Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen News

[p]Hi everyone! We hope you’re enjoying the Ability Loadouts feature, the Nightfall Crypt and our update to the Summoner class. We’re continuing to watch the feedback on each of those things, but now that they’re out, we’re going to be shifting more of our focus to preparing for the Combat and Progression update coming up in the spring.[/p][p]Today we wanted to share some changes we are making to character attributes in that update to help support better itemization for the game, and to help make the attributes a bit more intuitive for everyone. Just to help prevent any confusion, when we use the word “attributes,” we’re talking about core character stats such as Strength, Dexterity, or Intellect. While there are plenty of other stats that are part of your characters, attributes play an especially big role in Pantheon’s itemization, and these numbers influence almost every aspect of adventuring gameplay.[/p][h2]Challenges with Attributes Today[/h2][p]Before we talk about the changes, let’s take a moment to lay out our goals for attributes and itemization:[/p]

• [p]Each attribute should have a distinct impact on character performance, although that impact does not have to be the same for all classes.[/p]
• [p]Each character class should value multiple attributes for gameplay, both in terms of baseline combat performance and to enhance various class abilities.[/p]
• [p]Each character class should present meaningful choices in terms of what attributes to emphasize. No single attribute build should allow you to be the best at everything you can do.[/p]
• [p]The attribute bonuses provided by items should generally be useful to all classes who generally use that item type. As an analogy, our goal is that while a necromancer may prefer a slightly different robe from a wizard, both classes should still see a tangible benefit from wearing either option.[/p]

[p]Throughout the course of Early Access so far, we have made several changes to the way character abilities work and to the game’s itemization. While each of these changes has helped move our game forward, they have also introduced some challenges: Today, too many of our classes have an optimal build for their attributes that are fundamentally different from the other classes in the same role. To return to the analogy above, the necromancer gets little benefit from wearing the wizard robe, even though both classes can wear it. The second issue is learning curve and player confusion. We often see new players confused about which attributes they should pursue for their class, and wondering why certain attributes are associated with some of their class abilities. Finally, we have two attributes that simply don’t feel very meaningful to players at all today (Constitution and Charisma), and past attempts to try and make those attributes more meaningful have just created additional confusion and frustration among our players.[/p][h2]What’s Changing[/h2][p]With all of that in mind, here are the changes we will be making in the Combat and Progression Update:[/p][p]1) The Constitution attribute is being removed and replaced with a new attribute, named Concentration.
2) The Charisma attribute is being removed and replaced with a new attribute, named Presence.
3) The base effects of all our attributes are being reworked to be more intuitive and meaningful (see below).
4) The attributes used by class abilities are being realigned for better synergy between classes in the same archetype/role.[/p][p]These changes will generally help items to be more useful to multiple classes than they are today. They will also make the process of picking up a new class and understanding how to gear that class much more intuitive for everyone. There will still be multiple attributes that each class will want to improve, and meaningful choices will still be present, but those choices will make more sense than they have in the past.[/p][h2]Baseline Benefits from Attributes[/h2][p]Here are the details on what each attribute will do once the changes take effect:[/p][p]* Spell Pushback is the chance that incoming damage increases the time it takes to finish casting a spell.[/p][p]You might notice that the baseline benefits aren’t all equally valuable depending on the class you play – but attributes do more than just provide those baseline benefits. They will also factor into the performance of your class abilities, as follows:[/p]

• [p]Strength will be used to increase power on some physical melee attack abilities that rely on force for their effectiveness.[/p]
• [p]Stamina will be used to increase power on some offensive and defensive abilities that are focused on shield or armor use or on absorbing or blocking incoming damage.[/p]
• [p]Dexterity will be used to increase power on some physical melee and ranged attack abilities that rely on precision for their effectiveness.[/p]
• [p]Agility will be used to increase power on some defensive abilities that rely on avoiding enemy attacks, as well as reaction- and movement-related abilities.[/p]
• [p]Intellect will be used to increase power on some damaging spellcasting abilities that focus on manipulation of elemental or arcane energy.[/p]
• [p]Wisdom will be used to increase power on some spellcasting abilities that focus on manipulation of divine or curse energy, or (in some cases) that impact the target’s mental and physical state.[/p]
• [p]Concentration will be used to increase power on some magical attacks and abilities that rely on sustaining effects or channeling energy over time.[/p]
• [p]Presence will be used to increase power or duration on some magical attacks and abilities that rely on willpower or manipulating the target’s mental state. This applies to many classes: Taunt abilities for tanks, crowd control abilities such as stuns and fears, charm and mesmerize, abilities that empower minions and pets, etc.[/p]

