Sadly, no. I found the game to be a miserable experience but truly hope it makes leaps and bounds. Honestly, it felt more like an incredibly early test demo than anything remotely close to playable and fun. For context, Vanguard is my favorite game ever, so I’m accustomed to playing and enjoying unfinished and abandoned games. Vanguard still feels more polished and next-gen than the current state of Pantheon.
My main concerns, a lack of class identity and overall immersion, are hopefully fixable over time. Problem is, so much time has already passed. I’m aware it’s still alpha. But that’s also the primary issue.
First off, I don't post very often, but I felt the need to chime in here.
Am I having fun? Currently no, but that's because I'm "Champion" status and cannot play.
Did I initially have fun? Also no. I logged on for the first two weeks of the "Champion" testing season, and I barely played. I was so disappointed. The graphics, which if I'm being truthful, have never been a sticking issue for me when it came to playing games, felt so drab, plain, and lifeless that I just... couldn't get past it. I logged off with a rueful shake of my head, muttering: "Well, they DID always say the art was placeholder... I just didn't think the placeholder art would be so much better than the official art.
But did I eventually have fun? Surprisingly... Yes. OK, first blush... this game is nowhere close to being finished. If you're expecting a readied, polished product, you're going to be hugely disappointed. There are so many things that need to be addressed, added, tinkered with, revamped or just flat out dropped... more than I can shake a proverbial simple cudgel at. Quite frankly... it needs a ton of love. But I found the gameplay... compelling.
Like EQ, and probably like a good chunk of players, I played the first 10 levels almost completely alone. I was a rogue, and I did everything solo. Worked on everything, every quest, every tradeskill, every location I could explore, etc. Was enjoying it. Then I started to notice the XP was tapering off considerably. I just couldn't kill things as fast, and the downtime was getting longer and longer. My crafted gear wasn't keeping up with mobs. I felt... stagnant... and I started getting bored, which to me, is usually a sign to go find something else to do. I was contemplating quitting again.
And then I started grouping.
Look, I'm like most gamers. We tend to be a tad anti-social. So getting groups is... not a process I necessarily enjoy. On a personal level, I'm amiable, but I don't like asking people to help me with stuff, especially out of the blue. Don't care to bother people. I desire to be self-sufficient. But when you find a group of players you have fun playing with, it changes the whole dynamic. And I found a group like that.
I'm not saying we're going to be lifelong friends, or have each other over for Thanksgiving, but I looked forward to being part of a larger group. Playing a role. Being relied on. Joking around with each other. And working towards a goal. It's funny that I had forgotten how... rewarding that is. I suspect it is mostly because soloing has become a large part of most MMO's and has obviated the need to do a lot of group play. Because, let's face it, soloing is easier... especially socially. But the grouping mechanic, which became so necessary that I HAD to get out of my comfort zone to do it, was what made it fun.
I get that some of you are irked at VR. You have every right to be. Some of you feel betrayed, lied to, that the whole thing was a scam to get money from you, that there is no excuse to be 10 years in and have this amount of progress. I've had those feelings too at times, some of it very recently in fact. And I fully understand if you feel that this game will never release. You may very well be right. If you just look at the math of their current pace, and unless their workforce massively increases, it will be a couple of years before the first continent is ready. There's certainly precedent for things going pear-shaped with this game.
But I'm willing to wait it out and see if the game continues to get better. Already, there have been improvements. Most notably, the graphics had a lighting patch recently that made everything look less drab. Zones have been added, tradeskills modified and enhanced. New classes, new races, new quests have been added. The work continues. Slowly... but steadily and incrementally, I feel.
In summary, I had RL friends that played EQ with me, and we had a ball. I'm older now. Most of those friends have moved on to more important things, but I still long for that connection. And I found that again in Pantheon. So, yes, I had a great deal of fun. And I look forward greatly to my next two week excursion in Terminus.
~Hiwin
I just don't see how after 10 years they will be updating the game across 4 generations of development environments.
And I don't just mean the graphics, I mean the entire evolution of gaming grammar, UX and QOL updates, etc.
Right now, Pantheon doesn't even provide an experience equitable to LOTRO, and there is no real indication of how they are going to sustain development or the game itself. It feels like a fan update of EQ, using 20 year old EQ assets - only there already exists a great, working, updated EQ fan server.
Personally, I have zero desire to re-install and go through the hoops of setting up the client and re-accessing the appropriate forums, I have zero desire to play or check out anything new, and I have zero interest in "seasonal content" for content that doesn't yet exist.
