Final thoughts and rating
I have lost so many hours over the past weeks playing TERA and writing this review that a conclusion comes hard! I’ve had some really enjoyable gaming and at, other times, felt like it has been a bit of a grind. TERA in many ways is very similar in the setup as any other MMORPG, as it’s still within a genre. However, no other MMO has used Unreal Engine 3 for the visuals, and it has paid off as the game world is huge, beautiful and varied, albeit with fixable glitches. Then there's the free-flowing combat where enemies have hit-boxes on their bodies instead of just a number assigned to them, and your personal skills will save you or have you bleeding in the grass. Throw in a play-style that would fit an action RPG with full controller support and you truly have something special.
After all the hours I have put in so far I still feel I am yet to even scratch the surface of TERA, I have yet to see a NEXUS open up - similar to the Rifts in, well, Rift - as they are only available to level 58 and above characters. There is just so much to see and do in the game, with some awesome battles and huge beasts, that it is going to take hours to get through all the content. And I find myself looking forward to it, immensely.
The community itself in general is very welcoming, though, somewhat inevitably, you do get a few making comments about WoW and how TERA won’t take it down, but everyone I have personally spoke to has been pleasant throughout. You get invited to join groups often, when there are a few huge monsters such as Basilisks that need to be taken down, and you all work towards a common goal of completing the quest.
TERA has a lot to offer to players regardless of whether you like to play solo or go for PvP-style play. It simply works well as solo game, underscored by a decent story with voiced cut-scenes and no warring factions. If you come across something big, there is always someone about that will help you. I'll be subscribing for several months at least to get through the story content and who knows where next, as there are planned content updates. The only downside with the subscriptions is that they are quite pricey even in three and six month blocks. A single month works out at around £10.47, and for a new game I would have expected lower subscriptions. Lower subs would help TERA stand out and draw more players in, if it is to co-exist with the current market leaders
Overall TERA is well worth investing time into. Once you reach the mainland it starts to feel like a bit of a grind but if you can get past those few hours, areas start opening up. If you’ve never done the 'grinding' in this kind of game, you’ll probably love even that. The player steadily increases skills and personal technique, meaning the combat becomes fast and furious. It is immensely rewarding seeing your character take down large groups with a few well-chosen attacks.
Pros
Beautiful and varied game world
Excellent community
Huge and varied monsters
Excellent options with control schemes
Integration with Facebook and Twitter for your Vanarch campaign
Cons
Slightly higher subscription price
A few minor bugs
Texture-pop and low-res-looking textures on ground and on structures up close
Can be a bit of a level grind up to early level 20s
Way too much having to go back and forth
Random logouts even on low population
HEXUS Rating
TERA
HEXUS Where2Buy
TBC.
HEXUS Right2Reply
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