $14.99 monthly price point. Founder status is obtained by purchasing the game and awards various perks including 8 characters per server and nearly 300 bank slots. Oddly enough, the best account is a Founder that continues with Elite status, gaining the unique perks of both.
The transition will come alongside a new name for the title. The February launch of the F2P version of TERA will be dubbed TERA: Rising. Currently, there’s no more specific date, but there is an official trailer available after the cut.
Other questions? Head to the official F2P FAQ. Continue Reading
6 November 2012 | |
iTZKooPA
TERA launched on May 1, 2012 in North America. Producer Chris Hager was part of the crew to send it off, adding another knotch to his already impressive pedigree. TERA now a part of his trophy room along with NCSoft titles Guild Wars, Lineage II and Aion, Hager is leaving En Masse Entertainment.
Confirmed yesterday by Executive Producer Harns Kim, Hager has left the company under seemingly good terms. “Yes, we can confirm Chris Hager is no longer with En Masse Entertainment. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors” an En Masse rep told Massively.
We’ll stick with the story to see if it develops further. In more exciting TERA news, the action-oriented MMORPG is being patch to v18.10.06 today. Check out the full patch notes.
22 October 2012 | |
iTZKooPA
Halloween, perhaps the most celebrated of all holidays in the MMO genre, will be coming to TERA for the first time in a few days. Dubbed Masquerade Mayhem, the event will be active from October 23 to November 5, 2012. The largest attraction is the opportunity to win one limited-time Halloween themed items, including a “terrifying” boneshaker mount.
To entice players new and old to join the party, En Masse Entertainment is offering the most basic prize simply for logging in during the event. The door prize is a Trick-or-Treat Mystery Box containing summoning scrolls, a Halloween themed, rare or “otherwise useful item.” The developer includes a pair of other activities, a pie-throwing chore to defending a trove of candy. Completing them will earn new titles, additional themed items and a shot at the Boneshaker mount.
The Boneshaker mount is also purchasable, so it’s not all that exclusive.
20 September 2012 | |
iTZKooPA
Yesterday’s surprise International Talk Like a Pirate Day celebration inside TERA was just to be the first of many ‘Flash events’, according to producer Chris Hager. The man with the plan starts off the discussion by reveling in the success of the Argon Queen update, which marked the start of this new direction; more events with more variety.
Over the next three months, En Masse will be running new events that fall into three categories, personal, TERA-wide and seasonal events. Seasonal events are the most obvious, as canonized Halloween celebrations in MMOGs have become a staple to most players. TERA-wide events will focus on particular groups of players, likely large groups like casual or hardcore players and allow En Masse to play with drop rates, battleground points and other enticing offers.
The final offering is perhaps the most interesting, small-scale ‘personal’ events. Exemplified by yesterday’s event, these events will largely be organized by GMs on the spot and include more trivia, scavenger hunts, triathlon races and other short and sweet activities.
Of course, all of these event will offer prizes for the winners, if not outright incentives to participate. As for content, Hager didn’t detail much new material. Instead falling back on the promised berserker patch, general needed and requested tweaks, upcoming additions to the achievement system and another Argon Queen-sized content patch.
