TERA Online

[Meiun]

So what will no doubt be the greatest game ever is coming out in a few months, and is now available for pre-order (which grants you guaranteed access to the upcoming beta test). The game is Tera Online, and unlike most other MMO's, it is a 100% action based game. While it offers many of the much loved features of other MMO's, there is absolutely no "targeting", auto-attacking, or any other generic features. The gameplay has been most commonly compared to that of Monster Hunter. You actually need to manually block and dodge monsters attacks, and playing with any ranged weapon or spells is somewhat like a 3rd person shooter. Game looks truly epic, and I have been waiting for one like it for what feels like ages. And yes, the game will have a monthly fee.

Here's a short trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq7aKNVQbH8&hd=1
And an older (but still cool) one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFlTEZELrbw&hd=1

The graphics style and characters look awesome too, as I'm sure you can see. The game comes out May 1st, and the first closed beta (which pre-order grants you access to) starts next weekend.

[kensuga]

Now if only if I had the computer to run it D: I would totally get it

[T-Rok]

I have a problem with buying a game, and then having to pay a monthly fee. This is why I never played WoW or FF11. Guild Wars however, now that I did play. I could also understand a monthly fee if the game was free itself.

[Scotty]

I give it a couple of months before it adopts a FTP model.

[Meiun]

I give it a couple of months before it adopts a FTP model.

I dunno, I'd be pretty ashamed of the American people if it needed to. I definitely get that tons of games are heading that way, but if all the generic MMO's like WoW and Star Wars can succeed with the pay to play model and TERA can't... I'd just be ashamed. This game is just as high quality a game as them, except they finally made some drastic improvements the gameplay instead of just reusing the same formula that has been around since the dawn of MMO's. But then again, a lot of modern gamers (especially int the US) are pretty lame, so you could be right.

I personally just can not stand the boring combat of other modern MMO's. It's pretty appalling to me that so few companies even make an attempt to change it too. Technology and internet speeds are definitely good enough now to support the higher levels of action, yet so many companies still keep using the same old recipe.

Either way, both myself and a handful of friends will definitely be playing it.

[Scotty]

I give it a couple of months before it adopts a FTP model.

I dunno, I'd be pretty ashamed of the American people if it needed to. I definitely get that tons of games are heading that way, but if all the generic MMO's like WoW and Star Wars can succeed with the pay to play model and TERA can't... I'd just be ashamed. This game is just as high quality a game as them, except they finally made some drastic improvements the gameplay instead of just reusing the same formula that has been around since the dawn of MMO's. But then again, a lot of modern gamers (especially int the US) are pretty lame, so you could be right.

I personally just can not stand the boring combat of other modern MMO's. It's pretty appalling to me that so few companies even make an attempt to change it too. Technology and internet speeds are definitely good enough now to support the higher levels of action, yet so many companies still keep using the same old recipe.

Either way, both myself and a handful of friends will definitely be playing it.

I likely will too, but let's not kid ourselves.  Tera doesn't have Blizzard or Bioware backing it.  It's developed (so far as I can tell) by Enmasse.  Anyone heard of that company?  Their only game is... Yep, Tera.  It doesn't have the hype, the anticipation, or the fan base that Star Wars has.  In my opinion, if they ask for any more than $10 dollars a month, that alone will drive them into FTP in no time flat, I'd give them 2-3 months.  A game that claims to be this innovative to the MMO scene has to have a huge following, more hype, more excitement, and more people talking about it before it hits the shelves.  So far as I can tell, this game doesn't have all that by comparison to many of the larger MMOs out there, so it's going to have to step into some big shoes in order to last.

