Update 3: If you were in previous betas and did not recieve your beta invite yesterday, contact EME support!
Update 2: Just received my beta key! Check your email!
Update 1: Scapes commented on download access for previous testers:
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We'll be sending out those emails today barring any last-minute holds. We'll make sure you have ample time to download the beta client.
(Thanks Maladhiel and Milkfox!)
@TERAonline on twitter just tweeted about beta client availability:
So if you pre-ordered, be sure to go download now!
At this time, this group of people who can pre-load does not include previous beta testers. (Check the update!)
No news yet for those of us waiting for a retail CE pre-order option, but the En Masse team has been reassuring the community that retail beta-access tangles are being smoothed. Hopefully that includes retail CE pre-order options!
Today, Frogster and En Masse Entertainment have released some official information on TERA's closed beta. Although it's just a prompt to sign up for testing, it hints that closed beta may be around the corner!
Frogster's TERA Europe trailer is above, the announcements and sign up instructions can be found on either site, depending on your region:
Of note is the fact that Scapes has confirmed that previous testers from the Focus Group Tests and Community Play Events will be automatically invited to join in on the testing.
When more information becomes available concerning western beta testing, you can be sure that you'll find it here or on TERA-Online.com.
Update:
Just an update! The team at EME uploaded a video of our day at the office! I'm the one who's ALWAYS ready to kick some ass :D (in my curse shirt xD)!
Thanks again to all the staff at En Masse! What an awesome experience!
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Hey, TERA Fans :D As you all know, the team at En Masse Entertainment was kind enough to invite the community into their new office in Seattle this Saturday and I was one of the attendees! In this post I'll detail the events of the visit from my perspective :)
On Saturday afternoon, the group met up with Scapes at the convention center and we all made the trek over in a fairly orderly fashion! When we got to the office we rode the elevator up in groups, met the team, and took a tour of the office.
Their office is entirely open with almost no one having an actual enclosed office or cubicle. Beautiful views of the water can be seen from nearly every corner of the space as you'll see in the above pictures! There are huge, brilliant pictures of TERA characters and landscapes all around. Needless to say, the office just bleeds inspiration and looks like a lovely place to work.
After the tour, COO Patrick Wyatt sat us down to reveal their secret weapon in the fight against illegal RMT: the chronoscroll system. Alongside the event the team published a detailed description of this feature over on the official site, but here are the basics:
Chronoscrolls are items which will be purchasable on the official site at TERA's launch.
The cost of chronoscrolls will be equal to the cost of a monthly subscription.
Chronoscrolls will be able to be sold in the in-game auction house or in player shops for in-game money. En Masse will have no say in how much in-game money the chronoscrolls cost: the players of the server will be in total control of placing value on the scrolls.
Therefore, with this system, in-game money will be able to buy subscription time and subscription time will be able to earn players in-game money.
The goal for the feature is to kill the incentive for illegal RMT by legalizing a Gametime to in-game money type of RMT. I think it's an interesting idea that could definitely be successful. How about you, TERA Fans?
After the chat with Partick, we learned that our demo would be the same instance used during this year's Gamescom: Necromancer's Cell. We were placed into teams for the run and Organic and I spent the time waiting to play by chatting up the writers and other team members (the fruit of which can be found in his notes here!)
While I was waiting to play, Brian Knox alerted me to something I did not expect-- the Elin in the current build of the game were wearing release-candidate state, updated armors! I let him know that with this knowledge I was obliged to hijack a computer station and take pictures and to my further astonishment, he agreed to let me post them here for you guys! (Thanks a TON EME! <3)
So without further ado, have a look at the updated Elin armor:
I personally found the changes remarkably subtle and in some cases I had trouble locating what was changed. I learned that nearly all of the Elin armors were updated in some way; all short skirts gained shorts underneath, some panties were changed to shorts, some skirts were made slightly longer, and most stomachs were covered. I feel that they are tasteful and preserve the spirit of the original armors. I'm so excited I was able to take pictures and share them with you all, so please, let me know what you think!
