TERA (PC DVD)

--- Guys most of the people here that bought the game experienced an old (albeit stupid) bug that was plaguing most members when the game was first released some months ago. Though you can see that the reviewers here are really over exaggerating the problems they had. I highly doubt that any of these guys bought the game for £23 and then just decided to not play it when this error came up. ---

The game works fine now, if you buy the PC-DVD it WILL WORK. You aren't going to get the error that says you don't have any playtime left or whatever. Everything is cool now. So I'd really disregard these very old reviews that state that you are going to be wasting your money.

!! READ ON FOR A REAL REVIEW !!

Please give TERA a chance. At this current point in time, and possibly forever you will be able to play TERA for free for 7 days if you go to their website. [...]
Sign up for an account and give the game a go before buying it. This also wasn't an option when this game first came out, which also would have lead to general discomfort when the game didn't work, or if you were actually dissatisfied with the game itself.

So go and sign up for a 7 day trial. There are some restrictions (like that of the WoW trial)
1. You can't join/create Guilds.
2. You can't whisper other players.
3. You can't trade with other players.
4. You can't duel other players.
5. You can't use the banking system.
etc. There are more restrictions but they really only revolve around what you can do with other players. Because you're playing a 'Trial' of TERA the game limits the odd thing that you can do with others, seeing as you're meant to be experiencing the game itself. It's really quite awesome for a 7-day trial. Though there is a level cap in the trial and its level 22. This gives you enough time to get a good amount of skills and experience what the game is all about. Not only that but you're going to have an idea of what's in store at later levels. Many people just create multiple characters and level them to level 22. It takes 4 weeks of pretty serious gameplay the first time through to get to level 60.

PROS: Let me say that the game has the most amazing graphics of any MMO I've ever seen and yes, I have played them all. Generally the rule of thumb is that if you can play WoW on Ultra-Max settings, then you can play TERA on Ultra-Max settings. TERA is newer and has better graphics but it uses the Unreal 3 Engine which is a really fast, really streamlined game engine that runs beautifully on good hardware. Decals (blood), trees and specular lighting all look very real and contribute a lot to the realism and beauty of the game. Grass sprites and and clutter isn't overused and there are many diverse textures. Unlike WoW which just reuses the same 2D sprites over and over.

CONS: Though one thing that I am not very impressed with is the soundtrack. The music is generally really boring, or completely non-existent in many out-of-town areas. So I just play my own music and have the sound-effects over that. Which brings me to another thing, the sound effects can get a bit repetitive but there are changes for that coming soon.

PROS: The character customisation is amazing, the level of detail you can go into customising your character is just breathtaking. I was really ashamed that after so many expansions WoW really doesn't let you have any of the customisation that you can get in a game like this. Not even in the slightest. The customisation (if you are into that sort of thing) is awesome. There are also beautiful presets for those of us who are too lazy to bother with customising every little tiny detail our character has.

CONS: Another thing that I really want to point out is that the starting area of TERA is really boring. You start off as a level 20 for about 15-20 minutes so you get a taste of fighting Mobs and BAMs (Bad-Ass-Monsters) which gives you an idea of what your class will be like at level 20. So you can quickly tell if it will suit your play-style at higher levels. I think this is an awesome idea to be honest, it really saves you wasting your time if you don't like a certain classes play-style. When you are done with that, you will then start off as a level 1. The starting area island is really boring. The quests are a bit repetitive and you have to stay there until level 11. Generally to a seasoned MMO veteran it will take about 4-5 hours with no prior knowledge of the game (locations, play-style etc) to finish the first island and get off it. Then you travel to the main city, get your first mount (a horse) and after that fly to the town of 'Timbertown' (generic name I know). From then on, (especially on PvP servers) the game is ridiculously fun, and I mean that seriously. PvP is great, there aren't too many gankers, and people are all completely 'fair game', if someone attacks you, you can quite easily turn around and kill them. Quests are a lot more fun and enemies are a lot more diverse. Suddenly the game feels 'serious'. I personally think that TERA shoots itself in the leg a little by giving everyone such a boring 'scum pit' for newbies to play in as their 'first' (second) experience. Read below to see what I mean.

PRO/CON: Combat is engaging and a little 'grindy' but you hardly notice while you take in the overall beauty of the game and how fluid it is. People are so friendly, far more so than other games. You will find a bit of trolling at the starting area island until you get out of there and go to the capital and then branch out to other areas. So expect your average 'Noob' comments and other garbage from low-intellectuals. You can also /leave the Area chat if you don't care what anyone has to say. Most of the time it's silent anyway. Those who don't like the game starting off with the trial will not get past the first island and you'll be free of their idiocy in the rest of the game. Though that isn't to say that TERA is 'troll-free'. But it is to say that most higher levels are really lovely and very friendly. Especially if you are from Finland, Poland, Germany, The Netherlands etc. and can speak the aforementioned languages, you will find friends very fast.

CON: Beware that there are currently some dead servers. Which is fine by me, I like playing MMOs at my own pace without end-game god-like level 60s running around everywhere talking smack and generally being annoying and showing off etc. There is plenty of this sort of thing though if you like that happening in Capital cities.

PRO/CON: There are also no flying mounts currently. So if that is such a big deal to you, go play WoW. The game isn't really suited for flying mounts, and while it is absolutely monstrously huge the horse and other ground mounts you get are more than fast enough to get you around. I personally think this is really good, because you get to take on the beauty of the game while riding a horse (or a white-lion) if you purchase the Collectors Edition for 60. It also keeps everyone on the same level without people zooming past all the time. One of the reasons I think that generally WoW is such a hard game to make friends in, is that people can just fly from A to B to C and never actually 'meet' anyone on the way. Whereas TERA is an engaging game and meeting someone along the path you are on (especially on a PvP server) can be an exhilarating experience.

I will stop there lest I ruin the entire mechanics of the game. Take this review from someone who has actually played it to level 40 and knows a thing or two, and from someone who hasn't had a single problem with the game in a month. The DEV team work hard (though I don't like Gameforge GmbH from past experiences) and there are almost always GMs in town who start up fun events and give-aways. Trust me, there is a lot worse in the way of MMOs out there than TERA and it is definitely worth your money. 13 a month isn't as much as EU WoW and it is far, far more fun. Because WoW is just as miserable, as it is entertaining. If not more-so.

If you wish to add me in-game I would be happy to help out, be friendly etc.
Character name: Sunofabeach
Server: Essenia (PvP)

I have been an avid WOW player for a few years and never thought I would find another game that would capture my attention in the same way, until I recently came across Tera. The game is good. The graphics are beautiful. The game now has a free to play option now too (google it) which, unlike other games, does not restrict you to the point it would affect gameplay. try it out, you have nothing to lose.

Ok I'm lvl27 and so far ...lots of content. Seems to be an amalgam of many mmo's I've played. It's now free to play...the only reason to buy the boxed version is the Veteran title and 30 days Tera Club.