Hello, TERA Fans! First, I'd like to mention that today in Korea a new patch is coming out. Translated by community member Asiankido, you can
check out the patch notes in our TERA discussion forum.
Today we have a special treat, however! Only a few days after K-TERA's release we learned that a player had already reached the current max level of 50. It turns out that this player was a Popori Berserker, Dog, of
Benny Lava, a guild well known in Aion.
Dog was awesome enough to answer a few questions for us about his journey to level 50! Check out the full interview below.
1) A little about you first--aside from the first player to ever reach max level in TERA who are you and what's your gaming history?
Hello, my name is Dog. I am 22 years old and have been playing games since I was very young. I'd have to say that my favorite game of all time is Lineage 2. I loved everything about that game. In Starcraft 2, I was in the top 200 for roughly seven weeks before I got tired of the game. It was very stressful to me. Also, in Aion I was the first level 50 cleric in NA / EU. I played many other games but didn't really achieve anything else worth mentioning.
2) In general, what was the overall leveling experience like? Was it fun or lacking? Too fast, too slow? etc.
I almost always have fun while leveling in games. I love the race to max level. That kind of competition is very enjoyable to me. Who doesn't like going for days without sleep? I did feel that the leveling to 50 was a bit too quick for my taste. However, I know that a lot of people disagree with me and prefer a much easier grind. If those people have trouble in this game then I'm not sure what to say to them.
3) How did you choose to level, through monster grinding or questing?
I always try to find what's most efficient. My basic motto is that if you have to take more than a minute figuring out a quest, then just skip it. It's not efficient to waste time running around all over trying to figure out one quest when you could have just killed a few mobs for the same experience. I did not do many party quests because there weren't many people around my level to group with. I think they could be good, but I personally prefer solo. I really like the way repeatable quests work in TERA. It is nice to not have to go back to the NPC every time you finish one cycle.
4) Comparing quest EXP to monster kill EXP, what were the differences?
I can't really recall exact numbers, but I usually just skip quests that give low amounts of experience relative to the mob experience. For example, if a quest gives 25k and I'm killing mobs that give 10k per kill, then that quest is fairly useless unless I am grinding those mobs to begin with. It's hard to say that all quests are bad, because they are not. Some are worthwhile and others are a waste of time. I found a lot of the party campaign quests to be a huge waste of time. I almost always regretted doing those quests when I could have been solo leveling much faster. The solo campaign quests are amazing.
5) How did you feel about the storyline? Was it interesting?
I didn't follow much of the storyline to be honest. I don't usually pay attention to those things in games. I don't have time to watch cinematics . I did watch one of Akasha where she launched crazy, long range fireballs of death. Our priest, een, tried to kill her but the great Akasha was too much for our little friend.
6) What did you enjoy the most about leveling?
That's a tough question, haha. It might sound weird, but I really just enjoyed the leveling itself. I have fun when I put my mind to a task and stay extremely dedicated to it. I can usually do 42 hours or so at the beginning before I have to sleep for a few hours or before my guild forces me to sleep . I'm not really sure how that could be fun to anyone -- I guess I am bit crazy.
7) Did you encounter any PvP on your way to level 50? If so, how was the balance?
When the level cap was still 38, I did do a few 5v5 matches in battlegrounds. I really enjoyed that. Being a Berserker, I was getting very annoyed fighting 1v1 against people. Most people would just run from me and there wasn't much I could do. When fighting in the 5v5 it was so much better. With my teammates disabling someone, I could really do some massive damage. I think my favorite thing is when one of their healers is slept and I can charge up my strongest skill and one shot them with a crit. The 5v5's are great! I did a 10v10 once and didn't find it to be as entertaining. We weren't very organized because it was a random group. On the grind to 50, I only pked someone once, because I hardly ever saw a single person while leveling. I killed this archer from the guild GN and for the next hour he tried to stalk me around and pk me. He was not very good. I think he still hates me.
8) Did you complete any dungeons on the way to 50? If so, how was the overall experience?
I did all of the dungeons at least once. They are pretty entertaining, but I have to say that I am a little worried about how easy they are. I am really hoping that the level 50 instances they have planned are much harder. I feel that almost all of these bosses so far can be done without even having a full group, as long as people know what they're doing.
*UPDATE* The new bosses are ******* hard! like really. and require much more skill than we thought. We were able to kill one of the four in the first new dungeon.
9) Have you experienced any endgame? If so, how has it been?
I can't say that I have experienced much of it. Currently, I am eagerly waiting to do more 5v5 battlegrounds along with the 50 instances. They plan on releasing the 50 instance very soon so I guess I'll have to get back to you then. Our guild did an outdoor level 52 boss not long ago. It was nice that it seemed to be a bit more challenging than usual, but it was still doable on the first attempt. I really hope they make the PvE more difficult. I am also very curious about the political system. I don't know much about it and haven't looked into it.
10) Will you continue to play TERA?
Yes, I plan on playing TERA for a while. As of right now, I am mainly helping my guild members level up to 50.
11) Is there anything else you'd like to add?
I really want to take the time to thank 오감 (Ogam) who helped me get to 50 more than most people realize. He does not get enough credit. I was usually a bit ahead of him in experience, but he was always ahead in quests; therefore he would have to find the new areas to level and tell me about them so I never had to do any searching. It was extremely convenient for me. If it had not been for him I would not have been the first 50. I'd also like to thank Krycera for showing all of us how good fake death really is. I'm also going to thank Naruto because I think he needs more attention.
Thank you for the interview! I hope the answers were adequate.
Will try and resolve asap.
