You know Bluehole best for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, but they’re also the folks behind TERA Online, the massively multiplayer online role playing game that’s all the rage over in South Korea (although of course, it is available in Europe and North America too). If you’re playing this game, then you will probably be excited about the newest update for it that is rolling out.

Said new update is called the Fiery Featherweights, and it introduces the Elin Brawlers. This marks the very first time that you will be able to take them on in the game. The update also introduces the new Enhancement Point system, which should shake up the end game metagame nicely, as well as the Bahaar’s Sanctum dungeon, which up to five players can take on at once.

Now is as good a time as any to jump into the game (or to help someone else jump into it), too, with the BuddyUp! system being updated to grant improved rewards to those who make use of it, on both sides.

TERA Online is available now on PC. Meanwhile, you can learn more about this update on TERA’s site.

To find out more about the game’s current status and plans for the future, Gamingbolt reached out to En Masse Entertainment and the company’s Senior Product Manager Matthew Denomme provided the following answers.

"Since Open Beta we’ve launched the game fully and, with more players, we’ve identified a number of other issues that we are working with the game’s developers to sort out as soon as possible."

TERA has gone through numerous changes since its launch. What are your thoughts on the current status of the game and player satisfaction?

The TERA development team continues to support the game and is constantly adding new content for players to engage with, including new dungeons, classes, events, social features, and other quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes. TERA’s longevity and players’ continued engagement with the game I think speaks to the quality of Bluehole’s ongoing development support and En Masse’s live service support for the game, though there is always room for improvement. Non-gender-locked classes and overall support for PvP content I think are two areas where players would like to see us improve, and we’ve made some strides recently in those areas with the addition of battleground leaderboards and the male brawler in March 2018’s Counterpunch update.

We recently got some insight into what Bluehole has in store for TERA for the remainder of 2018 and beyond, and we are really thrilled with what they’re planning…and we think players will be too!

What kind of feedback did you received from the Open Beta of the console versions and what kind of fixes players can expect in the future?

The Open Beta revealed some bottlenecks: areas where players cluster during leveling or shared social spaces that contributed to poor performance, and in some cases crashing and client freezes. We remedied this during our second Open Beta a week later by adding more channels (think separate instances of the same area) and that seemed to help a lot. While these areas still suffer some performance issues, they are no longer a roadblock to players.

Since Open Beta we’ve launched the game fully and, with more players, we’ve identified a number of other issues that we are working with the game’s developers to sort out as soon as possible.

What can you tell us about the rebalanced dungeons? How do the changes keep the difficulty fair while still rewarding players?

Every dungeon in TERA has a purpose, whether it’s introducing new players to group dynamics at level 20, or speeding you along to better gear at level 65. With the introduction of last year’s progressive enchanting system, we were able to provide players with that gear as soon as they reach level 65, which also allowed us to retune dungeon content that players were skipping into challenging and relevant end-game experiences.

As you mentioned, challenge versus reward is something our developers take very seriously, and when we take a dungeon out of the mix, it’s always with an eye to bringing it back with new and improved mechanics, and more rewarding gameplay.

When is the next major content expansion for TERA? When will we see new stories, quests and continents?

Every content release moves the needle a little bit farther, but to your larger question all I’ll say for now is: Keep Looking Up.

What are your thoughts about bringing TERA to consoles especially with how successful games like Neverwinter have been?

We’ve had our sights set on a console release for a while now, but our priority has always been making TERA the best game it can be. Moving to Steam was an important first step, as it helped us gauge the impact a wider player base would have on not only our servers, but the TERA play environment. With the lessons we learned there, consoles were the next logical step, but we didn’t want to rush in half-cocked. So we took a couple years to get our business plan aligned with the needs of the players, while at the same time rebuilding TERA from the ground up with consoles in mind. We like the result, and we know that players will too.

"Like all free-to-play games, we have cosmetic items available in our store for players who want to customize their look, or are looking for a snazzy mount to fly around TERA’s friendly skies."

In this age of newer competitors and the like, where can TERA go from here? Could a sequel possibly happen at some point?

Anything’s possible, but right now we’re still focused on making TERA the best game it can be. And really, after over six years of live service, TERA is kind of its own sequel!

Does the game have any sort of microtransactions or loot boxes?

Like all free-to-play games, we have cosmetic items available in our store for players who want to customize their look, or are looking for a snazzy mount to fly around TERA’s friendly skies. Our loot boxes have been carefully designed to provide value without disrupting either game play or the in-game economy and often include items with unique properties like the ability to be dyed different colors.

