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Pre-"Sneak-Peak" Impressions
maskedweasel
Member LegendaryPosts: 12,196
in TERA
I only had about an hour or so to play today, so I'm just going to throw out some bullet points on what I liked and disliked.
(was able to get my high elf berserker to 8)
Likes:
Character Creation - the character models are great, of course. Though I don't really like where they went with all of the races, all the characters I toyed around with making looked great to me.
Controller Support - Though I only gave the controller support a once over to test for functionality, its pretty awesome that they allow you to connect your 360 controller and play.
The early story design was a nice touch. (Poor dubbing aside) It was a nice addition and I liked the voice work.
The world looks great, very beautiful overall. I generally enjoyed the aesthetic.
Dislikes
While I did enjoy the idea behind the combat, it definitely wasn't as fluid as I was expecting. The closest comparison would be that of - say, Phantasy Star or Vindictus, though the combat of TERA (at least in this early stage of pre-release) needs some hefty polish and isn't nearly as fluid or enjoyable as either of the prior two listed. (imo)
Loot drops are extremely tiny, and are often covered by the gargantuan monsters you are fighting, that die on top of them. An auto-loot feature would be ideal, you wouldn't believe how many times I passed by and saw loot on the ground from people who completely missed picking up their items.
Not using this as an insult, so don't make it one, but I couldn't stand the EU server I was on. My heart goes out to those that put up with those kinds of shenanigans on a daily basis. I can only pray the NA servers will be much better in terms of community.
The mobs overall reminded me a lot of other asian-esque games. Very few different kinds of mobs as you progress throughout the area. You do have some bees, or some piglets, or whatever, but they aren't really your main focus, and its really the same models with the title "hardened" or "sickly" in front of them instead. Basic MMO design stuff... more of a gripe than a dislike.
Overall I enjoyed the short time I got to play, and look forward to more time in the NA test this weekend. I left out performance issues entirely, simply because I knew to expect them, and this was really their first, (technically second) try at testing the game so I gave it a pass.
Questing was very run of the mill... but I figured it would be. TERA isn't touting a massive change in quest design, and it doesn't deliver one. It does change the combat up from traditional MMO gameplay... though we'll see how well that carries over as beta progresses.
How about you guys... likes? Dislikes?
Comments
Agree with you on most of this, however we differ on 2 things, I felt the combat was smooth, and only got better with levels, at around level 14 I had alot of good combo's and I imagine it will only get better later on.
I got to level 17 so far, and while I do agree there wasnt many types of mobs on the starter island, there are lots more once you go beyond this zone.
Thats good to hear. Again this is a very early first impression. The main reason I didn't think the combat was as smooth is due to my berserker not really attacking in the direction of my reticle.
If I was looking at the monster and strafing left, and attacked, I would attack left and miss the monster. I would have to stop entirely and run straight to hit the target. I didn't have any click combos at this level, it was primarily stop and hold the button down, and block when necessary. I was able to strafe around the big attacks too, so that was a major plus.
Really looking forward to getting to the higher levels and seeing what its like.
yes combat is very stop/go/stop/go/stop/go especially if you play some of the slower melee calsses like the Berserker or Lancer. Aion was much like that at launch and only later was optimized to allow more movement between the "stuck" feeling of every animation. hopefully Tera will also do that in the future.
the aiming is fun thoug, and trying to dodge attacks is also pretty fun.
the art style and the look of monsters is very Korean and granted it's not for everyone. in the end it is a Easter mmo and that is the look you get. very flashy, very glitzy, very cutesy, and at time even right down silly. that's never gonna change from Eastern mmos.
I liked the combat and the art style.
The world however felt pretty dead, mobs and npcs are nothing more than soulles objects to kill or kill for. Another big immersion killer was the fact that a lot of the mobs simply don't fit their enviroment.
Fair enough, I'll tell you what I like so far:
• Music - Not sure why but this caught me by surprise, there is something about the music that it just keeps you playing, if only slightly more. Not so uncommon these days but it's there, and it's great.
• Character Customization - The character customization is great and is better than most themepark MMOs these days. I didn't expect it either since one of the things I hate the most about korean MMOs is that their customization freaking sucks. Add to this that the races look distinct from each other and you can end up with something different than the guy next to you.
• Open World - The world is open. Enough said. With disappointment after disappointment in this department, I just had to give this a plus. There was a day when this was taken for granted, now not so much.
• Beautiful graphics and aesthetics - The enviroment looks beautiful, the models are highly detailed and the graphics are easy on the eye. The animations are great although some slightly controversial, if you want to call it that.
• UI - It's slick, it's simple, it's sexy, it's minimalist and it works. Something pleasant to look at and doesn't bother me so far. You can also move things around as simply as pressing ALT.
