TERA CONSOLE: Going back to the Roots

The dark secret hidden behind TERA is undoubtedly the very core of the hate people are getting before and even now that it’s on home consoles. The Master Race, Elin, is that one race that has got people losing their minds over something so simple… it’s a race in the game, what the hell is wrong? She may look like a kid but in the very core of it, she’s older than your grandma! In fact they weren’t even called Elins back then. They are simply your Popori women… yes, they are the same race as those that looks like chubby humanoid versions of animals. It would seriously be unthinkable to have your Popori that is as short as your luggage be paired up with the Master Race Elin if they are as tall as the other races in the game and be like… what?! To me it looks more like a master and its pet taking a walk than similar races altogether. And that’s just the gist of it.

At some point, the Western servers of TERA even had to change some Elin armor pieces from the original to be shorts instead of a panty-like outer garment. Something that I can find reasonable but at some point, why? We have Elin swimsuits for Pete’s sake among a few others that looks similar and that doesn’t seem to be censored. While some worship the race, some would even come up to you and express the disgust for even picking them. They have smaller hitboxes! So why wouldn’t I?

Now going into 2018, the TERA Console release, seven years since it first came out in South Korea, the game is being well-received even now… though it isn’t running at its optimal performance nor is it a slugfest of bugs and glitches. Although I have to admit that some bugs and issues are very annoying but not exactly unplayable. Like dying in a dungeon without any gold to revive yourself will cause you to sit there and watch as your character is dead on the ground and without any help coming from someone… oh boy! You’re screwed unless you know someone who can revive you. Or the fact that you would always, and I mean ALWAYS, get automatically joined in a server that isn’t your own forcing you to step back and pick servers again. Did I mention the graphical lag in the major city, Velika? No?, that too! Even the idea of spamming a button fast just to save a bit of time and go back to grinding is proving to be a chore as it sometimes won’t work and would need to press all of it again but in a slower fashion. Trading with other players is also not an option? Why? Just WHY! And where’s the UI scaling and repositioning options? I didn’t play on a large screen TV just to get a bigger look at my skill tab or my HP and MP bars. PC had that option, why can’t we?

But aside from all that nitpicky stuff that doesn’t seem to end as there’s quite a few more I could probably think of given enough time, it’s great! My initial experience with the beta and the full release has nothing but enjoyment after you take out the things I’ve said earlier. Skills are flashy which is like a common aspect of MMORPG’s to entice the audience and it works. It plays smooth… the chaining skills are great and works as intended although I kind of want to chain my own skills so I can go on a one button combo or two. The leveling experience has been a breeze with dungeon spams although I missed a lot of the story because of it… not that I want to see it all again though!

Meanwhile, the story is decent enough compared to most MMO’s of its time although the animations on the last bit, the added content from the original, is a bit of a letdown. As it looks really weird and unrealistic and loses the likeability of some of the characters. When it comes to the whole open world though, it’s still as massive as I remember and not as watered down as I expected. There are tons of quests to do but I suggest not to do them unless you want to as it only takes the leveling phase longer and that’s pretty much the whole game is about… grinding levels, gearing up and doing end-game content from hard dungeons to battlegrounds to test one’s skill in combat. At which there isn’t a lack of as the end-game bosses provide enough challenge to make it worthwhile and prestige-worthy. While the PVP-aspect of the game is still as good as I remember from the many types of battlegrounds available to the vast stereotypes that fill this content. But if you end up just grinding dungeons, you’re kind of missing out on the whole world it has to offer with a massive landmass to cover and different biomes to explore. Crafting-wise, it’s butchered… completely butchered as the endgame gear doesn’t even require crafting skills anymore. I remember having to go back to low-level areas just to increase my gathering skills and crafting skill just to be able to craft my PVP-specific gear as a level 60 player. AND… yes! I have been out of the loop for some years now as the ping hasn’t been on my side on the PC version so I don’t exactly know what’s up and I’m probably missing something here but as far as I can tell, it’s gone and useless now.

If there’s something I would hate on is probably the vast amount of servers available in the game making everyone scattered to each server and the amount of players to party up through quests and dungeons a bit of a rarity on its own. You probably won’t even want to know how much it takes my reaper (DPS) to do a single instance matching for Sabex Armory but I’ll tell you anyway, my brawler (tank) would be able to clear with its own party twice before I can even find one party for it. So unless you know a tank and a healer class and group up before going in, your chances of even finding a group are as slim as finding a needle in a haystack.

NEXUS EVENTS!? Where the hell are they? I really like them and always… I mean always jump in to do them. It’s that one event that lets you meet up with everyone on the server to do one huge pile of Argon slaughtering. Although I feel like it’s just going to freeze up the consoles before it can do any good. Still, I miss them. The only event that actually makes you group up with tons of people and run around the entire area while also having guild vs. guild battles in the middle of an Argon slaughter fest. Good times!

There’s a lot to take in and for me, it’s a shame but some parts work. It’s worth it if I’m being completely honest as it’s a game despite its age has shown what’s great about it. And that’s true action combat although for consoles there is lock-on which literally makes it less of a game than what it used to be. But all in all, it’s still one of the better games and better MMO’s worth playing on consoles. There’s not a lot of them but it doesn’t really take away from anything nor being pay-to-win in any aspect. With a decent story if you’re into it or simply getting good at it to experience end-game content that proves to have some challenge and unique mechanics to each boss fight. Seven years, and still one of the most loved MMO’s of my life.