TERA: Rising

TERA had typical MMORPG features such as questing, crafting, and player versus player action. The game's combat used a real-time battle system that incorporated third-person camera view. The player targeted an enemy with a cross-hair cursor rather than clicking or tabbing an individual opponent (which was called the "Non-Target battle system" by the developer). The Players needed to actively dodge enemy attacks. A keyboard and mouse or a control pad could be used to control the character.

Characters were one of seven races allied with the Valkyon Federation. Each race had a set of unique "racial skills" that gave them minor advantages. Races also had their own unique animations for many class-specific skills. TERA also had 13 classes (as of October 2017), each with their own unique abilities and attributes.

The two beings, Arun and Shara, titans of unimaginable power, met in a formless void. Somehow, Arun and Shara fell asleep and began to dream. As they slept, the Exiled Realm of Arborea began to manifest itself around them. Today, both Arun's and Shara's bodies form the two continents the Exiled Realm of Arborea is made of.

As both titans continued to sleep, their dreams came to life. Out of this dream, the first twelve god-like inhabitants of TERA emerged not long before a terrible war amongst them took place.

In February 2013, TERA in North America and Europe transitioned to TERA: Rising, which changed the subscription model to a "freemium" design (free play plus purchasable premium status and customization options). The developer has promised no time, level, or content restrictions for free players after this update. Players who purchase a 30-day "Elite" status would receive increased dungeon rewards, in-game discounts and other metagame advantages Due to the new model, the "Chronoscrolls" mentioned above are being phased out, and are no longer sold by the developer, nor usable to extend game time. Existing chronoscrolls can be sold to merchants for 2,000 gold.

The Japanese and Korean versions of TERA also became free to play in December 2012 and January 2013, respectively.

TERA was met with generally favorable reviews, citing the action-based gameplay, huge and widely varied seamless world, the exciting and recurring Big Ass Monster (BAM) fights, the ease of using the game's auction house (called the Trade Broker) and lush, detailed graphics as the game's high points. The option of using a console controller also provided much satisfaction for players that wanted to play an MMORPG without relying on a keyboard and mouse. The game's musical score received praise for its varied and emotionally charged tracks ranging from epic orchestral pieces to more mellow tunes. Criticism was directed at the game's generic collect/kill/rendezvous quest grind to level up, with some quests backtracking simply to talk to the same NPC.

Player killing was commonly done in the Open World and was met with praise due to the freedom and constant action it can bring to daily questing and traveling. Critics criticized the game's Nexus Wars feature as a blatant rip-off of Rift's system.