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 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...

A Week with TERA: Day 1

After a lengthy patch download through the TERA launcher, I finally have TERA installed on my computer and ready to play.
I was hesitant to start up the game, as I've been feeling very ill this morning. Would I really want to spoil my first experience with a game by feeling like... well... crap, as I'm playing it?
I decided to just check out the character creation, and then take a much needed nap.

I have to say, the character creation impressed me. Being the animal person that I am, it didn't take much thought to choose the Popori race.
(The Popori are basically animals that have been granted an extra spark of life, making them sentient and humanoid beings.)
I was then told to choose my class. Every class is described for you concisely, and the game even offers a rating on the difficulty of playing each class. I went with the Slayer, which had a 3/5 star difficulty rating. (Plus, it sounded fun... light armor, quick dodging, and a big-ass weapons.)
The customization for my character included different types of animals, facial structure, fur patterns, tails, color tint, ear size, and markings. Though nowhere near Skyrim's customization, it's way beyond what World of Warcraft offers.
I was drawn towards making a dog Popori, and his stout, chubby frame just screamed, "NAME ME SOMETHING FAT."
I thought Chumley was a fitting name for an overweight, yet adorable dog-man with a giant sword.

Put down that sword! You're a dog. You can't even hold it.

Tempted as I was to start my adventure, I shut off the game and took a nap.

After my nap, and some Pepto-Bismol, (curse you, frail body!) I finally began to play TERA for real.
The game starts on the Isle of Dawn, a new island that literally sprang out of the ocean. You are a part of the expedition, and things well... are a complete disaster. Bodies litter the shore, medics are kneeling down trying to do what they can, and ravens are picking on the dead.

Mmm, delicious!

But let's take a step back here, and talk about the graphics.

I'm extremely pleased with them, that's about all I can say. The atmosphere is dark and ominous, there's attention to detail, and things are impressive so far.

I have noticed that there is no music, but hopefully that's only because this is the tutorial, and it's supposed to be somber. (I mean, there's death everywhere!)

After doing the first quest, which involves talking to medics across the beach and delivering waterlogged supplies to them, I took a little bit of time to explore.

Something.... something smells like bodies.

I was a bit disappointed to find that there are travel boundaries, those annoying invisible walls that limit your exploration. I swam out to some boats I saw in the ocean, but found myself colliding with one. Despite this, I am incredibly impressed with the environment. The cliffs, plants, everything is superbly rendered and placed, something that World of Warcraft really lacks. (World of Hill-and-Plateaucraft, anyone?) The environment reminds me more of Final Fantasy XI than anything. Things look realistic, but with a dramatic flair. If the rest of the game can be as eye-pleasing as this, I sure think I'm going to like this game.

Look, I'm finally geared up! AND in ridiculous purple!

The next quest was simple, just talking to some Centurions on the beach and getting equipment from them. I'm honestly confused as hell about all the mumbo-jumbo on the items. Crystal socket? Balance? What's that? I sure hope the tutorial will cover this later on...
A few more talk-and-run quests, and I reached an ominous portal that would teleport me to the cliffs...

Well, this sure looks ominous.

...only to meet the rumbling of a bridge collapsing. Looks like I'm going to have to swim, the tutorial popup tells me. Alright then.

It looks like in this game we won't be swimming underwater, just at the surface. I'm fine with that. I was then faced with my first.... drumroll please.... LADDER! Something WoW players have often expressed frustration about not having. (Honestly, why put a ladder in a game if you CAN'T CLIMB IT?)

 It's a long way down for a little doggie...

And hey! Here's the music! Sounds good so far.
When I climbed to the top of the cliff, I encountered my first enemy. I have to say, I was utterly confused about what I was supposed to do. The tutorial basically just told me to look at my abilities, and so I did. I still couldn't figure out how to use them strategically in battle, so I pretty much just spammed left click and pressed spacebar to do a combo when it told me to. I did experiment with the charge ability, and I ended up doing some kind of double combo. I couldn't really figure out how to do it again, but afterall, the tutorial automatically puts you at level 20. I guess you're not really supposed to know what the hell to do.
The combat truly does feel more exciting than most MMOs. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it, and end up appreciating it more. I'm just glad I don't have to auto-attack and watch my character do stuff. (I'm looking at you, FFXI.)

After a lot of hack and slashing, I found Elleon, the expedition leader. It was shortly after finding him that I encountered... THE FIRST BAM. (BAM, being BIG ASS MONSTER.)

This CAN'T be good.

Well, it wasn't good at all. I got my ass handed to me twice, but thankfully the prologue let you ressurect right where you had died. After defeating this big blubbery demon, I had to fight another... but in the middle of the fight a cutscene popped up. Apparently we all got killed, and Elleon was missing in action.

The prologue ends with Elleon's loyal brother bringing new recruits to the Isle of Dawn to train and eventually seek answers about Elleon's whereabouts, or final resting place if the outcome was grim.

And DANG, does the island look different now that it isn't storming anymore!

Graphics like this in an MMO don't come often.

And so, upon landing on the island my fat, level 1 doggie self decided to take a break to play some Team Fortress 2 with Jon. 

Thus ended my first day with this promising and so far intriguing MMO.

Current Impressions

Graphics: The graphics have absolutely not disappointed me. In fact, they're almost better than the screenshots showed. Seeing the graphics in 3D and moving is spectacular, and the environments so far are breathtaking. I'm very excited to see more of the ingame world.

Plot: Hate to say it, but so far the plot is relatively weak. I'm not particularly intrigued by anything so far. Not a lot of background information about Elleon was given, for instance. He's some kind of leader, but why is he so important? Sure his brother wants to find him, but who exactly is his brother? The game really hasn't given me enough background information, but I guess I'll discover more as I play.

Combat: I have to say, it's confusing, yet strangely satisfying. I guess it's good that I was struggling in the prologue/tutorial level, it means that you truly do have to have skill and master your tactics in order to play correctly. I'm excited to start at level 1 and truly learn my class the proper way rather than just being thrown into the game. The fact that I get to click to attack rather than just endlessly auto attack is refreshing.

Questing: So far questing has been stale. Same old typical MMO quests... talk to this person, get your gear, deliver this. Hopefully there will be better quests as I progress into the world.

Crafting and Gathering: Haven't done anything involving these yet.

Until tomorrow!