Ok I will begin again with stressing that this is NOT a troll.

Background: I was excited for SWTOR, let down and decided against before their beta from vids I had seen. I then found out about Tera and was really excited.. My first REAL MMO(Runescape just doesnt count!) was Lineage 2 and I am/was excied by the graphic as many are/were but some of the bits and pieces like the PVP and political stystem put me off. Then when it started to fail in Korea and Japan I really started to look more into it and decided against it. THEN I found GW2 and am still a fan of it.

The here and now: I got the invite to the weekend beta and was glad for something to do. I actually thought I would get bored in an hour or two especially when I realized the char creation was VERY toned down from what I had seen(I think this is a beta thing though). I was wrong... I found myself enjoying the combat.. enjoying a class(Mystic) that is not my norm and I played to 19, I would have played more but sinus headache and thought of buying it stopped me.. I dont like to play much beta when I plan on buying a game. 

The details: 

          Good: The music, world, armor are STUNNING... breathtaking even.. The combat stystem is not brand new but new enough to be pleasant.. the chaining of abilities I think is the absolute best thing of the combat. Example from mystic.. I get knocked on my ass... popup telling me to use spacebar to activate retaliate which gets me up and damages foes nearby.. popup tells me hit spacebar to cast corruption ring which is a channel aoe that steals HP and stores it.. when you stop channeling it popup tells you hit spacebar to cast infusion ring which returns mana to any ally in the ring depending on how much damage you did with corruption ring. It might be slightly simplistic but damn its fun to chain stuff.. I got knocked down on purpose many times to do this particular chain.

          So So: The outer edges of vision have a blurry effect that I couldnt make go away... I guess it looked bright.. best I can explain it. The combat is a lot of spamming one key but depending on how well you play this isnt always true and certainly not in PVP it wouldnt be. Many mobs are repeated in look from zone to zone but always nice to look at. Lots of group mobs.. I dunno of this is 100% wise as some classes were having issues. Gathering and crafting are alright, nothing new but a lil weird on explaining them. Gathering has one oddity, the nodes never changed from 1-20(dunno about beyond that) and I was lvl 35ish mining yet I could still fail a gather.

           Bad or needs improvement: Vendors and trainers are usually one to a zone and even with the mounts you get at I think it was lvl 11 this is annoying.. the mount also will not auto dismount you and its a pain. You cannot click on anything unless you hit escape or alt to bring up the cursor. This is bad because there is not enough room on your main bar for very situational abilities and if you place it on a side bar you have to stop, hit one of those keys, click it and continue.. that is VERY clunky. Example: too many abilities, mount is on side bar.. riding and I come across a mob or a gathering node.. have to hit alt, click to dismount and the same to remount when I am done. Elins being sexualized(old complaint and a difficult one to fix) instead of treating them as the 8 year olds they look like the NOCs talk in a VERY mature or even older voice(I told my husband they sounded like 50 yr olds) and what they say just isn't right for their appearance. I dont care if lore says they are 120.. they LOOK like 8 year olds and shouldn't be made to seem like full fledged adults. I think they should just sound and act like children which would clear up the confusion. Their armor is great now BTW.

ok! TLDR: I had ups and downs about the game. I am a GW2 fan. I didnt think I would like Tera but I did. I may still buy it.

Originally posted by ariboersma

<>

           Bad or needs improvement: Vendors and trainers are usually one to a zone and even with the mounts you get at I think it was lvl 11 this is annoying.. <>

I saw many vendors that were on "vacation" etc. If you talked to them they would mention how the zone's vanarch (?) could have them back to work.

I don't know how many more features are tied to the political system in this manner.

Thanks for the honest review. I've been in the past few betas as well, and share a similar feeling. I really do enjoy the combat and while I never really cared about the whole Elin thing - I know it tends to bug a lot of people. I guess i've just been watching animes for too long, and I am used to the asian culture. The game really is a breath of fresh air from 90% of the mmo's ive tested and played. There will always be negative people trying to lure others away from games, but this one is worth a shot. NO it is not the holy grail of video games and it's not going to revolutionize your entire thought process of what an MMO should be. But it's a good game, and it is fun. 

