TERA has received lots of attention from players since the Free-to-Play announcement. During an interview conducted by MMORPG, Associate Producer Patrick Sun talk more about the TERA Rising model and about incoming changes to the game. Check it out and then chat in the comments.

1. TERA continues to evolve in the MMO market. What is the state of the game like today for players?

We've all seen a lot of changes in the MMO market this past year, and with more free games than ever before, players have a wide selection of quality titles - all of them competing for players' time. With our award-winning combat system and our upcoming fully-free model, TERA will definitely be a free game to put on your radar.

As for TERA itself, our players have helped us build an amazing community. We continually look to them to see how we as a publisher can improve the quality of life in and out of game. This can mean anything from streaming dungeon runs to making game adjustments, or even supporting community-run events with marketing and prizes.

 

2. The choice to go Free to Play is always a major decision. What were some of the challenges you faced while making the switch?

When we first started looking at different business models, we looked at what was out there and quickly realized there's no one way to provide a free experience to players. Especially today, there are so many great free titles in the market; just being "free" isn't enough to get people excited about your game.

The other challenge was combating the stereotypical image a "free" MMO brings. Even personally - when a game claims to be free, I immediately question it. "Okay, but when will you force me to pay?" A lot of gamers probably feel this way as well.

And though we faced some tough challenges, it really helped us mold TERA: Rising into something unique and different.