At E3 2011, Jonah Falcon was introduced to the political system of action MMO Tera

Tera is a new style of MMO much like the Korean game that's finally washed up on Western shoes, Vindictus. It's an action-RPG-style of game, much like Diablo or Torchlight, except with deeper skill trees, an bigger environment and a massive world to explore. We got a chance to play it at E3, and learn something about its newest, most innovative feature: politics.

Before we get into that feature, a quick look at some other sections of the game. For one, the graphics are stunning for an MMO. Crisp, lush scenery, but one never got the impression the visuals were taxing the processor. The game has a look different from World of Warcraft or Rift, and things feel more, well, solid.

This... is going to hurt.

And "solid" is one of the operative words to describe combat. Not as a grade, but alluding to the fact that combat boils down to a basic principle: when you hit something, they're hit. There's no roll. When they hit you, they hit. If they shoot at you and you run around a corner to avoid the attack, the projectiles don't turn around the corner and hit you. Conversely, if you miss, you miss. You can even slide under a big creature, and not through one.
 
That's not to say it's easy or it devolves into a "attack-jump back" sort of monotony. Enemies will recognize your tactics and adapt. For instance, they may become enraged and call allies, all the while reacting to the direction of attack, dynamically responding to player combat. This was shown in a four player raid against a boss monster. It took careful teamwork to bring the beast down, as it would often use area of attack stuns and other tricks to try to stave off the merciless assault. The fighter dodged in an out of combat, to land blows and evade hits, but staying in the fray long enough to keep the monster's attention focused on him and not the sorcerer hurling firebolts at it or the healer keeping the fighter alive.  



However, the raid was one with an undercurrent of uneasy alliance: two of the party members were the Vanarchs, or leaders of their regions. Players become a Vanarch through a popular election in that region, after becoming a nominated under his guild's banner, and through arena duelling or good old-fashioned campaigning, like helping people out during quests. Once elected Vanarch, the player must earn Policy Points through specialized quests. A Vanarch's guild gets a cut of all sales within the region, which is a massive amount of currency over time. Meanwhile, the Vanarch can spend Policy Points to raise or lower taxes, open new businesses, and so forth.

I command he be sentenced to torture in the Comfy Chair!

A Vanarch can choose to be a kind monarch through such actions as lowering taxes and so forth, or can be a merciless tyrant who raises taxes, throws people in jail and institutes that the region is now a PvP anything goes area. Of course, the Vanarch must also be careful not to alienate citizens in his region, or risk being voted out of office. The Political system is a daring social experiment at the least, to see what kind of rulers guild leaders will be over a region populated by other players.

Even without the political system, Tera is looking promising as a Diablo-like MMO, for those gamers who think MMO combat is too slow and random. The game is due to be released later this year, and a beta test including the political system has just started in Europe. Keep an eye on this one.