In a rather amusing forum post, a CM confirms that TERA Online's developers have Battlegrounds planned.

The feature, the devs say, is in response to how frequent players in PVP servers are going around looking for fights, such as sitting outside of one of the more high-population towns and attacking the people who left. The presence of guild warfare will still be present, of course. 

This comes with the unfortunate news that it won't be ready for the live servers, but in the words of the post, "this added time means a more polished feature and overall experience."

Get ready for another weekend spin of the upcoming MMO, as the TERA beta is on once again. 

Lots of new changes to the game, too, including lowering the HP of all characters between level one and fifteen, a raised level cap to 38, a contest, and an in-game event. As always, if you want to get in on the beta, you only need to pre-order the game. With it comes the ability to keep your character after the server wipe when it hits retail, too, making it a worthwhile endeavor if the game interests you enough.

To those of you who couldn't make it to the Game Developer's Conference 2012, En Masse Entertainment just released a one-two content combo for TERA. The video above shows off their new Temple of Temerity, which plays like an MMO survival mode where you defend a relic from an onslaught of enemies. Difficulty is said to be high, but the reward is as well.

Also coupled with the trailer's release is a short novelette ebook which fleshes out more of TERA's expansive lore, written by independent publisher and writer Bridget McKenna. The Amarathine Heart deals with Madoc, a former soldier, saddled with guarding a caravan, only to have the mission go all wrong. As a longtime gamer, I can truly understand his pain at having to deal with an escort mission. 

The Amarathine Heart is out right now, and is $0.99 at the Amazon.com store.

New content to those of you lucky enough to be in the TERA closed beta has just launched - and it's all about Akasha's Hideout, the Goddess of Pestilence's domain. She's got something hidden there, something you can take back, but En Masse is remaining tight-lipped on what it is. The gameplay video shows off some of the monsters that reside within, all as colorful and beautiful looking as we've come to expect from TERA. They look like they're keeping most of it under wraps, so you TERA players better get in there before it's spoiled for you. 

In their new "Be Creative, Be Smart, Be Lucky!" contest, the good folks over at En Masse Entertainment are giving out big prizes for anyone who is creative, lucky, or smart enough to get 'em. Luckily, players won't have to be all three, as the prizes have been split into individual categories. Winners of each category will win some high-quality Logitech gaming gear, including mice, gamepads, surround sound headsets, and keyboards.

Be Creative: Prizes will be given to the top three players who create unique video content based on specific themes (which change from beta test to beta test).

• Closed Beta Test 3: An instructional video on how to play your favorite class.
• Closed Beta Test 4: A dungeon walkthrough of one of TERA's dungeons, like Bastion of Lok or Sinestral Manor.
• Closed Beta Test 5: Answer the question "What is TERA?" through a narrative machinima video.

The team over at En Masse Entertainment is getting a little nostalgic as they recall their PvPing adventures in their second closed beta test two weeks ago. They've also got some big numbers to throw around, including the fact that across their two PvP servers, there were over 50,000 kills, 150,000 PvP battles, and roughly 2,000 guilds formed.

Looking forward to their third closed beta test this weekend, a new patch is on its way with a level cap increase to level 32. Some PvP changes have also been added to the game, with heavier penalties for players killing other players six or more levels lower than them. You can read the full patch notes details on the TERA website.

In a noble attempt to keep their community informed (but laughable in terms of trying to keep forum reposts down), En Masse Entertainment has launched "TERA Answers." TERA Answers is a new feature designed something like Reddit, where users can submit questions and answers, which will then be rated by the community so that the top rated ones "float" to the top.

Looking at the most popular questions list, I see here that everyone wants to know about the rumoued new class coming to TERA. Normally, I would go to the forums to make six dozen posts asking about it, but today I can simply read the answer right here, which confirms that it remains a rumour. Isn't progress wonderful?

The forums have being going crazy lately (what else is new?) asking for roleplay support for early beta in TERA. En Masse Entertainment is pleased to announce that the RP cries have been heard and that they will be providing a new haven for them on a server named "Celestial Hills". 

As with any RP server, there are going to be acceptable roleplay names and behavior. However, to ensure the overall user experience during launch, roleplaying "name review" requests will not be handled for the first 60 days once released. To try and keep rules fair and uniform, En Masse is asking for constructive feedback on their draft proposal, which can be found on this forum post.

En Masse Entertainment recently released the newest installment in their TERA Race Video series, this time covering the lovable Popori! These mischievous, curious creatures are former beasts that were granted the gift of sentience through another race known as Elin. Together they form the Popori nation, sworn guardians of nature and the Titan Arun.

You can find more about the Popori on TERA's Game Guide, while more videos in the series can be found on the TERA Youtube Channel!

The Elins have one driving goal: if it's not good for nature, stop it. In this latest trailer spotlight for the races of TERA, we get a look at the small female race created by the goddess Elinu. 

But don't be fooled by their small size, much like nature, the Elin race is beautiful but ferocious.