Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen News

June will be an exciting month for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen as we update with new content. Higher-level players and groups, this is what you have been waiting for! Keep reading to find out what the team is up to.

You may find the roadmap here. Bookmark that page and check back for more updates as the Pantheon team continues work on the world of Terminus.

[h3]Current Phase:[/h3]

Smoldering Trench & Ashbreather Enclave (Release Date: June 11, 2025)

• Two new very large playable areas in Silent Plains including both indoor and outdoor areas.
  
• Designed for levels 35-45
  
• Roughly a dozen named and epic encounters, including a main boss. Access to the final encounter is coming later in the phase.
  
• New Quests
  
• New perception triggers and storylines, linking perception triggers to some quests.
  
• New equipment and items, including distinct rare and epic items.
  

[h3]Continuing Development:[/h3]

• Final Ashbreather’s boss will be unlocked later in this phase.
  
• More quests and perception triggers will be added to Trench & Enclave, as well as existing and upcoming areas.
  
• Ashbreather crafting items will be made available later in this phase.
  
• Level 30 gathering and crafting will start to come in during this phase.
  
• Updated crafting station models will be added to crafting areas during this phase.
  
• Iconic abilities will continue to be added, including animations.
  
• Ongoing updates to combat mechanics and class abilities up to level 40.
  

[h3]Already done for future phases:[/h3]

• Black Rose Keep terrain: 70% complete, set dressing progressing
  
• Mounts and Taming:
  
• --Mounts are working
  
• --Taming systems are being engineered
  
• Badia de Cara lore complete.
  

Hi everyone,

Recently, we opened applications for a new testing program to help us ensure that we are catching more bugs and generally reaching a higher level of quality with our updates and the new content that we are adding to Pantheon. We are now in the process of kicking off that program and welcoming our first groups of testers. In the interest of transparency, we are pleased to share more information about how this testing program works, as well as our overall plan for future testing.

There are some big changes that could affect you even if you didn’t apply to be a tester, so read on!

[h3]Two types of testing, two groups of testers[/h3]

To make sure that a game as complex as Pantheon works well for all our players on our regular servers, there are two different types of testing that we need to be able to do. We call these focus testing, and organic testing.

Focus Testing could entail evaluating individual changes to combat mechanics or class abilities, mechanical testing of a new gameplay system to make sure it works properly, or limited testing of new content to help us do initial tuning prior to a broader release. During focus testing, our Focus Testers are asked to do specific things, often over and over, and VR staff are in attendance to gather data and reproduce bugs in real time so that we can make fixes and adjustments immediately. Focus Testers are chosen through an application process. To facilitate focus testing, we have updated and renamed our Advanced Tester Program as the Focus Tester Program.

Organic Testing is when we open up a set of changes to a larger group of testers who play the game normally. We will monitor the effect of those changes over a period of several weeks to confirm all is working well before we push the changes out to everyone. This type of testing includes balance changes to experience and level pacing, economic changes, or really anything that might benefit from passively watching how players interact with it across the breadth of the entire game. This will take place on a Public Preview Server. Anyone with a Pantheon account in good standing can join a Public Preview Server. We encourage feedback on your experiences on Public Preview Servers.

[h3]Public Preview Servers[/h3]

What to know about the public preview servers:

• The server will not always be open. When it is open, it will typically only be available for weeks at a time.
  
• Each time we open the preview server it will be a fresh server, and you’ll have to create a new character to play on it.
  
• Depending on the changes we are testing, we may place NPCs that allow you to boost your level or obtain gear to get started quickly. However, this is not guaranteed.
  
• The preview server may receive additional updates during the testing period, if needed.
  

The goal of the preview server is to allow us to gather data on how a change is working out before we push it out to all of the normal servers. This helps keep our normal servers more stable and allows us to try to make sure that the impact of changes is more fully understood before we push them out everywhere.

[h3]Focus Testing Program (fka Advanced Tester Program)[/h3]

As mentioned, we have updated our focus testing program:


We’re making these changes for a few reasons:

Preventing Tester Burnout and Maintaining Coverage: We experienced a high burnout rate in our old program and sometimes ran into situations where we didn’t have enough testers available to form full testing groups. In our new program, we are planning to operate a larger pool of testers overall. We hope that this will put less pressure on individual testers and will in turn reduce the burnout that they experience over time.

Better coordination: Our old format utilized general group playtests that sometimes did not have specific objectives. While organic play and feedback will remain an important part of testing, our game has also grown to the point where we need to start asking our testers to focus on specific aspects that really need to be thoroughly tested. This allows our team to gather focused bug reports and feedback quickly whether we are looking at a gameplay mechanic or system, or a new or updated content area.