Originally posted by NBlitz

Originally posted by ariboersma

<>

           Bad or needs improvement: Vendors and trainers are usually one to a zone and even with the mounts you get at I think it was lvl 11 this is annoying.. <>

I saw many vendors that were on "vacation" etc. If you talked to them they would mention how the zone's vanarch (?) could have them back to work.

I don't know how many more features are tied to the political system in this manner.

I think I only saw one on vacation and it was next to real vendors, but yea there were a couple that had the <Merchant> tag and offered nothing but a quest. Either way I think it shouldn''t be so.. let the taxes just get taken out of all vendors and not have to open new ones up if that is the case.

Originally posted by NBlitz

Originally posted by ariboersma

<>

           Bad or needs improvement: Vendors and trainers are usually one to a zone and even with the mounts you get at I think it was lvl 11 this is annoying.. <>

I saw many vendors that were on "vacation" etc. If you talked to them they would mention how the zone's vanarch (?) could have them back to work.

I don't know how many more features are tied to the political system in this manner.

Is that what they are going to do? Thats a great idea

if you put the mount on your action bar all you need to do is hot key it for mount and dismount.

Originally posted by afropuff420

Thanks for the honest review. I've been in the past few betas as well, and share a similar feeling. I really do enjoy the combat and while I never really cared about the whole Elin thing - I know it tends to bug a lot of people. I guess i've just been watching animes for too long, and I am used to the asian culture. The game really is a breath of fresh air from 90% of the mmo's ive tested and played. There will always be negative people trying to lure others away from games, but this one is worth a shot. NO it is not the holy grail of video games and it's not going to revolutionize your entire thought process of what an MMO should be. But it's a good game, and it is fun. 

this I really disagree with that, im a huge anime fan and chibi style anime chars sound childish and are usually viewed as children. This goes beyond that, this is like having an 8 yr old put on a swimsuit and being put in a modeling contest up against adults.. it is just disappointing that they insist of sexualling them. I know that the culture does not condone child porn/molestation which is what the game implies. BUT! at least the thongs are gone :) Also there is a guild on the server I played called Elin Cream Pie.. that just shouldn't be allowed.

Originally posted by brody71

if you put the mount on your action bar all you need to do is hot key it for mount and dismount.

as I said I had too many abilities that were more important, I had no space for it without screwing myself in combat.

Originally posted by ariboersma

....

this I really disagree with that, im a huge anime fan and chibi style anime chars sound childish and are usually viewed as children. This goes beyond that, this is like having an 8 yr old put on a swimsuit and being put in a modeling contest up against adults.. it is just disappointing that they insist of sexualling them. I know that the culture does not condone child porn/molestation which is what the game implies. BUT! at least the thongs are gone :) Also there is a guild on the server I played called Elin Cream Pie.. that just shouldn't be allowed.

There were some metrics posted regarding races used by people in Tera. The majority of Japan players were playing Elin and Popori, while western players chose Humans, Elves and Castanic. An international game tries to cater to all possible customers. It has little to do with what you perceive as taboo. Or are you going to argue that Japanese are pedos?

Originally posted by ariboersma

Originally posted by brody71

if you put the mount on your action bar all you need to do is hot key it for mount and dismount.

as I said I had too many abilities that were more important, I had no space for it without screwing myself in combat.

I set the mount in button C.

You can also assign any extra keybinding to any of the two extended quickbars from the options.

Also about the blurry stuff ... you have an AMD card right? There is some adjustment needed for it I think. nvidia works fine.

Nice unbiased review.I have played Tera betas but am very reluctant to go further than starter island..i too have a mystic and they are a blast..still kind of learning about it(the chains i mean).Also i like the gathering of materials..i think they give all sorts of buffs which encourages you to lets say mine or gather herbs etc.which is good for giving you that extra thing to do.

I for one thoroughly enjoy playing Tera and have pre-ordered(paid for).

