A Week with TERA: Day 6

It's the second to last day of my week-long review of TERA, so let's get started!

I logged into Chumley and having done all the frivolous quests in the area, it was time to tackle the storyline quest.

I was to destroy these big, floating "vortex cores" that were being guarded by demons.

First, I had to walk through the more "evil" part of the forest...

It was a huge relief to hear the music change along with the scenery after yesterday's awkward dead body moment, which begged the question... why didn't they just put the body here? We may never know.

Time to go dismantle some vortex cores!

It just oozes with evil.

There were three cores in the area, with three "Scions of Lok" guarding each one. They were easy for Chumley to slash down, especially since they're 3 levels lower than my demon-slaying doggie. (Did I mention I'm level 15 now? Probably not.)

After destroying the last one, I got a quick cutscene.

I sense EEEEEVIL!

Oh, I angered that big guy behind me... oops.

He wasn't really that hard to beat, but the ridiculously fast respawn time killed me again. I was trying to get a creepy screencap of the altar, because there were bodies and skeletons laid out on it... and there he was, beating my ass 20 seconds after I killed him. Not cool TERA, not cool.
After telling the NPC about my kill, she just said she has never heard of a group called the Scions of Lok, and told me some dude in Lumbertown has an assignment for me.
What the heck? There's evil afoot and unknown bodies on an altar being used for some horrible ritual, and I'm told to just leave? I really don't understand these quests.
Anyway, it looks like I'm heading off to a new area... this one called the Oblivion Woods.
The local merchants have had their wares raided by Devan bandits, so off I went to retrieve the goods.

They're kind of like red elf... castanic... troll... things.

Mass slaughter of the Devans... Devas... whatever, was quite fun. It was also nice to finally be away from bright and happy Fey Forest. The music here is a lot more jungle-like, almost Yuhtunga Jungle-esque with an actiony flair, for you FFXI fans.

After getting the loot from the Devawhatevers, I returned to quite a hefty sum of experience points.

At this point I was getting a horrible headache, so I called it a night... but I took an extra screenshot just for you guys.

Beautiful willows above the Oblivion Wood's first camp. But who knows what evil they hide...

Current Impressions

Graphics: They still continue to amaze me. I really can't wait to get out of the forest and see some of the other settings.

Plot: I hate to say it, but the plot is starting to frustrate me. I don't really have any idea what is going on, and why other NPCs aren't taking anything seriously. I'm sure a lot of the game was hastily translated from Korean to English to make the release date, but c'mon, some of this just doesn't make any sense.

Combat: I forgot to get my skills, ahh! But still, combat is fun. I'm actually really beginning to want to make another character to see what the other classes are like.

Questing: Stale and somewhat annoying. They made little cutscenes for certain quests, but then don't say much when you complete the quest itself.

Crafting and Gathering: Still gathering stuff for my next crafting run. I need some more money first though... money is slow to get at early levels, it seems.

Tomorrow is my last day doing a full review! I'm sort of relieved to be honest, writing daily has been a chore. I'll be glad when it's over. Now to go grab a Tylenol and go to sleep...