| Mail |
You might also like: WoW Insider, Joystiq, and more

TERA

Rumor: Bluehole is recruiting for TERA sequel

Fantasy, MMO Industry, Rumors, TERA

Rumor Bluehole is recruiting for TERA sequel
According to respected Korean news source ThisIsGame, Bluehole Studio is looking to add more people to its team for either a sequel to TERA or a whole new MMO entirely.

Some are saying that this will, indeed, be a sequel to TERA, but this has yet to be confirmed by Bluehole, hence the rumor tag. The studio is currently hiring for several positions, including server programmers, UI designers, artists, and more.

[Thanks to everyone who tipped us on this!]

One Shots: A light in the dark

Screenshots, EverQuest, Star Trek Online, One Shots, TERA, Miscellaneous, Neverwinter

One Shots A light in the dark
Reader Andrew is quite impressed with the look of Neverwinter, saying that it is visually "amazing!" Without descending into hyperbole, I have to agree. It's a good-looking title with plenty of interesting details if you take the time to stop and smell the corpses.

Corpses? Well, Andrew is standing in the middle of a whole bunch of dead folks here with his spectral flashlight (AA batteries not included). I wouldn't touch that treasure chest if I were you, Andrew. I'm guessing it might be a mimic. Oh no!

As we stumble through the dark, what other visions might we encounter in this week's One Shots?

Continue Reading

One Shots: The dark night dashes

Screenshots, Culture, One Shots, The Secret World, DC Universe Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, TERA, Miscellaneous

One Shots The dark night rises
Just because you have passing familiarity with Superman and Batman doesn't mean you know jack about the real superheroes who do all of the dirty work while the headliners steal the signal light. For instance, have you met this guy? If you haven't, let reader Russell make your acquaintance.

"This is my Brawling Juggernaut in DC Universe Online, known by many as Orange Crush," Russell begins with aplomb. "Here he is in pursuit of justice, on the way to laying some Crush down on the villains of our great and beloved Gotham City!"

Will Orange Crush arrive in time? Tune in to the rest of this column after the break!

Continue Reading

TERA celebrates first anniversary, teases future content

Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, PvP, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, TERA, Anniversaries

TERA Castanics
Fantasy action MMO TERA turns one year old today, and En Masse is celebrating by throwing a month-long party through the end of May. The firm is awarding players with in-game raffle items, mystery boxes "filled with rare and valuable prizes," and a new 10- and 20-person Kelsaik raid.

TERA's future looks bright, too, as En Masse has a 20v20 battleground update complete with strongholds, tanks, cannons, and airships waiting in the wings. The devs also have a new player-driven alliance system scheduled for the very near future.

Finally, En Masse has put together an anniversary infographic filled with esoterica like the number of accounts created (over 1.5 million), the ratio of male to female avatars (44.18 percent to 55.82 percent), and more. View the full graphic after the cut.

[Source: En Masse press release]

Continue Reading

The Soapbox: Dispelling the 'easy' myth

World of Warcraft, Fantasy, EVE Online, Opinion, DC Universe Online, RIFT, TERA, The Soapbox

The Easy Myth
A few weeks ago, I took a nice long look at World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria. Then I wrote about it. My impressions, like most things on the internet, were met with both ardent agreement and defiant protest. Everyone has an opinion, especially when it comes to World of Warcraft -- some people love the game, some people hate it, and some give it a resounding "eh."

I don't mind people disagreeing with me. People react to games differently, and what works for me may not work for you. But there was one specific critique that rose, repeatedly, in the great debate raging in that article's comments section. A critique that, frankly, I cannot abide:

"World of Warcraft is too easy."

Continue Reading

TERA NA surpasses 1.4 million accounts, celebrates with in-game event

Fantasy, Business Models, Events (In-Game), MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, TERA

TERA - This guy is about to fight some Dracoloths
The North American version of TERA has surpassed 1.4 million player accounts according to En Masse.

TERA made the free-to-play switch in February and has since added additional servers, a new dungeon, and a PvP battle arena. En Masse is celebrating its uptick with an in-game event called Dracoloths Rising. From March 20th through March 24th, even bigger big-ass-monsters are roaming the wilds of Arborea and serving as loot pinatas for opportunistic adventurers.

[Source: En Masse press release, also, thanks Ken!]

F2P doubles TERA playerbase

Fantasy, Business Models, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, TERA

F2P doubles TERA playerbase
While some like to say that switching to free-to-play is the death knell for a game, the opposite sure looks to be true for TERA. Whether it is because of the lure of the action combat model, the graphics, the fact that no content is locked behind a payment gate, or something else entirely, folks have flocked to the fantasy game since it went F2P a month ago. In fact, TERA's playerbase has swelled by over 500,000, doubling the number of registered users to over one million and causing Gameforge to open up six new servers in order to meet the demand.

Will the momentum hold? Only time will tell. But for now, F2P is definitely suiting TERA. For more on the free-to-play conversion, read Massively's exclusive interview with Associate Producer Patrick Sun.

TERA invites new players to power level

Fantasy, Contests, Free-to-Play, TERA, Promotions

TERA invites new players to powerlevel
Have you been waiting for a good reason to check TERA out for the first time? If free-to-play isn't enough incentive, En Masse has created a "No Sleep 'Til 60!" promotion that rewards brand-new players who log in and power-level to the endgame.

