TERA celebrates its release on PS4 and Xbox One. After the first playthrough, it quickly becomes clear why the action-MMO has always been made for consoles. However, not everything is perfect, says our author and former TERA veteran Dawid …
On April 3rd, the MMORPG TERA from PUBG creators, Bluehole, officially launched as a free-to-play title on console. We already had a chance to extensively check out the newest MMO title on PS4 during early access. Is the console version of TERA worth it?
Combat system is top …
The focus of TERA is clearly on the combat system, the absolute heart of the game. This has changed little over the past years.
I dodge red areas, position myself as a Destroyer behind the boss in an optimal position with the crosshair, and trigger a skill opener. As a “Slayer” belonging to the race of Castanics, everything is geared toward dealing massive damage from behind. After that, everything runs with an intuitive, direct chaining system. This system sometimes brings me to such ecstasy that every crit makes me internally twitch. The mechanics of the bosses are perfectly synchronized with the possibilities of the active action combat system and harmonize splendidly.
Check here in our TERA guide for all classes and races with their pros and cons
The hit feedback is especially satisfying with strong skills and critical hits. But beware, triggering one skill too many in a frenzy or taking aggro away from the tank can quickly result in your character lying in the dirt. As a former PC veteran, I can already say: It gets far more intense in hard modes in the endgame, unless the difficulty has been significantly reduced for consoles. TERA has clearly spoiled my enjoyment of conventional semi-round-based “tab-targeting combat systems”, as we know them from World of Warcraft and the like.
A successful port
Bluehole has done a great job on the console port in terms of combat. The combat controls, elaborate skill animations, and combos are just super smooth and work intelligently together. No current console MMORPG manages that as well.
The console menus and the UI are minimalistic, user-friendly, and divided into areas that can be quickly accessed. Once you understand the interface and item management, everything seems logical and much of TERA is now automated. For example, enchanting equipment, crafting consumables, or enhancing abilities with glyphs. This almost resembles a mobile MMO like Lineage 2 Revolution. Everything was significantly clunkier at the PC release.
By the way, controller support has been available on PC since 2012. And you can feel the substantial difference. In the console version, the entire game has been tailored to controller control, and even the enemies were adjusted. On PC, the controller was only viable for casual grinding, but nothing could compare to mouse and keyboard.
The fun of console controls has even ignited a new fire in me that drives me. Recently, I attempted to restart on PC, which I quickly ended. On PS4, I have progressed much further and am still playing. Lying on the couch with the PS4 controller and smashing bosses on a large TV. That fits perfectly with the action-oriented combat system of TERA.
… The rest is MMORPG-standard fare from 2010
While the combat system may be beautiful, TERA stands or falls with it. The combat continually provides motivation boosts, especially when new skills or weapons are introduced. But as soon as that wears off, players are met with a monotonous symphony of run-of-the-mill quests such as “Repair the teddy, bring us 5 needles” or “Kill 7 bandits and bring back the goods.” Modern quests are scarce in the leveling phase, and the story is difficult to grasp.
It is, after all, an Asia-MMO that has been around for a few years. Since its release, Bluehole has delivered more of the same over the years, increased comfort, removed non-functional content, and focused even more on endgame. New dungeons, raids, classes, and so forth. What players appreciated about TERA has been expanded on a large scale. Yet the weaknesses remain. Unfortunately, popular new classes like the Moonlight Dancer and Ninja are still missing in the console version.
Sadly, TERA from 2018 is also characterized by being significantly simplified, which is equally true for the PC version. A symbol of this are the BAMS, the so-called Big-Ass Monsters, which used to only be tackled in groups. Nowadays, they can be easily taken down in a few hits. Alone. The adrenaline level stays lower compared to earlier.
A very long tutorial
There was a fitting anecdote in the EnMasse forum regarding the leveling phase description: Up to level 64, it’s a tutorial; then with level 65, the real game begins. Leveling up to 65 is primarily meant to learn how to handle the new skills. You can also see that Bluehole has done a lot to ensure that this “unpleasant appendage” speeds along. The kill-and-collect quests have been significantly reduced, and you primarily just need to follow the red main quests.