[p]Most abilities will scale their power based on the attribute most closely aligned with their function as described above. As a result, each of our classes will have four attributes that are important to their performance, both as part of the baseline effects but also because of the abilities that the class uses. While the remaining four attributes will be helpful for their baseline effects, the four used in abilities will make the most difference.[/p][p]Here’s a chart that shows how that breaks down based on the different base abilities that each class possesses. Note that some mastery builds may change this focus for individual classes (for example, warriors that choose to heavily focus on their DPS may find it useful to have more Dexterity to support that build):[/p][p]You will notice a lot of overlap between different classes within the same role – this is intentional. Again, one of our goals for this change is to make it so that more of the equipment in the game is useful to each class, even if it may not be perfect for that class’s ability set.[/p][p]It should go without saying that once we implement these changes, we may need to make some adjustments based on your feedback. These changes (along with many others) will be part of the Combat and Progression update and will be available on our Public Test Realm when it opens. We encourage all of you to jump in and provide feedback on your favorite classes when the time comes.[/p][h2]Around the Team – What we’ve been working on this week[/h2][p]Moving forward, we’re going to be including this section in our weekly web content as often as possible to help show you some of the progress that’s being made behind the scenes. Each of these items is a current area of focus for the team and part of the work we have to do for our upcoming releases.[/p][p]Design and Narrative[/p]

• [p]Beginning population of Kosa Ull in Badia de Cara[/p]
• [p]Finalizing skills, abilities, and mastery selections for Warriors, Paladins, and Dire Lords[/p]
• [p]Updated NPCs and Dialogue for the Port of Rulun[/p]
• [p]Layout and Mood Paintings for Faerthale City to help inform building assets[/p]

[p]Worldbuilding and Environment Art[/p]

• [p]Finalizing jungle biome in Kosa Ull and beginning set dressing for Mawnok villages[/p]
• [p]Beginning rebuild and expansion for the Port of Rulun[/p]
• [p]Buildout and environmental asset creation for the Obsidian Depths[/p]
• [p]Creating Detihauna structures, platforms, and walkway kit and progress on player sailboat[/p]

[p]Character Art and Animation[/p]

• [p]Touch-up work on Shark Models[/p]
• [p]High-Poly passes on Hydryn and Siren models[/p]
• [p]Finalizing concepts for Qha-Ladahn[/p]
• [p]Finalizing concepts for Detidola clothing and update to Aridola clothing[/p]
• [p]Finalizing animations for Mawnok male and female[/p]
• [p]Finalizing animations for Gurlok models[/p]
• [p]Finalizing Bone Merchant NPC clothing/armor[/p]

[p]Programming[/p]

• [p]Beginning work on 3D NPC movement and pathfinding for underwater and aerial environments[/p]
• [p]Beginning implementation of combat formula changes for Combat and Progression Update[/p]
• [p]Continuing implementation of mastery system components[/p]
• [p]Initial implementation of mail system UI components and database hookup[/p]

[h2]Summoner Update[/h2][p]The summoner class has received a major update and restructure of its abilities. Players will now begin the game with access to the Fury pet and the Zephyr pet, and skillful control of the pet will be emphasized during combat. Highlights:[/p]

• [p]Fury and Zephyr pets are available starting at level 1, with upgrades every 10 levels. The Zephyr is a melee-oriented, Rogue-like pet, while the Fury is a spell-oriented, Wizard-like pet.[/p]
• [p]The Undine is available starting at level 20, with upgrades every 10 levels. The Undine is still the only pet that can be out at the same time as either the Zephyr or the Fury.[/p]
• [p]The Titan pet is currently unavailable, but will be returning to the Summoner arsenal with the Spring update.[/p]
• [p]Summoners will now deal the majority of their damage through their pets, using a combination of Wind Blade, Galestep and Tempest lines with the Zephyr, and Mana Bolt, Mana Flame and Mana Burst lines with the Fury. Additionally, Summoners have had their personal spell arsenal updated to include the Aether Dart, Mana Bomb and Clash Bomb lines.[/p]
• [p]On the Utility side, Summoners will be able to make themselves invisible, as well as summoning a potion that will make others invisible. They have a full suite of summoned food and drink, gate stones, bandages, the Eye of Zohm for scouting and the ability to summon Toxic and Frigid glyphs.[/p]
• [p]Summoners retain their beloved damage shields, a selection of buffs for their pets, and the ability to summon higher quality weapons and armor for their pets as they level up.
• *Note: the summoned weapons and armor for Summoner pets will be the only source of these items with this patch. Expect pet itemization to expand significantly with the Spring update.[/p]