The promotion begins tomorrow and is open only to players who do not have a TERA account. By hitting certain milestones, players will accumulate rewards that increase the higher they get. The first tier of prizes begins at level 30 with the best being reserved for those who get to level 60 by March 26th.

The prizes include strongbox keys, XP boosts, reputation boosts, mirrored shades, mounts, and an extra character slot.

One Shots: Standing room only

Screenshots, Vanguard, Guild Wars 2, One Shots, Star Wars: The Old Republic, TERA, Miscellaneous

One Shots Standing room only
I love Bards and Bard-type classes. Always have, always will. There's something wonderfully against-the-typical-fantasy-grain about them in how they prefer a good solo on a harp to cleaving things in two with axes.

Reader Rebecca sent us in her Bard doing an impromptu woodland concert: "Here my Bard Rozily is strumming a tune in Northern Highlands as the snow begins to drift down. Sometimes in Vanguard you have to stop and enjoy the scenery."

Absolutely! Also, you may want to look into the fact that the lute seems to have severed your forearm. Check out the full picture and so much more after the jump!

Continue Reading

One Shots: Middle-earth cowboys

Screenshots, Lord of the Rings Online, Guild Wars 2, One Shots, Star Wars: The Old Republic, TERA, Miscellaneous

One Shots Middleearth cowboys
The recent Riders of Rohan expansion in Lord of the Rings Online has brought out the cowboy and cowgirl in a lot of us. Must be the emphasis on horseback riding over scenic plains while savage attacks are waged on settlements. It's here that we begin our journey through snapshots in MMO life this week.

Reader Binklewyst sets the scene for our first One Shots: "Riding over a low hill on the plains of Rohan, I stopped my warhorse to admire a view of the Faldham fortification. In the distance to the right is the evil Nink-hai warcamp."

Saddle up, pard'ners. The frontier awaits us after the jump!

Continue Reading

Massively Interview: TERA's Patrick Sun on free-to-play

Fantasy, Business Models, Interviews, MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, Interviews (Massively's), TERA

TERA Combat
Action-MMO TERA officially went free-to-play last week, and with the transition came a number of questions regarding payment tiers, transition plans, and En Masse's vision for the future of the game. Will TERA turn into a "pay-to-win" graveyard, or will it be another shining example of how to do free-to-play just right?

We sat down with associate producer Patrick Sun to find out.

Continue Reading

TERA doubling its dungeon drop rate through Monday

Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, TERA, Dungeons

TERA double loot drop weekend
If you're still on the fence about checking out TERA's new free-to-play flavor, maybe this will change your mind: double loot drops! En Masse is running a bonus event that begins at noon Friday and continues through noon on Monday.

All TERA dungeons will feature double the normal drop rate, which means "more weapons, more gear, more cash -- more everything," according to the announcement on the game's official website.

TERA free-to-play launches today

Fantasy, Business Models, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, TERA

TERA Berserker
It's launch day for TERA: Rising, the free-to-play evolution of En Masse Entertainment's fantasy action MMO. The company is releasing new content, new servers, and a new cinematic trailer to celebrate.

The Crucible of Flame dungeon heads up the in-game goodies alongside a three-on-three PvP battleground map. Players now have the option of joining an existing TERA server or starting fresh on either the new PvE or new PvP shard. TERA's F2P model features no content restrictions for free players, and previous account holders are automatically granted Founder status.

Head past the break for the launch-day cinematic.

[Source: En Masse press release]

Continue Reading

TERA: Rising's cash shop will be delayed

Fantasy, Business Models, Economy, Events (In-Game), Launches, PvP, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, TERA

TERA Rising's cash shop will be delayed
You may have heard a bit about TERA transforming into TERA: Rising and going free-to-play on February 5th (or, as we like to call it, tomorrow). That's still happening: You'll get to log in for free and play for free and do things for free and it'll be just wonderful. However, if you were hoping to drop some dough to pick up things like a mount, costumes, or elite status, you'll be out of luck for a few days.

Valkyon Outfitters, the place where meatspace money turns into cyberspace loot and 1337ness, will take a few extra days to be ready for business. You'll have to make do with checking out all the awesome new content without the benefit of a brand-new costume until the shop is ready to open its doors.

We know it'll be tough, but you can do this. Just wait a few more days to start flinging your money at the game.

En Masse Entertainment unveils TERA: Rising patch notes

Fantasy, Business Models, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, TERA

Screenshot -- TERA
On February 5th, En Masse Entertainment will be bringing TERA to the masses with TERA: Rising, which will see the game transition to a free-to-play business model. To help give players a leg-up on the competition, En Masse has released the patch notes for the upcoming update, and the list of changes is rather extensive. Some highlights include the introduction of the three-on-three Champions' Skyring battleground, the new competitive dungeon Crucible of Flame, a number of tweaks to many of the game's classes, and of course the much-needed crafting overhaul. The notes state that the game's crafting system "has been overhauled to streamline the process and simplify the amount of additional materials needed."

But because of the game's change to F2P, one of the biggest chunks of the upcoming patch is the addition of various account tiers. Accounts are divided into Elite Status, Standard, and Founder. The Founder account type will be granted to players who purchased TERA prior to the F2P conversion, Standard accounts will be given to new F2P players, and Elite Status is available via a $14.99 US per month subscription. For the full patch notes and all the juicy details on the switch to F2P, head on to TERA's official site to sate your curiosity.

Featured Stories

Engadget

Engadget

Joystiq

Joystiq

WoW Insider

WoW

TUAW

TUAW