Forums » Pantheon Classes

Class Origins

    • 2 posts
    November 30, 2019 5:37 AM PST

    One of the things I feel modern MMOs have almost completely abandoned is the D&D heritage of classes. One of the things I loved about EQ was that it really felt like jumping into a game of D&D. From class design to combat and tradeskills EQ knew and respected it's origins. 

    So for Pantheon I just want to encourage the Devs to continue that tradition. When faced with a roadblock on design or abilities or how a class should feel when you're playing it look to the D&D community for inspiration. We all love shiny new concepts and playstyles and modern twists on old ideas, but not to the point a class or skill becomes unrecognizable.

    So far I love what I've seen and I'm a proud supporter of the project. The devs and the community here are awesome and like many of you I can't freaking wait to get my hands on this game.

    Thoughts from the community? What D&D type system or ability design do you really hope to see or at least notice it's influence?

    • 291 posts
    November 30, 2019 7:31 AM PST

    Im 100% in camp with you. Theres a few of the people here who want something totally unrecognizable. I understand wanting "new", but I also understand that implementing something totally unrecognizable is NOT what the heart of THIS community wants. Rather this community wants to go back to its roots. That was supposed to be the point of this project I thought. Thats why Pantheon is synonomous with p99 I assumed. Thats also why I pledged as well, because thats what I want (return to origins). Same reason why I supported VG from the day it was announced. We were trying to recreate that early EQ magic, and we did. The classes were all upgraded.... but nothing was totally foreign.

    I hope they pull from these sources as well, because anything else would mean Ive been misled. Not only by development itself, but content creators such as nathan napalm etc, and my own wishful thinking. 

    Honestly I dont think we have anything to worry about. I believe the development of THIS game is fully aware of these variables. I imagine brad and them speaking about these variables which games that are following the money model are totally unaware of/dont care about. I think the development is aware that had EQ remained true to its origins, many of us would still be there today. I believe they intend to cater to that crowd. Again... maybe wishful thinking.... but SOMEONES going to handle that market one way or another. One day or another.

    • 945 posts
    December 6, 2019 6:15 AM PST

    Well said Maerik!  I enjoyed the risk vs reward of playing the tank; in particular the difficulty and reliance on other classes (particularly casters) at the begining of the game to the 180 degree flip of other classes relying on the tank for difficult content.  I found this similar to DnD where a level 1 fighter was super boring but by lvl 20 you were a force to be taken seriously (while the "well prepared" wizard at 20 was practically a god, but if caught off guard (or out of spells) not that much more durable than they were at lvl 1).  EQ did a good job with this with the utilization of mana/resource management (equivalent to the # of spells allowed per rest).  Add:  I loved how level progression made a significant difference compared to modern MMOs where level progression simply meant that fights take longer because the amounts of HP vs DMG increase (primarily because you could still use spells and abilities from low level that were still useful at high level but were trivial to use yet slightly stronger - like level 3 fireball in DnD could be used throughout the life of your wizard (level 5+) or Selo's Accelerando for the EQ Bard.

    I also agree that they shouldn't stray too far from what is identifiable.


    This post was edited by Darch at December 6, 2019 7:31 AM PST
    • 888 posts
    February 22, 2020 10:10 PM PST

    I want to see the same basic structure and flavor, but I'm not looking for done-to-death genre tropes.  Part of the magic of D&D when first learning it was how interesting everything was and how it made me want to read / learn more about it.  At this stage, there are some things that have been used so many times that they don't hold the same magic and intrigue.  There needs to be a certain level of freshness and mystery to keep people interested.

    • 945 posts
    February 23, 2020 4:46 PM PST

    @Counterfleche - Although I get what you are saying about wanting to see something new ("fresh") but I would mention that recreating the wheel is often not the best thing; It is good for attracting people that are only looking for the next new thing but those people usually never stick around very long (because they are typically attracted to the next new thing).

    I think including things like the progeny system and the "actual" PvEnvironment are pretty cool features that are relatively new to MMOs and can (hopefully) prove to be something that contributes to the longevity of the game.


    This post was edited by Darch at February 23, 2020 4:47 PM PST
    • 888 posts
    February 27, 2020 10:56 AM PST
    @Darch - I also don't want to see everything completely different. I think Pantheon is doing a great job of providing some familiarity combined with new ideas. This is especially evident in how they created the races.