TERA - UI Channels

Everyone seems to have a good understanding of the "server" system used in TERA and other MMOs. A server is a unique instance of the game. If you have a character on server A, you cannot interact with any players on server B. If you kill a boss on server A that respawns every 24 hours, that boss may be alive and well on server B but you have no access to it. Each server is completely separate.

Think of channels like sub-servers your character can travel to, within the same server.

In the TERA starting area, there are 4 channels. If your character loads in Channel 1 and your friend loads in Channel 2, you can be standing on the exact same spot and you wont see each other. If you change to Channel 2, you will appear right next to your friend. You can then see each other and interact.

Looking at the below screenshot, the red arrow points to your channel indicator. The blue indicator points to the spot of your party member's class logo, just below their level. If you hover your mouse over that spot, you will see your party member's location, including channel.



A few other important notes about channels:

- The max number of channels presently in use is 4. The only place I observed 4 channels was in the starting areas.

- There are zero channels within major cities like Velika.

- When you exit a city, log into game or teleport you will join a random channel. Even if you were in Channel 1 when you d/c'd, your party is in Channel 1, you may be in Channel 2 when you log back in.

- If you are at an xp spot you like and there are no mobs, simply change the channel and you may find plenty.

One additional note regarding Channels.

According to Sam Kin, Producer of TERA, Channels will exist during the TERA rollout to relieve crowding pressures but then will be reduced and/or eliminated.

Channels are a controversial element of TERA for some users. Can you explain their use in TERA?

Channels are something we’re using to help control server stress and traffic in the testing phase of the game. They will be a must-have for launch as well, but once server populations stabilize they will be toned down or phased out entirely.