As a Classic EQ player I have to say that after just 1 month of playing Pantheon I feel they are on the right track and I also understand the game is under development. This is the first game since Vanguard that has come close to coming to what I loved about EQ. EQ2 I played for a while it was pretty had voice acting I stopped playing it after about a year cause it just lacked a lot of what I loved about EQ. Vanguard was really close had high hopes but they launched to early being forced with early release because of investors. It just wasn't populated enough and it had a lot of bugs on release, lot of people just not have the type of computer necessary to run the game properly. By the time they got things worked out it just lost traction. WOW I played for a bit just lost interest real quick. You are trying to compare an unfinished game to games that are finished which is unrealistic This game is at a minimum 2 years also unrealistic it will most likely take much longer than that to be complete. I have watched 2 of your videos and i've got to say I think it seems you just don't like the game and are making misleading assumptions and misrepresenting a lot of things. I think it is pretty presumptuous for you to say that long time players of EQ that have differing opinions of Pantheon than you do and have positive things to say you question whether they have actually played EQ or not. You are trying to judge this game as if this is a finished gamed it's under development. I think you exaggerate thing like lack of nodes there are areas that have specific types of nodes there are areas that have few nodes areas that have a ton of nodes. It's a matter of exploring and finding where to gather what. Only playing for a month I have had no issues gathering materials to craft. I can say that gathering nodes is nowhere as hard as you say as you say it is. They have also said what they may do with crafting but they are still trying to figure out what it will be and things will change as they develop the game. Honestly I have no idea what your game is but I think you are very unrealistic with your critique of a game in development. You don't like the game that's one thing but to say that people that have differing opinion to your most likely have not played EQ shows the type of person you are. I will state foremost for EA. This game is in development people entering EA will not find a finished game they will essentially be testers. Some people will hate it some people will love it. I will say that after just starting the game and playing for a short month I love it for the development stage it's in. I could easily make videos to show areas that do have loads of nodes in various areas. It's a newbie area for gods sake most people are just getting a handle on the game they are not going to get into crafting later and as they level and start crafting they get to areas where nodes are more available. Why would they have loads of nodes in a newbie area when they are not crafting yet. In all honesty it seems like you just do not like the game and trying new players to try the game. Sounds like you just want an easy game with loads of nodes everywhere that you kind find everything you need with a short period without going a far distance.

First off this game is definitely for everyone. I think in modern days people want convenience and ease. But with convenience and ease comes quick to dispose as well. I personally have tried many games over the years they are pretty they are convenient but its lacking some soul they are lacking skill they get boring so fast. I've given up on most games. I've been following Pantheon progress for years but only just recently felt it got to the point i was willing to take a gamble on it I've been playing for a month and I really love it. I loved EQ and this has a good feel of it but is different. This game is in development i knew that going in and when I got in after hearing all the negativity going around, I found it was much better than I was hoping. This game is most definitely more like Everquest and nothing like wow. Big game companies that have big funding to have ton of staff to drive a game but with that comes with what kind of profit investors want and want sooner than later. Big game companies lot of game design is based off image, looks and gamble boxes. They seem fun but them just feel soulless, you rush to the end and put it down look for something else. So many games have Pay to Win mechanics. You make a lot of money you dont have to earn your way through the game you can just buy the advantage. Most good things you get you have to pay for. This critique is so far off base for the game. This game takes skill it takes cooperation and it takes experience. A chevron means it it meant for a group not for solo play. It just sounds like this person didnt like the game and wants to knock on it. I will just say there are people that won't like this game but the ones that do will really love this game. They are trying to do what people are asking for without the type of investors that want them to put gable and pay to win mechanics in to drive profit. Games like this need support from gamers to help fund the game so they can produce them without greedy investors with a small team it's going to take time. I say $40 isn't much to try the game and see what you think for your self your either going to like it or not. Keep in mind this game is no where close to being completed. It's in development from a small team that does not have large investors but that also means they dont have large investors messing up the game. You will essentially be a tester you can help in the developmental stages of the game and if you like their vision and how the game feels invest time and money to help support further developing the game.