The game is now confirmed for the PS4 and Xbox One, which also means it will support the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. Can you please let us know the resolution and frame rate it will run at on the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. And the resolution and frame rate on the base PS4 and Xbox One versions?

TERA does not have any specific support for Xbox One X and PS4 Pro, though it does gain some passive performance benefits when running on both resulting in higher framerates and an overall smoother experience.

On the base models as well as the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, the game runs at 1080p and targets 30fps, though the framerate is variable and can go up or down depending on what’s onscreen at any given time.

What is your take on the recent trend of games as a service model and the possible controversial monetization practices arising from it?

Games as a service don’t need to rely on controversial monetization practices necessarily. At the core of a service model is a dedication to the long-term commitment to a product both for developers/publishers and players. It’s about finding products that appeal to your audience and also fit your game design.

Is there anything more you’d like to tell our readers?

TERA’s got plenty to offer any gamer. The combat of a character-action game, the deep gameplay and customization of an MMO, stunning graphics, a soaring soundtrack, and epic enemy encounters. If you’re looking for your next gaming obsession, TERA may well fit the bill!

It doesn’t throw too much at you at the beginning, and sports a very clean UI that usually makes sense and can get you where you want to go in just a couple of button presses. These and many other elements make TERA make a lot of sense for consoles, which I’m sure is a delight for lots long-time players of the genre. TERA is indeed a fun game with lots of addicting gameplay loops and grinds that add up to an experience that doesn’t stand out as well as it did several years ago, but still holds up nicely if you’re looking for a neatly organized MMO experience with a decent story.

"TERA is indeed a fun game with lots of addicting gameplay loops and grinds that add up to an experience that doesn’t stand out as well as it did several years ago, but still holds up nicely if you’re looking for a neatly organized MMO experience with a decent story."

Speaking of story, TERA’s lore is pretty typical RPG-fare. The two characters of primary focus here, Arun and Shara, titans who wield quite intense power and whose fates became linked in an unavoidable way, so the story does have plenty of fantastical nonsense for enthusiasts of the genre to enjoy. Blue hole really went all out and clearly had too much fun when designing this world, and that’s a good thing.

The gameplay is pretty easy-going for quite a while, as you can do quite a large chunk of the story missions without much help before things really get difficult and force you to get serious about the ins and outs of the classes and races. But once the difficultly does ramp up, it stays there, offering a good, relatively well-paced amount of challenge throughout. The classes you have to choose from is of a pretty solid variety, and there should be at least one class here that speaks to you.

Even though a lot of the character models look pretty good in terms of detail and design, the worlds themselves are somewhat bland in that department, and rarely bring you any designs or aesthetics that you haven’t seen a thousands times before. That being said, I wouldn’t say any of the worlds or dungeons quite cross over into boring territory. they’re just… unremarkable. For as detailed and interesting as the characters can be, I feel like it’s an odd juxtaposition to play them in such a bland-looking world.

"Leveling, crafting, learning new skills all feels pretty good overall. There’s also a fairly good amount of skills to dive into, which is nice."

That’s not to say there isn’t diversity in the areas though, there certainly is, I just couldn’t help but notice how shallow they ultimately are. That said, a lot of the effects are nice and really make me appreciate them, particle effects during combat in particular. I say some though, because every time I see something I like, I see something else that looks like it would have made more sense in a game from a decade ago. So overall the presentation ends up being pretty mixed, with nothing really blowing my mind one way or the other, but I do lean toward favorability of the graphics considering how old the game is and how well it seems to be holding up compared to other, newer games in the genre in terms of detail and design.

The technical performance of TERA itself doesn’t fair as well though, with a inexcusably inconsistent frame-rates that probably bring the average FPS to under 30, and rampant texture and asset pop up even on the Playstation 4 pro. When the action settles down the performance certainly improves, but once things get busy, as they often do, expect the game to start chugging quite a bit. Thankfully, even though I found the performance drops unpleasant to look at, the gameplay largely remained in-tact and that’s what really matter I suppose. I have heard lots of talk about crashes, but personally, in my experience, I rarely encountered this. Leveling, crafting, learning new skills all feels pretty good overall. There’s also a fairly good amount of skills to dive into, which is nice. Lots of gold can be had without too much grinding, and the skills are mostly fun to discover and learn once you gain access to them. On top of that, there’s lots of weapon skins other cosmetic options for things, if you like that kind of thing.

