CBT2 Review part 1

The following review is based on the closed beta from October 30 to November 2. TERA uses a Dynamic battle system which differs from most current MMORPG. This year the game C9, which is also implemented sort like battle system, will be released.

TERA is like a shooter (first-person shooter, FPS) - aiming, and management actions occur in real-time. This makes the game very different from other MMORPG. Want to learn more? Read our article.

Races and classes

After starting TERA for the first time, you need to create a character, like in all MMO. For every race except Baraka there will be a male and female character available. Of course, every race is presented extremely attractive or tough.

In addition to the availability of attractive characters, the editor provides all features to create a unique character for each user. We can not say that the editor is very rich in features, but it allows you to create a fine character. But in any case, it only has a choice of ready-made items. More in-depth settings would be nice.

Due to the choice of ready-made elements, essential part of the characters will be clones.

We could spend more time talking about the editor. But it should be noted that in all MMORPG character creation is easy and this is not different for TERA. There is nothing to be surprised with. Typically, there are more female characters in these games. But this does not diminish the importance of male characters. Thus Aman and Popori male give the impression of a strong character. However, I prefer female characters so I've chosen a High Elf Priest and began to play.

General principles of TERA

When you get into the world of TERA, the first impression is that everything is pretty typical for an MMORPG. The User Interface is very traditional: at the bottom - a chat panel and a skills bar. At the top - indicators of HP, MP and your mini-map. Thanks to the Dynamic battle system we can spot one difference: a crosshair in the center of the screen.

Interface: large health indicators at the top, the crosshair in the center. The rest is very typical like most games of this genre.

The player moves with WASD keys and targeting is done by moving the mouse. The old way of movement (mouse clicks) does not work at all. For actions you have to use the [F] key. By default the mouse cursor does not appear on screen. Therefore selecting NPC's or items is done with this one key. You have the ability to select with the mouse cursor after pressing the [Alt] key. Getting quests works in the same way as most MMO: an exclamation mark shows NPC's with new quests available, the question mark shows NPC's with active quests.

These signs are typically found in any modern MMORPG.

Dynamic battle system in action

Then we left town and looked for differences from the traditional MMORPG in the open field. Most MMORPG have a lot of buttons to display skills and actions that simplifies or automate some game mechanics. In TERA however you need to click the mouse buttons. Basic skills are binded to the left and right mouse buttons and the spacebar. For my character, I configured healing on the mouse buttons and the fighting skills to spacebar.

Mouseclick shortcuts are used instead of clicking icons.

It takes some time to learned how to precisely aims at the monsters. There are two main principles of a successful attack. It is necessary to accurately choose the direction and the distance which is not easy at first.

Direction and distance is off course something you choose yourself. The attack range of the Priest distances 20 meters. If the distance is one meter greater, the attack will fail. In traditional games, in this case, your character would automatically move forward to reduce the distance. In TERA this is something you constantly have to do decide and alter.

By default, the display shows the distance to monster, the success of the attack.

The traditional system with automatic movement is easy and fun but nothing compared to the system adopted in TERA. It allows management and precise control over aggro monsters. Most users will quickly adapt and have no problems.

The balance of attack and escape

During the beta, we noticed that many users (especially melee characters) prefered to attack the monsters from the front side. They still do not understand the basic idea of the Dynamic battle system. At the same time a small number of players who knew the system had no complications at all. Also, some characters have the ability to evade melee attacks, which of course should be used often.

Evading and attack.

The Priest does not have special avoiding skills. It is also difficult to stay in battle range. In general, when playing a Priest, is it most convenient to keep a distance of 3-5 meters and run away if necessary. Of course, you have to take the monsters skills in account.

Skill control is accomplished by using the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 keys, which leaves a positive impression. Managing your actions is important. you can only use skills when you stand still.

Most monsters hunt in small groups.

Battles come down to a "move → Attack → Move → Attack" pattern with short stops for picking up drops. Try to develop a certain "rhythm" of attack. If you know how it works in C9, you'll get the idea how it done in TERA.

Note that in the beta no jump action was available (yet). Introducing jumps would significantly alter the gaming system. Instead of running away you could simply jump out of battle and then jump into the center of action again to continue the fight.

When timed right, one attack can hit multiple targets.

Read part 2