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So, played the TERA beta...
14 years ago
General
.. because I preordered :p
So far I've only had this weekend as my first hand-on experience, and I've got to say.... I don't hate it.
While the initial design and layout is still very Korean MMO (really, sometimes it just doesn't make sense to see the creatures running around in the environment they're in), the action- based combat is rather refreshing.
So far, only two classes have been tested during my play (more to as of why only two later on), starting with the Slayer. A pure damage, light-armored two-handed sword wielder. Frankly, the first levels felt rather "meh" with this one to me. I didn't get him to level 14 yet, which was the point my bud described as the turning point where Slayers are, after being rather dull, becoming awesome and fun. Maybe I'll get to test him some more when the next Beta weekend comes around, but so far I've been more occupied with...
The Lancer.
HO-LY-SHIT!
You're the tank, you're the one with the heavy armor, a big lance and a big shield to hide behind. Now, the fun thing about him here is the amount of mitigation that gives you. In the standard format MMO's like WoW, your block is often determined by a % chance, or a long cooldown activated skill. Here, it's your bread-and-butter skill, actively raising your shield whenever you require (succesfull blocks drain mana, though).
Now, because you're actively blocking everything by yourself, you're not subjected to random chance anymore, and with decent equipment you fully block incoming damage.
Oh no, it's a quest which requires a party of 5 according to the quest log? Fuck you, I'm a Lancer, I solo this bitch! Sure, it took me like... 10 minutes of constant blocking and counterattacking, only sustaining myself with a 1 minute self-heal skill. But there's a great amount of satisfaction for me when I can fully block out incoming damage from a monster 10 times my size while it's charging into me. Plus it's the best kind of practice you can get for the instances, too.
Okay, now onto something I'd suggest or change.. Altering keybindings. They're alright, but they could be improved upon.
I'm not a WASD player, I've grown into becoming a lefty mouse user when gaming because my old drawing setup was; right hand tablet, left hand mouse for other quick actions. Either that, or they've kept telling me since I was young that I should be using my mouse left-handed... don't ask me why, crazy family I'm telling you.
Anyway, I've been able to alter most of the keybinds to be suitable for me, but there's ONE button that has been hard-coded into the game to be locked on the Spacebar. And that's the combo-chain button.
Many skills and conditions allow you to perform a combo-chain or reaction (as a lancer, I could retaliate after being knocked down, for instance, followed by charging into the opponent. Now, since the Retaliate is only available in ONE moment, it's not worth it keeping it on the hotkey bar, and the reaction button is awesome. But because I've bound all my keys to the numpad, I often miss out on a reaction press because the Spacebar is out of range.
Just allow me to change that button as well, and I'll be happy!
Speaking of keybinds, allow us to make global changes to keybinds as well. Having to set up keybinds seperately for every character is goddamn annoying.
... now to get back to drawing because shit, I still didn't finish those commissions.
So far I've only had this weekend as my first hand-on experience, and I've got to say.... I don't hate it.
While the initial design and layout is still very Korean MMO (really, sometimes it just doesn't make sense to see the creatures running around in the environment they're in), the action- based combat is rather refreshing.
So far, only two classes have been tested during my play (more to as of why only two later on), starting with the Slayer. A pure damage, light-armored two-handed sword wielder. Frankly, the first levels felt rather "meh" with this one to me. I didn't get him to level 14 yet, which was the point my bud described as the turning point where Slayers are, after being rather dull, becoming awesome and fun. Maybe I'll get to test him some more when the next Beta weekend comes around, but so far I've been more occupied with...
The Lancer.
HO-LY-SHIT!
You're the tank, you're the one with the heavy armor, a big lance and a big shield to hide behind. Now, the fun thing about him here is the amount of mitigation that gives you. In the standard format MMO's like WoW, your block is often determined by a % chance, or a long cooldown activated skill. Here, it's your bread-and-butter skill, actively raising your shield whenever you require (succesfull blocks drain mana, though).
Now, because you're actively blocking everything by yourself, you're not subjected to random chance anymore, and with decent equipment you fully block incoming damage.
Oh no, it's a quest which requires a party of 5 according to the quest log? Fuck you, I'm a Lancer, I solo this bitch! Sure, it took me like... 10 minutes of constant blocking and counterattacking, only sustaining myself with a 1 minute self-heal skill. But there's a great amount of satisfaction for me when I can fully block out incoming damage from a monster 10 times my size while it's charging into me. Plus it's the best kind of practice you can get for the instances, too.
Okay, now onto something I'd suggest or change.. Altering keybindings. They're alright, but they could be improved upon.
I'm not a WASD player, I've grown into becoming a lefty mouse user when gaming because my old drawing setup was; right hand tablet, left hand mouse for other quick actions. Either that, or they've kept telling me since I was young that I should be using my mouse left-handed... don't ask me why, crazy family I'm telling you.
Anyway, I've been able to alter most of the keybinds to be suitable for me, but there's ONE button that has been hard-coded into the game to be locked on the Spacebar. And that's the combo-chain button.
Many skills and conditions allow you to perform a combo-chain or reaction (as a lancer, I could retaliate after being knocked down, for instance, followed by charging into the opponent. Now, since the Retaliate is only available in ONE moment, it's not worth it keeping it on the hotkey bar, and the reaction button is awesome. But because I've bound all my keys to the numpad, I often miss out on a reaction press because the Spacebar is out of range.
Just allow me to change that button as well, and I'll be happy!
Speaking of keybinds, allow us to make global changes to keybinds as well. Having to set up keybinds seperately for every character is goddamn annoying.
... now to get back to drawing because shit, I still didn't finish those commissions.
Been eyeing this game for a while, looks awesome, sounds like it plays awesome too.
Use it to bind something like END to Spacebar, win forever
Or if you have a macro-capable keyboard (Like a good gaming one) Just bind spacebar into one of them
For people wanting in on this game but don't want to pre-order, they can try getting beta keys through Zam. All you have to do is sign up for their site, which is free, and then nab one of the keys. They do run out, but they get more batches it seems. http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=29101
I have a controller here from Logitech. Windows thinks it's an XBox controller so I don't need to fidget around with custom profile programs, so that's a plus. But yeah, didn't actually try to play with it yet in Tera.
Did that first dungeon with my buds yesterday as a Lancer, I just love that. I see them running around and evading everything, while I can stand fast and need to raise my shield. And Lancer becomes so much more fun when you're 26, you get you shield counter and a leash then :D