If you’ve been involved with an MMORPG for a long time, you sometimes feel like you’re in a somewhat uneventful relationship. There are good times, there are bad times, and there are times when you’re waiting for the next big content patch.
Well, there’s perhaps no equivalent for that in a marriage, but both in MMORPGs and marriage, there is the option to look for something new.
In marriage, that could cost you your house and home, but in the world of online role-playing games, surprisingly, it costs nothing at all. The sexy fantasy game Tera Rising, for example, invites WOW married players to a hot flirt. We’ll take a look at this and provide visitors from Azeroth with some first hints on how to make the romance work.
So beautifully new
Alright, we start our article with a lie. Tera isn’t that sparkling new, of course. It was released in Asia in 2011, in Europe in 2012, and last year it became free-to-play and uses the so-called freemium model (everything is initially available for free; if you’re willing to pay a monthly fee, you get some advantages).
But those few years that this hotshot has been out have done the game quite a bit of good. Most MMORPGs that start with a lot of hype to become the next WOW killer fail under these expectations: No endgame, no long-term motivation, the player base dwindles, and the game’s quickly back to being history.
Therefore, there’s no need to worry about Tera. Although the game isn’t brand new anymore, what’s much more important is: It plays new.
It still has that new car smell. That’s due to the combat system, the game’s greatest strength, but let’s take it step by step.
The installation and character creation
When it comes to installation, WOW exiles have to get used to the harsh reality of everyday life again. The entire client has to be installed first before you can start playing. There are no newfangled gimmicks here, where you go hunting with a partially downloaded game and pick up the rest on the go – that’s not how this client works.
The first pleasant surprise may await some players during character creation (especially male players): In the race selection, there are several races where the female figures would have to suffer from significant back pain – if everything were realistic.
So… let’s say: The average elf in Tera could certainly make a living as a go-go dancer in Las Vegas. The male counterparts are often muscle packs that look like they could lift a small dragon—before breakfast, no less.
You can tell that Tera is an Asian game and maintains a corresponding aesthetic. There are several races that may seem quite strange to us Europeans. Half-demons, stone giants, and other stuff. While WOW players probably feel right at home with the Poporis, a “nature-loving” race is simply talking panda bears. With the Elin, a kind of schoolgirl fantasy come to life, some might wonder: Is this really within the bounds of good taste?
The holy trinity: Tank, Healer, DPS
When it comes to classes, Tera doesn’t reinvent the wheel. The main tank is the lancer, a guy with a huge shield and a – who would have guessed? – lance. The warrior can also tank, relying less on a shield and more on a series of dodges, and therefore must hear a lot if he doesn’t manage to do everything right in the dungeon: cloth tank will be the least of it – but what would MMORPGs be without the tank being flamed?
The priest is mainly responsible for healing, with the mystic stepping in as a secondary healer, which is also the only pet class in the game. Of course, there are mages and archers, and then there are melee classes such as the relatively agile Slayer (a guy with a massive two-handed sword) and the heavily armored Berserker, who strangely also prefers two-handed weapons, with which he can block, unlike the Slayer.
So: two ranged DPS, two melee DPS, tank, healer, off-healer, and off-tank – that’s how the class lineup of Tera looks in hard technical jargon.
This becomes important when it comes to dungeons (which can also be organized through an in-game tool, by the way). The group consists of a tank, a healer, and three DPS. Thus, the holy trinity is intact in Tera.
At first glance, few differences
The nice thing about Tera is that it offers a smooth transition for WOW players. Quest givers have an exclamation point over their heads, monsters drop loot, items are equipped, it goes from quest hub to quest hub, and the character gets stronger over time.
Some tips to ease your start:
- The quest tracker is clickable and opens a small window. The actual mobs or NPCs you’re looking for are highlighted in color. If you click them again, they are shown on the mini-map.
- Most of the stuff you find and that doesn’t seem useful at first is crafting material – just collect it and when you’re in town, deposit it in the bank, as inventory space is scarce in the game, like it used to be in Diablo.
- It’s best to log out in cities, then you’ll earn bonus EXP, you can return to cities using a “Back to town” scroll, which you’ll loot regularly later; in these cities you can also skill up and repurchase consumable items.
- Unlike WOW, Tera is significantly harder, so it’s advisable to regularly repurchase bandages, buff runes, and similar items in towns.
The special: The BAMS
Now it all may not sound very exciting at first, but Tera’s great strengths lie in its action-oriented combat system, which feels more like a shooter. While games like WOW are based on targeting an enemy via Tab and then pressing a few hotkeys while the avatar on the screen takes care of the rest, it looks quite different in Tera.
Your character has to work hard, throwing itself left and right like Mario used to (or… more primitively, rather like Lara Croft) to dodge huge monster paws. In the two seconds that the beast spends pulling its claws from the ground, you’d better land a few hits on the monster and then dodge away from the lightning bolts that will fry the cute little bunny that was just standing behind you.
While in WOW most long-term players only get their heart rate up during hardcore raids because the raid leader is having a tantrum, in Tera, even the first elite mobs cause sweaty palms. By the way, in Tera, they are called BAMS: Big Ass Monsters, and they deserve that name entirely.
It does have a bit of Shadow of the Colossus feel to it when you bring down such a behemoth. That’s also because the first characters in Tera aren’t well-equipped elite twinks whose main character gives them heirlooms, but poor folks who struggle from quest reward to quest reward.
Today is a good day to die… or to start with Tera
The masterminds at Tera have also realized that the game may be a bit too hard for us spoiled WOW veterans, and have recently introduced a kind of elite weapon that players have to earn themselves (all available in-game and without needing to pay for it), From level 10, enemies drop strange relics that can be combined into an “epic” weapon (which is not purple, but yellow). This weapon can in turn be upgraded with various drops. As a result, the normal Tera character has more firepower than in previous months, and the game has become significantly more accessible. Ideal for a hot flirt.
Our tip: Especially during a quieter phase in WOW, there may be some guildies looking for something new. Hunting together is easier, and the Big Ass Monsters may not be as terrifying. Tera Rising is definitely suitable for a quick affair. And maybe it will turn into something more! Play TERA now for free.
