Granted the MMORPG re-emerged six days ago, so consider this your reminder.
What was once Tera, has been re-born as Tera: Rising, and is now officially free to play. WIth the fancy title, the game also comes with a new gameplay style, meaning, no subscription fee, no content restrictions, and no 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
Former 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 keep all of their characters on their accounts, including Discovery Edition characters. The only real difference seems to be that merchants no longer sell chronoscrolls, since there isn't be a point to having them any more. Players can 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."
