Visionary Realms studio has announced the imminent introduction of mounts and a taming system in the early access MMORPG Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen. The developers have stated that they want to make traveling around the world of Terminus as memorable an element of the game as the locations themselves. The new system aims to deepen the sense of exploration and personal progression by adding mount collecting.
Unlike many other MMORPGs where vehicles are purchased from traders, in Pantheon mounts will live in ecosystems and will need to be tamed. The authors focus on a non-combat path of development, focused on collecting, trading and the presence of a significant statistical difference between mounts.
Key aspects of the system:
- Taming is a full-fledged path of development. Leveling up a skill directly affects the player’s ability to deal with wilder and stronger creatures.
- Each tamed mount receives a unique set of characteristics. This includes not only speed, but also endurance, stability and other parameters.
- In the world there are both ordinary creatures for taming, as well as rare, epic, mythical and even anomalous ones that can be obtained if the player has enough skill and luck.
Access to the taming skill opens after reaching level 20. To estimate the chances you need to use the command /consider on the chosen creature. The difficulty depends on the player’s skill against the animal’s Will stat.
The taming process itself is a 10-second ability, when used, the creature becomes aggressive and attacks the player. The attempt drains the player’s stamina, increasing based on the target’s Willpower. An important element is the use of lures, which can significantly increase the chance of success, especially when hunting for epic or mythical mounts, or when the player’s skill is insufficient. Lures can be obtained through crafting or research.
After successful taming, the connection with the mount becomes temporary. To secure it forever, the player needs to ride on horseback to the groom in the nearest settlement and register the animal. An unregistered mount will be lost if the player teleports or dismounts. Stables are universal, and the player’s collection is accessible from anywhere in the world.
Mounts have six key stats that influence their behavior and effectiveness: speed, stamina, recovery, stability (chance to keep the player in the saddle when taking damage), strength (maximum weight carried) and will (difficulty of taming).
The developers emphasized that they are adding this system early not for the sake of novelty, but because it is fundamental. Delaying its introduction would lead to the need to rework all ready-made zones, reconfigure creature spawn points and travel balance. In the first phase, only wild horses will be available, which will become the basis for future more diverse types of mounts. In upcoming updates, it is planned to add equipment for mounts, the ability to exchange between players, as well as a system for changing appearance.
According to the roadmap published earlier, the appearance of mounts and the taming system should be expected in December.
