Tera is an MMO that has recently gone Free to Play.
In many ways Tera is World of Warcraft done right. Or at least, updated to take advantage of new graphics. Due to it’s long history, Wow is beginning to look dated and cartoonish. Tera looks much better, and I don’t just mean the sexy characters and armor. Yes, this is my sexy plate armor. I’m a level 15 Berzerker – Axe wielding damage dealer. It is surprising that the armor begins to look so good at a low level. Wow makes you wait until level 70 before the armor begins to look unified and reasonable, but Tera armor looks good from the start and for all the classes begins to look really good at level 11, when you fly off to Velika – the capital city to join the Federation, and get your mount. From the start of our journey, the compass, mini-map and quest lines lead you on your missions and never leave you stuck for the next task. No need for an add-on or guide to lead you on your way.
Starting Out
In case you think only the women have great looking armor, I’m here to show you that we men can have great armor too. When you start, you can experience briefly a historical battle as a level 20 version of yourself as the First Expedition assaulted the Island of Dawn. After you acquaint yourself with the game mechanics, you will join the rest of us on our mission to join the Federation. It will only take you a few hours to complete these missions. There is the questing you will recognize from other games, but there are a few more challenging instances that you can either party up to do or wait until you have become more powerful and then come back and solo. Tera does not cripple you when you come back to do previous missions. Some of the missions however, can’t be skipped since there is a Story Line of missions that you must complete to move forward. There are many other missions and repeatable quests to allow you to progress. We have not yet been to the Dungeons – for which there is an Instance Finder to find party members to battle with you.
Your First Class
Whatever race, of the seven, you choose, you can play any class. We suggest that you follow Grizella’s lead and start out as a Mystic. We have a companion to help us, although he’s not very skilled at Tanking and disappears frequently. Also the little fellow moves so slowly that we often run away from him between battles. But never the less, we can do quite a bit of damage and we can drop healing motes for ourselves or others. We are a healer with damage. Mystics are a great way to learn the ropes of Tera. All the classes can solo effectively, but Mystics will never leave you alone with no way to heal up to continue the fight.
I look a little like Sophia Loren, don’t you think? Well, I’ve been told so by some.
Free to Play
Tera and AION , both from Korea, appeared about two years ago in America with a subscription model. Recently they have both gone to the free to play model where non-essential features are paid, but the entire games are available without payment. For Tera, the subscription of $15/mo ups your character limit to 8 and provides some consumable goodies and a mount. But there is no compelling reason. The free to play version allows 2 characters, but we all know how to create multiple email accounts, so character limits are no problem. The bank is shared among your characters, so there are some advantages to the free to play scheme. Free to Play can purchase shop items including additional bank panels if you require them. The bank starts with 72 slots, which is plenty for quite a while. The F2P characters can join parties, mail items and Gold [up to 9G per post] to any other characters on their server.
Interesting Races
The races are many and varied. You may want to play as a “anime” style girl, or a teddy bear, or a high elf hunter. The Baraka are an imposing but gentle race of intellectuals. Whatever race you choose, you can play any class and if you share armor, or weapons, it will be customized for you as you wear it.
Enough Said
You don’t need any more jawboning soldier! Get out there and explore. Join up in our fight against the Argons. After all, your blood is free.
For the Federation!
– Caladria – Castani Berzerker
– Tourmaline – High Elf Hunter
– Grizella – Human Mystic
– Eldran – Human Slayer
Windy Weather 