The day after a CohhCarnage stream, we were treated with another very special event: the “MMO All-Star” Stream. Five prominent MMO content creators joined up with Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen's Creative Director Chris “Joppa” Perkins on the Test server for about a two-hour adventure, which started in Avendyr’s Pass and ended in Black Rose Keep, all while simultaneously streaming it from their own unique perspective. The group started at level 18 and was composed as follows:
Doc (Docgotgame) - Gnome Enchanter
Hive (TheHiveLeader) - Dwarf Cleric
Fevir - Gnome Rogue
Vress (Vress Games) - Human Ranger
Forcegaming (Force Gaming) - Ogre Warrior
Joppa (Chris Perkins, Creative Director/Audio Director/Lead Game Designer) - Human Wizard
As always, keep in mind the game is still in Pre-Alpha, so most things should still be considered subject to change, but of course it's still very good to see what the current state of the game is. There really was not a whole lot discussed that hadn’t already been mentioned in previous streams, other than:
- Mobs that con green to you won’t aggro you.
But we did get a chance to see the game from the perspective of several classes for the first time. Below is a recap of the abilities they used in this stream. You can click on the titles to watch the full stream from their perspective. Since the Ranger is a new class and this would be the first time we saw a stream from the Ranger perspective, Vress had an opportunity for about 15 minutes before the main stream to go over the abilities that he would be using:
Engage: 10 Momentum, Instant (8s cooldown) - You leap into the fray to engage your enemy in melee combat. Modifying Attributes: AGI (50%)
Swift Shot: An instant shot that deals physical damage. Grants 5 Momentum. Modifying Attributes: Agility (20%), STR (10%)
Glass Arrow: 20 Momentum, 0.5s (12s cooldown) - Fire a glass-tipped arrow which explodes on impact, dealing Physical damage to your target and up to 3 nearby enemies within 4m. Has a chance to cause Bleeding. Modifying Attributes: AGI (50%), DEX (25%)
Aim to Kill: 1s (8s cooldown) - Rapidly fire 3 arrows at your enemy, with a chance to fire up to 2 additional arrows based on your Agility and Dexterity. (Grants 10 Momentum) Modifying Attributes: AGI (50%), STR (25%)
Silent Shot: A carefully aimed shot that inflicts heavy damage to your enemy. Modifying Attributes: AGI (50%), STR (50%), Target’s Max Health (1%)
Ferocious Assault: 50 Momentum, Instant (6s cooldown) - Unleash a flurry of rapid strikes with both weapons, inflicting Physical damage with a chance (50%) to Interrupt your enemy’s spell casting. Modifying Attributes: AGI (50%), STR (50%)
Lash: 20 Momentum, Instant (1s cooldown) - A swift strike that shifts your center of gravity, giving you a 50% chance to perform a second, more damaging strike. Modifying Attributes: AGI (25%), STR (25%)
Beckon Thunderpaw: 30 Momentum, 0.5s (30s cooldown) - Beckon a Thunderpaw Bear into battle for a brief time. The Thunderpaw will deal direct Physical damage which stuns your enemy for 2s and reduces their Armor Class for a short time. Modifying Attributes: STR (25%), WIS (25%), INT (25%), CHA (50%)
Beckon Panthras: 0.5s (30s cooldown) - Beckon a Panthras into battle for a brief time. The Panthras will deal direct Physical damage which slows your enemy for 4s. Modifying Attributes: STR (25%), WIS (25%), INT (25%), CHA (50%)
Withdraw: Instant (8s cooldown) - Kick off your enemy as you fire a point-black shot, vaulting 10 meters behind your target. (Grants 10 Momentum)
Momentum Generation: You will passively gain Momentum in combat as your deal damage to enemies. The more Momentum you have, the faster your Attack Speed will become, up to a 20% increase.
Once the show started, I jumped over to Force Gaming’s stream, where the Warrior’s perspective was also being shown for the first time. Here are the abilities he used:
Armor Proficiency: Your mastery of protective armors grants you a 10% bonus to your overall Armor Class.
Angering Blow: 40 Endurance, Instant (8s cooldown) - Fiercely strike your enemy, inflicting Physical damage and putting them into a state of Anger for 12s. [L8]
Breaker’s Roar: Frees you from all Movement Speed impairing and loss-of-control effects.
Challenger’s Banner: Instant (30s cooldown) - Plant the Challenger’s Banner, causing your attacks to generate additional Hate on enemies within 6m of this banner.
Kick: 20 Endurance, Instant (6s cooldown) - Kick your enemy, inflicting Physical damage. [L1]
Storm: Instant (30s cooldown) - Charge at an enemy, up to 18m away, stunning them briefly. (Grants 1 Battle Point)
Taunt: 10 Endurance, Instant (8s cooldown) - Taunts your enemy, forcing them to attack you for 3 secs and generating increased hate for that duration. [L1]
Strike of Breaking: 40 Endurance, 1 Battle Point - Find a weakness in your enemy’s defenses and exploit it. Inflicts Physical damage, reduces enemy’s Armor Class by 10% and generates Hate every second for 12 secs. [L10] [Requires enemy to be Angry]
The Will to Live: 100 Endurance, 50 Mana, 180s cooldown - Your will to live strengthens your physical resilience, increasing your Health, Armor Class and Avoidance by a large amount for 8 secs. [L1]
Shield Slam: 30 Endurance, Instant (6s cooldown) - Slam your shield into your enemy, disorienting them with a high chance (80%) of interrupting their spell casting. If your enemy is Angry, Shield Slam will generate additional Hate based on your level. (Grants 1 Battle Point)
Pity the Weak: 90 Endurance, Instant (120s cooldown) - Rescue a friendly target, transferring all of their current hate to yourself. [L10]
War Horn: 1 Battle Point, Instant (30s cooldown) - You sound an ominous war horn, inciting enemies up to 10m away to face you in battle. This ability has a chance to cause Fear.
