Quote: Taemira on 04/12/2012, 10:44 AM - view


This is a fantastic view on Tera. It's clearly just another MMO, until you actually experience the combat first hand. Once you do, you're hooked. Or at least most of the people I talk to are. The mobs will absolutely eat your face if you don't pay attention to what they're doing and get out of the way. Well, as the OP said, after lvl 20 they will. You can basically derp derp your way thru the first 18-20 levels. After that, you better start honing your skills because the mobs are going to bring the heat. Try it, that's all I can add. Try the OBT and see for yourself. What can it hurt to try it? Either you like it, or you don't. Worst case scenario, you blew a weekend trying out a new game.

It's a waste of $15 dollars in my honest opinion

yep, if only i found Tera before i wasted $15 on Rift. I can't go back to boring combat. Even worst i only played about 2 hours after getting it lol. What a waste

Tera > Rift

Best MMO I've ever played in-terms of fun and playability, and I've played Ragnarok Online, Priston Tale, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft, Rising Forces, Warhammer Online, Rift, SW:TOR, Forsaken World etc.

Not sure where you've been reading these "reviews", but you should definitely formulate your own opinion before you condemn it. That goes for anything in life, not just Tera.

I would recomend you to try it your self.

I know sometimes the reviews are right. If they adress bugs they probably dont lie, but these reviewers, be it gamespot, beta testers or whatever are not you.

There are alot of positiv feedback on the game, so there are many who likes it. Every forum will have persons who feel like they have been let down by a gaming company and take time to agitate alot.

I myself like you, havent tried it but if it fails I wont really spend alot of time to diss it. I guess it's natural to feel a bit annoyed. I just dont see why it can be such divorce to some.

Quote: SpyderArachnid on 04/12/2012, 05:58 AM - view

The only place I've seen with a truely negative take on Tera is gamebreaker. I also saw the review with that picture of toons standing in line for a boss-but that was a mock up and the writer was partly complaining that the Japanese (he tested JTera) didn't group to sahre the OW boss quests. In fact, it is actually easier than in other mmos to find OW bosses because you can channel shift to less populated channels.

Tera is basically much like WoW except with awesome graphics and an amazing action combat system. But that new combat system pretty much changes everything. Its not a grindy f2P, unless you think WoW or Rift are also grindy f2p mmos (seems to have a similar leveling curve to WoW, and the same questing system).

The PVE (dungeons and fighting mobs) is the most fun in any mmo I've played. The first two hours of CBT1, I just practised killing these big slow tree monsters and dueling people, and it was fun. The dungeons are amazing, they are nothing like WoW etc. I have never had fun in PVE before this game.

Try and level up to at least the 2nd dungeon-level 26 or 27 I think. The difficulty and fun ramps up considerably past level 20 when you start encountering BAMs and mobs start getting smarter and faster.

I hope GW2 is as much fun as this, I'll be a happy gamer this year.

Comments in blue are my personal thoughts on the information you have given me. I have looked at a good amount of GW2 info, but have not gone horribly in-depth. So my opinions and views may not have complete and accurate information.

Comments in green are taking what you said you enjoyed and comparing them to TERA to better help set things in perspective. Although, I will note that two MMOs should not be and can almost never be compared to each other. If for nothing else but the fact that people are usually attracted to an MMO because of the unique and different things it brings with it. If something is different or unique, then obviously the MMOs won't have the same thing.

For example: If I like an MMO that's coming out because it's adding a new and unique feature where a single player can take control of bosses and mobs in a dungeon to fight against a player team of 5 people, then obviously I can't compare that to another MMO. If another MMO has that feature, then it's not really unique.


Quote: SpyderArachnid on 04/12/2012, 10:44 PM - viewThe mobs invading and taking control of locations sounds cool if it actually works the way you make is sound. Lack of "traditional" quests seems more of an illusion than anything though. You won't have a "kill 15 mobs", but you will have "we're being attacked, kill 15 mobs to defend us". It still does sound really interesting when you think that, even leveling in the same area at the same levels, two people can have a completely different experience. I'll have to look into this more to see how the whole thing plays out.

This will be a definite con for you. TERA has traditional quests and the story told through them isn't amazing.


Quote: SpyderArachnid on 04/12/2012, 10:44 PM - viewHere's a question I have when reading this: Exp NEEDED is the same, but is Exp AWARDED the same? Using your example, if level 20 requires 50k exp, level 80 will still require 50k exp. However, if level 20 quests and mobs give you 5k exp per kill/completion and level 80 quests and mobs give you 500 exp per kill/completion, there's still a curve.