Originally posted by Xasapis

Originally posted by ariboersma

....

this I really disagree with that, im a huge anime fan and chibi style anime chars sound childish and are usually viewed as children. This goes beyond that, this is like having an 8 yr old put on a swimsuit and being put in a modeling contest up against adults.. it is just disappointing that they insist of sexualling them. I know that the culture does not condone child porn/molestation which is what the game implies. BUT! at least the thongs are gone :) Also there is a guild on the server I played called Elin Cream Pie.. that just shouldn't be allowed.

There were some metrics posted regarding races used by people in Tera. The majority of Japan players were playing Elin and Popori, while western players chose Humans, Elves and Castanic. An international game tries to cater to all possible customers. It has little to do with what you perceive as taboo. Or are you going to argue that Japanese are pedos?

actually I was saying the opposite. That they AREN'T pedos.. I wish I knew what they sounded like in the Korea/Jap versions.. I bet they don't sound like grown adults or old ladies. I think they would be just as popular there is short pants vrs a thong. Now my opinion of the artist that made the outfits for them... yes i think that person is a pedo =P

Originally posted by kevjards

Nice unbiased review.I have played Tera betas but am very reluctant to go further than starter island..i too have a mystic and they are a blast..still kind of learning about it(the chains i mean).Also i like the gathering of materials..i think they give all sorts of buffs which encourages you to lets say mine or gather herbs etc.which is good for giving you that extra thing to do.

I for one thoroughly enjoy playing Tera and have pre-ordered(paid for).

oo I forgot about the buffs, yea they help a lot.

Originally posted by ariboersma

Originally posted by Xasapis

Originally posted by ariboersma

....

this I really disagree with that, im a huge anime fan and chibi style anime chars sound childish and are usually viewed as children. This goes beyond that, this is like having an 8 yr old put on a swimsuit and being put in a modeling contest up against adults.. it is just disappointing that they insist of sexualling them. I know that the culture does not condone child porn/molestation which is what the game implies. BUT! at least the thongs are gone :) Also there is a guild on the server I played called Elin Cream Pie.. that just shouldn't be allowed.

There were some metrics posted regarding races used by people in Tera. The majority of Japan players were playing Elin and Popori, while western players chose Humans, Elves and Castanic. An international game tries to cater to all possible customers. It has little to do with what you perceive as taboo. Or are you going to argue that Japanese are pedos?

actually I was saying the opposite. That they AREN'T pedos.. I wish I knew what they sounded like in the Korea/Jap versions.. I bet they don't sound like grown adults or old ladies. I think they would be just as popular there is short pants vrs a thong. Now my opinion of the artist that made the outfits for them... yes i think that person is a pedo =P

And what would you call the children beauty pageants? Easterners got some ... interesting ways of picturing their faerie races (not only really, anyone remember the orcs in L2?) and these have nothing to do with reality. Unlike more serious and more disturbing stuff. And more importantly, real.

Also something irrelevant ... don't quit your beta before trying healing a dungeon ;)

But before you do that, return to capital and slot glyphs. For healing I would suggest at least the +1 healing target one.

I played a Elin Mystic aswell in a previous beta event, for the lolz.

But as for what I thought of the game, it just cemented the fact that after learning about how GW2 will handle questing, I simply cannot enjoy this style of MMORPG questing anymore. Just the little annoyances like mob tagging & constantly going from quest giver to quest giver, pick up, do this, run back... it really built up. It also didn't help that the noobie zone was simpy awful and I was glad to get off it. Shame that the combat of TERA didn't save it for me and I only got to level 14, so I never got a chance to heal with my Mystic. It seems like the kind of game where you have to trudge through the crap before you get to the fun stuff, like BAMs and tough dungeons (hope they are difficult). I'll probably wait until later this year, when the box is super cheap, but after the beta I can't justify paying full price for the game, when it also charges a monthly sub.

Originally posted by Xasapis

Originally posted by ariboersma

actually I was saying the opposite. That they AREN'T pedos.. I wish I knew what they sounded like in the Korea/Jap versions.. I bet they don't sound like grown adults or old ladies. I think they would be just as popular there is short pants vrs a thong. Now my opinion of the artist that made the outfits for them... yes i think that person is a pedo =P

And what would you call the children beauty pageants? Easterners got some ... interesting ways of picturing their faerie races (not only really, anyone remember the orcs in L2?) and these have nothing to do with reality. Unlike more serious and more disturbing stuff. And more importantly, real.

