I havnt been following it much, i doubt its my kind of game, after browsing the various forums it sounds pretty....umm well asian, obviously the art style is, but is it super grindy? I have beta access for the weekend , but after reading around a bit not even sure i will bother.
anyone have anything to compare it to ?
Judging a book by its cover is never good. Try it out for yourself.
No .. Tera is unique and if you think its grind than you are wrong :) By grind I mean meaningless killing of mobs to achieve max level. In fact leveling is so easy you will be skipping tons of quests :) there is also way to just farm dungeons to max level :)
I recommend finding a buddy to level with You'll notice how much faster quest are completed if your doing the same quest. 2x ppl killing multiple mobs updates both ur quest.
You can also gather the same node @ the same time, You get mounts early in-game, elite monsters (large mobs) are fun to kill and depending on the size of ur grp can be a challenge
The most asian thing is the enchanting system, but it is not as bad as other azn games.
When you see the forums, basically 90% of what you see it little nitpicks at the few things that actually bothers us. Don't let it get to you. The game overall is great and we are just passionate about it so we get like WAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY overboard, a lot.
Test the game for yourself. Get to your first Basilicks at level 20.
You will be glad you did.