Things that have not changed: Our test server uses a separate database from our production game servers. This means:

• Testers will not be able to log into Production Servers with Test Accounts or vice versa
  
• Testers are not able to transfer items between Production Server accounts and Test Accounts
  

[h3]How Focus Testers are selected[/h3]

In our last round of applications, more than 1,000 players applied to join the Focus Testing Program. To help get testing up and running for our upcoming high-level content, the first group of testers were blindly selected from this pool based on data relevant to our initial testing needs.

Here’s how our selection process will work for additional groups of testers moving forward:

1. We remove any invalid applications. These can be applications that have missing information, along with duplicates from the same person applying more than once.
   
2. We remove any applications where the player’s account has had a warning or suspension against it recently.
   
3. We remove any applications where the player has not logged in to the game within the last 90 days.
   
4. Once all three of the above steps are complete, we sort the applications by time zone, and we select testers based on trying to maintain coverage so that there are always multiple testers available to support scheduled focus tests.
   

As we start to fill out our overall tester pool, we will select randomly from the applications that make it through the filtering process above.

For any number of reasons, Advanced Testers may be retired or cycled out of the program, at which point we will select new testers from the pool based on the above parameters.

[h3]The rules of Focus Testing[/h3]

Our testers are interacting with extremely unfinished systems and content that may be changed multiple times before they are publicly released. What our testers experience during focus tests is usually the earliest possible version of what eventually makes it out to the wider game.

To be part of the program, our testers sign a non-disclosure agreement and pledge not to share any details of their testing activities publicly. There are two reasons for this: First, this is meant to help prevent confusion among our larger community about what is coming to the game. Secondly, this helps protect our testers from any potential online harassment that might occur if their status was publicly known. As part of this, we also require our testers not to use the same character names as their main play characters, and to not share that information (including their guild affiliation) with other testers.

It's important to stress that this NDA applies to anyone – family, friends, guildmates. If a tester violates the NDA, they will be removed from the program, and further action may be taken if necessary.

• In addition to following the NDA, to continue participation in the Focus Testing Program, we request: Participate in at least two feedback discussions each month.
  
• Inactive testers will be removed from the program.
  

Finally, we ask our testers to adhere to a strict code of conduct when interacting with each other and with VR staff. It is extremely important that everyone is treated with respect, both in-game and in feedback discussions.

• Failure to meet any of these requirements, or violation of the NDA, will result in the immediate removal of testing privileges and potentially being banned from the game.
  

Thank you to all the Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen players who have stepped up to participate in Advanced Testing!

- Nephele, and the Testing Team

Hey everyone,

This update’s a bit of a personal one for me. The Ashbreathers have been a faction I’ve wanted to help bring to life for quite some time, and it’s been one of the more rewarding creative processes I’ve contributed to as part of this project. These beings, rumored to have emerged from the very cracks of the Roan mountains, have a depth that’s been fascinating to explore.

The initial idea for the trench area actually came after a trip to Ypres, Belgium. The city is marked by haunting World War I battlefields and trench systems. My visit left a strong impression and fit perfectly with the scorched, scarred, and solemn tone that JN’s Ashbreather lore established: beings whose very essence is tied to ash and cinder.

A few years back, I was shown some early story concepts for the faction – hinting at their transformation from something primal to their current, eerily organized state – and it was clear there was something special here; something worth building on through atmosphere, gameplay, and world detail.

Working closely with the team, I’ve been involved in a number of areas to help shape this part of the game:

Visual World-Building

I’ve spent a lot of time concepting the props you’ll see throughout the Ashbreather trench and enclave. From charred altars that whisper of ancient, almost desperate rituals, to ash-filled urns suggesting a complex reverence for what, or who, has been consumed, each asset is designed to tell a story, not just fill a space. I usually create the initial concept, and then work closely with Rob to bring it to life. Rob deserves a special shoutout here. He’s been incredibly helpful in taking our designs to completion. I can’t say enough about how valuable his contributions have been to this process.

Beyond the props themselves, I’ve been collaborating with the World Building team to figure out how these assets are placed and what role they play in the environment. We’re hinting at a society where even the quality of ash one is permitted to be near dictates their place in the world. I’ll often sketch rough draw-overs of rooms and send them to our world building team, or hop into meetings to discuss shared ideas and what players might discover as they move through these spaces, perhaps even glimpsing the strange order that has arisen from the collective Ashbreather fervor.

Narrative and Encounter Design

I’ve also had a hand in helping define the themes, NPCs, and boss encounters you’ll find here. From naming conventions that echo their unique beliefs to placement and behavior, the goal has always been to keep everything cohesive. We want to make sure every character, every prop, every corner of the zone feels like it belongs to the same fanatical culture, one that has clawed its way from a primal, ravenous state to a new, unsettling order under an unseen influence.

