Quests in Pantheon are inspired by the original EverQuest

In-development MMORPG Pantheon, which is currently seeking funding through Kickstarter, will have a quest system and style similar to that of the original EverQuest, developer Brad McQuaid said in a recent Reddit AMA.

McQuaid — who worked on the original EverQuest and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, the latter of which will cease development this year — noted that Pantheon won't have quest hubs or tons of random tasks to complete. Instead, it will offer intricate, "epic style" quests. He said his team "went that way with Vanguard, but now, looking back, [we] prefer the EverQuest style quests over the lots of little mini-quests." Players won't need to grind, camp out in areas or spend multiple hours in a dungeon to level up and the game is being designed to be played in one to two hour increments.

The developer also suggested that leveling up will be more focused on players earning in-game achievements than experience points. Players that race through content quickly will be met with consistently rising challenges, he suggested, and more information on this achievement system is forthcoming.

"Blowing through content legitimately is part of the game," he wrote. "Power leveling by killing the same mob over and over again will be difficult. You don't level just by earning [experience] in this game."

In response to a question about what McQuaid will do if they fail to collect funding through Kickstarter, he said the team may begin shopping Pantheon around.

"We may do it again and we will be approaching investors and publishers," he wrote. "That said, I think we're going to make it."

According to McQuaid, the team at Visionary Realms is looking at a three-year development cycle for Pantheon, with a multi-phase beta test occurring in the final year. At the time of writing, the Kickstarter campaign has pulled in just over $267,00 of its $800,000 goal with 23 days to go.