• Voice overs - It's used but not overused. It does not replace quest texts but where it's used, it feels great. Most if not all NPCs have a line of voice when you click them, a nice touch I'd say. Then there are the cinematic scenes.
Dislikes:
• Run of the mill quests - I'm level 7 so far but from what I've seen the quests are very typical so far, I can't say it bothers me a lot so far, maybe it's because of some of the things I listed above but it's there and you quickly notice it. I reserve judgement until I get up on high levels.
• Loot system - It could use some work. Not something to cry over, but I can think of many ways it could get improved.
Undecided:
• Combat - It feels great sometimes but other times very frustrating. Extra frustration points for being a melee heavy hitter. It might get better on higher levels, or it might get fine-tuned by the devs. Or I should re-roll right now.
That's it so far.
Make sure you get to the capital city before commenting.
I didn't dig it at all until then, but by lvl 10-12 you get some more abilities for combos and you get used to the combat.
The city looks insane too.
The beginner area felt super lazy in the way it was made but they put a ton of effort in the shops and crafting shops in the main city, the graphics are insane too especially for an ue3 game.
I think classes may be a mixed bag... its tough to tell seeing as how I only played 1 so far, but will play many others during my weekend test.
Jak pretty much stated how I felt with the berserker... very stop-go stop-go.. not fluid at all in comparison to the other games I mentioned, -- don't get be wrong, it doesn't mean it was bad - just not really fluid for action oriented combat.
Other classes wil likely play differently... I can see a ranged class based around a dodge mechanic instead of a heavy melee type based around a block mechanic being very different.
Commenting on the combat before you learn how to use the combos or get to atleast level 30 is just silly.
Warriors in particular are very fluid.
Pretty sure the sneak peak is capped at 22 or so, but even if it isn't, I would say the combat would be inherently flawed if you have to get to 30 before you can "comment" on it.
But that isn't the case, seeing as how I was only level 8 and commented on it.
Looking for a 'community' while people are trying the game out in a 2 hour test before they buy is a rookie mistake.
Never had that problem testing games before, and definitely not on NA servers. Doesn't seem like any kind of mistake.. seems more like a "first impression".
Never. Really. So the Rift and TOR beta weekends were blooming of delicate flowers? Cause that's not what I remember at all. It always settles down when the game releases.
Thats what I'm hoping, but, as stated, I've never experienced a chat channel like when I logged into TERA, not in TOR or RIFT.
Not saying there aren't or weren't jerks, but in this situation, your experience may vary. It was, truly, a first impression. Perhaps the NA test this weekend will be different. I think it will.
I liked your write up, very informative.
By chance have you played Lineage2? I'm really looking for Lineage3 and Aion simply didn't live up to it. TERA is supposed to be the next Lineage3 but I'm wondering if someone else could comment on it.
Everything creates huge amounts of negativity on the internet, that's what the internet is for: Negativity, porn and lolcats.
Well from my brief sneak peek you would be better off sticking with L2 and Aion as they are both FTP. The control system on Tera is very similar to DCUO and i couldnt get on with that
yeah... I would say there is more then a bit of Lineage in this game... in every sense lol
Yes, I know about all the legal mumbo jumbo and who the makers of the game are. What I really care about is at its core is it what Lineage 2 was. Player driven, PvP focused, obviously not as grindy (level 8 in 2 hours?) as when L2 launched.
I don't care about the code itself, Just if the game has what I liked about Lineage2.
Everything creates huge amounts of negativity on the internet, that's what the internet is for: Negativity, porn and lolcats.
My impressions after about 6 hours of play time:
Pros:
- Combat, I've played a lancer, warrior, and priest so far, and I enjoy each in their own right. I've found the controls to be very fluid, intuitive, and at around lvl 15, diverse enough in skills to keep it interesting, but not overwhelming.
-PvP is awesome. I love the fact that your skill matters, I've spent a lot of time dueling (although it was hard to get casters to accepts duels for some reason) and I can say that the classes are extremely well balanced (at least at early levels) and skill does make a difference. My lancer got demolished by another lancer at lvl, and after the duel I mentioned how good the player was and he explained that he has a lvl 50+ on the Korean client, his experience definitely showed.
-Graphics are sick, the best I've seen to date, period. The anime style might not be your thing, but there is no denying that the game is drop dead gorgeous.
-Open World, it's a lot less instanced and "funneled" than I initially though. The maps are big enough that you never fill caged in like some other games, and although there are invisible walls, I rarely ran into them. The flow of questing is done really well.
-Performance is phenomenal, at least on my machine, and I'm laying with at least 200ms of latency. Draw distance is huge, I see tons of other players running around, in full detail with no slow load-in of their armor, and I don't experience even the slightest hiccup. It's actually pretty amazing, and the biggest suprise for me playing this game.
