B-but the combat!
Yeah, the combat is nice. But is it nice enough to suffer through the rest?
In a game that has: a half-baked crafting system that is easily to level and useless outside of crafting endgame equipment, a community more focused on being kawaii and ERPing in private than doing anything else, and literally nothing to do but grind; is it worth it?
It kind of is. Only kind of.
Despite the complaints that you can’t move while using skills, the combat is still fun. It has a sort of Monster Hunter-feel, though less tight and rewarding.
The only area in which TERA: Rising exceeds is its combat. Everyone knows it, and it’s what keeps so many people playing the game. It’s why I played the game on and off for so long. There’s just something about being able to solo a giant monster. But if I wanted to do that and have my efforts amount to something, shouldn’t I just play Monster Hunter?
RaiderZ, a game very similar to TERA in the grind and combat, supplements the Monster Hunter-style combat with collecting monster body parts to make gear. Something like this would do TERA a lot of good — though it’s unrealistic at this point in the game’s development cycle.
The reward for the amount of effort put into the game is just too little, and while playing it genuinely feels like the amount of effort the developers put into the game is just too little to warrant such a time sink.
Looking back, the amount of memorable experiences I had with the game were very little. How many MMOs produce few memorable experiences? I still remember so much from so many other MMORPGs I’ve played. Why is it that TERA leaves me feeling like my pallet has been cleansed forcibly with bleach?
So yeah, it’s the minimum of “okay”.
TERA’s combat system is one of the best in MMORPGs to date, but it’s lacking in so many other departments that it’s hard to say that this is a good game. Game play is king, but an MMO’s gameplay encompasses a bit more than just combat. At least it should. And it doesn’t in the case of TERA.
I do still like the game, to a point. But I can’t say it’s excellent or a great way to spend your time. Add some flesh to those bones, Bluehole/En Masse. No one should have to suck on the bones to get the flavor.