 

Also something irrelevant ... don't quit your beta before trying healing a dungeon ;)

But before you do that, return to capital and slot glyphs. For healing I would suggest at least the +1 healing target one.

children beauty pageants are bad I will agree completely. Do you mean orc playable race(female orcs were HOT!) or the orc mobs which are sorta funny.. same orc"an"s as in Tera and can you clarify that statement, not uderstanding your meaning. I wanted to heal the dungeon but I just cant play enough with this headache to get to that lvl and then do it and not let others die.

Originally posted by Master10K

<>But as for what I thought of the game, it just cemented the fact that after learning about how GW2 will handle questing, I simply cannot enjoy this style of MMORPG questing anymore. Just the little annoyances like mob tagging & constantly going from quest giver to quest giver, pick up, do this, run back... it really built up. <>

I understand what you're saying. I wish I could marry GW2 and TERA.

Thing is, I'll play both for different reasons. No game will ever have everything I want so I have to take in the bad with the good.

Does the good outweigh the bad? If so, I continue playing until I get fed up of a game. 

Originally posted by NBlitz

Originally posted by Master10K

<>But as for what I thought of the game, it just cemented the fact that after learning about how GW2 will handle questing, I simply cannot enjoy this style of MMORPG questing anymore. Just the little annoyances like mob tagging & constantly going from quest giver to quest giver, pick up, do this, run back... it really built up. <>

I understand what you're saying. I wish I could marry GW2 and TERA.

Thing is, I'll play both for different reasons. No game will ever have everything I want so I have to take in the bad with the good.

Does the good outweigh the bad? If so, I continue playing until I get fed up of a game. 

whats so nice about this is only 1 monthly fee between them =P and GW is basically made for people that enjoy more than 1 game at a time.

Originally posted by ariboersma

Originally posted by NBlitz

Originally posted by Master10K

<>But as for what I thought of the game, it just cemented the fact that after learning about how GW2 will handle questing, I simply cannot enjoy this style of MMORPG questing anymore. Just the little annoyances like mob tagging & constantly going from quest giver to quest giver, pick up, do this, run back... it really built up. <>

I understand what you're saying. I wish I could marry GW2 and TERA.

Thing is, I'll play both for different reasons. No game will ever have everything I want so I have to take in the bad with the good.

Does the good outweigh the bad? If so, I continue playing until I get fed up of a game. 

whats so nice about this is only 1 monthly fee between them =P and GW is basically made for people that enjoy more than 1 game at a time.

I know but I hate monthly subs in general. Makes it feel like I have to make a commitment with a game and then wind up cheating on her with a F2P title.

I wish TERA was B2P like GW2. Could care less if they stuck XP boosters, those stupid egg drops and Elin Thongs in their cash shop.

Originally posted by ariboersma

           Bad or needs improvement: Vendors and trainers are usually one to a zone and even with the mounts you get at I think it was lvl 11 this is annoying.. the mount also will not auto dismount you and its a pain. You cannot click on anything unless you hit escape or alt to bring up the cursor. This is bad because there is not enough room on your main bar for very situational abilities and if you place it on a side bar you have to stop, hit one of those keys, click it and continue.. that is VERY clunky. Example: too many abilities, mount is on side bar.. riding and I come across a mob or a gathering node.. have to hit alt, click to dismount and the same to remount when I am done.

Vanarchs can turn these shops on and off so yes in Beta there is a huge lack of shops but once game comes out and we have Vanarchs well dependsing on what vanarch promise i guess some of these shop would be open. As for the keys, you can extend your hot key bar past 6 to 0. Also for the side bars that is empty you can assign keys to them, they aren't there for you to click, they are there for you to assign hot keys to them. for me i have my change on E and my least on Q because they are important skill i need to access quick. So its pretty good in term you can change the keys to whatever you want.