This is a surface level review. I suppose you won't like it and that's fine but you definitely missed the mark reviewing all the good things this game does that others do not

The comments defending this game speak volumes about the modern gaming industry. This is how poor games have become. This game looks like a low effort mobile game. The combat is dull and generic, the animations are atrocious, it looks bleak and drab, and there is nothing special about this game. 10 years for this? Baffling how people defend this mediocrity.

I never cared for the in-and-out of combat states that were in WoW. Much preferred EQ's way.

Good lord your opinion on this game is horrible. Almost everything you said was wrong.

MMO landscape in 2024 is a desert with players wandering around dying of thirst. Once in a while some stumble on a rare muddy puddle of water and are overjoyed - amazing finally some water! We're saved! And woe to the heretic that points out that this is mode mud than water.

Why tf are your running around desperately looking for nodes? ROFL bro your missing like the whole game

I'm so glad to see that you're still playing on p1999. I still play occasionally as I still have so much nostalgia for what I think is one of the best games ever created.

The first look at the game from like 6 years ago looked 100 times better than this. It looked like DS2xEQ. Now it looks like a mobile disney game.

The art style change was a terrible idea.

This is such a flawed PoV but w/e

I told a friend that it takes at least one hour of gathering a particular resource to make one piece of armor, because you have to make multiples just to level your skill to the next item. Then that armor is only slightly better than what is dropped by mobs. Right now there is almost no reason to craft

I had a lot of high hopes for this game for years now and so far they have all been dashed. I am so underwhelmed it's not even funny. And that's aside from the bugs, including the black screen bug because I have an older video card. But I can play every other game in existence with no issues? Get real. These are very lackluster graphics to have a graphical bug like this and then try to say it's my fault for having an older video card. The solution in the forums? But a new video card. Lol. But a new card for one game when my current one plays every other, more graphics intensive games, with no issues that can't be resolved by tweaking a few settings? Gathering and crafting is very underwhelming and not really worth it.

I think your picking your own set of perceived restrictions / openness while ignoring others. I started EQ just after Kunark released and still play on a EMU server to this day. Everquest certainly had its own set of restrictions. Some locked doors required a rouge, sky required a wizard ...ect. And while technically any player could do all levels of crafting in EQ, for most people the time required to do that was clearly a restriction not open to the casual player. In my opinion is game is the best hope we have had since EQ1.

I've enjoyed what time I've spent playing Pantheon, which isn't much honestly. I'm ready for live so I don't feel like I'm wasting my time, though. I'm not ready to sink hours into a game for it to get wiped. I'm too old for that

You turned around right before the cultists where like 4 trees spawn 😂

Theres nodes all over. You are running around in a sliver of the zone. Even if you were right - this is something that can be fixed in like 10 seconds by adjusting the rates

There’s a bunch of things that will seem off without the context. Eg crafting tied to lvl and lvl requirements for items are only in game as they work on balance. Neither existed for most of PA and the plan is to remove them

Wth kind of a take is this? It’s a group focused adventure game and you just decided to only focus on crafting quests What about trying different classes? Group comps? Different dungeons? It’s not just nodes

Ashes looks and plays x10 better then Pantheon

Are you saying you don't find this game very similar to classic EQ? As someone who played EQ Classic > Finishing POP raids as member of the top raiding guild on TallonZek/Zek (PDM)... This game is a ton like EQ1. I get non-stop flashbacks to EQ1. I haven't felt this "feel" from a game on anything past EQ1, and I've tried EQ2, WoW, Aion, EVE, SecretWorld. Those are not "in the spirt" of EQ. Pantheon is a child that fell right off the EQ classic tree. If you like EQ1 (me) you'll dig Pantheon already (even years from release). If you hate EQ1 play style - stay far far away, You'll hate Pantheon.

Banking system?

6:15 thats suppose to be a charge?