The music is pretty good, with some nice melodies sprinkled around the soundtrack. Even though you might not be rushing out to buy the soundtrack for your car, it does get the job done by providing nice, emotional, sub context to a lot of the battles and the tracks usually really kept me motivated. Some of the tracks teetered into momentary greatness before retreating back into more generic RPG-style chord structures, but I did enjoy the good moments enough to overlook the generic ones.

"If you’re an experienced dungeon crawler whose looking for the next step in complexity and depth, TERA might not be your jam, at least not in this day and age."

Voices are also good, while I would have appreciated more of them, what is here is well voiced and voices fit the characters well and there’s a good amount of variation in the tones and delivery styles of different characters. The sound effects coud have had more of a punch to them, though. Lots of the samples for various sounds are tacky and generic, and I feel like slightly more effort in this department could have gone a long way to helping establish some more personality for the game, which is another missed opportunity I think they could have easily addressed for the console version.

Thankfully what we have here is a well-designed game that nails the fundamentals of action-based online RPG gameplay. What it lacks in performance it makes up for in design, and what it lacks in complexity it makes up for overall fun-factor. If you’re interested in TERA, you have very little to lose by trying it out on consoles thanks to the “freemium” model it finds itself in. The world is nearly seamless and huge, the graphics are well-designed and fun, and there’s lots to do in TERA without spending a dime if you don’t want to.

I personally got a little bored later on, as the repetition definitely started getting to me, but as long as you keep your expectations in check and stop yourself from applying 2018 standards to it, there is fun to be had here. I just wish there was more of a reason for those who have already played it 3 years ago on their PC’s to return.  If you’re an experienced dungeon crawler whose looking for the next step in complexity and depth, TERA might not be your jam, at least not in this day and age, but if you are mainly a console gamer and interested in dipping your toes into the MMO genre, the console version of TERA is a great place to start.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

Bluehole Studio’s non-Battle Royale title and long-standing free to play MMO TERA will be coming to consoles soon. “Soon” being next week – publisher En Masse Entertainment has announced a release date for April 3rd. Check out the trailer below for some console gameplay footage.

Though TERA will be free to play, you can also purchase a Founder’s Pack for $29.99. This will include some items and early access to start playing on March 27th, a week earlier than the official release date. If you’re worried about it being a straightforward port, then it’s worth noting the many new features it will have.

Control schemes for different characters, a revamped UI with Smart Inventory, quick chat and guild options and a new targeting system for combat have been included along with other options. TERA still has its share of players on PC but whether it will have that same level of influence on consoles remains to be seen. Stay tuned for more information on the game regardless.

Bluehole Studio’s TERA is coming to consoles following a lengthy stint on PC. Lest you think it’s a direct port without any optimization, a new video has been released to showcase the numerous changes. Check it out below, if only to get a fair idea of how it looks on PS4.

As the video explains, there are new features like control schemes for each character; a new lock-on targeting system; a redesigned user interface along with Smart Inventory to presumably help in managing the plethora of items available; a radial menu that can be completely customized; quick chat and in-game guild system; and much more. We’re quite frankly amazed at the effort that’s gone into the console ports.

TERA is expected to launch later this year for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. As a free to play MMO, it became fairly popular alongside Vindictus and Aion: Ascension. TERA is still fairly active on PC so it should be interesting to see the reception on consoles.

Building Walls

So you have an opponent cornered in Fortnite: Battle Royale. Suddenly, they build a staircase and flee. What the actual? While it fits in with the whole building motif of Fortnite, how in the world is someone able to create walls, stairs and even pyramids out of thin air while being shot at? It’s preposterous.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has been playable on Xbox One through Xbox Game Preview for almost a month now, and it’s fair to say that the game didn’t launch in the best state (which is to be expected, considering it’s technically not a full launch, and is still in game preview). As such, we expect developers PUBG Corporation to continue making improvements through patches- and a patch is exactly what they’ve done.

The latest patch for the Xbox One version of PUBG fixes a number of issues (you can see the full details on the PUBG forums). For one, rubber banding issues have been fixed, while server performance during parachuting has also been given a boost. On the gameplay front, players can now equip pistols by pressing up on the d-pad, while a new controller pre-set has also been added to the options menu.

A couple of known issues have also been fixed, such as one where dropping items caused players to switch weapons automatically, as well as one where users would be unable to switch grenades even while tapping right on the d-pad. There are some other fixes the patch brings about as well, and you can read about them in greater detail through the link provided above.

