Tera Online News

Hey folks! I decided to put a short weekly article together for the site to outline my little KOBT sorcerer's adventures on the Arun continent.

Now I know what you're saying... "Bah, there are so many screenshots and vids out there, why would we need another rehash of the same-old same-old?"

This column will show you places you might not have seen, even if you were playing in the KOBT. It has become an obsession of mine in TERA to climb every mountain, explore every zone, and break everything I can break! So in that spirit, little Caelixi here has been on a complete adventure of Arun, including three unfinished zones that have NPC's and instances, but not a single mob to be seen. One zone was even blocked off to the public by a blue swirling barrier, but that didn't stop Caelixi from fully exploring the zone behind it!

But I digress, all good adventure tales begin, well, at the beginning. So I'll start by saying that this isn't a tutorial on mountain climbing. I'll give a suggestion or two as to where I climbed, but don't ask me for xyz coordinates, I have no idea! I just see an incline, and think to myself "hey, I can climb that!". I will say, though, that BHS didn't make it very difficult to get up there - some areas have a gradual incline that you can ride a horse straight up without even jumping, until you're far above the landscape.

One such area is in the Celestial Plains, when entering from Velika. The gradual slope of the mountains take you high above the landscape, where you can see for miles. A little bit of strategic jumping gets you even higher, and opens a whole new world of exploration, and shortcuts.



Caelixi here would like to point out that mountain climbing has its perils. Many areas have invisible floors or walls, and some even have pitfalls that drop you through the terrain, as we'll see next week...



As I mentioned, the view from the mountains is often quite astounding, and lets you see for miles. This shot, for example, is taken from the mountain range between Velika and the desert area to the south. Right place at the right time, a Sky-Whale-Thingy floats by in the distance.



Another easy access point to the upper echelons of screen-shotty goodness is from the Celestial Plains to the Kuwangi Mire. A low and gently rising mountain range is all that seperates the two zones, and the view from above lets you see all the way out to the ocean - and presumably Shara, if you could see that far!

Next week Caelixi heads North!

Filed by TERA Fans News at 2:30 pm under Uncategorized  Tagged Adventure Tales, Bhs, Cartography, Continent, Dropbox, Exploring The Zone, Instances, Kobt, Landscape, Little Bit, mob, Mou, Mountains, Obsession, Perils, Pitfalls, Png, Screenshot, Shortcuts, Slope, Suggestion, Tera, Xyz Coordinates
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Hello everyone! Today, we have our very first player based class interview for the Mystics.
Our interviewees are Willona, Cori, and Emposter!

Dukeun: Can you tell us a little bit why you chose the Mystic class as your main class?

Willona: Well I saw the Vampiric Circle skill and I was sold! What’s better than an attack that damages the enemy and heals you and your mates at the same time? I’ve always liked support classes, but I also wanted to do some damage. The mystic seems to have the best of both worlds.

Cori: I always played support classes even in the old day with DnD when we played it on paper. In my last few MMOs I had priests (or the equivalent of that) and when I saw the first korean videos I instantly fell in love with the class.

Emposter: I've always played hybrid/support classes in every MMO I've played. It's just my style.

Dukeun: What drew you in to choose the Mystic over the Priest or even the other classes in Tera?

Willona: Like I said, I love support classes. However I somehow always end up playing a magical damage dealing class in the end. I like to heal and help people out, but that’s just one of the many things I like to do. I also like to have some cool attacks up my sleeve. From the beginning I knew that the Mystic could be an awesome hybrid class. I thought that it had a lot of potential, but at the time a Mystic was viewed as a weaker version of the priest class. I just knew that the devs had more in store for this class, they just couldn’t leave the awesome concept that is the Mystic unfinished! Thankfully the devs saw this potential too! Even though we don’t have a lot of information about the summoning skills of the Mystic yet, I’m sure that They’re going to be great.

Cori: I was, or rather still am hoping it to be more versatile than the priest in terms of support classes. If it's fantasy then it's all about magic (for me atleast). Although I'm a guy I have to admit that the mystics skill with the butterflies is just gorgeous, it's a must have so to say :D

Emposter: The more I learned about and played the Mystic the more I liked it.

Dukeun: Did picking your race have to do with picking the Mystic class, or did the class pick your race?

Willona: Well I actually picked my class and race separate. Since there are no class restrictions, I just looked at the race I liked the most, which are the Castanics. Then I looked for a class and I really loved the Mystic. It was only later that I found out about the lore of the Castanics concerning the Mystic. So I guess I was lucky.

Cori: The first pictures I've seen of TERA showcased the races. Poporis. Who can resist not making a tanuki-like toon?! I sure can't. This had no relation to what class I chose afterwards.

