The PvE MMORPG “Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen” currently has a tough time. The MMORPG aimed to be a classic old-school PvE MMORPG like Everquest, but has been in pre-alpha since 2017 and has faced several setbacks. Now, it is attempting a reboot with an adventurous-sounding funding model but has to endure a lot of criticism.
What kind of MMORPG is this?
- Pantheon was originally the baby of Brad McQuaid, the mind behind Everquest and Vanguard. But McQuaid passed away in 2019.
- Pantheon wants to bring back the classic PvE MMORPG, where you need a group for every PvE challenge. Players should not rush through dungeons but approach them tactically, with crowd control and brains.
- The game has been in development for so long and is progressing so slowly that criticism is growing. Just in 2023, they had some issues with bold, new impulses.
This is the latest idea: The developers have announced a shift to “seasonal development” as a big announcement. This is intended to make it cheaper for players to gain access to the current pre-alpha, but it will be time-limited, and you can’t play all the time.
They now plan to bring a new season every 6 weeks, with a “significant update” that backers can test.
Previously, only the backers who paid the most had access. Now, those backers who purchased smaller packages will also get access. It is said that now “even with $50” you can access the game for the first time.
MMORPG has little to show, demands high prices
What does this mean in practice?
- Those who pay $50 can play for 1 of the 6 weeks.
- Those who pay $250 can participate for 2 of the 6 weeks.
- Those who pay $750 can play for all 6 weeks.
By the way, these are minimum prices – the packages go up to $10,000 (via pantheon).
Players are frustrated that the MMORPG has so little after 10 years
What are the reactions? Pantheon recently announced to change the graphic style, which had already met with mixed reactions.
In the MMORPG community on massivelyop and mmorpg.com, the “Pay only $50 to check out the game” approach now seems absurd: After all, the game has been announced for 10 years, 7 years in pre-alpha, and the gameplay looks difficult so far.
On MMORPG sites, there are scathing comments:
- “Without leadership, I seriously doubt a proper game will ever come out.”
- “As someone who doesn’t closely follow the game, I feel like they spend more time courting the community than on the current development.”
- “What are the clowns thinking next?”
- “These games dream too big. They should start small and build up later. You don’t start as big as WoW or Everquest. You only get there after 20 years.”
- “Don’t buy access. After 10 years, they have only one race and one zone. Don’t let yourself be fooled like we were 10 years ago.”
Meanwhile, not even the obvious question is raised: how in the world does a Kickstarter MMORPG seriously plan to bring a new season with a significant update “every 6 weeks”?
Are there positive voices as well? At least one user on a general MMORPG site says it sounds good for existing backers. At least they are now getting access to the game.
But paying $50 just to peek into a game once every 6 weeks is hard to justify. For 2 weeks you have to pay $250, and for the full 6 weeks, it’s $750.
That’s not exactly the price to make those waiting at the pool’s edge jump into the pool.
If you want to know why the mood is so negative:
New MMORPG was seen as the great PvE hope for 8 years – But the new gameplay looks terrible