Weapons, Armor, and Reward Identity

Another part I’ve really enjoyed has been helping shape the loot and gear visuals for the Ashbreather content. The weapons and armor found here aren’t just functional; they feel ritualistic, scorched, and ceremonial, almost as if imbued with the very essence that sustains these enigmatic beings. Some pieces might even bear marks reminiscent of an unceasing, burning brand. They truly reflect the culture they come from.

Bringing it All Together

A lot of this work has involved coordinating the tone and overall feel of the area, from prop placement to boss theming to environmental storytelling. Our goal throughout has been to make it feel like you’re stepping into a forgotten, obsessive culture, one that exists in a state of fervent devotion, perhaps even a waking “dreamare” shaped by a power beyond their full understanding.

The result is a space that doesn’t just tell a story; it invites players to uncover it. This has been a deeply fulfilling part of the project, and I’m excited for players to step into the ash and see what we’ve built.

– Convo, Pantheon Game Designer.

[h3]Itemization Updates Explained[/h3]

(Note to community, itemization changes will be making their way into the game, starting with the next patch. The process will be ongoing.)


Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Artificer.

This message is to inform everyone of the plans for itemization. Recently, I have taken on the role of managing, solidifying and refining how we approach it as a whole. The upcoming content should showcase this, and we highly encourage feedback on it that keeps the following points in mind. Older itemization will be addressed in following updates.

To set the stage, it must be stated that we are itemizing this content in the game with 1.0 and beyond in mind. We want to avoid making and distributing items in the game in a way that does not move towards that goal, just to address issues in the now that would be solved organically as development continues.

1. Item distribution in Pantheon. Items not only provide your character power and progression, they are also an essential part of the game for driving player traffic through the world, helping it feel alive, and encouraging a more interesting/healthier player experience and bigger adventure. Many of you have noted that the amount of items available for a specific class/archetype in a level range feel rather thin, and this is intentional with our distribution model. As more content comes online that has a similar level range, this aspect of our itemization vision should feel much better.

2. Keeping stat inflation down, but making equipment acquisition feel satisfying. For launch, we wanted to keep our stats on the smaller side, so they don't go crazy soon after when more content comes online, however, Pantheon characters have a lot of gear slots! To avoid either watering them down per-piece, or inflating them overall, we're going to consolidate *most* stat bonuses to armor slots. This means accessory slots (which include waist and back as well for this purpose) are going to be offering ratings, resists, and non-stat bonuses (some of which have yet to be seen in game) to characters primarily, and will be less focused on stats.

3. Stat variety on items and "soft specs". With class abilities finally changing to utilize a wider array of stats per-class, we need to offer more gear that has a wider variety of stat bonuses. Those changes also give us a great avenue for horizontal progression, collecting layouts of gear that focus on different stats for a class to accentuate different abilities and playstyles. The total number of stats on items will be rising in general, but will also be more spread out. Like our item distribution, this will start to feel better as more content becomes available to hunt for items with different stat focuses in.

4. Making resists matter more. The itemization side of this involves increasing their availability, so that content can be created with more of an emphasis on utilizing them. Part of the planned system for resists, and utilizing them as a minor route of horizontal progression, is to use a bonus/penalty system. For example, a lower level or quality item might offer some fire resistance, but have a higher penalty to nature resistance. A higher level or quality item might offer slightly more fire resistance, but much less of a penalty to nature resistance, a different resistance, or perhaps none at all in the case of the best ones. The goal here is to offer resistances in amounts that matter, without inflating them too much, so rather than the amount of resistance always rising with an upgrade, one way the item can be an improvement is to have less of a penalty, or a different one that the player feels is less detrimental.

Solidifying and adhering to the above, is a large piece of the puzzle as the team works towards the unified vision of the game.

- Codeman, QA/Designer.

Esteemed Pantheon Community,

Imagine a fellowship in Terminus, standing at the edge of a crumbling ruin. A Warrior’s shield locks with another, forming an unbreakable wall against a charging horde. A Druid summons vines to bridge a chasm, while a Rogue’s nimble fingers unlock a hidden vault. In the chaos, a Cleric’s radiant shield holds the line, and a Monk’s daring sacrifice turns defeat into victory. This is Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen—a world where every class shines with a unique identity, and interdependence weaves adventurers into a tapestry of shared triumph. Today, we’re thrilled to unveil a suite of new iconic abilities, each crafted to deepen your role and play style.

Iconic Abilities: Defining Your Role in Terminus

These abilities are the heartbeat of Pantheon’s classes, designed to make each role feel essential and vibrant. They’re not just tools—they’re the essence of your character’s story, ensuring no class feels redundant and every group thrives on cooperation.

