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...

A Week with TERA: Day 5

We're approaching the last few days of my TERA review, so let's get cracking!

Today I logged into Chumley, and ran off into the woods to go find the next quest NPC. It seems it's now time to tackle a tougher breed of fey... The centaur!

Did I mention they lead armies of fairies?

Needless to say, there was a mass-slaughtering of the fey. There's something extremely satisfying about taking down a group of fairies.

No real progress was made in the storyline with the next batch of quests. I seem to be constantly helping out people who really don't matter much. Delivering tools to loggers, killing fairies so their buzzing doesn't drive some woman mad, getting centaur blood for some guy... I wish I could be sent on better missions. At least in World of Warcraft I was uncovering enemy plans and saving the world half the time. At least the combat is fun.

Finding cool structures like this is quite pleasing though.

It has finally dawned on me how very European all of Arcadia is. Centaurs, fairies, and my next adversary, redcaps... These are all creatures that are very prevalent in European mythology. Coupled with the setting, I'm really starting to wonder if this was intentional.

Redcaps... angry little men, with angry little hats.

And finally, I get to make some progress in Arcadia's storyline. After slaughtering some redcaps along the way, I reached an outpost where a fairy named Lillith resides. She told me that the fey and the loggers have always had problems with each other. The fey protect the forest, and the loggers wish to cut them down. Peace had been brokered between the two, but the problem lies with the individual who brokered the peace. Someone is controlling his mind, and inciting him to order war upon the federation races.

Thanks for not trying to kill me... though I sure am tempted to take a swing at you.

Turns out this "guy" is actually a unicorn, and the "evil ones" came and turned him mad. I'm to go and wound him, and then give him some flower essence to attempt to clear the mind control from him. Hey, if there's trouble afoot, I'm the dog for the job!

I ran off to complete some other quests first, and was really taken aback at how the scenery had changed. No longer were things natural and normal, but instead unnatural and magical.

Giant flycatchers and glowing flowers, oh my!

I was nostalgically reminded of Final Fantasy XI's flora, and smiled to myself at the familiarity. One of my favorite parts about that game was the fantastical plants and trees that covered the landscapes. Ah, good memories. 

It's like FFXI in high-def... or what FFXIV should have been.

While slaughtering more fairies and monsters, I found the unicorn guy by accident. Might as well get this over with.

He was one BIG unicorn.

I had to get him to under 30% health, and then dart him with the flower essence. He turned passive and though weakened, he thanked me and tasked me with escorting him to the Fairy Pond. After killing some monsters on the way, he gave me a tear. I was to deliver it to his military commander to show that he wants all attacks to cease. He then teleported away, obviously needed more elsewhere.

Despite the lifting of the evil haze that had clouded his mind, the taint hadn't been removed from the remaining blood-crazed fairies. I had to go kill them, and also put down the severely weakened and confused unicorns in the area.

Once that was done, I moved to the next area and was told to kill more monsters, and to find this woman's sister.

That search didn't end well.

I'm not usually nitpicky about things, but I have to say, I was really bothered by this quest. It wasn't the quest itself, it wasn't the dead body... it was the horrible clash of the music, and the subject matter.

I have to hand it to World of Warcraft on this one, but they had the perfect soundtrack to every area. The music wasn't happy, wasn't crazy, and when needed, was "actiony." No matter what quest you were doing, the music wasn't bothersome and seemed to always fit.

This area of Arcadia's main theme is a happy, cutesy kind of song. (Hear for yourself by watching this video) Doing a quest where you find a woman's dead sister lying discolored, alone in the forest with this music playing in the background just feels.... wrong.

Jon had to go to sleep at this point to get up early for work, so I decided to call it a night.

Current Impressions

Graphics: Still amazing and impressive.

Plot: Weak as usual.

Combat: Fun, though I do need to go back to the main city and get some new skills... I'll have to do that tomorrow.

Questing: Still stale.

Crafting and Gathering: Arcadia is FULL of gathering nodes. I'm quite thankful for it, though my inventory is getting full quite quickly.

Until tomorrow!

A Week with TERA: Day 4

Well, it's a disgusting 84 degrees out today, which wouldn't be bad on its own... but it's humid out, and Jon and I don't have a car to use today. Looks like we're going to be cooped up indoors until it gets close to the evening.
I guess that means more time to play and review TERA though.