You make some solod points. In EQ, ppl wpuld constantly test their limits. I remember just 3 Necro's took down Vox shortly before Velius dropped. Word got to the Devs and they got embarrassed. So what happened next? Necro pets and Necro dots were nerfed to the ground. There were no level limits with items either. At level 1, u could have a twinked out character that could easily solo to 30. It was fun! In newer mmos, you saw all yhese rsdtrictions, level requirements, no drop shit, boe shit, etc. It's like new devs felt the need to fix all the aspects of what made a free roaming sandbox fun. Then they stated it was intended to balance everything to make everything equally fun. What they did was take away the actual freedom of doing what we wanted in the sandbox and turned it into a "sandbox prison." I never got over this. I remember having one of the few Scepter of Destruction weapons from the Sleeper in Sleeper's Tomb. A weapon I eventually sold for $3000. Anyway, I'd let guildies try it out and everyone had a blast. There was no stupid fk'n bind on equip nonsense. The devs created this also bc they didn't want anyone making money off their game. I already made tens of thousands from EQ. Newer games restricted so much simply bc the devs are little bitches. It just made mmorpgs less fun. Why would i want to equip anything that binds to me? Which will prevent me from selling it? I only equipped weapkns/armor i needed for the next several levels. Then they changed this. We were grtting upgrades every 2 levels. Lol. Like why?? Anyway, I like how Pantheon is trying to be an old school mmorpg, but still incorporating some of the new age bs all of us classic mmogamers hate.

I have zero desire to run around in loops trying to level and gather at the same time. F that. I played EQ in 99 and never thought of doing anything boring. I plan on just playing my class, leveling up by soloing and grouping, and experiencing all the fun content. Exploring and conquering dungeons, leveling, acquiring rare loot etc is what i plan on doing. Running around for hours killing lv 1 mobs while trying to find nodes to gather, mine, etc to make bags and armor i can just buy or find in the wild is boring af in ANY MMORPG.

im sorry but this game looks like dogshit and combat is dog shit for something thats been in the making for 10 years its a scam. Already half the staff has been fired this year and they just trying to cash out next month for a finally pump and dump.

they are going to wipe your progress in EA too... Pledges don't get steam keys, It's not looking good, the community is real toxic too

I'll be honest: after watching these two videos I still don't understand if I would like the game as someone who doesn't particularly care about gathering and crafting. How's the combat? How's group play? Are the skills fun? Do they feel impactful? Are the classes varied? Are there dungeons? Are they engaging? Is exploration rewarding and awe inspiring? Can you get lost into the gameworld? I don't care if the newbie quests involve crafting/gathering because I can just skip them and explore/grind and maybe eventually go back to crafting if the rest of the game is fun, but I still have no idea.

Pre-downloads are only enabled if the developer/publisher so chooses... I've only ever seen it pretty rarely on Steam.

I know this is really old, but evil races can sell right outside of the main gate, behind the secret wall. It has to be night time or else it’s a guard. He turns to a DE vendor at night. I used to sell all the swords and shields that drop to him. And he’s not “cheap”. Full price

This mmo caught my eye lol. But all those new korean mmos are boring as hell and all of them look the same. Like throne and liberty, etc etc.

wow that guard ai ... horrible lmao

I don't give a fuck what anyone else is saying, I'm really enjoying the game, it's going to turn into something really special....

Hello Bob, it's awesome you have been posting more frequently. Huge thumbs up to you 👍

what game?

I just wish MNM was more intuitive. Still lots of development to go, but I'd like it to be easier to play. No GPS, flying mounts, instant travel... But more detailed quest on who to talk to next and WHERE are they, vendors that will buy anything, maps.

I never played Everquest, but I still play FF11 classic servers, which modeled itself after Everquest. These games were RPG's. "MMOs" these days are just action games. FF14 i don't even consider an MMO. It's just a multiplayer online action game with qued instances.