PUBG recently exited its early access state on PC, so we decided to finally review it. You can read our official review for the game here. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more content.

Patch notes:

Gameplay

• Pistols have been removed from Y button’s weapon rotation and grouped with the melee weapon.
• Players can now equip pistols by pressing ‘up’ on the D pad.

Optimization

• Continued improvements related to player “rubber banding”.
• Enhanced server performance while parachuting.

Option

• Added a new controller preset to options menu.
  • Type B (new preset) now supports:
    • Holding LT to aim down sight.
    • Holding LB to use 3rd person perspective aim sight.
• Controller guide has been updated to include  the new controller preset.

Bug fixes

• Fixed an issue where players repositioned out of the battleground after certain actions and remained invulnerable until the end of the match.
• Additional memory and non-memory related crash fixes.
• Fixed the inability to join duo/squad through invites outside of game.

Known issues to be addressed next patch:

• Dropping objects causes the player to switch weapons.
• User is unable to switch grenade types when tapping right on the D-Pad.

It’s been only a month since PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds released for the Xbox One’s Game Preview program (which is Microsoft’s version of Early Access). However, it already has more than three million players on the platform. While this is likely the total player count rather than the concurrent player count, it’s still impressive all the same.

The popularity of the Battle Royale title can’t be stated enough. It crossed 3.1 million concurrent players on Steam last week, sold 1 million copies in its first 48 hours on Xbox One and is currently sitting at over 30 million players on both platforms. Despite the Xbox One version’s launch troubles, there have been a number of updates including first person modes for all manner of players.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds still needs to receive other features like the new Miramar map and the recent cosmetic crates added to the rewards pool. Still, you can bet on it only getting bigger in the coming months.

"As an experience, PUBG cuts much of the superfluous survival seen in games like Rust and DayZ."

Over the years, it’s been common to see the Battle Royale format replicated, specifically in the Hunger Games trilogy of books and films. The gaming space hadn’t really seen much of that, aside from mods like Last Man Standing in Arma and H1Z1, until PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds landed in Steam Early Access last year. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has heralded a revolution of sorts and created clones that challenge its status rather well. Now that PUBG is finally in its 1.0 release state though, does it truly justify all the hype?

Before we look into that, it’s first important to separate PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds The Experience from PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds The Game. As an experience, PUBG cuts much of the superfluous survival seen in games like Rust and DayZ. It drops 100 players into a vast land and challenges them to kill each other. If you’re not looting for supplies, you’re outrunning the big blue wall of death that’s always on your tail. The balance between staying in an area, challenging any potential opponents while scouring for weapons, and staying on the move is handled extremely well. There are so many random elements at play, from where you drop to how you enter a specific location, that can contribute to your success.

Say an enemy drops near you but is closer to the warehouse in front. Pursuing them and trying to net a kill, especially when they have a head start, is pointless. You might stand a chance if you visit the house right next to you and maybe lay low while your opponent ventures out into the grassland. It’s also highly likely that you’ll be shot while looting a corpse. Maybe you’re smart enough to lay low when vehicles pass but maybe you’re just as likely to get run over. Over time, as you memorize locations and wait for the perfect opportunities, the game truly begins to open up. It can be exciting and tense, especially when a fairly risky play pays off.

"Map design can always be a contentious element in multiplayer shooters and it’s even more so in PUBG."

As a whole, I like how the “risk vs. reward” aspect of the game is handled in the early going. You could land in a densely populated area and pick up some better loot or land far away, scavenge what’s available and spend your time running to the next marked area on your map while avoiding death. Over time, as the player numbers dwindle, it’s only inevitable that the best killers will have to face each other. It’s a match of wits but maybe if you had taken to picking off players in the early going, you could have ensured the more aggressive types weren’t properly geared up.

The gameplay is fairly rudimentary in terms of gunplay and movement but it’s still extremely solid. Recoil, range and bullet drop-off on weapons like the AK-47, SK-12 and UMP9 feels just right even if they take getting used to. Vaulting is one of the major new features in PUBG and it’s…fine. Yes, I realize this drastically changes the game for many experienced players. As a whole, I found it to be complimentary to the gameplay but not a huge game-changer. That’s just me though. If I were to compare it to vaulting in other third person games, then it feels weightier and like a more calculated risk. Which isn’t a bad thing by any means, especially as you break into a house and get the drop on an enemy before killing them.

