TERA

This post, and a great deal of this blog, is going to be largely about video games, MMORPGs in particular, and so if that is not something you are knowledgeable in, I apologize ahead of time. I have recently pre-ordered an upcoming MMORPG name The Exiled Realm of Arborea, or TERA Online for short. This MMO redefines the genre, breaking the mold that MMOs have been stuck in since the original Everquest dominated the market. It essentially combines a traditional MMORPG (dungeons, raids, PvP, questing, leveling, and different races and classes), with an action game (real-time combat, dodging with skills instead of “dice roll” RNGs, not much reliance on gear, and intense combat situations).

By pre-ordering the game, I automatically am granted access to the closed beta testing for the game, which occur every two weekends up until the launch on May second. I have played in the two beta tests that have happened so far, and let me tell you, if you are a fan of MMOs, you will want to give this game a shot. I have played it for all of maybe twenty-four hours total, and now it sucks because I have no drive to play any other game. It’s that good. Playing it is the most fun I’ve ever had in an online game, and I don’t know how I ever could have thought that a game like WoW was fun when compared to TERA. Ignorance truly is bliss.

In contrast to traditional MMOs such as WoW, Everquest, or Guild Wars, you cannot lock-on to your target and just hit buttons to attack them. Like an action game like Devil May Cry, you actually must aim your reticle at enemies or allies, and attack or heal them that way. There are some skills that can lock-on to enemies to guarantee it won’t be dodged, but it still can be blocked, and those skills are few and far between. By requiring you to actually aim at your target and accurately predict his movements and actions, this causes the game to be much more reliant on player skill than any other MMO on the market right now. In TERA, if you can effectively dodge or block ever attack made against you, and be able to accurately hit your enemy, you can win. Gear certainly will make the killing process faster, and your defense higher, but in no way is it even close to the deciding factor.

Another mold that TERA breaks in some ways but not all is the traditional model for tanking and healing. There is no pure healing class. The two healing classes that are present in the game are support classes. Healing is their main job, but  a good Priest or Mystic will also be DPSing, buffing allies, debuffing enemies, and crowd controlling in between healing their group-mates. There is a traditional tank class, the Lancer, who wears heavy armor, uses a shield, and whose job it is to keep the enemy’s aggro on them, and take blows without dying, which makes sure their teammates, who are much squishier than he, aren’t taking the hits and dying. The Warrior, on the other hand, is a different style of tank. The Warrior wears light armor the same quality of an Archer, and tanks by evading and dodging blows, instead of taking them to the face like the Lancer and traditional tanks. The Warrior is a very hard class to play, as he is just as squishy as an Archer, but still needs to keep the enemy’s aggro on him to protect his teammates. One mistimed dodge and you will be flat on your ass, and chances are you won’t be getting back up.

I am very excited for this game to release fully, and in the meantime, I am eagerly awaiting the next beta test on March ninth, ready to hop into the game and have fun.

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