Emposter: No. Both were decisions completely independent from each other. Should significant racial bonuses be added, this may change, but that hasn't happened yet.

Dukeun: After reading on the Mystic, how do you feel they will play solo and within a party?

Willona: I think that the Mystic will be good as a solo class because of the new summoning skill. The summon will be like an extra barrier between the Mystic and an enemy, which allows the Mystic to cast spells safely from a distance. The summon will also function as an extra player attacking the enemy. I think the Mystic has a very flexible position within a party. Since the Mystic is both a summoning and a healing class, it’ll be good as a second healer or damage dealer. The summoning skill will probably also allow the Mystic to tank a bit too. Basically I think the class will do good on both fronts.

Cori: As previously mentioned, I'm hoping to have a more versatile class that does well both in party and solo play. I think mystics will be a vital part of every party with their mana regenerating skills and buffs. For solo we still lack information regarding the summons.

Emposter: Mystics have a serious issue regarding their extremely short attack range for a ranged support class which, combined with all ranged class's inability to attack while moving, could pose issues, mainly for soloing due to difficulty kiting. In groups Mystics will face the classic dilemma which appears in pretty much every MMO to date, the difficulty in finding a role for a class which doesn't fit within the holy trinity of tank, healing, and dps. Bluehole will have to carefully balance Mystics so as to provide a clear benefit to having a mystic in your group rather than a third dps without angering the various dps classes by making them obsolete. Non-standard roles such as active mana regen through Essence Leach and the largely unknown benefit of Mystics new pets could provide an answer here.

Dukeun: Not to long ago, Bluehole and En Masse released a demo video on the new summon skills, how did you react to the new skills?

Willona: WHOOOOHOOOOO!!!!! That was my reaction XD. I was ecstatic. That was the best news I’ve heard about the Mystic up until now.

Cori: Was quite surprised to be honest.

Emposter: It's really hard to say at this point. Combat pets could help fix the solo ability of Mystics as well as improve group viability while remaining unique. However, we know virtually nothing about the pets other than the three types, meaning it's virtually impossible to say how they will really effect the class and whether they will change the role of Mystics.

Dukeun: How do you think the summons will play out?

Willona: I think the summons will be like a shield to the Mystic, protecting it from harm and dealing damage or healing the Mystic at the same time. I basically think that they will be your typical summons, but with a twist.

Cori: Having played Aion I was thinking Spiritmaster meets Chanter. We wannabe mystics are yet to see what they are capable of and what their roles will be in a party. They will be a nice asset none the less, can't wait to see them in action.

Emposter: Again, it's hard to say, really. I hope they become an integral part of the class, rather than ending up as a flavor spell that only gets used in emergencies. I would be completely comfortable with Mystics becoming a pet class as long as their role as buff/support did not suffer. I can see buff pets as a possible way for this to happen.

Dukeun: Finally, what kind of things do you look forward to for the Mystic class?

Willona: Being all over the place in group play. I really hope that the Mystic will be a very versatile class so that I can both deal damage and heal at the same time. I also like to see how the healing orbs will play out in battle. I think that quest guides may include a sections on where the most strategical places are to place these orbs. I would also really like to see how the summons turn out in the end.

Cori: Looking forward to see my Popori running around and swinging his rod spamming those butterflies.

Emposter: I really, REALLY want to see how the summons will actually work, what Mystic's end game spells will be, and how the mystic skill trees will affect our spells. And of course I can't wait to get back into the next test and play them again.

Filed by TERA Fans News at 10:25 pm under Uncategorized  Tagged Awesome Concept, Best Of Both Worlds, Butterflies, Class Interview, Devs, Dnd, Fantasy, Hello Everyone, Hybrid Class, Interviewees, Little Bit, Love, Many Things, Mates, Mmo, Mmos, Mystic Column, Mystics, Priests
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Hey, TERA Fans! PAX 2010 ended yesterday and in the wake of the storm, I have the results of TERA Fan's interview with Senior Producer, Brian Knox! Thanks so much for contributing questions guys :D While there's not a whole lot of new information, I think some of his comments leave open at least lots of room for speculation.

So check out the interview below and enjoy! You can find all our TERA PAX coverage here.





Amira: So hey, Brian! Once again, all the questions are straight from TERA Fans. We had lots of questions for you and we picked out a few. So for one, what in-game events are being planned for players to participate in?

Brian: That's a good question! So right now, our focus for in-game events is going to be mostly on trying to find those spots where people hit a wall because we're really focused on the journey to level 60. So, once the game's out, sometimes players find areas that are hard to get through and we want to focus our events around that. How we're going to do that I don't know. But we do plan on having them!

Amira: And will there also be holiday-type events?

Brian: Yeah, we are trying to have an events system. It's one of those things that's like every feature takes away development time. We want to have these but we may not have them available right at launch.