The build of TERA we played also had a couple of additional features:
Localized voice acting: All of the voices were provided by Seattle based actors. High Elves had slight British accents.
Updated UI Icons: A few of the UI icons were changed around. See a picture over here.
The build included the Korean Dark Awakening patch.
After I had snapped all the pictures I could of the new Elin, Brian was awesome enough to hook up a controller for me to test the game with as it's a feature the team is really proud of; and understandably so! The controller was nearly plug-n-play: when it was plugged into the PC, TERA immediately recognized it. I was able to change bindings through an in-game menu and even hold down the attack button to spam the basic attack just like you're able to with the left mouse button.
The clunkiest aspect of controller use at this time is picking up quests, since you have to get the cursor to the "accept quest" rectangle using the joystick. However, the team has plans to refine this and I have no doubt they will! They seem extremely dedicated to controller support and as a huge keyboard and mouse fan I have to say, leaning back with a controller and some TERA was pretty sweet!
The Necromancer's Cell instance was a lot of fun! I played a sorcerer and felt that my group did extremely well as we had no deaths what-so-ever and cleared the place in 19 minutes! The two bosses we fought were pretty fun and not too challenging from a ranged perspective.
The final boss included static adds which pulsed AoE lightning that hit you hard if you got into their melee range, so it was essential that ranged classes cleared them out when they started to take up too much space. Overall the demo dungeon was a great experience.
The promised swag bags did not disappoint! They included TERA posters signed by the team, a TERA messenger bag, a TERA rock, and most importantly, the world's first chronoscrolls. That's right! We were granted physical chronoscrolls which we will be able to use as one month of free gametime at release. Completely awesome, check it out below!
On the whole, the EME open house event was awesome. I'm so glad I was able to attend and I really appreciate the team for opening up their doors to me and other community members!
If this doesn't make it feel like we're finally moving closer to the game's release, I don't know what will! Today, CM Scapes of En Masse Entertainment revealed the box art we'll be seeing all across store shelves once the game launches in North America and Europe this year!
I find the art so striking! What an amazing choice :) Tomorrow, hundreds of TERA fans will get to test the game during the Community Play Event. Join our community as we discuss the test and get involved in our group picture effort!
Hey, TERA Fans! If you have a Lancer class question for the devs, now's your time to head over to the official forums and ask it! This week's Pegasus Express topic is the Lancer class.
Check out the official post in full below or read through last week's Slayer answers here :]
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This week has seen many lancer questions asked by press and fansites and now it's the community's turn! The Pegasus Express invites you to ask about TERA's shield-wielding, lance-brandishing class in this thread. The En Masse Entertainment team will collect them and answer a set of three.
Hello, TERA Fans! This thread's got something for everybody-- even Lancers
O:
Yesterday, Scapes posted this week's screenshots of the week and they're all of Lancers in action! They feature an Aman Lancer fighting a Kuma and three Lancers forming a protective barrier of Lancer-ness 8D
As noted on the official forums, if you look closely at the background of the second screenshot, there is a hot pink crystal sort of thing. Scapes has confirmed that, that is a gatherable crafting material. So, check out the screenshots below!
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Forget the Iron Curtain–lancers can throw down an iron wall to protect themselves and their allies. Shield blocks are vital to a party's success as our plate-wearing heroes keep their lightly armored friends safe from harm. And, much to this kumas' chagrin, lancers are no easier to kill alone than they are in groups.
Click images for larger sizes.
This innate toughness gives rise to the unofficial, and very cocky, lancer motto: "Bring it."
-- Scapes
Today, TERA Fans translator Meiellink notified me that a Japanese TERA teaser site has now opened! Right now there doesn't appear to be any new news on the site, but they are playing the amazing G*Star 2009 trailer... maybe we'll see the 2010 trailer sooner than we think :D
Anyway, if you're going to be playing TERA from Japan, you should definitely check it out.