Map design can always be a contentious element in multiplayer shooters and it’s even more so in PUBG. I’ll start off by saying that Erangel is pretty well designed, packed with sprawling green hills that offer great cover for prone shooting, well designed cities with distinguishing characteristics (some may be located near a water body, for instance) and memorable landmarks like Sosnovka Military Base. As a whole, it just feels more varied and interesting. You have your tightly packed cities with overlooking hills, your desolate homes in the middle of nowhere and just enough space in between to keep the journey fun. By comparison, Miramar feels flat and kind of boring. Maybe it’s the fact that most of the water bodies are concentrated on the Southern and Eastern sides of the map and hence don’t break up the monotony in between. There were still plenty of interesting landmarks whether it’s the majestic Hacienda del Patron or the seaside town of Valle del Mar. Sadly, the number of interesting sights in an average playthrough felt less while on the move.

"If PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was a mod, it would be one of the best ever made. As a full-scale release, it has a long way to go yet."

As an experience, especially with multiple players, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is a fairly tense ride with some exciting moments. You’ll spend a lot of time just exploring the map, running around and finding players to kill – a problem which manifests itself more in Miramar than Erangel. It’s not too hard to hit the top 25 players surviving without encountering a single enemy and just running around for 20 minutes straight. Also, once you get past that initial tension, the shortcomings of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds The Game start to creep up on you.

Though the developer has been quick to address issues with the game since its launch, which was punctuated by server troubles, severe rubber-banding, lag and whatnot, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds still feels like a product in need of more polish. The movement and shooting are acceptable but nothing special. The animation quality is also just fine as is the environment and character modelling (though there’s a substantial amount of pop-in when traveling or flying across the maps). Everything looks and feels well enough but it’s nothing that immediately leaps out in terms of fidelity. That goes for both the visual and sound design. Sure the realistic approach works well but there’s a lot of work that still needs to be done. Also, that odd glitch that makes it seem like other players are floating in the air before a match starts gets weirder every time I see it.

With version 1.0, Bluehole has made a lot of effort to add quality of life features like a death cam, a much better looking UI and replays. However, the core experience feels like it needs more. More maps, more varied modes, ranked play, daily missions, weekly milestones and just a lot more polish as a whole. Why is the grassy land showcased when I’m loading the game? Why doesn’t it go directly to the menu? Why am I allowed to rejoin a match when I die? If PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was a mod, it would be one of the best ever made. As a full-scale release, it has a long way to go yet.

"If you want the tension of trying to rise above 99 other players through any means necessary, hounded by the urge to survive, then PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is a solid point of entry."

It’s not fair to judge PUBG simply on the basis of the experience or what mechanically makes up its gameplay. As a whole, the game is fun with a simple yet addictive hook that takes time to truly master. However, as a whole, I can’t help but feel there’s a lot more that it should be doing. There’s so much story-telling potential and while we’re getting that in terms of the watercooler moments that players make for themselves, a more over-arching narrative to it all or at least some kind of lore would have been great. It’s not a knock against the game’s current state but something I definitely would have loved to see. PUBG may ever come close to the brutality that Battle Royale, both the film and manga, seemed to personify for so many years but it doesn’t have to, instead choosing to stand on its own identity.

If you want the tension of trying to rise above 99 other players through any means necessary, hounded by the urge to survive, then PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is a solid point of entry. As a whole, PUBG is greater than the sum of its parts and despite performance issues, graphical problems and overall polish required, it’s still a rollicking good time whether you play solo or with a group of friends.

This game was reviewed on PC.

The history of movies based on video games has been a little less than stellar. Whether it’s games like Need for Speed, Super Mario Bros., Assassin’s Creed and even he upcoming Tomb Raider, they just don’t seem to work as movies. That fact doesn’t deter PUBG Corporation CEO Chang Han Kim though who discussed PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds being turned into a movie.

Speaking to Inven Global, Kim said that, “I’d like PUBG to become a universal media franchise based on the game. We want to take part in diverse industries including eSports, movies, drama, cartoons, animation, and more. In fact, we received a couple of love calls from a number of developers in Hollywood and Netflix. Our dream is to build a new game-based culture through various ways like this, and have the lead of that culture.”

It’s not as if the Battle Royale genre hasn’t made for some compelling cinema. The overall inspiration for the genre comes from Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale released in 2000 which was based off of the 1999 novel. The Hunger Games franchise has also proven that a Battle Royale-like set-up can make for a compelling story.

That being said, what PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds really fit as a narrative into all of this? Or will it fall flat just like so many other Hollywood movies based on games have? We’ll have to wait and see what’s eventually cooked up to find out.