If there is really no curve at all, I don't really know what to think of it. Honestly, on one hand it sounds great since you don't get the feel of "1-10 takes 10 minutes, but 79-80 takes 10 hours", but at the same time it can feel too slow or too fast. If it takes the same amount of time to level in the 10s as it does in the 70s, and that's a slow pace, lower levels will seem to take forever. You'll spend a large amount of time playing at level 1 and it would get boring fast enough. If the speed is fast, the lower levels will seem normal, but the higher levels will seem to zoom by. You wouldn't really get a feel as if you have time to go things and it will feel like it's just "rush to cap", which if the game is end-game focused and plentiful, might not be a bad thing.

If the leveling speed is indeed uniform (1 to 2 takes the same time [NOT EXP] as 79 to 80), and this is a positive thing for you, then every other MMO will have a con against them, as almost all other MMOs have a curve. Usually to help make progress seem like there's a challenge to it (especially in games where mobs don't really get harder) and mostly to be able to have the later areas (that usually have more work put into them) be experienced and apprieciated more. In TERA, even from just 1-20, it has a curve, and I can only guess that it continues like almost every other MMO does. So if the lack of a curve is a postive thing, then count it as a con against TERA.


Quote: SpyderArachnid on 04/12/2012, 10:44 PM - viewHow much does gear cost? You say "no gear grind", yet you talk that each full dungeon run gives tokens that you use to buy gear... It's just the same as WoW with it's Justice/Valor points for running dungeons and Heroics. You might not think it like that, but it is a grind. You grind to get the amount of points you need to get your gear. The main difference is that, with both systems (tokens and drops), you gear up faster on average than the two alone.

Only Tokens? Well, the time it takes is regulated and set. If each piece costs 10 tokens, you get 1 token per run and there are 6 pieces of gear to get, then you know you need to run 60 dungeons before you are gear. Sorry, but that's a grind.

Only drops? Well, that's RNG and depends on how liked you are. If you are liked, you might get your gear to drop every time, which means 6 runs and you are geared (if only 1 piece drops per run)!! But, if it hates you, you could do 300+ runs and only get 1 piece of gear.

Both? Well, combining both systems, you know it'll take a maximum of 60 runs (tokens) to get gear, but you might be lucky and get a piece or two to drop while grinding them. If you get even 2 pieces to drop, that's 20 dungeons cut from your total, now needing only 40 in total. WoW switched to this way since it's the best way for people to gear up without having to grind so much.

As I listed above, what you describe is still a grind, it's just a grind with less risk (like the new Enchanting changes). As long as you put enough time, you'll get what you need. That's still a grind though. I'm not sure how TERA handles it though, but I'm not sure if it has a token system to it or not. I read that they are increasing the amount of drops from dungeons though.

If anyone that has played kTERA can shine in on whether gear upgrades are purely from drops or there are some kind of tokens as well, please do so. ^_^


Quote: SpyderArachnid on 04/12/2012, 10:44 PM - viewI keep hearing "there are no roles, the unholy trinity is gone!!"... yet I feel that this is just the same kind of idea as the Final Fantasy MMOs where 1 character can have multiple jobs. It's not that there are no Tanks, Healers or Damage Dealers, it's that everyone can choose what they want. You still have to assign points in skills and abilities that fit with those roles and you still have to find people willing to perform them. It is no different. Just because someone has the ability to be a Healer, doesn't mean they CAN heal or WANT to heal. Also, despite what people say, you'll still want dedicated tanks and dedicated healers for fights. If you remove the trinity completely, everyone is the same. Every needs tank skills, heal skills and damage skills and there is no more variety. It's great that you don't need to make an Alt to go from a DD to a Healer, but the roles will still be there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR0-S9SQCW4&feature=youtu.be&t=3m30s
There's the auto-attack video of GW2 that I like posting whenever someone mentions that the combat style is the same. Watching the above video, I see the exact same thing as if I was watching a video of WoW or any other MMO auto-attack. That is not a combat system that I find offers any more skill than the combat system in WoW, and certainly doesn't offer the same or a more difficult combat than TERA. Especially if you can freely move while using skills are well. From what I've heard from others too, you still have a targeting system and can only attack targets you are meant to attack. So, like WoW and other MMOs, if your attack swings a sword and hits 5 targets, if the attack is only meant to hit 3, only 3 will take damage. TERA isn't like that and everything you hit, you damage, with the exception of huge mob numbers.