[Meiun]

You do indeed have a good point, and it certainly is a possibility. But I think you may be assuming they are a bit less known than they are. Enmasse is just the publisher for the US version. The game was originally developed in Korea by Blue Hold Studio, which I believe is a spin off off of the company that makes the popular Lineage series (could be wrong on that part though). While certainly not on par with WoW or Star Wars, it has actually been getting reasonable hype. It has often appeared on the front page of IGN for the last year or so, with numerous other articles and sources hyping it. I've been following it for a while, and it is defintiely acknowledged as one of the big names in upcoming MMO's, even if it still may be the underdog due to lack of publicity.

Either way, I am pretty confident I'm going to enjoy it, and I have no problem paying the fee for a game that looks far more worth it (to me) than any other pay to play game out now. All I can do is enjoy/support it and hope for the best.

[Jake]

Tera doesn't need a huge following prior to release to be a major hit. If it's a good game, people will pay for it. There's not much more to it than that. The games that go the FTP route are usually pretty lame, or don't have the amount of content they need to sustain a large player base.

[Cactuscat222]

Tera doesn't need a huge following prior to release to be a major hit. If it's a good game, people will pay for it. There's not much more to it than that. The games that go the FTP route are usually pretty lame, or don't have the amount of content they need to sustain a large player base.

Well, switching to Free-to-Play is becoming much more a strong business move, than it is a desperation tactic for weaker games. We've seen numerous MMO's lately, that after switching from a subscription based model to FTP, see huge leaps in players and revenue (games with lots of content or players already). LotRO was the realization that a FTP model could be just as successful, and more recently, City of Heroes is another reminder of that.

@Scotty: RIFT is doing really well, from what I gather - and while the game is very similar to the standard WoW formula, it introduced quite a few new things. More importantly though, it was brought in by Trion Worlds, who had no previous releases either.

I can't say much about the hype that TERA has received, but I've seen it on most mainstream gaming news sites multiple times, so I wouldn't say they are very much in the dark.

[Scotty]

I must say, the game is quite impressive.  The graphics are absolutely astonishing, and most importantly, the game play is unlike anything I've seen in any mainstream MMORPG to date.  I hope they stick around for some time.

[Meiun]

I must say, the game is quite impressive.  The graphics are absolutely astonishing, and most importantly, the game play is unlike anything I've seen in any mainstream MMORPG to date.  I hope they stick around for some time.

I agree with that statement 100%. Been playing with my brother since the 1st closed beta. Absolutely friggin love the game so far. Biggest breath of fresh air ever. This is exactly the kind of thing I had been hoping for in an MMO for ages. Gameplay is amazing (easily the best part), world design and visuals are breathtaking, classes are all sweet. The game starts off pretty easy until level 19-20, but then once you try and face a basilisk that can kill you in about 2 or 3 hits if you don't dodge/block appropriately it started feeling a ton like an even more awesome monster hunter MMO. Will definitely be playing this one for a long time to come. The only reason I haven't posted here sooner is because I felt there wasn't enough I could say to do it justice without ranting for ages.

[Scotty]

So who's all in beta then?  What server is everyone on?

[Meiun]

I've got characters on both the PVE servers (those were all that were available during the 1st CBT. I will most likely be playing a PVP server once the game launches, as well as most the rest of the beta's i'd imagine). I believe my highest level (20 slayer) is on Serpentis Isle. Only other people I know that currently have it pre-ordered/are in the beta are my brother. Although I know Havok just preordered it recently as well.

[havok]

I've got characters on both the PVE servers (those were all that were available during the 1st CBT. I will most likely be playing a PVP server once the game launches, as well as most the rest of the beta's i'd imagine). I believe my highest level (20 slayer) is on Serpentis Isle. Only other people I know that currently have it pre-ordered/are in the beta are my brother. Although I know Havok just preordered it recently as well.

im in it as well and i have a friend that will be joining me :p

any how i know a lot of people don't like p2p games but i believe this is one of the few that could be well worth it.

[Meiun]

I've got an extra beta key for this weekends closed beta test. If anyone is interested just let me know.

EDIT: Congrats to Lucifer for getting my extra key. Enjoy :)