Combat
This is TERA’s big win, yes even with animation lock (which prevents the hacking and whatnot we saw in DCUO, by the way). GW2’s combat is still a ton of fun, don’t get me wrong. It tweaks the standard tab-target stuff enough to make it far more interesting than in games like WoW or EQ2. Plus the dodge, once you learn its importance, is a brilliant feature to make combat seem more active. But that doesn’t stop TERA’s “True Action Combat” from pretty much making all other MMOs’ combat seem infantile. There are other games trying it on the horizon (Raiderz stands out and is F2P). But TERA really does have an ace up their sleeve, and with more diverse content in the future, and a focus on PVP, I can see En Masse’s game earning and keeping a large hardcore crowd of gamers with a lust for player versus player. Seriously, once you find your class, the combat in TERA is light-years ahead of anything else on the market. GW2 is good at it, but TERA is better.
Bill’s Conlusion
Ultimately, I’ll be playing TERA for the next several months at least. I look forward to Diablo 3, and I really am excited about The Secret World as well. I’m a gamer, I’ll play everything. But TERA’s got its hooks in me for now. In fact, I actually think TERA might be more fun for me than SWTOR ever was. I wonder though just how long it will last. What will the end-game hold? And more than that, will I be playingany other game when Guild Wars 2 launches? Both TERA and ANet’s game have their upsides. Just as SWTOR had its own benefits when this same argument sprouted around the time of BioWare’s launch.
But for what it’s worth, if you’re asking me my own opinion? I’ve not had the feeling Guild Wars 2 gave me in an MMO for over seven years. It made me remember that these games are about the world and the people, and about exploration. Not just about levels and gear. I can’t wait for that feeling to be permanent when GW2 launches. TERA really is a good game. But for my own tastes, I think Guild Wars 2 is ultimately the better product.