Personally, if you can freely move at all times, I fail to see how that is actually meant to be harder than something like WoW. With something like WoW, if you move, you (mostly) sacrifice damage, so there's a tradeoff. If GW2 is free movement, there are no tradeoffs and it would make it even easier. I don't usually PVP, but if it is free movement, I'd hate to fight a ranged class like that.

Can anyone that's PVPed in TERA imagine the Sorc being able to freely move while casting/charging all skills?

Well, this is something that can be a con for you because in TERA, each class (minus Warrior) has a set role. Lancer is Tank. Priest and Mystic are Heals. Archer, Slayer, Berserker and Sorcerer are Damage. Only the Warrior is a hybrid between Tank and Damage.

As for the combat, if you think free-movement is important for an "action" game, then you'll not enjoy TERA. A good number of attacks will move you as part of their animations and some of the charging/casting spells do let you move, but while the attack animation is happening, it locks you into place or locks you into whatever movement the animation does. Depending on your view of things, this can be good or it can be bad. You might think it's bad because you don't have free movement, but it more closely mimics action games and delivers a more in-depth and complex combat as well. When you use an ability, you have to conciously think about it before hand. It's not just "spam X ability". You have to know how long the animation lasts, how long it takes before you are locked into it, if you'll have time to use the ability without taking a hit, or being ready to dodge/block cancel out of the ability. So again, how you look at it depends what you'll think of it. It does offer more skill and complexity though, so if you like that then it's good, if you don't then it's bad.


Quote: SpyderArachnid on 04/12/2012, 10:44 PM - viewThis, I don't really agree with. A company has to have a way to make money, and MMOs (especially the upkeep and updating of them) costs a lot more money then people think. I can never really see a completely free from the get go MMO with no cash shop lasting a long time with many huge and good content upgrades. Then again, that's just me.

TERA has a subscription, so a con on that one. But, it does have an item that grants 1 month of game time that can be purchased for real money. That means that you could, in theory, use in game money to continue your subscription and pay nothing in real life. That, of course, varies on what the price for those items are and how much money you make, but it's still an option.



Quote: SpyderArachnid on 04/12/2012, 10:44 PM - viewIt does, and I hope my responses don't anger you and help a bit. :)

I can understand OP completely, however I have actually been hearing good things more than negative things about the game at this point. It's what led me to request beta and thankfully they gave me it. I can only hope it's not going to be more of the same. I've been a tester and mmo player for so long myself I couldn't even remember all the games I've played. I need something new and fresh and I'm hoping TERA is it.

Looking forward to playing...waiting for patching to finish. One thing I will say so far is patching is taking quite a while. I am rly stoked about being able to use my xbox360 controller tho. Can't wait lol.

Holy crapload of text above Oo no offense lol had to be said :D

You're basically right on the dynamic event system. Each time you play through it, the outcome will always be different depending on the stage the event has progressed to. Even the personal story branches off depending on the actions you take, making it different every time for each race. But with the dynamic events, it isn't just kill so many mobs.

For example, say a farm is overtaken by bandits. The bandits are kidnapping villagers, burning down houses, and attacking. You have multiple ways to contribute, not just kill things. You can choose that path of wiping them out before they cause more harm, OR you can also choose to put out fires by picking up buckets and filling them up and splashing them on the fires. Or you can chase down the bandits that are carrying off kidnapped villagers and save them. There is multiple things you can during a dynamic event so you can pick and choose how to contribute to the event.

As for the leveling curve, yes it takes the same time to go from say level 32-33, as it would from 65-66. All levels are equal and take the same amount of time, so you aren't spending more time the higher you get just to gain a level. Yes I understand that it may seem like leveling is too slow or fast, but with GW2, there is a system that will actually drop your level temporarily to the area you are in. So no matter what level you are, the content will always be challenging no matter where you are at cause it scales you to that content.

The combat system isn't as intricate as it is in Tera (there is no cursor on your screen to aim your attacks and such). And you can set a skill to be an auto attack. But normally, there is no auto attack. That video shows a player who has set their number one slot to auto attack, so they don't have to click it when in combat. It's more of a convenience item for those used to that sort of thing. Thus the reason why it is optional.

As for the holy trinity, it does not exist. No matter how hard you try, you can't fill the role of tank or healer. For one, there is no threat generation or taunting. You can't quite tank without being able to force the mobs to attack you. You can gear up and specialize all you want for tanking, but without the ability to hold aggro or force mobs upon you, tanking just doesn't work. Same with healing. There is no direct targetting of allies in GW2. You can't click on a friendly and heal them. All heals are AoE to heal a party and placement heals that you drop down in an area that players can run to and heal themselves. There is no direct healing, so you can't be a straight healer. Everyone has to work together to keep the party alive and alternate tactics to take down groups. Mobs are smart and won't just focus on one person (as there is no threat) and will actually attack your party as a whole, no matter what "role" you are playing.

