This is a game i would love to see F2P
Let's start with the positive elements of the game. The first thing you'll notice is that it's very very beautiful. The Unreal Engine 3's making this game a pleasure to play and you will love the colourful landscapes and things from animations to your character's -usually sexy-looking- armour. The next big thing you'll also notice is the new combat system, which i really loved. And it's probably the best i've tried in a MMO. TERA's combat system is so immersive, immediate and gives you that special feel of combat freedom, that you'll have a great time killing some of monsters out there. Especially the big-ass ones, as the studio calls them. Also, the vast world with a great variety of environments and huge cities will satisfy you completely no matter what your predilection might be. Forests, plain, snow-covert fields, deserts, whatever.
Now, the character creation is not as detailed as i wished for, surely not Guild Wars 2 detailed, but it makes the work done. Some of the races are interesting and even funny, like the Aman, Baraka, Popori and Elin. Now, in the races High Elf, Castanic and Elin the Korean influence is pretty obvious, something which is not bad, but i'm not a huuuge fan of the whole thing. Plus, if you consider those pretty huge weapons you carry with you, specifically in some classes like the Lancer. But of course, it's developed from a Korean studio, so i should not complain.
The travel system, surprisingly, is pretty convenient. You can move either with an awesome mount, or by flying horses and dragons between certain points or you can use teleports for in-city travelling. The most cool -at least at the beginning, later it becomes annoying- way to travel is by the flying waypoints, where you pay to take a flying mount which follows a pre-arranged path and enters some kind of huge teleportals to fast travel to your destination and finally land. At least, it's far more interesting than those stupid waypoint teleports @ Guild Wars 2. Ha!
The whole political system is interesting as well, which allows Guild leaders to rise to power through public voting or guild vs. guild battles. If you prevail, you will be able for a period of time to change some things in your province like parts of the economy and fight for bragging rights. Well, since i'm not a guild leader i can't tell you how it effects the player or the gameplay itself, but i guess it's mostly about recognition and prestige.
And what about parties and dungeons? I was mostly satisfied with TERA's party system and its dungeons, which are builded nicely. And you can find some really huge surprises in it. And of course, after this period of time, the quantity of the dungeons was increased with the recent major game updates, which brought a nice amount of content into the game. And it's nice that some of the game's story quests are requiring a party to go through. Because parties are good!
And what i didn't liked. The PvP was bad. Or it didn't existed, i can't really tell. Sure you can challenge a character to a duel, if that's PvP, and some duels are cool, but there is not something massive. Not that i really care, i never was a PvP guy, but it's something that's missing. Another thing i didn't liked were the Quests. Well, practically, there is something wrong, but when a game brings such beautiful elements like the amazing combat system or that great optical experience, you're waiting for something more than that. The quests are boring and at some point i made a huge pause because of that. My progress became slower and my interest was faded. Now, no one is playing a MMO for its storyline. Except if you're playing The Secret World. But the whole model of "Go kill 50 of those mobs" and "Gather 15 of these" is really dead to me. And that was a huge bummer for me. Because the game's great, but at some point, no matter how cool the graphics and the combat system are, you're getting bored. And you can't spend all of your time playing dungeons. At least i can't.
This is a game i would love to see Free-to-Play. I don't think that after this much time spend, it worths its subscription anymore. And as a F2P title, as a lot of others, could become a hit. Because there is quality in it and there is an audience that can support it. So, let's wait and see.
Does it worths your money? Hard to tell. I think it worths its -not even- 50 backs. But it doesn't worths the monthly subscription costs. And while i am a pro-subscription guy, i think that you could spend this monthly fee better elsewhere. But you can always try its 7-day trial. You've got nothing to lose there.
So, add it to your list of the future F2P games you want to play, because if and when it become one, you'll want to play it.