TERA: When will guild housing come? A small look into the future

TERA is no longer in a crisis but is releasing one update after another. With the Blade Dancer a new class was introduced, followed by a large dungeon pack and many events. And then came the largest expansion in the history of the action MMO: Fate of Arun.

But as nice as that sounds, those of us who are experts know: Something is missing. Where is the guild housing? The US producer finally provides answers.

The action MMO is experiencing its second spring. The servers are well populated, and it is probably also doing well financially. With Fate of Arun, the level cap has been raised by five levels, classes can finally access a broader skill repertoire, there are new zones to explore, and of course also dungeons, once again.

However, those who ventured a look into the far east discovered that there with the expansion, guild competitions were also introduced . Guilds that perform best in this “competition” are rewarded with impressive flying fortresses in the sky. These can also be customized and expanded if the members of a guild pull together, complete tasks, and provide materials.

In a producer letter on tera.enmasse.com, the American publisher En Masse now addresses the fans and explains the background of why the content of Fate of Arun had to be split.

This time it is not the translation’s fault

When publishers of Asian imports are questioned by players due to significantly delayed patches, the operators consistently justify themselves with the complicated processes of localization. As recently also Gameforge did with Aion.

It is all the more refreshing when the standard answer is merely mentioned in passing: “We often talk about translations, but translations are not everything for a patch like this to release it here (I wish it were so!)”, says US producer Treeshark.

For this update, it is much more about the adjustments to the western client and the server structure. In Korea, there are no different server types like in the west, but PvE and PvP mixed servers – that is just how it is there. In the west, however, you have to take into account the PvE servers, which make up a large part. With such an important feature that players have been wishing for since release, it is understandable that they do not want to force PvE players into PvP.

Unlike in Korea, where only 10 winners emerge from this competition, there will be a total of 20 winners here. It was decided to develop both a PvP and a PvE mode. Thus, the hunt for rank points is clearly delineated and does not represent a mix like in Asia. Guild members can accumulate points by, for example, completing instances together, winning guild wars, and participating in battlegrounds. By the way, the fight for guild fortresses lasts 28 days in Korea. This will probably be similar in the west.

Fate of Arun: Part 2 will likely be released in late February, brings even more

The expected release date is mentioned as late February, so it won’t be long before guilds either clash heads or slay monsters in a race. Interestingly, this update will include much more than the GvG competition for guild fortresses. Players can look forward to a new variant of the 3vs3 arena, the Sky Ring of Heroes. With an additional 5vs5 mode, one will be more flexible in the choice of group size in the future. Besides that, it also brings a new dynamic.

We know: The progress-oriented guilds are longing for a challenging endgame dungeon that has already been live in Korea for several months. The answer is likely to please hardcore players: The instance “Sky Cruiser Endeavor”, accessible in normal and hard mode, is also included in this update. According to the producer and the developer, this is a very tough challenge, with completely new mechanics for the bosses. By the way, these also drop equipment that will replace the best one so far. Speaking of equipment: It will also be possible to enchant your gear from +12 to +15.

What else does the future hold in 2015?

You won’t take a long break, as the next patch will already come in March. Although the name of a new dungeon, the “Tower Arena”, is mentioned, further details are kept under wraps. Research with TERA Korea expert Espei has revealed that this instance is a classic tower game, where you rise level by level and face increasingly tough challenges. It goes up to tower level 20. The last levels are likely only achievable by the best players.

Regarding the new Gunner class, which has been available to Koreans for a few weeks now, no word was said in the letter. Our assessment: The class will likely arrive no earlier than late April. Further announcements should be coming soon. Perhaps we will know more then.

And what does Gameforge say about the future?  The European community has certainly noticed that the American publisher has made several announcements for the future. Are we following the same schedule? Community manager anemsalok  shared in a forum thread on the official site:

As already mentioned, we generally do not publish news or release dates until we are truly 200% sure that they are accurate. It is important for us that you can always rely on the statements we make here in the forum. Unfortunately, this also means that we sometimes have to wait until the last minute.

Nevertheless: Based on experience, if you take the last patch releases into account, it can be expected that the updates will come out approximately simultaneously. What En Masse says is equally relevant for players of the European client.

To conclude, a small outlook on guild housing:

UPDATE: The US version will receive the update with the guild houses on February 24.