[p]This is a massive step forward for the Summoner class. But remember, the Summoner will be receiving even more updates alongside the other classes with the Combat and Progression update in the Spring. We can’t wait for you all to give the revamped Summoner a try and we look forward to the feedback![/p][h2]Nightfall Crypt[/h2]

• [p]The first of several planned Nightfall Crypt dungeons has been added to the game. Nightfall Crypts are built to support a different style of dungeon experience, which you can read about in more detail in our Peek at Nightfall Crypts and the Story Behind Nightfall Crypt. Should you discover the entrance to this dungeon, gather your friends and prepare well, for a harrowing trial awaits you within its halls.[/p]

[h2]General[/h2]

• [p]Added the “Show In-world Combat Text For Your Pets” option to the General tab of the Settings window, which, when enabled, will show the damage and healing that your pets do in the floating combat text.[/p]
• [p]It’s now possible to click and drag your pet’s cast bar to undock it from the pet’s window and drop it wherever you’d like on screen. If you’d like to re-dock it to the pet window, drag and drop the pet’s cast bar on top of its pet window. You can also adjust the size/scale and opacity of the cast bar by holding Control and right-clicking the pet’s cast bar.[/p]
• [p]With pets that can equip items, if you have their pet sheet open, you can equip/unequip items on them using Ctrl+right-click.[/p]
• [p]Skills are now grouped by their categories in the character sheet skills lists, and the skills lists are now collapsable by clicking the small tab with the arrow icon on the right edge of the skills list.[/p]
• [p]If a group member has pets, and you are close enough to see those pets in the world, their health bar and name will now be displayed on the group member’s UI element. Left clicking on these pet health bars will defensively target that pet.[/p]
• [p]Added “Keep Cast Bars Visible” option to the general settings, which forces your cast bar and the cast bar of your pet(s) to remain visible to make it easier to adjust their settings (ctrl+right-click on the cast bar to adjust its scale and opacity settings) and left-click and drag on the cast bars to adjust their position on screen.[/p]
• [p]Added a Master Volume slider to the partial settings window that is used prior to entering the world.[/p]
• [p]Added support for ability loadouts. You can now set up to four different loadouts, each with a different set of abilities. You can also rename each loadout (by right-clicking the loadout name) and set a hotkey for it.[/p]

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• [p]Fixed an issue with NPC dialogues sometimes prematurely closing or kicking players.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where pet stats, such as armor, weren’t updating when the player equipped/unequipped armor on their pet.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where cancelling the taming process was leaving it in a bad state.[/p]
• [p]Corrected the model for the Scorched Adventurer’s Hat.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where players would sometimes get stuck in the air when they got feared.[/p]

[h2]World[/h2]

• [p]The strange reality warping affecting parts of the city of Sorhiryth has been resolved, and the affected platforms have returned to their original size and position.[/p]
• [p]The zoneline between the Silent Plains and Eastern Plains has been adjusted to resolve some areas where players were crossing between zones multiple times.[/p]
• [p]Missing collision on several rocks in the world has been restored. The rocks should now properly behave as tangible objects.[/p]
• [p]The first Nightfall Crypt dungeon has been added to the game, somewhere in the world. Explorers seeking to brave this location should be warned: Few who have ventured there have ever returned to tell the tale.[/p]

[h2]Items[/h2]

• [p]Added an additional section to Tel’Daedras’s loot table to house some extra items.[/p]
• [p]The keys used to unlock various doors in Halnir Caves are now lifebound.[/p]

[h2]Known Issues[/h2]

• [p]Haste of all types has been temporarily disabled and will be re-enabled in a future update.[/p]
• [p]Many robes may not animate properly while swimming.[/p]