In addition to the scarcity of harvesting nodes, the ratio of gathered material to crafted product is atrocious. For example: harvest one maple tree for typically 3 logs. Those 3 logs create 1 maple lumber! One! One board from an entire maple tree. With this ratio it requires 6 maple trees to craft one simple buckler. Finding 6 maple trees could take a reasonable amount of time, but more often than not it takes a considerable time investment, and luck that not many players are node hording simultaneously. Tailoring has a better ratio of gathered:crafted, blacksmithing not too bad; but both also require luck and time. I find this to be unnaccptable and a gross disrespect of the player's time. Similarly, mob loot is lacking. Many of the crafting quests call for a rare mob, or rare loot. I've killed hundreds of snakes to get 5 scales, and hundreds of rats to get 5 rat tails... and etc. Additionally, many of these quests consume the gathered/looted materials. You spend hours gathering 10 item x and the quest giver takes them when you turn in the quest. Creating the necessity to go out and find more. For example, The Scavanger has a gathering quest to harvest 10 Flame Lillies. Not exactly a common node. Turn in the quest, he removes them from your inventory when the flame lillies could have been used in a brewing quest that calls for 14 Flame Lillies. There are several examples of this time sink. In response to your comment "...gatherers and crafters would simply stop playing this game..." I came to this exact conclusion last night. I like this game, but I am not willing to waste so much time and getting nowhere. Like a hamster in a wheel. If I'm being completely honest, I'm quite perturbed about the state of things regarding this topic and am already contemplating dropping PRotF. I found myself in complete agreement with your opeing dialogue regarding classic mmo's, specifically EQ. You revitalized many of my memberberries. Thank you for reminding us of P99. I almost tried P99 a few years ago but got sidetracked. I just downloaded it while re-watching this video and plan to give it a go. Thank you for the commentary. Your reasonable conclusions helped put things back into perspective.

It's not a launch. It's still being developed. EA doesnt mean full game. Quests are still being worked. And I. Fact those quest are only in place to at people aware. By no means is any of it complete. EA means testing.

Once again, you hit the mark spot on. I watched the last video and read many of the comments and saw the same thing you mentioned. I payed EQ from 2000 to 2005 consistently and played many TLPs (as recently as Teek) and P99 as recently as a year ago and agree fully with your assessment of those people’s comments and this game from what I can see. These arbitrary limitations do nothing but reduce the scope and variability of gaming experience. Not fun.

I can’t say I’ve payed any of these recent MMOs. Everything you outlined sounds to be spot on and makes perfect sense. I can’t imagine a good argument in favor of any of the gripes you mentioned. Why have a blue mob that is patently too hard to solo when the message and “con” system is intended to tell you whether you can beat it? Why limit skill craft ability based on character level? Why make people fight for scarce resource nodes? It sounds like pointless additions that were meant to “increase difficulty” but all they effectively did was increase frustration and boredom. From the looks, developers need to listen to your video

I played quite a few m&m stress tests, my only gripe is the classes all feel very similar, and professions are very vague, I get that's apart of the old school mystique, but it feels awful to me.

When you copy, you fail to innovate.

Loading screens in-between zones is a big 'no no' for me

the talk about how to introduce a player reminds me of the PoE devs, and how they said their their large progression tree helps them sort their actual customers. If you know your identity, then it's okay to put something at the beginning of the game that will filter for that.

Are the servers down because every time I try to login there are no servers up.

This looks horrific. If they they even us old school players are going to sit through 20s gather times they're insane. Just watching how long it took to skin those mobs made me want to quit for you!

Great video and chat Bob. i previously commented that i backed Pantheon and have never once bothered to try it or log in. Considering my reasons, id have to say the primary is that it took VR such a long time to release anything playable. They were not open and transparent about the development of the game, And still aren’t. They have only just recently opened up a persistent testing server. And i think that’s more to do with Early Access and tapping into a new revenue stream. They are in scramble mode at VR and its been obvious for a while. They keep saying don’t worry we have money, but they are doing all these desperate things - like almost turning the game into a BATTLE ROYALE and wasting months of development time on that botched pivot they had to backtrack on. It was what, less than half a year ago where VR tried to tell everyone they were changing the game into a battle royale?? 😂 they have fundamentally lost the trust of the core audience of gamers that they were originally developing the game for. But people can’t seem to remember beyond a week ago 😂 in any case Great chat bob. I haven’t tried monsters and memories but i might some day.

Very interesting to listen to, thanks!