TERA (video game)

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TERA, short for The Exiled Realm of Arborea, is a fantasy MMORPG developed by Bluehole Studio (now part of Krafton). It released in Korea in 2011, and in North America and Europe in 2012. The game features real-time, action-based combat with a crosshair targeting system, an open world, and a mix of PvE and PvP content. Players choose from seven races and many classes, with a focus on dodging and active fighting.

TERA started as a paid game and became free-to-play with the launch of TERA: Rising in 2013, followed by TERA: Fate of Arun in 2014, which added a new continent and higher level cap. A Steam release in 2015 brought new content, including the Gunner class. The game used a real-money currency called Chronoscrolls, which tied to a subscription model before being phased out as the game moved to freemium.

The game expanded to consoles in 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In 2020, crossplay between PlayStation 4 and Xbox One was added, and a plan for an Enhanced Graphics Mode for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S was announced. In 2022, Bluehole announced the end of PC development and Gameforge shut down PC servers, while the console version remained active.

TERA was praised for its fast, skill-based combat, large seamless world, exciting boss battles, and flexible controller support. It faced criticism for repetitive quest grinding and some features. By 2018 the game had about 28 million players worldwide. The game also faced legal issues: in 2012, NCsoft filed a trade secrets lawsuit against Bluehole, with some employees convicted in Korea; En Masse was later cleared in the Korean case.