[p]Hi everyone! We wanted to take a moment to talk more about the Ability Loadouts feature that’s coming to the game in our next update. We think this is something that will be very useful for many of you, so you can think of this dev diary as sort of an “instruction manual” for how to use it.[/p][h2]Why Loadouts, and why now?[/h2][p]One of the fundamental aspects of our combat system is the idea of a limited action set – the concept that you won’t always have access to every ability that your character knows in every combat situation. Our goal with that limited action set is twofold: First, it adds an element of strategy and preparation to our game’s combat by requiring players to think about what they plan to use before they get into a fight. Secondly, it allows us to give our classes a wider variety of powerful and interesting abilities to use in different situations and still help keep things feeling intuitive and distinct. All of us have played games that suffered from too many buttons to push in high level gameplay. Not only does this lead to UI bloat, but it can also make abilities feel redundant and overwhelm players with complexity. We would much rather that the challenge in Pantheon come from interesting and engaging content, rather than from trying to memorize a complicated rotation or figuring out which button to use out of four or five hotbars at high levels.[/p][p]However, that Limited Action set comes with a downside because it introduces a level of micromanagement of your hotbars. That might seem like a small thing, but having to reconfigure your hotbar for different situations isn’t always much fun, especially if you’re just using the same combinations of abilities that you always use when you do it. Since we still want our classes to have many different abilities, we knew we were going to need a way for players to easily manage those abilities, without always having to drag and drop individual ability icons into their hotbar.[/p][p]This has always been a need, and thus always been something we planned to do, but our rework of the summoner class made it a much more urgent priority. Under the new approach, Summoners need to be able to change which abilities are on their hotbars based on which pets they are using, and are likely to switch between pets fairly frequently depending on the situation they find themselves in.[/p][p]Thus, we prioritized the development of the Ability Loadouts feature to make sure it happened alongside the Summoner update. This feature will allow our summoners to more easily switch between their different pet types. At the same time, it should also be a welcome capability for every other class, simply by allowing you to set up preconfigured hotbars that you can switch between for various situations. Our goal with the system was to try to make it as free-form and intuitive as possible; while making sure we also had some protection in place to prevent it from being abused or exploited.[/p][h2]How Loadouts Work[/h2][p]Every character gets four potential loadouts. We may increase this number in the future, but we felt that this number would give everyone the ability to save several different loadouts without making the UI overly complicated. When you log in after the feature is enabled, you will see a small icon next to your hotbar. You can click this to bring up the loadout list for your character.[/p][p][/p][p]When you click this button, you will see the list of your loadouts. By default, we have named them Loadout 1 – Loadout 4. We know that these are very exciting and descriptive names, but just in case you want to change them, you can rename any loadout by right-clicking on it within the list.[/p][p][/p][p]Your current hotbar will be saved to Loadout 1 (or whatever you rename it to) when you first log in. If you want to change this loadout, all you have to do is open your codex and adjust your hotbar – any changes you make will be automatically saved. To set up an additional loadout, just switch to one of the others in the list and you will get a blank hotbar. Add abilities to that hotbar like you normally would, and they will be saved automatically. After you have set up multiple loadouts, you can switch between them simply by using the selector menu. You can also use their hotkeys. By default, these hotkeys are Ctrl-F9 to Ctrl-F12, but you can reconfigure your loadout hotkeys to your liking by going to your keymaps in Settings.[/p][p][/p][h2]Limitations[/h2][p]Ability loadouts are a powerful and convenient tool, but our limited action set still matters – so there some important limitations to them. First, you can’t swap your loadout while you’re in combat. If you want to change to a different loadout, you’ll need to find a way to leave combat momentarily to do that. Second, and perhaps more importantly, when you swap your loadout, all of your abilities on the new loadout will go through a short cooldown. We want ability loadouts to primarily be a strategic choice – something you do before entering a battle, rather than a tactic you rely on during the fight.[/p][h2]Buffs and Persistence[/h2][p]We can’t talk about loadouts without also talking about our buffs and pets. Many long-time players will be aware that we have a system in place right now that removes buffs if those buffs are removed from the caster’s hotbar. This system was intended as a balancing tool to prevent players from being able to enter every battle with every buff available active on them, but in practice it has just ended up frustrating and confusing players who expected their buffs to behave a different way. It has also led to all sorts of confusing issues where buffs have to be recast when zoning. We have recognized for a while that we need a better way to handle buffs in general. We want buffs to be useful and desirable, but we don’t want to create a game where we are having to balance the challenge of content around players having access to every buff from every class.[/p][p]We are working on that better system now and hope to deploy it as part of the Combat and Progression update coming up. Once the change is made, you will be able to cast your buffs before combat and then switch your abilities out before engaging in many cases, and the buffs will still be present. The change should also allow buffs to persist through zoning, or if a group member logs off or gets disconnected. As part of the change, we will have to balance our buffs in a different way – many of our current class buffs will likely have their power and effectiveness reduced slightly to account for the ability to have more buffs active. We’re also looking at other potential solutions to help us balance the power of buffs, including changing some buffs to short-term effects that are meant to be used during fights, rather than effects that persist for a very long time.[/p][p]While we wait for that change, here’s how buffs and pets will behave with ability loadouts:[/p]

