TERA Hands-on

30 Aug 2011 at 17:00:00 by Paul Younger

A few weeks ago publisher Frogster announced their upcoming MMORPG The Exhalted Realms of Arborea (TERA - developed by BlueHole Studios), is being pushed back until next year. This disappointed many who were looking for a new MMO this year but, it appears the delay seems justified as the development team still has some work to do before the game is ready to ship to the Western market.

TERA is not exactly your typical fantasy MMO. Sure, it has swords and shiny armor but it does feature a couple of major differences, the first being the combat. Over the years it has become the norm for MMO combat to involve auto-aiming (i.e. fire a spell and forget) but this is where TERA really differs from some of the other big MMO's. This is a game that requires the player to employ skill in their aiming - the whole '% chance to miss' gig nowhere to be seen. Think of it like playing an FPS; there is actually some skill required in the execution of attachs. This is an MMO where it’s more than just about whacking key combos (although, of course, there is a bit of that as well).

The second major difference that stands out is the game’s political system and the desire to put the game world in the hands of its players. Players will be able to vote in a leader who will go about setting everything from tax levels on other players to how they rule their subjects.

Perhaps ruling the land with an iron fist by instilling fear into the population will be the path to take? Perhaps being kind and generous to other players by keeping tax levels low? Ultimately the decision will be made by the community on the different servers .Although the basic premise of selecting a leader is understood, we are still to see it working fully in a live environment. It could work incredibly well but it could go the other way. Frogster reassure us the political system will work perfectly. We shall see.

Frogster’s latest reveal is the game’s PvP where servers will battle against each other. Sadly there was no further details on the mechanics of how this will work but it sounds promising.

In a recent hands-on session we were given the opportunity to take part in a short dungeon run inside Necromancy Cell to test the game’s combat. Five characters were involved with everything from melee to ranged and healing. There was a good mix of classes to undertake the short but tough challenge.

Opting for what we describe as the ‘fat Panda’, or Popori to give it its real name, much to the amusement of our other party members, this ranged bow wielding archer Panda came with interesting skills which would test the effectiveness of the game’s ranged combat. Quick volley arrow shots seemed the most effective thanks to a reasonably quick skill cool-down.

Like other MMOs there is a skill bar across the bottom the screen which is activated with the number keys. Nothing unusual there. However, as we entered the dungeon it became apparent quickly that combat was going to be a little tougher than we have been used to in the past. After fighting through some smaller dungeon mobs we entered a huge chamber with what can be described as the mother of all bosses. This thing was huge.

With no auto-targeting on skills, the five man team darted around the boss. Meanwhile the boss was busy unleashing all kinds of attacks, and even appeared intelligent enough to know who was the biggest threat during the lengthy battle targeting the ranged, melee and casters at different points depending on who was dishing the damage. This made the combat feel alive, having to strafe around and actually aim was really refreshing. Our fat Panda was standing back unleashing volleys of quick-fire arrows while the melee characters got stuck In. It seemed to work pretty well considering we had practically no time to learn what each skill actually did before the raid began.

The dungeon run was only around fifteen minutes in length but it gave a good taste of what players can expect in the end-game. Based on this single mini dungeon run experience it’s hard to tell how TERA's dungeons will differ from other MMOs based on this session but the combat was certainly exciting and visually the game is pretty stunning.

While TERA does have a few unique features in its arsenal, it remains to be seen whether or not it has enough to stand out in what is near a very crowded genre. It would be safe to say that if you’re an MMORPG fan then don’t dismiss this game, despite the plethora of major releases on the horizon. 

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