This has been known, and although TERA has introduced a comfortable quest reward system, where tasks are displayed that you can easily transport to and for which you receive daily and weekly rewards afterward, it remains the case: The fights, bosses, and dungeons or raids are super. As a whole package, however, it offers significantly less than a WoW, ESO, or Final Fantasy XIV.
This can already be said based on experiences from the PC version: The endgame mainly consists of grinding for increasingly better gear, which can be quite appealing due to the progression options. You gather reputation from quest events and often revisit the same dungeons, PvP battlegrounds, and raids.
And now the catch with the PS4: Graphical and performance issues
It’s a common thread running through almost all PC MMORPG ports. FPS drops, reduced graphical details, and low draw distances spoil the gaming experience. TERA is no exception, and despite some last-minute optimizations, it raises the bar even higher. The game was released in Korea in early 2011.
Compared to the PC counterpart, you have to live with significantly poorer optics on PS4 or Xbox One. The console hardware quickly reaches its limits with MMORPGs and with the already performance-heavy TERA. The PS4 simply isn’t powerful enough to cope with the sometimes poor optimization, especially since the PC version already puts strong rigs to the test. It’s likely that Bluehole has given up on fully addressing these issues. I can’t explain why the game suddenly went into headstart after the last open beta. There is no information about a PS4 Pro version.
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- Ein Screenshot aus der PS4 zeigt…
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- …dass die PC-Version deutlich detailreicher ist. Die PS4-Version zeigt einige Details sogar gar nicht an.
You have to live with these 3 problems:
Problem 1: Pop-ups occur more frequently. Many objects are faded out, loaded later, or appear suddenly when you stand in front of them.
Problem 2: Normally known for its attractive graphics, that can hardly be claimed on console. The details, even in cinematics, have been turned down so much compared to the PC version that, exaggeratedly speaking, previously beautiful beings resemble a Minecraft army of Emperor Palpatine.
Problem 3: The most annoying are the frame drops. During quests, there are occasional micro-stutters that hardly negatively impact gameplay. However, when larger groups occur, it leads to detriments to the gaming experience.
Big stone colossuses put PS4 hardware to the test
In the first battleground for 20 players, the pointless Kumaskrippe, where you play as big stone giants that have nothing in common with your character, and the goal is to defeat an even bigger stone giant from the enemy team, skill delays or skipped frames occur frequently. This is particularly frustrating in PvP.
Later on, there will even be raids and further battlegrounds with even more players. It’s hard to imagine that it will operate much better if graphics details and draw distance are further reduced.
For those for whom gameplay is paramount, this can be overlooked
In summary, this doesn’t weigh heavily overall, as the focus is on the gameplay, which is convincing. The areas offer at least varied backdrops, feel quite lively, and sometimes look quite nice from afar. Players just shouldn’t expect a visual feast here.
Conclusion on the PS4 version of TERA
With TERA, console players receive a solid theme park MMORPG that stands out mainly due to its dynamic action combat system and is therefore perfectly suited for PS4 and Xbox One. Those who can live with mediocre graphics in Asian style and occasional performance issues have many hours of enjoyment ahead of them—as long as combat is the priority and quests or side activities take a backseat.
Especially fans of dungeon and raid runs, who also like to constantly improve their gear and characters, could find a new home here. TERA unfolds its full potential in groups, and the varied and challenging boss mechanics are convincing. If you’re looking for a full-fledged MMO experience akin to Dark Souls, Devil May Cry, or Monster Hunter World, you might find it here.
A large selection of free-to-play MMORPGs on consoles is not available anyway, and TERA is a welcome change. Against Skyforge, Neverwinter, Star Trek Online, Trove, and DC Universe Online, TERA has no reason to hide, but rather, it is likely the best free MMORPG on PS4 and Xbox One.
The shop and the free-to-play model have made a fair impression so far. For frequent players, the elite status can be recommended, a monthly subscription that offers some comfort advantages.
Will an MMORPG on console reach PC-level soon? The Xbox One X could already enable more. Black Desert Online offers hope, as it will run on the most powerful console in the world and, according to initial information from the publisher, utilizes all its power. Screenshots and videos of the console version of Black Desert impress here with higher detail and smoother representations. Whether the fully accessible release version can also deliver remains to be seen.