Shoulder Crash: 50 Endurance, Instant (48s cooldown) - Slam into your enemy, inflicting Physical damage. [L6] If your enemy has less than 30% Health, you will gain the Upper Hand, increasing your Strength (20% of your overall Health) for 12 secs.
And Docgotgame was also showing the Enchanter’s perspective for the first time:
Capture the Mind: 18 Mana, 3s (2s cooldown) - Mesmerize your target for up to 24 secs. Any damage to the affected target will break the effect.
Cranial Pressure: 12 mana, 2s (12s cooldown) - Applies intense pressure to your target’s brain, causing Magic damage over 12 secs. While active, your enemy’s Magic Resistance will decrease (-1) every 3 seconds. Modifying Attributes: INT (50%), CHA (20%), CON (20%)
Control Breath: 16 mana, 2s (4s cooldown) - Calms your target, reducing their aggro radius (4m) for 60 secs. [L16]
Enshire’s Faint Whisper: 20 Mana, 2s (4s cooldown) - Your mind fills with the whispers of Enshire, granting you increased Mana Regeneration for 24 minutes.
Flay the Mind: 20 Mana, 2s (3s cooldown) - Flays your target’s mind with mental energy, dealing Magic damage and restoring some Mana to you and your group members. Modifying Attributes: INT (35%)
Forceful Will: 12 Mana, 2s (4s cooldown) - Dominates your enemy, stripping them of their Magic Resistance (2) and giving it to yourself for 24 secs. [L4]
Ghaven’s Wild Display: 12 Mana, 1s (15s cooldown) - Release a surge of mental energy all around you, stunning all enemies within 6 meters for 4 secs.
Illusion Graft: Quickness: 10 Mana, 2s (3s cooldown) - Grant an illusion into your ally’s mind, filling them with urgency and increasing their Attack Speed by 10%.
Malison’s Crushing Grip: 22 Mana, 2s (12s cooldown) - Applies intense pressure to your target’s brain, causing Magic damage over 12 secs. While active, your enemy’s Magic Resistance will decrease (-2) every 3 seconds. Modifying Attributes: INT (50%), CHA (20%), CON (20%)
Mesmerize: 28 mana, 3s (2s cooldown) - Mesmerize your target for up to 30 secs. Any damage to the affected target will break the effect.
Shelter of Energies: 10 Mana, 3s (4s cooldown) - Increases your Health (56) and Armor Class (152) for 36 minutes. [L16]
We've seen the Cleric and Rogue perspectives before, but if you're interested or want a refresher, you can find TheHiveLeader's perspective HERE and Fevir's perspective HERE. Additionally, you can find Joppa's recording of the Wizard perspective here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq6ftMk21FA
Overall, the goal of the stream seemed to be to simply have fun and see how these guys fared with very little prior experience in Pantheon. And personally, I think that's an important side of the game to see. Joppa intentionally gave them very little guidance, so it kind of felt like a little peek into what a group might be like if you were in a PUG during a regular play session of Pantheon. The group naturally struggled a bit at first, but before too long, they were able to settle in and develop some nice group strategies. It was really interesting to watch how they learned and adapted in only about 2 hours. But this was also a great opportunity to expose the game to new audiences... If you're new to Pantheon and want to learn more, I suggest you read the FAQ to get up to speed about what the game is and why it's different. If you liked what you saw in the stream and haven't pledged already, you can do so here: http://www.pantheonmmo.com/join/
*BONUS CONTENT:* After the stream had ended, Vress stuck around for a Q&A with his viewers. During this time, Vress got permission from Joppa to freely explore some previously unseen parts of Avendyr's Pass and Thronefast. As usual, the sights and sounds of the game were very impressive. We even saw the first basic example of the questing system:
1. On the bridge to Thronefast, Vress encountered a named Thronefast guard called Regular Odey Thonwin.
2. Upon hailing him, Vress received text that he could interact with by responding to the words highlighted in blue. (Very much reminiscent of how one would interact with an NPC in EverQuest.)
3. Thonwin told Vress that he left his satchel at his previous post, which was "near the stone stairs," and that he thinks he remembers leaving it on a flat, mossy rock. (Otherwise, very few hints were given, leaving the player to figure it out on their own.)
4. Vress went to the nearby woods and eventually found a bag on a rock near a tree at the top of a natural stone stair formation.
5. Upon clicking on it, an item called "Thonwin's Belongings" appeared on his cursor, which he placed in his inventory before running back to Thonwin.
6. Vress put the item back on his cursor and then clicked on Thonwin to give it to him.
7. This completed the quest and Vress was rewarded with some XP and coin.
Vress then went into Thronefast and met Oni the Steward in a building called the Study of Fates. While he was talking to Oni, we saw a first look at the perception system's Tome of Keeping. I highly suggest you see all this for yourself. You can skip to his post-stream show here: https://youtu.be/FZy0KwqMODc?t=9144
I hope you found this recap helpful. As always, thanks for reading,
Pretty sure this was the first time we saw someone fall through the earth which was great. I got a good laugh when that happened to Vress.
The wipe on the first enemy was classic
Ranger looks like it will be quite a fun class once they get the mobility skills working.
Over all I had a ton of fun just watching everyone else play.
Also, I haven't seen Joppa's perspective yet so thanks for including that.
Great to see how well the game is progressing, It looks amazing and really fun to play. This might make me upgrade my sub to Alpha testing. It was pretty funny to see the wipe on the first enemy! All the class's look really fun to play it will be hard to decide on which one ot level first. Thanks for some of the revels and keep up the good work!