Amira: Will there be any non-combat, or combat pets in-game?

Brian: So, we have the Homonculus which is kind of a pet. It doesn't quite follow you right now but we're looking into ways to expand that as well.

Amira: And the Mystic pets; will those really be pets?

Brian: Well they're summons: they come out and last for only a short amount of time to help out. There's a healing one, there's a dps one, and there's like a tank one. But I wouldn't call Mystics a pet class. It's hard to explain-- they're a little bit different than you're used to, so you'll see.

Amira: Sam Kim once mentioned that the development team was considering adding more armor slots. Is there any information on that?

Brian: Yeah, we've added two more slots and we'll see them soon.

Amira: Are there plans to allow players to customize the look of their gear or spells at this point?

Brian: Not at this point but we're looking heavily into both the dying system and the ability to change gear models as well. So I'm not sure if any of that would make it in by launch, but it's definitely on our list of ideas.

Amira: Some guildmasters are very concerned about recruiting more guildmates than the maximum guild size in TERA will allow for. Is there any information on about how large guilds will be able to get at launch?

Brian: Y'know, that's a good question. Right now, I can't answer that but I would really like to get back to you on it because I think that's an important one.

UPDATE: Brian Knox let me know that the current guild size is 300 members by default. This is always subject to change.

Amira: On the topic of guilds, is there any more information on how extensive the overall guild system will be?

Brian: Well the guild system will really play into the battleground system, which we're not talking a lot about just yet. I think that's where you'll see the guild system really work. Since we're not faction based, guilds will become allies or rivals as well.

Amira: Some players are very concerned about westernization. Can you talk about what aspects of gameplay are being westernized?

Brian: All aspects are being evaluated. In our last focus group test, we had everybody answer a 120 point survey which was a lot of questions. What it did was allow us to hold up a transparency and compare where results are similar and different among players in the West and players in the East. We're able to identify those areas. There's a lot of stuff that lined up and in the feedback, there were a lot of things, particularly surrounding solo play and the leveling curve. And so, those were the two areas that players felt different about. Also, specific features have been added as well. The achievement system and the controller support are things that kind of originated in the west.

Amira: How will the lore of TERA be explained to players beyond quest text? Will there be cut-scenes at all?

Brian: Yeah, actually we have been adding cut-scenes. Hopefully they'll help tell the story in a little bit more of an epic fashion.

Amira: Are there any plans to have a designated Oceanic server available at launch?

Brian: Not at this time. But we're looking at the territory. We want to make sure that if we do it, we do it right.

Amira: Is there any information available on mounts at all?

Brian: There are mounts, and we're tweaking them. We're trying to make sure they're the right speeds right now. At this time, there will not be combat mounts.

Amira: Are there any plans to allow third party addons in-game?

Brian: Not at this time. We're actually doing what we can to minimize the UI as much as possible.

Amira: Finally: are you still re-evaluating the idea of allowing all races to be able to be all classes?

Brian: Right now, it looks like that's what going to happen but I can't really say for sure. That is what we're aiming for, though. In the version that we're playing off right now, actually, we're balancing the Human male, so that way we can balance that off the other races. It's a lot less development time to balance one and get it all right-- in terms of all the numbers-- and then we can balance things around that.

Filed by TERA Fans News at 8:06 pm under Uncategorized  Tagged Amira, Amount Of Time, Armor, Development Time, Game Events, Good Question, Holiday Type, Homonculus, Interview With Brian, Launch, Little Bit, Mystics, Onc, Pax, Png, Producer Brian, Sam Kim, Slots, Speculation, Summons, Wake Of The Storm, Whole Lot
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Hey, TERA Fans! So sorry this was so delayed but I've been having trouble getting both time and a spot with good internet at the same time D:! Here's the long awaited interview I had with Senior Producer Brian Knox at E3!

More goodies incoming! Enjoy! :3





Amira: So I just have a few questions for you! First off, they’ve all been submitted by TERA Fans members.

Brian: Oh awesome, those are my favorite!

Amira: Around how many quests will the game be launched with?

Brian: We’re saying there’s thousands of quests. We want to do what we can to make the game quest driven and story driven so that you’re not having to just kill monsters over and over; we want the quests to lead players along.

Amira: Right, great! How detailed will the guild system be? Will there be alliances or detailed options?

Brian: We’re working on the actual technical term, there’ll obviously be alliances among players but how that plays out technically within the game we’re still deciding on. Guilds will be able to rank different members, for example, there’ll be different permissions for officers versus regular members.

Amira: How much effect will players have on the world? Can you give any specific examples?

Brian: In terms of player’s activities in the world, we really think that’ll shine in the political system. The players will determine the history of, you know, this person was in power and then this person was in power and then this guild rose up and challenged him so we think that the history is really the biggest impact the players will have on the world.

