In an interview, the developers of TERA elaborated on some changes planned for the major expansion. While in Korea they speak of a “Summer Update,” German players can probably expect it no sooner than the end of the year.
Improved Leveling Experience and Guild Housing Demands Ambition
We already addressed the new level cap and new zones last time. “TERA Next”, as the new expansion will likely be called, is also set to enhance the overall leveling experience. An expansion of such magnitude not only means new content but also allows developers to rethink and optimize existing systems. This time, they made an effort to present the quests better. The background story is expected to play a comparatively larger role.
Moreover, extensive adjustments will be made to the dungeons. Over the years, many dungeons have accumulated at level 60, which had to be re-examined due to the level increase. Therefore, the developers have decided to completely remove some instances from the game, especially those that have nothing to do with the story. The remaining group content will be tailored to level 65, so that the difficulty and rewards align with the new maximum level.
A known weakness of TERA is that there is little variety in leveling. The new accompanying “Daily Playthrough System” aims to counteract this. Players will receive additional objectives that reward them with lucrative treasures upon completion.
The guild housing that will come with the update will, in addition, show that it has little to do with quiet house building, but rather puts the competition of guilds in the foreground. There will be a leaderboard: the 10 guilds that perform best in the monthly Guild Competition will be rewarded with access to a flying fortress, which will appear all the more impressive the higher the guild can place itself.
And for the quality of the guild housing, it will require not a special talent for furnishing later on, but an active guild that goes out to gather materials and haul them into their home four walls.
New Instances in TERA Next
Two new instances are planned on the way to the new maximum level 65. One for level 61 and one for level 64. According to the developers, the two dungeons are not too difficult, and a coordinated and balanced group should have no problems with them. Similar to Sirjuka Gallery or the Temple of Recklessness, you will collect value coins here that can be exchanged for glyphs. The appeal for heroes will particularly lie in the ability to stock up on completely new Master Glyphs alongside old ones.
At level 65, two new instances will be ready. A 3-player instance, similar to “The Channels,” will not require a tank or healer, but the difficulty will resemble that of a 5-player instance, the developers warn. The 65-instance for 5 players will take about 20 minutes and will match the difficulty of the “Edge of the Abyss.”
In the dungeons, players will also face new boss mechanics, as a cunning boss will repeatedly pull and push players. It is important for the heroes to develop proper timing to still deal damage to the boss. Meanwhile, it is clear what is meant by the “competitive” dungeon we mentioned in the last post. Players will fight bosses on two adjacent platforms and can even observe each other during the fight. The one who kills the bosses the fastest wins. It definitely sounds like an exciting affair: Do you focus like in a 100-meter run on your own performance or motivate yourself by the weakness of your opponent, as in a mountain finish of the Tour de France?
Additionally, another dungeon for the end level will soon be introduced. Perhaps this one will attract progress gamers? Since it will still take a while before the race for the EU first kill begins, check out a teaser video in the meantime. It appeared out of nowhere, like two Popori in a bar.
Mein MMO says: Still in July, the “Wounded World” Update will be released with 5 new dungeons. In a few months, the largest expansion in the history of TERA. Moreover, market analysts recently announced that the Asian MMORPG was among the top 3 of the highest-grossing MMOs in 2013. Apparently, the game is doing well after some issues in the past. It launched spectacularly as a pay-to-play title but couldn’t retain players long enough, switching to a free-to-play model.
In any case, it now pays off that the development team systematically eliminated the weaknesses in game design. By now, there is much more variety in end content and, for example, the old enchantment system that caused a lot of frustration at the beginning is no longer in this form. And work is still ongoing. However, the fact that new zones, levels, skills, and guild housing are coming makes fans optimistic. Honestly: Many thought that after the switch to the free-to-play model, it would only go downhill.
A major criticism was also the leveling experience in TERA. The developers have also announced that there are several improvements in this area. It is still unclear to what extent this will enhance the player experience, but if they do it well, nothing stands in the way of a second spring. However, they still need to work on the too large content gap to Korea, especially TERA Europe. Otherwise, the “comeback” leaves a bittersweet taste.
For more information about the expansion, you can refer to the sources where, among other things, the revised enchantment system or the new battleground will also be discussed.