Cons:
-So far the game feels way too easy. I remember dying a few times on the korean client, I don't know if they tweaked it or what, but I haven't felt like I've been in any serious danger yet. Also, the quests that suggest having a party have all been soloable. Going in with three players to fight a boss that reccomends 5 is a cake-walk. Hopefully it gets more challenging at higher levels.
-Story: I stopped reading after the first few quests, just your typical Asian plot-lines here.
-No auto-loot, makes picking up every single item that drops rather annoying as it breaks up the flow of combat.
-Typical Asian mob pathing and spacing. Mobs are just sprinkled about the environment, no ryhme or reason for their existance. This has always ittirated me about Asian MMOs, but I guess some people don't mind it.
I actually found the game simply fun to play ( I played warrior )
Its admitedly bit simplistic MMO treadmill in design , typical for asiam MMOs. But action combat makes all the difference.
And for difference. I found the character models ( and by that i mean female ones ) ultra cool sexy
Me likes :P
They must have heavily nerfed both the lives and damage of the mobs in the game, compared to the Korean version
For example, those horned like creatures that the quest says to avoid their attack, barely scratched my cloth wearing mystic. My launcher was laughing at their face and was hardly blocking at all.
The 5-man encounters were easily soloable by my mystic, as I never felt overwhelmed or in danger. When playing with my lancer I went with my friend, but the NPC healer tere kept me topped regardless, so my guess is that he's even easier for a pure tank to solo.
Beyond the nerfed difficulty, here are my really early impressions so far:
The quest system is the generic hub system you've seen in MMOs the past few years. 70% of the quests are about killing X, 20% about collecting items and another 10% (could be more) are some early crafting quests I didn't bother with in the sneak peak.
That's my only complain really. It is a big one of course, if you're an old timer in the genre and have seen the same design used again and again. Now for the good parts:
The non tabbed combat was great on both melee and caster. In fact, in almost all games I've played I was focused more on the quickslot bar than on the actual combat around me. This time the time was spent looking at mob visual animation reaction and less in activating skills and it was great.
Dueling players felt great and was not a 3-sec affair to kill another player. You could actually formulate some strategy and work vs him.
The world besides beautiful (although a bit too colourful) felt open, despite the small size of the starter island. I guess the lack of corridors helped with that.
The avatars were gorgeous and fit the beautiful environment perfectly.
No visual impact no matter how many people or mobs on the screen and despite maximum graphics (admitedly I have a good machine though).
Now some things related more to the people playing the game and less to the game itself.
The game offers a big variety of races, with a different sensual level for each. Castanics being the succubus/incubus are the most sensual, High Elves a bit less, Humans less and so on, up to the point of having a race with no sex (Baraka). If a race is a bit too "sexy" for your tastes, you can pick another that is more modest.
Elins are not children. In fact, now that I've seen them in-game and next to my own castanic character, Elins are freaks. They have a head 3-5 times the size of the castanic one, the have arms as big as a castanic leg and legs almost as big as a castanic waist-line. In conclusion, they are "cute" sort of when looked at on their own but they are like a disproportionate doll when put next to other races.
Bottom line, the women are slutty and men are gay in this game and anyone rolling an Elin is a pedophile was a bit too much in general chat. It reminded me of AoC early days and how everyone was obsessed about the nude boobs and the nipples and all the nonsense. In the end its a gimmick. For some people it's a plus to be there, for others it's a minus. And in the end of the day, the game will be measured on its gameplay merits and not on the panty-shots or how Elins resemble children for some people.
Btw, you can block area chat by right tabbing on the chat tab and disselecting the area channel.
leveling seem to be way to fast
Agree with this!
I am loving the game so far, the combat is much better than I antecipated, I am playing a lancer and I found really awesome that its not just stand there and stack shield def or whatever, there is really a need to know the mobs so that you can block at the right time and still do some damage.
My girlfriend loved the castanic and the elin race she is playing a warrior, there is so much detail in everything in the game.
Some classes like the slayer get a lot of their best skills early, even at lvl22. While the warrior and archer's skills come way later on in the progression. I don't thinks its a flaw really (I probably would have done it differently though) but because the skills and effectiveness of each class will vary, the balance is definitely not at lower levels.
~srugs~
Velika: City of Wheels: Among the mortal races, the humans were the only one that never built cities or great empires; a curse laid upon them by their creator, Gidd, forced them to wander as nomads for twenty centuries...
Was mildly surprised when I saw an Elin next to a Castanic. Whilst the Elin are supposed to be cute, they are too disproportionate compared to the other races and it just makes them look weird. On their own though, I thought they fulfilled the cute role okay.
And they are there for cuteness, this is highlighted by their dance, where they make a very Korean cute expression in it.
Remains to be seen what race I roll in the live game, looking at some of the high level outfits you can preview in character creation, the Humans seemed to be the most slutty