It’s been a few weeks since TERA launched and while I’m not ready to post my full review just yet, I’m only level 41 with my archer, I do want to talk about my experience thus far. For those of you not familiar with the game, you should check our my first impression TERA review, since I won’t be discussing much of that here.

When I wrote my first impressions of TERA I ended it by saying, “I could just be under that “new mmorpg” spell that seems to make every new MMO game better than it actually is“. Well I must still be under that spell because I’m still having a blast with the game.

Once you hit level 30, the speed at which you level begins to slow down and the mobs begin to get harder. This is actually a great thing, not only because it puts greater emphasis on acquiring better gear for your level, but also because it takes some of the grind out of the game.

Up until about level 30, you’ll rarely die from mobs, but after, they get tougher and are closer grouped together, combined with TERA’s very quick respawn rate, you will get caught and respawned on many-a-times.

While this can be frustrating for some, I love it. To me grinding is the most painful when you can’t lose and you’re just going through the motions, but when the game makes it difficult, it changes from a grind to a challenge, which to me is much more enjoyable, even though I’ll be swearing up a storm when I die.

PvP is still missing-in-action. You’ll get ganked once in a while, but for the most part players won’t bother since there is currently no stat system to record kills or rewards for PvPing. Guild vs Guild is still there, but I haven’t participated in it much, as I never seem to see anyone from the enemy guild during the times I’m on. I also play during off-peak hours, so that’s probably why.

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Sometimes I just don’t understand why things are the way they are. Today, after a bit of playing through the TERA open beta, I came to the realization that I just don’t understand why a theme-park game like this would even bother with allowing open PvP. Not that I don’t enjoy PvP, because I do, but when the only way to progress is PvE, it sort of makes PvP pointless, at least until endgame.

The only real reason to participate in open PvP, for theme-park games, is to basically make the lives of other players worse. You’re not defending any land or property and you’re not attacking any either, plus there’s no looting, so really there’s no reason to kill anyone.  Open PvP is built for sandbox games because they incorporate other systems around PvP to make it meaningful, but theme-parks do not. So when you incorporate this system in a theme-park game, its basically just developers trying to grab at the PvP market and expand their player base.

Now, I haven’t gotten past level 20 in TERA’s closed or open beta, so I don’t know how the end game will be, but I can tell you right now, most players are ignoring open PvP and concentrating on PvE to level up and rightly so. Why spend any time PvPing when it gets you no where?

This is why it’s so refreshing to see what ArenaNet is doing with Guild Wars 2 and creating an open PvP world where all your actions directly effect the world. You’re not killing other players for the hell of it or to ruin their day, your doing it to win the war.

To have a successful open PvP system, the game mechanics really need to be build around it, supporting it and giving meaning to PKing.  Theme-parks by definition are the exact opposite and cannot, and will never create an engaging open PvP system regardless of what developers or publishers say. Open PvP and theme-parks just don’t work together.

Welcome back to a series that aims to get you acquainted with all things TERA. In our last entry, we covered the melee classes available in the game. Today, we are going to introduce the rest of the crew: 1 ranged class, 1 caster class and 2 support professions.

Archers represent the ranged melee class in this game. Being skilled in both medium and short ranged attacks, combined with the ability to manipulate traps, makes them a challenging opponent, similar to Warriors in their ability to stay flexible and change their tactics when necessary.

In PvP, Archers can afford to stay back concentrate on harassing healers and helping bring down focused enemy targets. Should the opponents get too close for comfort, you have a couple of tools to slow them down and buy you the chance to get escape. Traps remain invisible for enemies, usually produce AoE damage and a have various status alignments associated with them.

The ranged caster class is represented by the Sorcerer, who is the primary magic damage dealing class in TERA. Just like in other games, Sorcerers rely on keeping their distance from enemies while unleashing a ton of damage when the opportunity arises. Control wise, if you’ve played a similar class before, things will feel familiar but also slightly more intense, as you will have to exercise precision when timing and aiming your attacks.

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Welcome to the second part of the preview dealing with various races in the word of Arborea. In the previous installment, we looked at the history and interactions of the dedicated amani, the composed baraka and the mischievous poppori. Today, the other half of the cast of TERA will be covered.

Humans

We have humans who are, of course, average in everything. I mean come on, is this the destiny of the human race in every single MMOG? Just being good enough and never excelling at anything? That’s just depressing. Or do we, as players, prefer it that way? BioWare certainly seems to support this notion.

Not all is lost, however, as TERA manages to spice up the standard elements of lore with a couple of nice twists. Once you start paying attention, you’ll notice that humans in TERA have an intriguing past and an active role in the present. Cursed and betrayed by their god, the human race was forced to roam the lands of Arborea without a place to call home. Despite this disadvantage, mankind did not lose faith and made the best of their exile, learning all kinds of knowledge and mastering various crafts.

At last, the goddess Velik took pity on humans and lifted the curse of their creator, granting them a place of their own. The human race today is a respected ally and an important player in the politics of the Valkyon Coalition. It was humans who first realized that nobody could beat Argons single-handed, and only through cooperation with other races could the world be preserved. Although some races are wary of the overbearing enthusiasm and relative youth of this species, no-one can deny their importance in protecting Arborea from the Argon invasion. Way to go, humans! *Pats mankind on the back Continue Reading