Tera Online - The True Action RPG

Most my readers probably do not know this, but I used to play MMORPGs religiously. My very first was Final Fantasy XI at its NA PS2 launch. At that time, FFXI had a very, very narrow fan base as the game was pretty difficult to just pick up and play. Shortly after, WoW came out and the population for FFXI remained steady for a number of years. Currently, it has received a number of great updates and the fans that are playing are having more fun than ever before. FFXI will always be an amazing game to me, despite its age starting to show(no thanks to PS2 limitations). But even in 2011, the PC version of FFXI has great environments, great music, and iconic monsters.

I'm the one in the middle. I'm directly under the flag with the swirling blue around me, denoting Level 99.

The next MMO I picked up in early 2006 was Ragnarok Online. RO is one of the masters of the old fashioned Korean Grind. The first private server I played had experience rates that were 3x the official rates, and back then, that was a very small increase. If I remember correctly, it took me 7000 stings(Giant glove monsters that are made of mud) to get from level 98-99 for my first class. It is a cute, easy game with a lot of replay value. It even has a very competitive PVP mode that I haven't really seen in any other game. Unfortunately, PVP in RO is a war of numbers, where the guild with the most bodies to lose will USUALLY overpower the smaller guild. Believe it or not I was the Guild Leader for our little group for a long, long time(after the original one stepped down in 2007. My time as leader took us across multiple servers and left a HUGE impact on each one. Ragnarok also holds a special place in my heart for other reasons, as it is where I met my significant other. Needless to say, I feel like I have "beaten" that MMO, so the chances of me going back(despite Chelsea asking me every 3 months) are slim to none.

So that brings us to what this post is really about, MMO's in 2011. WoW is still going strong, and I did give it a try. The solo grind of quests is pretty entertaining, but you can't do the "fun" raids with just an Orc Warrior and a Blood Elf. Aoin looked cool for a while too! I didn't get a chance to try it, but the game is gorgeous and definitely cutting edge. Our friends on BlueGartr do say that the grind is just like all the other Korean MMOs, depressing. After that, the entire story, much like WoW, is based on PVP. Chelsea and I are sort of burned out on PVP at the minute.

Author: Cloudius

What is this awesomeness??

Author: Cian

FAIRY WOODS ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

TERA is still a Korean MMO, but it goes in an entirely new direction. First off is the Mature Rating. The game has a big storyline, and there is blood and gore. After that, there is the lack of clothing that you will see on a few of the characters. Don't worry, they aren't naked. Its just that the game has evolved beyond "stand there and get hit while you judge your DPS versus the monster's." TERA is all action, so you move around and dodge attacks. Your attacks are non-targeting also, so just like the coolest action games, you simply attack in the direction you want. With all the dodging, who need's a full set of body armor anyhow? But characters aren't the only things that look good, many enemies are huge and all of them have great detail to them.

I believe that TERA has a full game in Korea now, with a Japanese Closed Beta coming soon. There will be a NA release, and everyone is waiting for a Beta of that. The developers believe that TERA's localization for Western Audiences is very important, and it seems like they are taking in a lot of feedback. There are many interviews on the web that can give you a good idea of what to expect from this game. One thing that is focused on in a lot of interviews is how easy "Western" MMOs are, and how that makes us want to play them(Such a slap in the face I know, but they are right lol). David Noonan from En Masse has an interview on the official Tera website, that explains how TERA already feels very Western. He says that all players should be able to solo if they want to, and group leveling is also an option. Some skill is required to play, even for healers, but even those who aren't fully committed(for example: those without fully upgrade gear only dropped from instanced fights), can still play the game and help out their friends. There are PVP zones in the game and a whole "Political System" made out of it.

There seems to be a lot of choice in TERA too. As of right now, there are 8 playable classes and lots of races to play them. Besides the scantily clad women and Cat-girls, there are huge beast/rock things, demonoid looking people, even small racoon looking things. There is a bit of choice in the classes, as each "staple of combat" can be done with more than 1 class. Range combat has always been split between magic users and rangers, but things like Healing isn't just restricted to "Healer." I'm actually unsure of what class or race I would play in TERA, everything just looks awesome. Keep an eye out for this game though, I feel like it will be the next big thing. I for one, need a new computer for these games. I couldnt run FFXIV higher than 1 FPS, and I know that TERA will murder it too. So sad, I want to play this game lol.

Author: FriskUni