The token system is one token per piece of gear. And dungeons have multiple paths in them. So say you run the dungeon the first time in story mode. You get a token. That's a pair of gloves right there. Then you unlock the dungeon in explorable mode. Now there is different paths you can take in the dungeon to change the outcome each time. I believe it was said there is up to 4-6 different ways you can beat a dungeon in GW2. Each time you clear the dungeon, you get a token plus whatever loot drops. You then exchange that token for any piece of gear. You don't need to collect like say 40 tokens just to get those new boots, you just need to get one token and the boots are yours. The game is more about enjoying the content, not farming/grinding over and over just so you can afford that one pair of boots. Then do it all again for the next piece.

As for the monthly subscription thing, no game needs a subscription to stay alive. Box sales alone will pay the server fees easily. MMO's are not what they were back in the old days. Server fees are cheap now a days to warrant no subscription fee. The money that games charge for subscription fees is just pure profit. If I could remember where that article about this subject was, I'd link it for you to show you how much a company actually spends on server fees, and you'll see that subscriptions are just extra money going in their pocket. It has nothing to do with maintenance or server upkeep. GW1 is actually one of those MMO's that has a B2P model (buy to play), with no subscription fee and is still alive today. Their cash shop consists of vanity items, nothing that gives an advantage and yet they are still going strong without a monthly fee. I see no reason why GW2 would be any different.

And I have no reason to be angered by your responses. We each all have our own opinions and tastes. We are all entitled to our own thoughts. :)


But I will be playing Tera in Open Beta still definitely. The combat system is something I look forward to the most, and though it does have the questing style that I dread, the combat system might make that experience much more enjoyable for me. I think I do dislike the fact that there is no story behind the questing though. I am a big lore/story buff. I love to learn about things. I'm one of those who will watch the cutscenes and read the quest text. I'll be rather disheartened if the quest are generic without no story or depth to them. I hate to do something just cause it will give me experience. I want a reason behind why I am killing 15 boars.

But don't get me wrong guys. I am looking forward to the Open Beta and giving this game a try for myself to see if I enjoy it. :)

@SpyderArachnid

You make some good points towards GW:2, though I will point out my personal views in short form,
The first being the Dynamic Content, nonetheless, put out the fire or kill the bandits, it still can be seen as a grind but instead of 'Kill x of x' it's 'click x of x', though I still like the sound of the Dynamic Content it still seems like it will be a grind.

Levelling...... a lot of the people I know will find that flat exp too easy, I personally don't mind but most people I know will.

I won't bother with combat although I found it..... meh, only a little better than your generic MMO.

The class/role system is a bit more in-depth but none the less you will have people that will focus more on healing and controlling rather than fighting and people going from target to target trying to take as much damage as possible, it's just how people are.

The token system is the same argument as levelling, it's even too easy for me, trust me when I say once you beat every dungeon gotten all the token gear and run each "path" a couple of times, it will get very boring same as all other MMO's end game, not much there, having to get 50 token for one piece of gear, whilst may be boring and frustrating, it forces people to grind it rather than essentially giving it to them. In that regard if they don;t make the gear at least 3 tokens a piece you will burn out on dungeons really quickly cause' there is no driving force to keep rinse and repeating the same content.

I REALLY don't agree with you on the last point of Sub's, it's not the simple, take WoW for example, first thing is upkeep is 2-4~ Million a month (really), then the wages of the employees, that's not JUST dev's, but CS, CM's, Dev's and everyone else, then Blizzard are also a company so they need to well and truly keep over head so they need to make a profit each month by several million, that money is not wasted either but put into upcoming patches, development of Expansions and new content, FTP games rely on micro transaction for that reason although there's is much smaller with the upkeep of only a few severs at most and smaller teams it still in the higher than our yearly wages, games that go with no sub's take a risk whilst not a big one a risk none the less.
(PS. Game dev's really don't make a great deal of money ;sources: personal experience)

Anyway try the beta and if you like it you like it and if you don't....... well you probably won;t like GW:2 much IMO.

Anyway Have a Great Time in Whatever MMO You Land in.

-Shadow

(PPS. Sorry for the bad spelling and any mistakes is 5am here in Aus)

Quote: SpyderArachnid on 04/12/2012, 05:58 AM - view

This.. believe me when I say you have to play TERA (and i dont meant to lvl 3) to understand why it's awesome. By level 25, i think you'll get the picture.