E3 2009 Preview: First Look - Heroes of Telara

A few days ago, a trailer for the upcoming fantasy MMORPG “Heroes of Telara” was released, revealing its existence to the world. (Even though those of us attending E3 have already had emails about it for a few weeks.) After watching the trailer, a lot of gamers (myself included) came away thinking, “Looks good, but just another fantasy MMORPG.” After seeing the game in action and actually learning about its feature, it's definitely going to be something to keep an eye on; and, right now, it might even be the most promising upcoming MMORPG of 2010.

As we gathered from the trailer, “Heroes of Telara” fits into the fantasy category. However, it's what Trion classifies as “stylized but realistic fantasy.” In other words, it may look like there are magical forests and magic throughout the land, but it also has a realistic styling to it, counter to most fantasy MMOs where players play giant dancing bulls and miniature cat-like martial artists.

The art as a whole looked great – especially for what is likely an early build – but the most promising features of the game are its truly unique aspects, including the technology behind it.

Trion's biggest boast is the technology powering their game(s). While most MMORPGs and MMOs utilize client-based gaming, with most of the content on the side of the client requiring large patches (or patches in general) when content is changed, “Heroes of Telara” is going to be a server-based MMORPG. What this means is that the developers can add new content such as quests, events, new monsters, etc. and have them happen on the fly, without players having to prepare with a patch.

In addition, the server load is going to work in a much different way than MMOs on the market. In most MMORPGs, server processing power is broken up by geographic aspects. So if 200 people are fighting a monster in an area, the area will lag. But in “Heroes of Telara,” if 200 people are fighting a monster, the game will pull some of the processing power from something not being used (like crafting or NPC movement) and throw it behind combat, to help combat lag.

So sure, the technology behind the game sounds great. But what about the game itself? Granted I only saw a brief playing session, but some of the features in this MMORPG are basically an answer to things every longtime MMORPG player have wanted.

First and foremost, there's no longer a need for alts. Once you create your character, if you head into a town you can change your class. Each class levels independently – they're just all tied to the same character. So if your friend is a mage and you're a mage, you can switch over to warrior, and not have to log out or switch characters.

Not only can you switch classes, but the game features a system known as the “subclass card system.” Basically, monsters and quests will drop subclass cards. Using one of these cards will change your character's subclass, giving you new unique abilities further customizing your class. Some of them shown include Berserker, which turned a warrior into an offensive area-based fighter; and a “gravelord,” which allowed the player to summon skeletons and shoot bolts of demonic energy.

Being able to switch both your class and subclass for your situation is a huge part of the game's strategy. Whenever you're playing, quests and heroic events (as well as larger multiple player/regional events) will start up on the fly. The one shown in the demo involved the town of “Smith's Haven” being attacked by imps. The result? The town burned down. After killing imps, a major demon appeared. The berserker warrior tried to attack the demon, but the demon had a point blank knockback that wouldn't let a warrior within range. So after switching to the gravelord subclass, he could send in skeleton servants, and cast ranged attacks until he was weak enough to finish him off by switching back to berserker and using a lunge attack. After the demon's death, the event was complete, the town rejuvenated, and a huge crowd of players raucously cheered the successful hero while confetti rained down from windows and roofs of buildings above.

So will the game turn out as great as they're making it out to be? It's still too early to tell, and it's never good to base everything off of a single staged demo. Right now, though, it's shaping up to be the most promising MMORPG of 2010. Now we'll just have to see if it can keep that title, especially with a few days of E3 left to go.

For more MMO and MMORPG previews from E3 2009 check out a list of our complete coverage on MMOHub.org.


Posted by Brendon Lindsey

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