Tera, the combat-centric fantasy MMO, has relaunched as the free-to-play Tera: Rising - suggesting the game's various worldwide publishers are hoping for a phoenix-like rebirth of the Korean made RPG. Working in this new version's favour is the generous amount of content being offered to free players, as well as the new dungeon and arena being released with the 2.0 update.
A post on the EU Tera blog explains the new dungeon, called the Crucible of Flame. "In this special dungeon you'll compete with other players for new high scores. A special ranking list will show the best groups and players who reach a high rank can look forward to some exceptional rewards. This dungeon will also feature diverse difficulty levels, so everyone will be able to enjoy this new experience." The Crucible will be joined by a 3 vs. 3 PvP arena for level 60 players.
Tera combines a fluid and enjoyable direct combat system with some fairly questionable and uninspired mission design. I reviewed the subscription version back in June, although the chance to now experience its gorgeous worlds for free does make the game a much more enticing prospect.
If you're tempted by the free-to-play switch, here are some of my top tips for playing Tera:
- DON'T play as an archer. If Tera has a strength, it's the direct combat of its melee classes. Archers just stand flinging a constant stream of arrows at their target. Boring.
- DON'T play as the Elin. They're supposedly the "divine children" of the goddess Elinu. As if that's a good excuse for having a scantily-clad child-like avatar with vague animal features.
- DO bring a DVD box set. Or queue something up on Netflix. Anything to distract you from the tedium of the first few hours of levelling. Your aim is to trick your body into churning through the mission chaff while your brain isn't paying attention.
- DO complain about how creepy the Elin are in the game's chat. Seriously, those first 20 levels are really quite boring, so any distraction is welcome. And Elin fans can be hilariously defensive.