Finally, I just thought I'd spread the word about a new thread I started yesterday! The Q&A thread will be home to Super TERA Fans and New TERA Fans alike as we attempt to address simple questions with simple answers :]
If you have a simple question but you aren't sure where a question like yours might be answered in the abyss of TERA information, just ask it in the Simple Questions -> Simple Answers thread and a TERA expert will surely try to help :D
Ello, TERA Fans! Today, Scapes on the official forums posted some Halloween inspired screenshots of the week! Check em out!
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This is the week to get "TERA-ized" with some of our more haunting images—eerie Eldritch Academy, blood-sucking vampirs, children's toys brought to sinister life, and more! There are certain doors in TERA that only the very brave will approach, let alone knock and ask for a treat.
Click images for larger sizes.
The chaos guide, for example, always chooses "trick" when you come to her door on Halloween night. Be sure to check out our Halloween video and additional screenshots!
-- Scapes
Update 2: Yesterday, Scapes on the official forums posted a thread with an official translation of this article. Of note are the westernized names of the enhancement crystals and the explanation of why the class crystals were chosen. I'll be adding those to the article :]
Update: Thanks to Bygeorge, we now have the developer reccomended crystals for each class!
Today a new article was posted on the Official Korean site detailing the basics of TERA's enhancement crystal system. TERA Fans member, Bygeorge, was nice enough to do a quick translation for us! Check it out! :D
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Basic Enhancement Crystal Guide
Overview
Enhancement Crystals can be attached to weapons and armor. They allow you to customize your playstyle. There is a chance they can be destroyed when you die, or when you attempt to remove the crystals.
Types of Crystals
Crystals can either be attached to weapons or armor. There are several levels of crystals, and higher level crystals have greater effects.
(then it goes on to list a couple of general crystals. I will just list all of the crystals I knew of before this article instead, using variables for values)
Increase max HP by X
Increase max MP by X
Gain X HP every 5 seconds
Gain X MP every 5 seconds
X% chance to gain Y HP whenever you hit an enemy
X% chance to gain Y MP whenever you are hit by an enemy
Increase all resistances by X
Increase defense by X
Increase attack by X
Run speed while not in combat increases by X
Condition Related Crystals
Some enhancement crystals only take effect under certain conditions.
Knockdown - these crystals only take effect when attacking an enemy who is knocked down.
Rear Attack - Only take effect when attacking or being attacked by an enemy from behind.
Enrage - These take effect when attacking or being attacked by a monster which is in an enraged state. When enraged, mobs will have increased attack and movement speed.
Monster Size Related Crystals
Monsters in Tera can be broken up into groups based upon their size. Certain crystals only effect monsters of specific sizes. Depending on what type of mobs you are fighting, you can choose crystals which will have the greatest effect.
Small Monsters Domineering Rhomb - Increases damage done to small monsters
Medium Monsters Dauntless Cabochon - When attacked by medium monsters you have a chance to generate a protective shield. Acrimonious Cabochon - Increases attack power when attacking medium monsters.
Examples of Enhancement Crystals
Crystals which may be good for Warriors
Warding Hexage - Chance to create a protective shield when knocked-down. The protective shield appears as a faint red sphere surrounding the character and lets you ignore a certain amount of the enemy’s damage. Fleetfoot Hexage - Increases speed in combat.
Warriors tank by gaining the enemy's attention and dodging opponents with fast moves and faster attacks. Although skilled at evading incoming blows, warriors wear leather armor, which doesn’t mitigate damage as much as heavier armor. The crystals Warding Hexage and Fleetfoot Hexage both enhance this tanking style.
Although warriors frequently use defensive skills such as Evasive Roll and Death From Above, they also need good movement speed in combat in order to position themselves for every advantage possible. Fleetfoot Hexage crystals don’t offer quite as much speed enhancement as the Swift Hexage crystals. However, Swift Hexage only increases the warrior’s out-of-combat movement.
