2025-12-21 · Dungeons & raids

Procedural dungeons, raid structure, and PvE instance design

Scars of Honor separates its instanced PvE into two distinct formats: procedurally generated dungeons and story-driven raids. Dungeons are designed for replayability and variation, while raids are intended to deliver fixed narrative experiences tied to the wider conflict of the setting.

Procedural dungeon structure

Dungeons are described as permanently procedural rather than static layouts. Room order, encounters, and route composition can change from run to run, so repeated entries into the same dungeon are meant to feel different.

The showcased example is the Crypt of the Fallen, described as a former sacred burial vault of an ancient order that defended Aragon in earlier wars. After that order fell, the crypt was sealed, but corruption remained within it.

Each completed room can lead to several closed exits, after which the party chooses a route forward. That choice also applies a dungeon modifier, such as increased enemy health or reduced healing, in exchange for better rewards. This creates a risk-reward structure inside the run rather than only at the entry point.

The system is also described as expandable over time. Instead of relying only on entirely new dungeons, the developers can add new rooms, bosses, corridors, and encounter variants to existing dungeon sets, increasing the number of possible combinations.

Solo and group play

The footage and discussion present dungeons primarily as group content, but solo dungeon variants are discussed as a possible option. The proposed idea is not a full replacement for group dungeons, but smaller solo-oriented runs with lesser rewards for players who want something to do when a group is unavailable.

This possibility is treated cautiously because the game's MMO identity is still framed around team play. The concern raised is that solo dungeons should not undermine the importance of grouping.

Raid philosophy

Raids are explicitly not planned as procedural content. Their role is to tell a story and immerse players in the war at the center of Scars of Honor. This makes raids the more authored side of PvE, in contrast to the endlessly variable dungeon model.

PvE challenge and replayability

The dungeon system is presented as one of the game's core answers to content longevity. Because layouts, encounters, and modifiers can change, the same dungeon is intended to remain replayable without requiring a large library of fixed instances at launch.

Questions about soloing standard dungeons are answered skeptically, with the expectation that players will generally not outscale them to that degree. A separate mode would be more likely than trivializing normal group content.

Planned testing

The dungeon system is included among the major features intended for the public demo and later playtests. The recap also states that multiple playtesting events are planned during 2026, giving players opportunities to evaluate how the procedural PvE structure works in practice.

Source

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