Going through the re-birth process, MMORPG Tera is changing its identity, re-launching as Tera: Rising, and with a new title comes a new gameplay model. Once it emerges next month, Tera: Rising will be free to play.
No subscription fee, and new players won't have to deal with content restrictions, or a level cap.
Of course, since Tera developer En Masse doesn't hate the idea of money, players can use the all mighty greenback to further their game experience. Players can use real world money to purchase items from the in-game marketplace, or buy "Elite" status for $15 a month, which offers a bevy of benefits, including the following:
- One fiery halo
- Thirty of each of the 4 NPC summon scrolls
- One hour boosts for each XP, gold and reputation, refreshed daily
- Ten strongbox keys
- One village atlas
- Increased maximum simultaneous listings on the Broker (50)
- Lower fees for listing and selling items on the broker
- Elite mount(TBD)
- Double your daily quest limit
- Store discount on selected items throughout the En Masse store
Current subscribers will have their remaining game time converted into elite game time and rounded up to the nearest 30-day mark as of February. Or, you can ask for refund on your subscription fee. Details can be found here.
Players will be able to keep all of their characters on their accounts, including Discovery Edition characters, once the switch takes place. The only real difference seems to be that merchants will no longer sell chronoscrolls, since there won't be a point to having them any more. Players will be able to sell them back to merchants for 2,000 gold a pop.
Commenting on the switch, Tera's associate producer Patrick Sun said, "There are pros and cons to any decision, and for this one, we felt that eliminating the subscription barrier would provide a better game that everyone could enjoy. Eliminating subscriptions comes with certain stigmas, of course-and we wanted to defy them before making such a switch. We've always felt, and still do, that the quality of TERA is top notch-the combat you all know and love will stay the same and the beautiful graphics will persist."