Rhazaghul said:10 minutes huh? Wow. Way to really give it a shot. Clearly this type of game is not for you and , to be honest, not sure how you did not know that going in with the overwhelming amount of video available to view the game. Perhaps you just wanted to troll the game because you are afraid folks are going to get into this and steal the thunder from whatever MMO you do actually play. Not sure and it doesn't matter. I love it and am quite thrilled with where it is at and the plan they have going forward. It is exactly what I had hoped it would be. I am tempted to upgrade my pledge status to move up into the next tier so I can play more in fact. To each his own.
Accounts like this that are constantly abrasive to new people and differing opinions also keep me away. Gatekeeping is for losers.
1. Amazing theme music and sound effects! VR, you guys really did choose optimally here. I appreciate the depth and how PVL weaves world music instrumentation into some of the themes. For me, that really adds something unique. Super ambient elements too!
2. Graphics show improvement. Most recently the lighting. Loving the glow of the streetlamps! I also really like the rainy fog that actually hinders your ability to locate nearby items (nodes, NPCs). I find it significantly minimizes and slows your gathering area/reach, making it more challenging and forcing you to engage and focus more intently for items. If this is a taste of the overall environment goals; I'm jazzed thinking about what's coming down the pipeline.
3. Really great player base/community. It's friendly and helpful. I've not seen any toxicity in chat. Groups have been chill, fun, and relaxed. I feel that is reflected in the population of this specific community. Kudos all.
4. Crafting is good. Incomplete still but definitely engaging and expanding. Really looking forward to seeing more endgame crafting and recipes. But crafting is in the right spot IMO.
5. Development team positively engages with their player base, and they do listen.
6. Two new classes around the corner. Summoner and Ranger. Druid and Necro thereafter.
7. New cold/frigid climate. Have yet to experience this yet but I'm glad this is getting in now.
8. Pulse system coming back in. I have a feeling this is really going to flesh out the game once implemented.
Just lots of things happening and coming (soon). I'm totally enjoying it!
vthorm said:And then I started grouping.
Look, I'm like most gamers. We tend to be a tad anti-social. So getting groups is... not a process I necessarily enjoy. On a personal level, I'm amiable, but I don't like asking people to help me with stuff, especially out of the blue. Don't care to bother people. I desire to be self-sufficient. But when you find a group of players you have fun playing with, it changes the whole dynamic. And I found a group like that.
I'm not saying we're going to be lifelong friends, or have each other over for Thanksgiving, but I looked forward to being part of a larger group. Playing a role. Being relied on. Joking around with each other. And working towards a goal. It's funny that I had forgotten how... rewarding that is. I suspect it is mostly because soloing has become a large part of most MMO's and has obviated the need to do a lot of group play. Because, let's face it, soloing is easier... especially socially. But the grouping mechanic, which became so necessary that I HAD to get out of my comfort zone to do it, was what made it fun.
I enjoyed reading your perspective and specifically called out this part to echo your sentiments. It wasn't until I started grouping with folks that I felt that missing feeling from the MMO days of yore. My experience with the in-game community has been great; everyone has been very welcoming in groups. I have found that a simple, "Would you care for some company?" amongst passersby in the area is all it can take to ban together and truly elevate the gameplay experience.
Nope. I've played plenty. I stopped after S2 and I'm trying to forget about the game for a few years. Come back then and see what's happened. Like many others doubts, I found the world bland and soulless. The classes are no unique nor do they play different. Maybe I need to spend many hours on different classes to see that, but from playing almost every class to level 6, 7 or 8. There is no uniquness. The graphics, I'm over, I've given up. But how dull the world looks is just the exclimation that it's a nope. Availia is the weirdest town ever. It's huge, but worthlessly large. But at the same time tiny. Everything you need is within 11 seconds of each other and then there is just expanded worthlessness.
This unfortunate design seeps into other areas of the world. The zoning area (I know there will eventually be no zones (which I doubt will ever happen)) but the zoning area between Availa zone and the next zone is stupidly huge...running for nearly a minute to zone...it's stupid.
There is just too much about this game and it's current design that frustrate me. No, I'm not enjoying any of it.
All I know is that flippant responses like that from Ranarius are why I left the discord two years ago.
This community is already closed and dead. It's own people killed it.
Best grand I ever dropped on a social experiment to remind me why MMO is a dead genre.