• [p]If you have a buff or pet on two loadouts and switch between those loadouts, the buff or pet will stay active.[/p]
• [p]If you have a buff or pet on your loadout and then switch to another loadout that does not have that buff or pet, the buff or pet will deactivate when the switch occurs.[/p]

[p]As mentioned, we are currently planning on lifting the restrictions on buffs altogether in the Combat and Progression update coming up. Pets will still have a restriction placed on them after that change, however.[/p][p]Hopefully this guide and intro to loadouts helps get you oriented and ready for the next update patch![/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]by Nephele[/p][p]Hi everyone! You may remember that before the holidays, we released a series of dev diaries talking about everything that we have planned for our Combat and Progression Update coming up this Spring (or this Fall, if you live in the southern hemisphere). Since then, we’ve talked a bit more about how the design for the Mastery system has been evolving. However, we wanted to give you a more complete update on what we’ve been doing and how that effort is going. Let’s dive in![/p][h2]Mail System and Market System[/h2][p]A few weeks ago, we finalized the detailed technical requirements for the mail system and the market system. This documentation is what our programming team uses to start building out these systems. It lays out all the functions we need to provide not only for players, but also for our customer service team and for economic data tracking, in excruciating detail so we can try to make sure nothing gets missed. These two systems will also include some general QOL features when it comes to items, including the ability to link items so that other players can see their details, and better display of item information on tooltips across the entire game. Our programmers are starting on building out the back end for both systems to handle all the data, and once that’s ready, we’ll get the UI windows put together that you’ll interact with in the game. Both systems will be available for testing when our Public Test Realm opens.[/p][p]One important note about the market system: Initially, we’re going to keep it simple and focused on the aspects that we expect just about everyone to use. This is on purpose – we need to make sure those basic interactions, like listing an item for sale or browsing items that have been listed are solid and responsive, especially when hundreds or even thousands of our players are all trying to do those things at the same time. Once we’re very confident in the stability and performance of these systems, we have a plan to add in more advanced features, including the ability to post orders that other players can fill.[/p][h2]Combat System Enhancements[/h2][p]While much of the combat tuning involved in this update centers around NPC data and moving to unified NPC templates, there are some underlying combat formulas that we will be adjusting as well. Last week, we finalized the updates for the formulas that govern things such as hit/miss, dodge, parry, and block. This might sound like a very small thing, but it has major implications and tie-ins for almost every part of combat tuning as well as our itemization, so we ended up doing a lot of mathematical modeling to try and make sure that events like dodges and parries are still meaningful, but aren’t happening so often against higher level opponents that you feel like you have no chance at all of contributing to the fight. We want groups to be able to take on yellow cons and even slightly higher NPCs in their adventures, so getting these base formulas to come out with the right results for players at any level is extremely important. At the same time, we also need to pay attention to how quickly the challenge falls off as you level past something. If things are becoming trivial as soon as they turn blue, that doesn’t feel very good either.[/p][p]Along with all of this, we’re going to be making a few changes to help make some of those combat skills more meaningful. For example:[/p]

• [p]Your weapon skills and spell skills will now contribute more directly to your chance to land an attack, and (at very high skill levels) those skills can help you bypass some of the target’s avoidance.[/p]
• [p]Your defensive skills like dodge and parry will now have more of an impact when it comes to incoming damage – as those skills increase, it should make more of a measurable difference for you during fights.[/p]
• [p]The shield skill (which formerly didn’t do anything except let you equip a shield) is now going to improve your chance to block attacks, making it work more like dodge and parry. Shields overall are going to be getting a bit of an overhaul to help make them useful without being overpowering – we’ll try to talk through that a bit more in the next progress update.[/p]

