At E3 2011, industry influencers were invited to exclusive behind-closed-doors meetings with the En Masse team to experience one of TERA’s most anticipated features: the game’s genre-defining political system. Supporting TERA’s “all action, no faction” approach to the MMO experience, the E3 demo highlighted the players’ ability to sculpt the TERA landscape as they see fit as a politician and/or supporter. Additionally, E3 guests experienced an exclusive, all-new hands-on play session, in which they took on one of the game’s most brutal Big-Ass Monsters.
Revolutionary In-Game Politics
Politics in TERA run on a completely dynamic system–just like in the real world–and as in real politics, players seeking political office will need the backing of their peers to gain political credibility. Campaigning in TERA can take many forms, such as starting a website or blog, hitting community forums or earning positive word-of-mouth in the game. Once elected, a successful candidate needs to earn and maintain a good reputation in the game to have a chance of staying in office, a process regulated via a system of ”policy points.” Less charismatic players can still seek office, however, by rising to the top of the game’s PvP battlegrounds. Whichever way players choose, TERA’s political system gives them the option of gaining money, power and fame.
Once elected vanarch of a province, a player has control over a host of options. Vanarchs can open up item shops unique to their area, raise or lower taxes in their province and even imprison their enemies. Vanarchs and their guild members also get unique mounts that are instantly recognizable throughout the game. While anyone in the game can achieve political rank, it takes the support of a guild to thrive as a vanarch.
