I’m almost level 43, more than two-thirds through the leveling process in Tera Rising. I haven’t however, seen the same percentage of the content. I’ve noticed recently, that by doing all of the quests, we’re losing some of the combat difficulty because we’re the same level as the mobs. It’s not quite as exciting when we can pull 30 mobs and spam them down effortlessly. It might be time to start skipping quests that aren’t part of the main storyline.
Much like Rift, there’s considerably more content than what you need to level. This is a good thing if you enjoy having alts. If you’re like me and not into alts, it gives you room to skip zones and quests you don’t enjoy. I’ve never been at a loss for where to go or what to kill next, in order to progress.
There’s nothing revolutionary about Tera – it’s pretty classic Asian MMO in its questing style. You have your high body count quests, great graphics, pretty models and armor. Difficult mob encounters throughout every zone as well as the instances. And the crafting is a grind like no other. I wouldn't invest in the effort until you know you’re staying for the end game. *smile*
I enjoy the game at the casual place at which we're playing. I like the challenges of Big Ass Monsters (BAMs) in every zone. Granted some evenings it's a bit more heart thumping that I have the energy for. Doing them as a duo without a death is rewarding. Tera is action based combat where aiming is similar to FPS games. There is no tab or sticky targeting. It requires more effort and focus.
Sarzan and I are currently working our way through Essenia. Right now we’re hold up at the Tria outpost. Essenia is going down as my second favorite zone so far. It has a lush tropical forrest vibe. Not the subdued muted forrest under brush often associated with Elven zones. It's whimsical and quirky like Poporia. It’s also one of the first zones to really make use of the climb skill by incorporating upper and lower levels of outdoor content.
A compliment to Tera's content and design is that I forget I’m playing a F2P game! It’s only when I go to deposit items in the bank which is about to overflow, that I remember, oh yeah, it might be time to purchase another bank slot. I have invested in the journy by purchasing a bank slot, character slot, race change and still have cash shop coins to spend.
If I make it to level 60, this will be the first character to do reach max level in a F2P game. So far the odds are in Tera’s favor. EQ Landmark will be nipping at its heels shortly so reaching max may get stalled for a little bit.
If I may, what exactly does "a compliment to Tera's content and design is that I forget I’m playing a F2P game" mean?
TERA, along with LOTRO, SWTOR and many others started off as sub games. But even with Allods or Runes of Magic and other F2P-only games, I don't really see any difference whatsoever in terms of the content that would make me say "oh, I'm obviously playing a F2P game" or "oh, I'm obviously playing a sub game."
Posted by: Talyn | January 21, 2014 at 02:01 PM
I found some of the things SWTOR tried in order to solicit cash purchases out of players ridiculous. Pay to have access to more hotbars??
When Allods went from Beta to live and their cash shop hit, it was quits for me and the friends that were playing. $16 for a single bag slot was ludicrous, bordering on greedy. We laughed and uninstalled the game.
I'm obviously playing F2P when I'm besieged by dialog boxes reminding me that if I subscribed, I could do this that and the other...what EQ2 has added.
I'm obviously playing F2P when basic interface elements or interactions are denied - Allods. Or I'm blocked from certain chat channels - EQ2's initial f2P model.
I'm obviously playing F2P when I must buy consumables to negate death penalties (Allods) or reasonably level without them.
I could go on about the things which are a constant reminder that I'm in a F2P game and they want money. This doesn't happen in Tera. I have cash shop coins sitting in my account that I forget are there because there's nothing being spammed in my face or made so inconvenient that i feel compelled to buy.
Posted by: Alysianah aka Saylah | January 21, 2014 at 03:39 PM
Gotcha. I'll admit, I installed SWTOR a few months ago to re-try it and the F2P was so... I'm struggling for the right word but in the meantime I'm tempted to say "hostile" that I subbed. I'm not the only one who's felt that way.
Allods, on the other hand, dropped pretty much all the stuff that caused the mass exodus and player anger back then. They even have a sub-only server now.
So it sounds like it's not so much the "content" per se, as being offensively in your face with various interfaces asking you to spend even more money?
Posted by: Talyn | January 21, 2014 at 07:29 PM
Yes, could have said something like "they don't manipulate the content or mechanics in a way that make you need to buy or put buy "this" in your face." :-)
Posted by: Alysianah | January 21, 2014 at 10:29 PM
We can always skip even con areas and push ahead to harder areas ;) I really think it's easy because we duo and I can swap into a more durable tank stance while you keep me up. Really, it's your ability to heal and my durability and attacks that have mobility that allow us to do some of those massive pulls. If we were to solo, we could never pull that off or have such a long recovery time, we would wish to go back to the mass killing mode.
Gotta agree with you, this and Path of Exile are the best F2P games out there in terms of being un intrusive.
Posted by: Sarzan | January 22, 2014 at 12:40 PM
We should probably do that. We've had some gray mobs/quests. We can do the BAMs that are at our level, those are still challenging as a duo.
Posted by: Alysianah aka Saylah | January 22, 2014 at 02:48 PM
I'm sure with better gear, skill and knowledge I could handle BAMs on-level solo. Maybe. But as it stands I can't touch one solo until I'm at least 10 levels over them. Which is fine, quest XP overrules kill XP far as I'm concerned. But still, I'd like to be able to handle them before they turned grey.
Posted by: Talyn | January 24, 2014 at 03:28 PM
I so see lancers and warriors a few over soloing BAMs. As you've said, you have to be on your toes. I've tossed a few heals if I see them in trouble. I used to like to get to the point where I could go back an solo content but not so much anymore. I'm lucky to stick around for max level these days, let alone retrace zones. *sigh*
Posted by: Alysianah aka Saylah | January 24, 2014 at 03:43 PM