[p]The actual numbers involved here will be subject to tuning, of course – we have a few rounds of internal playtesting we will need to do, and then we’ll be very closely watching how things go on the Public Test Realm when that opens. Overall though, when these changes are combined with the NPC changes we’re making, we believe that it will help to make combat a much richer and more engaging experience than it is today, and also help contribute to that sense of your character’s combat prowess improving as your skills go up and as you equip better items.[/p][h2]Class Updates[/h2][p]Over the past several weeks we have also been hard at work going through each of our classes to determine how best to incorporate the mastery system into their progression. If you’ve been reading our previous dev diaries you know that our implementation of mastery has evolved a bit as part of that work – but there’s more to it than just mastery. We’re also looking at what skills our classes have and how those skills function, as well as how we’re using class resources such as Battle Points for the Warrior. In some cases, we’re even planning to make some adjustments to the armor and weapons that classes can use, and the level at which things like heavier armor become available for those classes. Our goal here is to make horizontal character progression through options like skills and mastery matter just as much as vertical progression through leveling up or obtaining more powerful items.[/p][p]Our focus over the past two weeks has been our Tank classes, partly because tanking is a critical role in group gameplay, but also because the three tank classes and their unique styles provided us with a good starting point for working out how we should approach this work for our other classes. We need all our tanks to be able to function well in solo situations and in group situations, but the way they accomplish that needs to be different enough that each class feels different (and fun) to play. We’ll be wrapping up the pass through our tank classes shortly and starting on healers next, and we should be able to share the details on what’s changing with each of our tank classes in a few weeks.[/p][p]We have a lot more to do for the Combat and Progression update, so we’ll try to get another progress update out to you all soon! Until then, we hope you’re all looking forward to the upcoming Nightfall Crypt and the Summoner Updates which are almost ready to enter final testing so we can make sure everything is working well before they come out to all of you.[/p]

[p]by Joppa[/p][p]Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen has always been built around a few core pillars: strong class identity and meaningful player interdependence. These pillars have guided nearly every major system decision we’ve made, including the upcoming Mastery system, through which we’re taking a critical step forward in how players can express their class. This step has raised questions, sparked debate, and prompted requests for clarity around why we’re taking this direction.[/p][p]This blog is about that “why.”[/p][h2]The Question We’re Hearing[/h2][p]A version of this question has come up consistently since the recent Reddit AMA:[/p][p]“Will classes be hard-locked into one role, or will players be able to spec into different roles if they want?”[/p][p]A common example is the Warrior. Warriors are tanks, and that isn’t changing. But what if a player resonates with the weapon-master aspect of the Warrior class. What if the Warrior power fantasy for that player is a Warrior leaning fully into offense? Should that be possible? And if it is, does it undermine class identity?[/p][p]These are fair concerns. But these are the exact questions that led us to rethink what Mastery should be.[/p][h2]Class Identity First[/h2][p]From the very beginning, Pantheon’s class design has taken more inspiration from EverQuest than from modern, talent-driven MMOs.[/p][p]One of the things EverQuest did exceptionally well was make class roles matter and class flavor distinct. Crowd control classes were often essential. Support roles made a huge difference in the outcomes of combat, and certain classes/combinations of classes could make some crazy things possible. But additionally, utility wasn’t spread thinly across everyone’s toolkit. Groups were built around interdependence, needing particular classes for particular things that those classes could more uniquely provide.[/p][p]When Pantheon’s class designs were first taking shape, that philosophy was front and center. The goal wasn’t to create classes that could do everything by themselves, or cover every need with the right spec. The goal was to create classes that could do specific things well, classes that felt distinct with unique value to a group.[/p][p]Because of that, early on there was no concept of Mastery, Alternate Advancement, or talents. There were just classes.[/p][h2]The Original Idea: Flexing, Not Spec’ing[/h2][p]As some of the class designs evolved, we began to introduce the notion of “flexing.” This is the idea that a class could temporarily lean into a secondary role by sacrificing effectiveness in their primary role.[/p][p]A Rogue might give up damage to provide reliable crowd control.
A Monk might off-tank in a pinch.
A Paladin might contribute limited healing at the cost of better mitigation.[/p][p]Originally, flexing was not meant to replace primary roles. In fact, we had to design extremely carefully to make sure that, for example, a Rogue wouldn’t shift fully into a CC role. As we wrestled with this balance, it typically led to nerfing these flex roles more and more heavily, reducing the viability of flexing to the point where we had begun to question if it was worth it.[/p][p]As we revisited Mastery over the last year while preparing to finalize our class kits in the spring, we started to consider:[/p][p]If some classes already support a secondary role through flexing, and we’re constantly fighting to keep them from flexing too far or too long, what happens if we let a player fully commit to that flex role?[/p][p]The reality is that our classes naturally contain multiple, authentic expressions within their fantasy:[/p]

