I unfortunately couldn't finish Pantheon's live stream via Cohh to ask this question, but I didn't hear this question asked or answered yet. I know Joppa frequents the forum and if you read this, would appreciate an answer if capable! Thanks

I was quiet curious how Skill/Spells per class would be distributed while leveling? Would we get new skills/spells every level? Every 4-5 levels?
How will Pantheon tackle Skill/Spell Diversity? Will it work in ranks via EQ/Vanguard? Also, how many different skills/spells can we expect in a melee and a caster skill/spell library?
Question to the community: How many different skills/spells would you like to see each class have in their full library?
I am assuming we will have different Hot Bar sets we can Save and Load out of combat for various situations like we did in EQ? Also, I assume 12 slots will be the limit correct?
Question to the community: Do you like the idea of a limited hot bar with the idea of an open class system, meaning that you have full access to all of your classes spells as long as you can obtain them? Via EQ?
I appreciate your answers in advanced! Thanks!
Comments
Really don't like the limited hot bar but it sounds like Pantheon is going to have it that way from listening to their streams.
Can't wait to play this game for sure tho.
Might vary how many we see per class. A caster may have more utility buffs, vision spells, summon spells, and tons of other random odds and ends like we saw in EQ. A melee may have less of that, but as long as the combat aspect doesn't feel limited, that's fine with me.
The limited hotbar is imperative, imo. Having played games with unlimited like Vanguard and EQ2, and others that were limited, I feel having to plan ahead and utilize the proper sets is important. I don't like the idea of having to memorize 30 keybinds, nor do I like when you can pile everything into a macro because combat is that predictable.
Abilities should be impactful. Not just in the impact of the effect or damage, but the amount of resources you must commit. A fight should be won or lost by using the wrong ability at the wrong time. I don't just mean failing to land a taunt or heal either. Each skill should be important, and not using that proper debuff or stun at the right time because it was on a macro should have bad consequences. Likewise, when abilities have higher resource costs, using them at the wrong time or playing inefficiently should lead to failure as well.
If a) you're abilities are so bland that you can use them whenever, or b) combat doesn't demand you use them thoughtfully, something is terribly wrong and combat will suck.
I get that we don't want abilities to feel bland, but I would think alot of us especially the lazy peeps after
grinding for 10 hours or more wouldn't mind the convenience of a limited macro system. I also would prefer to
not have to set up my hot bar differently every now and then or wait for other peeps to as well. I could go
either way tbh just hoping its not a chore to set up your hot bar differently every hour.
After that there can be maybe 12 more available to use at a moments notice but they should not be used all the time. Not saying the spell bar needs to be increased but even eq had aa's, combat abilities, and discs that we use sometimes not all the time.
Now. Autoattack - yea or nay?
"You may be limited to a subset of your abilities for the next
encounter, causing you to have to intelligently plan ahead and
memorize the spells most effective against the upcoming enemy.
Likewise, you'll want to memorize spells that counter the upcoming
mob’s abilities. Lastly, you may have some abilities that work
synergistically with others in your group. But the key point here
is that these tactical decisions can be made right before the
actual encounter. Then, say you move on deeper into the dungeon
and are about to confront a different boss with different
abilities and a different disposition, it may make tactical sense
to prep different abilities. So yes, you are limited to that
extent (you cannot simply use any of your 80+ abilities whenever
you wish) because planning for the battle ahead and doing so
effectively is key to Pantheon. The exact number of spells,
abilities, feats and actions one can prep is TBD and won’t likely
be finalized until Beta. What’s depicted in screenshots showing
the UI is not final."
80+ abilities per class, I wonder if that means spell ranks or degrees of the same spell like in EQ. I also wonder how many of those spells are dedicated to combat? I am assuming at least 30 unique spells from that 80 list for combat?
Yes to autoattack. I think it's important for melee so we do not have to constantly spam abilities to produce damage. Theoretically you could just have super slow combat abilities that require high resources like caster spells, but that just doesn't seem realistic.
The real question is what percentage of damage should come from autoattack, and should it expend resources.
I don't really see why there shouldn't be resources expended from autoattack, especially if more of the melee damage comes from it. That was one of the biggest problems in EQ with trying to balance melee and caster. Caster were heavily reliant on resources (mana), while melee could go all day producing decent damage with autoattack alone.
Also don't see a reason why ranged shouldn't have autoattack (both caster and bow). It's all the same premise. The formula or damage produced by it should of course vary. Don't think it's as necessary for caster, but the idea that some classes can produce significant damage resource free while others are left SOL just doesn't seem balanced.
That was exactly the problem for years in EQ. Not everyone was worth having because of that very issue. Anyone that took a wizard/druid/mage over a rogue or a monk was crazy, especially on harder group content and raids. A raid mob had hundreds of thousands of hp, yet casters would be oom in minutes while 15 minutes later melee were going strong.
Tying resource usage to autoattack solves the problem without overthinking.