Tuesday, July 24, 2012

The TERA-ble Inner Debate.

I don't know about anyone else, but I have a really hard time dedicating myself to a MMO these days. There are so many options to choose from between paid and f2p, I find I just don't have the time or discipline to stick with a MMO for any great length of time.

There was a time pre-son about five years ago where I had multiple active accounts. There was the Station Access, WoW, WAR, CoH, plus whatever console or non-MMO game I was playing at the time. These days for me that's just not a possibility anymore.

The problem for me today is that I have, or should I say had, and active account for The Old Republic since it released in December and an active account for TERA since it launched in May. Sometime around mid April into June I invested maybe ten hours into TOR. Between Battlefield 3, my growing addiction to League of Legends and now playing TERA, I found little interest or time to give to TOR.

In June I was able to get my first taste of PvP in TERA - and it sucked balls. It was at that point I started to question whether I was going to stick with the game after my four months were up. As it happens TOR finally started server transfers and patch 1.3 launched not too long after that so I found myself logging my time there instead of TERA.

The combat and the classes in TERA are amazing, they are so good. But I realized that TOR is actually the style of MMO that I most enjoy. TOR also has way better questing and story telling than TERA, something that has started to bother me quite a bit.

So what exactly is the TERA-ble debate? I decided at launch that I was going to give the game a fair chance and did a three month sub which ends at the end of August. I also know that I am not interested in the pvp, the crafting or the end game content. So I keep asking myself why bother playing till subscription expires knowing that I am likely not to play TERA from that point forward?

There are a few factors that are compounding the issue for me: I really love the combat and classes in TERA and would like to at least get one character to max level. However, I am really wanting to spend more time in TOR, everything about that game I love. Well, except the PvP. But I've also made a decision to limit the amount of purchases I make game wise till I melt down the back log of games that I have. That, my friends is a whole other post in and of itself.

So in a nutshell the debate is whether or not to stick with TERA till the end or just dump it and be done with the game entirely. In the mean time I went and canceled TOR seeing as it does me no good to have the guilt of paying but not playing in the back of my mind.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I dumped TERA, though unlike you I never really subbed. I picked up the game at half price and played for the free month to see how I would like it. I agree with you on the combat, it's very kinetic, reactive and fun. But ultimately I never got into the game because of the art style.

It comes down to whether or not you're still enjoying yourself. If I find I'm having to push myself to play something, that usually means my relationship with an MMO is coming to an end, and I cut my losses.

kaozz said...

I tend to sub to way too many games. I have WoW going with the Annual Pass, I end up logging in one week out of a month if that.

Vanguard I love but had to put aside because I wanted to add yet another sub with EQ2... I bought TSW and I got lazy with it. I get the same way. I feel guilty, like with TSW. I actually need to log back in and give it more of a chance -but- I do have a leg to stand on as performance is a bit poor for me.

Jayedub said...

@mmogc - I do find that I push myself just to log on to TERA, but when I do play I have a lot of fun.

@kaozz - EQ2, now there's another game I would like to get back into as well. Maybe if I clone myself so that I can play while I sleep, that would give me enough time to play!

Marty Runyon said...

That is quite a dilemma: do you stand my your vow, even if there is nothing redeeming about the endevour? Best of luck deciding. Of course, if you're at all like me you'll procrastinate for so long that the decision will be made for you. :)

Jayedub said...

@Anjin - I think you're on to something there!