• [p]Warriors are shield-bearing bastions, but they’re also weapon masters.[/p]
• [p]Summoners have powerful damage-dealing potential through their Fury and Zephyr pets, but they have an entire Tank-expression available through the mighty Titan.[/p]
• [p]Rogues aren’t just damage-dealers, they also have a deep arsenal related to poisons, tricks, traps and stealth-play.[/p]

[p]What clicked and became very exciting for us is this: Mastery allows us to take roles that already exist implicitly and let players fully embrace them.[/p][p]So, what is this actually going to look like? Does this mean we’re going to see Warrior tanks that can also do DPS on par with a Ranger, Wizard, Monk, etc.?[/p][h2]A Concrete Example[/h2][p]First, we need to note here that we have decided to reduce the number of Mastery branches for all classes from 3 down to 2. We made this decision to make it easier to present meaningful choices within each branch and to avoid splitting the class arsenals up too aggressively, leading to dilution.[/p][p]Now, let’s imagine a Warrior’s Mastery array as a radial, with two dominant sides:[/p]

• [p]Left Side, Bastion: defensive, shield-focused, heavy plate, mitigation, banners, control.[/p]
• [p]Right Side, Warlord: offensive, weapon-driven, cleaves, ruptures, shouts, aggressive pressure.[/p]

[p]As you invest deeper into Warlord:[/p]

• [p]You lose access to Shield Block and Shield Wall, which are only available deep into the Bastion side.[/p]
• [p]Heavy Plate Armor becomes unavailable, as it is also only available deep into the Bastion side.[/p]
• [p]Core abilities transform or are replaced (e.g. Slam functions different for Warlord Warriors, whereas Slam becomes Shield Slam for Bastion Warriors.)[/p]
• [p]Certain unlocks become mutually exclusive with Bastion nodes.[/p]
• [p]New abilities unlock for Warlord Warriors that are unavailable to Bastion Warriors (e.g. Rupture).[/p]

[p]In other words, the further you lean into the Warlord side of Mastery, the more you will become a full-fledged DPS class, no longer capable of tanking effectively.[/p][p]With this approach, Mastery will now be a legitimate vehicle of choice, allowing players to more fully explore what their class is capable of, instead of a static system of incremental power only. It allows players to shape how their class plays in a meaningful, visible way without forcing us to baseline characters artificially low just to make progression feel impactful.[/p][p]And it’s very important to re-iterate: we’re not layering unrelated roles onto classes. We’re deepening and expanding the intrinsic roles that already exist.[/p][p]A CC-focused Rogue is still a fully Lore-compliant Rogue, just one that is more interested in the Tricks of the Trade instead of Daggers.[/p][p]A DPS-focused Warrior is still a fully Lore-compliant Warrior, embracing their offensive mastery of weapons over shield-play.[/p][h2]Core Audience, Core Convictions[/h2][p]Our goal is for Pantheon to a be deep and fun experience for the many different playstyles represented by our core audience.[/p][p]Some players care deeply about endgame optimization and raid metas. Others want to explore the world solo or with a small group. Some want to specialize narrowly while others want flexibility. Mastery will allow these different player types to coexist.[/p][p]A main group/raid tank can push Bastion as far as possible. A solo Warrior might build a balanced hybrid between Bastion and Warlord. A DPS-focused Warrior can go all-in to Warlord and accept the loss of effective tanking.[/p][p]This is what class expression means to us. Not homogenization or dilution. Strong class identity, strong interdependence, and an incredibly fun exploration of class expression.[/p][p]We’ll be diving into the specific Mastery potential for each class soon, so stay tuned for that![/p][p]Until then, onward and upward everyone. We’ll see you in Terminus![/p]