I logged into Chumley, and hopped on my new, trusty horse. It was time to return to the quest NPC I neglected in favor of receiving my mount. I was welcomed to the city of Velika, and told to go see the inventory master and... drumroll please... LEARN HOW TO CRAFT! Finally!

Little dog in the big city!

Before I get into that though... the city is beautiful. I don't know if it's just me, but there is no lag at all. It doesn't appear that the graphics had to be toned down to account for massive amounts of players being in one area either. The visuals are stunning, and the architecture is glorious as well. (I highly recommend taking a few moments to look up and see the view if you ever get a chance.)

The city, however, is vast. If you actually are lagging, I could see how navigating Velika could quickly become a pain in the butt. Thankfully, it looks like the game's devs are one step ahead and placed a handy  Teleportal in the center. From there you can teleport to different sections of the city, cutting your walking time significantly.

After getting my inventory expanded from the inventory master, and learning how to craft, I found myself dirt poor. Crafting is extremely expensive for someone on their first character. Not only are you using the raw materials you find, but you also have to buy materials from the NPCs. All crafting plans also have to be purchased.

In the end I was only able to afford getting my Weaponsmithing up, and even then the best sword I could make was worse than what I'm currently toting.

Time to go meet with the next plot quest NPC...

This is what our future looks like if I continue to derp around the city instead of fighting.

I was happy to see another cutscene. I was basically commended on my valor and told that I could be the next Elleon if I continue my heroic exploits. The federation needs people like me in their war against the argon front, which I assume is name for the legion of monsters that hate us so much.

I then meet Samael, who is for lack of a better word, an ass. He says I'm cocky, a "glory hound", and I smell like pigling. (I guess he was right on the "hound" part. Ha. Ha ha.)

Looks like I'm being deployed to... LUMBERTOWN?

Some fey creatures are attacking villagers, and I need to stop them... what a job for someone who just took down a massive demonic force on the Island of Dawn.

I hopped a Pegasus, and flew along my merry way. Thank goodness I didn't spend all of my silver on crafting, because it cost me to take the flight.

Lumbertown, HERE WE COME!

The area, known as Arcadia, is gorgeously natural. Pine trees, cliffs, waterfalls, mountains... you almost would think that you aren't playing a fantasy game. Except that... you know... there are crazy races running about everywhere.

I was also very impressed by the level of detail in even the smallest of creatures.

Hey kitty, your cousin in World of Warcraft called, he wants more polygons...

There were rabbits, cats, chickens, rabbits, and sheep wandering around inside and outside of Lumbertown. The diversity is spectacular, and it's attention to detail like this that really makes a game come alive.

For goodness sake, not the bees again...

The quests started out pretty generic, but once I got to a pig ranch I got to do some fun things... Like mass-slaughter of faeries just so this adorable little popori could bathe in shiny faerie dust.

When a face like this tells you to kill, it's impossible to resist.

I also got to tranquilize pigs with darts and... bring home the bacon. -ba-dum-tsshh!-

That's all I really got to do today. I ended up taking a nap and then playing some TF2 with Jon.
Anyway, for the impressions...

Current Impressions

Graphics: My opinion is the same... amazing graphics, and sure to not disappoint.

Plot: The plot hasn't really progressed any since I arrived in Lumbertown. I guess later on I'll find out why the fae are turning against us, but the problem is I don't really care. This game has to try harder to gain my interest in terms of plotline.

Combat: Still fun, though I have to say, I'm finding it tougher to read monsters' movements. I'm starting to get the idea that some monsters weren't meant to be dodged. They hit for such a small amount, and there's never really an opening to attack in between dodges.

Questing: I'm kind of glad that I got to do a quest that had some humor mixed in. The little popori telling me to go kill faeries for dust and then using it to glow gave me a chuckle. It was also refreshing to tame the piglings rather than just killing things all of the time. Still not fully impressed though.

Crafting and Gathering: Crafting is a pain for a first-time character. I have no spare cash, so I can't even afford to make swords that are fit for my level. I guess I'll have better luck down the road, but for now I'm just going to keep gathering.

Tomorrow is another day...