Amira: Speaking of which, can you tell us anymore about the political system?

Brian: I can do a little bit, we’re not talking a lot about it, but, there’ll be different ways to be elected, be it through PvP, wealth, as well as voting. We’re just trying to find the right balance so that different players can participate in different ways and have a choice about how they want to be a part of it all. Once you’re elected to office, there’ll be some cool features available as well.

Amira: Will there be a separation between PvP and PvE gearsets?

Brian: Right now that’s not our goal. Our goal is to provide possibly skills that would work a little bit better in PvE versus PvP. It’s more that route versus having different gear sets, because, especially when you’re out and about, you don’t want to be like, “Oh, I have to switch my gear.”

Amira: Will the NPCs in cities be life-like?

Brian: We’re definitely going to be having NPCs bustling around, but we also want to keep players there with the commerce, so it’ll make it feel alive because players will be there, the guild housing is there, the way the players are shopping, talking and chatting, we’re working on voice chat as well. We really want to keep it bustling and alive.

Amira: How will mob-tagging work?

Brian: Right now it’s, you hit it and it’s yours. It doesn’t matter if someone else does more damage right now, they won’t steal it.

Amira: Is there any specific information you can share on the character talent system?

Brian: We’re working on a way to increase skills with skill points. We haven’t really given it a name yet. It was based off of focus group feedback and basically players wanted ways to differentiate there classes and to have different builds, so you’ll be able to assign points to skills which will then increase their power. It’ll be a way of defining yourself.

Amira: There was some confusion recently following an interview about this one; will certain classes be locked out to certain races?

Brian: This is a big debate apparently! The answer just isn’t final yet. We actually corrected that internal communitarian, but the answer just isn’t final yet.

Amira: Can you tell us a little about the alt-points system we’ve heard about?

Brian: I don’t have a ton of detail on it but it’s going to be a way that, once you get to max level, the things you’re earning can be kind of handed down to your alts. So it’ll allow them to get special weapons or level a little bit faster, kind of, get through the content that maybe you don’t want to redo again. What we really hope is that players can go through the game multiple times, each time taking different paths, that way, making an alt is fun and different every time. But this is a pretty big focus because every class plays so differently, so it’ll be a real different experience for every class.

Amira: Can you give us any specifics about the battleground system?

Brian: No, we’re not talking too much about the specifics right now. For the most part, we’re really focusing on PvE now and making sure that the balance and pacing in the game is correct, making sure the classes are good. Then when we balance for PvP, we’re going to be balancing for party play, not one on one. There are some cool things we’ll get into later on.

Amira: Will there be any NPC faction reputation systems?

Brian: Right now there’s no faction system.

Amira: Which aspects of the game are specifically being westernized?

Brian: Everything, because we’re taking the feedback from everywhere and saying, you know, what are your players saying about this and what our players saying. Oh! They’re saying the same thing, so, a lot of it; you have so many resources before the launch with which you can do only so much stuff. You’re not going to be able to do everything, or every game would be perfect.

So, if we have a feature that players are really caught on and the Korean gamers are really caught on, it really prioritizes it because, you know, more bang for your buck, right? But there’ll also be things that the West has to have that maybe Korea doesn’t have. Maybe its promotional items or it’s the pacing in the game. Those are the kinds of things where we talk to the developers and we decide where we can allocate our time best.

Because they have not launched in Korea, all suggestions are valuable. There are things we’ve suggested that have been turned down, but then brought back up and put in. So we’re exploring something in terms of an achievement system, that’s definitely something the West prefers. Like I mentioned the pacing is a big thing. We’ve been given the green light to have a different leveling curve than in Korea, which is a huge difference, but we can’t just pick things. We need to do our research and do our focus group testing and see what our players want.

Filed by TERA Fans News at 10:38 pm under Uncategorized  Tagged Alliances, Amira, Different Ways, E3, Fans, Game Quest, Goodies, Guild System, Hey, Little Bit, Members, Monsters, Options, Producer Brian, Tera
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The Next Generation Of MMOs

The Art Of Combat

Archetypes And A Little Hip Action

Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/video-games/mmo/articles/56042.aspx#ixzz0cuGIF3Pm

Filed by admin at 9:15 pm under tera community,tera online,Uncategorized  Tagged Action Games, Aion Online, Arborea, Battlefield, bluehole studios, Character Setup, Combat System, Cool Down, Driving Force, Environments, Evolutionary Step, exiled realm of arborea, Gameplay Experience, Interaction, Little Bit, Mechanics, Mmorpgs, Mouse Button, Next Generation, Quick Keys, Real Time, Roll Dice, Tera, Tera MMORPG, tera online, Tera online mmo, TeraOnline, Visuals
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