Here’s a look at some of these iconic abilities (not a complete list):

[h3]Cleric[/h3]

• Celestial Aegis: A towering ethereal shield rises at the Cleric’s command, halting enemies and deflecting deadly projectiles. It stands as a divine bulwark, protecting allies and turning the tide when hope falters.
  
  
• Coalescence: With a sacred bond, the Cleric aligns their vitality with a wounded ally, raising that ally's health to match their own.
  

[h3]Dire Lord[/h3]

• Call of the Dire: The Dire Lord’s chilling command compels an enemy to abandon all resistance, walking helplessly toward their doom.
  

[h3]Druid[/h3]

• Conjure Storm: The Druid calls forth a tempest, darkening the skies with thunder and rain. This localized storm unsettles foes and empowers allies, marking the Druid as nature’s herald.
  
  
• Vinewoven Bridge: Vines twist and grow at the Druid’s will, forming a sturdy bridge across impassable gaps. It’s a lifeline for the group, opening paths where none existed.
  

[h3]Enchanter[/h3]

• Squee’s Mimicry: With a flicker of illusion, the Enchanter transforms into a nearby object—a barrel, a crate—blending seamlessly into the environment. It’s a playful trick that opens stealthy opportunities.
  
  
• Charm and Dire Charm: The Enchanter bends an enemy’s mind, turning foe into ally. Whether a temporary pet or a permanent thrall, this power makes the Enchanter a puppeteer of battle.
  

[h3]Monk[/h3]

• Monk Gates: The Monk opens mystical gates within, unlocking buffs and abilities that shift their combat prowess. Each gate is a step toward mastery, adapting to the fight’s demands.
  
• Chi Burn: In a blaze of sacrifice, the Monk unleashes Chi Burn, surging with unmatched offensive might at the cost of their own vitality. It’s a daring gamble that can save or doom the group.
  

[h3]Paladin[/h3]

• Sense Undead: The Paladin’s senses sharpen, revealing undead with glowing clarity and guiding them to their quarry. It’s a holy calling that marks their crusade against the unholy.
  
  
• Lightful Avenger: Consuming corruption from undead foes, the Paladin transforms into a radiant avenger, their strikes blazing with divine wrath. It’s a beacon of justice in the darkest fights.
  

[h3]Ranger[/h3]

• Kaylen’s Command: With a commanding call, the Ranger sways a wild beast to become a temporary ally.
  

[h3]Rogue[/h3]

• Length of Rope: The Rogue unfurls a rope, letting allies climb treacherous heights. It’s a practical yet vital skill, opening paths only a Rogue’s cunning can provide.
  
  
• Lockpicking: With deft hands and a lockpick, the Rogue unravels the secrets of locked doors and chests, revealing treasures and shortcuts for the group.
  
• Pick Pocketing: In stealth, the Rogue’s fingers dance, pilfering coin or trinkets from unsuspecting foes. It’s a risky art, indeed.
  

[h3]Shaman[/h3]

• Veil Walking: Sacrificing their spirit pet, the Shaman gains a fleeting afterlife. Upon death, they roam as a spectral wolf, healing allies and dragging their own corpse to safety.
  
  
• Shrink: With a mystic chant, the Shaman shrinks a companion, easing navigation through tight spaces or adding whimsy to the journey.
  

[h3]Warrior[/h3]

• Shield Wall: The Warrior channels unyielding resolve, linking shields with another to form a fortified barrier. It taunts foes and halves damage, a defiant stand for the group’s survival.
  
  
• Battering Ram: With a mighty charge, the Warrior shatters weakened barriers, clearing paths through ruins or fortifications—a brute force solution only they can deliver.
  

[h3]Wizard[/h3]

• Dragonfire Bomb: The Wizard hurls a slow, fiery orb that scorches enemies in its path before erupting in a blazing explosion.
  

A Fellowship Forged in Terminus

These iconic abilities are at the core of Pantheon’s vision. They are part of ensuring that every class—from the Cleric’s radiant shields to the Rogue’s sly thievery—has a distinct role, making groups more than the sum of their parts. The Druid’s Vinewoven Bridge gets you across a chasm, but the Warrior’s Shield Wall keeps you alive on the other side. The Enchanter’s Charm turns enemies into allies, while the Paladin’s Lightful Avenger purges the undead. Together, they create a world where interdependence isn’t just mechanics—it’s the magic of adventure.

As we introduce more of these iconic abilities over the coming weeks and months, we invite you to hop in game to see them in action and share your feedback.

Thank you for believing in a game where every class matters, and every adventure is shared. Onward and upward—see you in Terminus!

Warm regards,
Chris “Joppa” Perkins
Creative Director, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen