TERA (January 25, 2011 – June 30, 2022)
Genre: MMORPG | Developer: Krafton/Bluehole | Platforms: PC (shut down), PS4, PS5, Xbox | Payment model: Free2Play
What kind of game was it? In TERA, you created a hero with whom you could complete many quests and defeat enemies. You could choose from 13 different classes.
Highlights of the game included the diverse dungeons and the action combat system. In 2012, when the game was released in the West, the action-packed battles were an absolute highlight, and even up until its shutdown, they aged well. Especially the active dodging and staying in motion was just fun.
Moreover, there were regular updates, even if they didn’t always receive a good reception. A MOBA mode for PvP was shut down just three months after its release.
What did it fail at? TERA didn’t perform catastrophically in the West towards the end. Although no specific player numbers exist, the Steam version, which was released only in 2017, maintained a consistent level of 800 to 1,400 concurrent players per day at peak.
The last major update occurred in February 2022, releasing 3 new dungeons, redesigning some older dungeons, and starting a new season with a Season Pass.
However, the Korean developer Bluehole decided to stop producing new content. Therefore, the Western publisher Gameforge was forced to shut down TERA for PC, as they only brought content from Korea to us.
However, TERA did not escape criticism either. Particularly, the monetization and inconsistency in the world were criticized. For instance, there are the most absurd costumes and mounts, including flying carpets and police cars.
What are the best memories? Especially the first hours in TERA were a lot of fun at release. The combat system was fresh and dynamic, laying the foundation for several other action MMORPGs. Players never felt like they were playing a clone of another game.
TERA also accompanied many players for years. For those looking for more beautiful memories, here’s a small collection:
Are there alternatives or successors? MMORPGs with action combat systems are now significantly more common. The biggest highlights are Black Desert, PSO2 New Genesis, and Vindictus. Lost Ark also offers action combat, albeit in isometric perspective.
You can learn more about the best action MMORPGs here:
