THE CURATOR COLLECTION is a hand-picked list of references that our knowledgeable team of volunteer curators have deemed particularly informative about Pantheon and its development. This is a great place to start if you already have a basic understanding of Pantheon, but want to learn more.

The list is organized in reverse chronological order, so the most recent info will always appear first in searches from top to bottom. If you haven't already, we highly suggest opening the Search Guide in a separate tab to assist as you explore the Library:

You can view references by category and get additional info about that category by clicking on any label in <<angle brackets>> next to the headings (Ex: <<Gameplay Stream>>), which will take you to that section of the Reference Catalog.

2022-Dec 21: Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen - Adventure in the Goblin Caves <<Gameplay Stream>>

What Tyler Stokes does at Visionary Realms
What Jamie Henry does at Visionary Realms
What Jason Bolton does at Visionary Realms
What Mark Maraglino does at Visionary Realms
What David Schlow does at Visionary Realms
Rogue Second Chance Strike ability
Available classes implemented to level 20
Rogue Caltrop ability VFX
Techniques and the Readiness resource
Defining Dungeons
Complexity of combat [disposition, Limited Ability Set, NPC AI, fractures, class identity, pacing, progression]
Combat is not rotational [Limited Ability Set]
All healers can be main healers
More gameplay reveals in 2023
Enchanter Mesmerize ability
Resting mechanic [resource regen]
Temporary level restrictions on gear for testing
Skills affect the effectiveness of gear, not hard level restrictions [twinking]
Rogue Opportunity Strike ability

2022-Nov 18: Parting the Veil - The Pantheon Difference <<Parting the Veil>>

Meaning of The Pantheon Difference
System designs changing without the tenets and vision changing
Fractures and Climates
Environmental challenges having more than one solution [fractures, climates]
No Tier 5 climates at launch
Living Codex
NPC AI Combat Awareness and Tactics Systems
Dispositions and Traits
Dark Foe Disposition
NPCs may have traits and dispositions at the same time
Mana-starved Trait
Radiant Trait
Perception System
Colored Mana System
Mentor System
Situational Gear
Climbing added to The Pantheon Difference list [seamless, exploration, class identity]
Combat pacing and LAS design in PvP
The New Pantheon Difference
Pantheon’s tenets
Player reputation [community, instances, streamers, guilds]
What kind of MMO players Pantheon will resonate with [target audience]

2022-Sep 29: September 2022 Newsletter <<Newsletter>>

Producer's Letter [Pre-Alpha test, character model asset, animation and rigging development, team growth, ViNL networking, weather, day/night cycle, climates, swimming, perception storyline, NPC abilities, Warrior implementation, world building, Alpha 1]
Last Month in Review
Pantheon: One Year Later [development, implementation, HDRP, terrain, seamless, weather, assets, ViNL networking, weapons, techniques, readiness endurance health and mana resources, class passive abilities, combat, user interface, sprint, crafting and gathering, mining nodes, banks, death, deleveling, experience, zones and world building, NPCs, buffs, pacing, armor and weapons, attributes, regeneration, climates, climbing, skills, progression, casters, healing, soloing, difficulty, itemization, gear, visible loot, vendors, patch notes]
Guilds of Pantheon (Community Spotlight)

2022-Jul 14: Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen - Art and World Building Update <<Video News>>

Availia Village Entrance Concept Art
Availia Village Windmill Concept Art
Availia Docks Concept Art
Availia Market Concept Art
Thronefast Bay Concept Art
Thronefast Bay Graybox 3D Concept Art
Corcyran Temple - Availia Cleric and Paladin class starting area Concept Art
Monk class starting area Dojo Concept Art
Rogue class starting area Concept Art
Gadai Bandit Concept Art
Dilapidated House Concept Art
Thronefast Sewers Concept Art
Availia Warrior class starting area concept art
Demith Village Building Concept Art in Black and White
Demith Village Building Concept Art in Color
Demith Village Building Screenshot 1
Demith Village Building Screenshot 2
Demith Village Building Screenshot 3
Demith Village Building Screenshot 4
Demith Village Building Screenshot 5
Karanite Ore Concept Art
Shining Karanite Ore Concept Art
Slytheril Ore Concept Art
Glittering Slytheril Ore Concept Art
Tascium Ore Concept Art
Mining Nodes Screenshot 1
Mining Nodes Screenshot 2
Mining Nodes Screenshot 3
Mining Nodes Screenshot 4
Mining Nodes Screenshot 5
Newest environment artist team growth
Steve Clover joining the programming team [team growth]
Near Death Mechanic implementation [programming]
Old HDRP Terrain vs. New HDRP Terrain
New HDRP Terrain - terraced mountain assets doubling playable space
New HDRP Terrain - terraced mountain assets enabling vertical exploration with climbing
How new HDRP Terrain Mountain Assets affect travel in a seamless open world
Mad Run reveal 1
Mad Run reveal 2
Human Arcane User Starting Area - Arcane Watchtower
Kingsreach vista from Silent Plains screenshot

2022-Apr 7: Parting the Veil - E2 - Soloing in Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen <<Parting the Veil>>

Solo vs. group content
How design evolves over time
Designing matchmaking tools
How changes to combat affect soloing
Soloing and different levels of progression
Some classes being better at soloing than others
Learning to play a class before endgame
Content monopolization from solo players and the world opening up as you level [itemization, progression]
Preventing soloing from becoming easier than grouping
Players can level up by soloing, but grouping allows for everything Pantheon has to offer

2021-Nov 25: Parting the Veil - E1 - Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is Not Niche - Part 2 <<Parting the Veil>>

Death penalties don't have to be alienating by design [target audience]
Why people still think Pantheon is an EverQuest "clone" [design, target audience]
Avoiding feature creep [design, implementation, development]
Improving accessibility without decreasing challenge [community, limited playtime, onboarding]

2021-Nov 18: Parting the Veil - E1 - Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is Not Niche - Part 1 <<Parting the Veil>>

Pantheon is not being designed as a Niche game [target audience]
Creating tension with Death Penalties
Designing for a “niche market” limits creativity [target audience]
Pantheon's target audience [Pantheon overview]
Free mounting system [mounts, travel]
Designing with fun in mind
Balancing death penalties with ways to recover

2021-Jun 4: NPC Combat Tactics <<Video News>>

Isle of Infinite Storm introduction
Meaningful decisions for NPC AI
NPC AI custom targeting logic
Logic flowchart for NPC casting stun on healer
Gameplay demo for NPC casting stun on healer
Tuning NPC AI
Logic flowchart for NPC pulling caster in closer
Logic flowchart for NPC purging a crowd controlled ally
Gameplay demo for NPC purging a crowd controlled ally
Logic flowchart for NPC taking advantage of an off-balance enemy
Logic flowchart for NPC casting on an enemy with mana resource
Logic flowchart for NPC casting on an enemy mana user who is not crowd controlled
Gameplay demo for NPC taking advantage of an off-balance enemy and enemy with mana resource
Action twitch combat vs. tab targeting [pacing]
Logic flowchart for NPC choosing between 2 targeting options
Ability flowchart for curse damage with knockback
Gameplay demo for Demise ability (curse damage with knockback)
Definition of challenge
Patch Notes
NPCs running out of mana resource
Abilities to break crowd control
NPC Ability overlap
Dispositions and NPC AI
Traits and Dispositions
NPC AI applied to types manually
Designers using tools without programming team assistance
Intelligence attribute tied to depth of NPC AI
Collision with objects when being pushed back
NPCs working together for strategies and combos

2020-Oct 14: October 2020 Producer’s Letter <<Newsletter>> [Kickstarter, programming, refactor, Project Faerthale, Pre-Alpha testing]

Curator Collection

From the Great Hall

From the Kickstarter Era