The Warding Hexage's ability to let a player ignore damage when their dodge skills aren’t available makes it a great choice for warriors. The warrior’s lower defenses make the leather-wearing tank more vulnerable to the enemy when knocked down. In that situation, the protective shield may protect the warrior from enemy attacks long enough to return to combat.
Shows the shield created by the enhancement crystal.
The shield absorbs a small amount of damage before dissipating.
Enhancement Crystals for Lancers
Inspirational Rhomb - Chance to recover HP when you hit an enemy Vigorous Rhomb Continuously recover HP over time
Lancers hold enemy aggro with skills like Challenging Shout and defend against incoming attacks with a physical shield. The lancer’s heavy metal armor and well-positioned shield prevent the PC from taking too much damage. Lancers are less mobile than warriors, so they rely more on healing.
Because of the lancer's damage mitigation while blocking, recovering 100 HP is more effective for a lancer than on any other class. In combat, 100 HP on a lancer will last much longer than 100 HP on a mystic, priest, or sorcerer. Continuously regenerating HP while in combat helps the lancer to avoid a crisis of HP.
Enhancement Crystals for Slayers
Savage Cabochon - Increased attack power when attacking an enemy from behind Triumphant Cabochon - Increases your attack power after being attacked from the rear
Slayers deal wide area attacks, fighting in melee range with the tanks. By standing toe-to-toe with the enemy, it’s easy for the slayer to slip around and get behind an enemy. In a group, slayers should find it easy to continuously position themselves for rear attacks. Savage Cabochons accentuate the slayer’s effectiveness when attacking from behind.
The chance of dealing critical hits already increases when attacking monsters from behind, and when combined with crystals that increase critical damage, the backstabbing slayer can consistently deal massive hits. Pairing up with crystals that activate upon landing criticals adds another layer to the slayer’s damage cake.
Shows the difference in damage between attacking the front and rear of the monster.
Enhancement Crystals for Berserkers
Defiant Hexage - Increased damage done when you have less than 50% HP Persistent Hexage -Increased critical attack power when you have less than 50% HP
Berserkers have abilities which can substitute HP for MP for various combat effects. This intentional "lowering" of their HP can quickly move them into the range where Defiant and Persistent Hexage crystals are most effective.
Combining high damage attacks with the high defense of heavy armors, against most opponents the berserker can gain more benefit than other melee classes from this combo--almost to the point where they prefer not to be healed in combat!
The increased damage when at low health effects all attacks.
Enhancement Crystals for Archers
Cruel Rhomb - Increases damage when attacking an enemy who is knocked down Venomous Rhomb - When attacking a target which is knocked down, you can cause them to receive a poison effect.
Archers attack enemies near or far with a continuous stream of damage. They have several traps that let them slow or stun an enemy, making them susceptible to knock-down. So when an enemy is knocked down, these crystals can give the archer the chance to immediately capitalize on the situation and pile on extra damage.
The archer's fast attack speed means more hits connect while an enemy is down, and therefore a higher chance to critically hit an enemy during that time. Archers profit from that advantage more than other classes, and with the Venomous Rhomb crystal, gain a damage-over-time poison effect.
Attacking knocked down opponents with these stones can greatly increase damage.
Enhancement Crystals for Sorcerers
Cunning Cabochon - Increases your maximum MP Glistening Cabochon - When your attack is a critical hit, you recover MP
Sorcerers rely on MP more than any other class to deal their highly explosive damage. One strategy to deal with the constant consumption of MP is to use continuous MP regeneration. Another strategy useful to sorcerers is to increase their initial maximum MP to last them through the battle and gain MP back through items or skills like Mana Infusion when not it combat.
Long cast times of the sorcerer's powerhouse skills means that sorcerers usually see fewer critical hits in a set time than other classes, but by using the short-ranged skill Flame Pillar a sorcerer will see multiple hits to the enemy and more criticals. The Glistening Cabochon crystal paired with Flame Pillar offers the sorcerer another way to gain back precious MP.
Enhancement Crystals for Priests
Infused Hexage - Continuously recover MP over time Warding Hexage - When hit by an attack, there is a chance you will generate a protective shield
The priest's offensive skills are relatively inexpensive in terms of MP. During combat, the priest won’t consume much MP until healing is required; but when healing is needed, it’s imperative to have a lot of MP at the ready. MP regeneration crystals like Infused Hexage keep the priest’s MP topped off.
Cloth armor doesn't offer a lot of protection in combat, and priests have fast self-heals for normal combat situations. But if a priest gets knocked down, they can’t cast and become very vulnerable. The protective shield of the Warding Hexage offers the priest a chance to survive the crisis.
The shield allows you to ignore a small amount of damage.
Enhancement Crystals for Mystics
Infused Hexage -Continuously recover MP over time Resolute Hexage - Reduces the damage you take when your HP is less than 50%
Mystics are probably the most versatile of the TERA classes. They can summon creatures to help them in combat, and channel auras for beneficial effects for themselves and party members. These skills either consume significant amounts of MP up front, or continuously deplete MP, so mystics must ensure they have MP at the ready. The Infused Hexage crystal provides a vital regeneration of MP both in and out of combat.
The cloth robes of the mystic don't mitigate damage well. With adequate MP available, mystics can easily heal themselves. However, if they take a lot of damage when their MP is low, they may find themselves facing a crisis. The Resolute Hexage crystal offers damage mitigation that one might normally experience wearing heavier armor.
Increasing your survival rate when you have low HP is very useful.
The news isn't new for any of the focus group testers out there, but for those who haven't had a chance to test the system, the article provides a good basic understanding of enhancement crystals! Thanks so much as always, Bygeorge!
Scapes on the official forum has posted a new set of screenshots of the week featuring a zone called Cultist's Refuge.
Not only does this zone seem to boast some interesting lore, it also introduces the idea of hiring mercenaries. I don't believe I've heard about a feature like that before! What do you guys think?
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Our eighteenth screenshot collection features the Cultist’s Refuge, headquarters of the Atel Akkad conspiracy. This soaring gothic fortress is a stronghold of forbidden magics dedicated to resurrecting the demon god Lok. Here and there, victims of failed Atel Akkad mind-control experiments can be hired as mercenaries. They burn with the need for vengeance against their former masters.
The Cultist's Refuge was the dungeon showcased in the PAX 2010 press demo and will be featured in our video of the demo coming next week!
-- Scapes
Update #2: Added a compilation of off-site interviews from PAX.
Update #1: Added the link to the TF Interview with Brian Knox!
Hey, TERA Fans :D! I just got home from PAX 2010 last night and it was a blast! Between me and TERA Fans member Organic, we've got all kinds of TERA goodies :3
This thread will contain links to all the coverage TERA Fans has of PAX 2010 so you can most easily find what you're looking for.
Organic's PAX 2010: The Scoop!
- Organic spent most of his PAX time at the TERA booth, so he has tons of great information to share! I'd definitely advise reading through the whole thread. Thank you so much for the hard work, Organic!
- TERA Swag (Poster is signed by all the En Masse writers! Sadly when I got mine laminated at Kinkos, it had a little accident on the top left side D: But that's okay, it's still amazing!)
- TERA Breakfast (From left to right: Scapes, me, BrotherMagneto, Kyoji, and Mark)
Filed by TERA Fans News at 11:18 pm under Uncategorized Tagged Ample Time, Beta Download, Beta Testers, Betas, Contact, Download Access, Email, Emails, Last Minute, Scapes, Tangles
Lancers
Domineering Rhomb - Increases damage done to small monsters
Dauntless Cabochon - When attacked by medium monsters you have a chance to generate a protective shield.
Acrimonious Cabochon - Increases attack power when attacking medium monsters.
Secured by 
