The Ascent: 5 Essential Tips & Tricks to Leveling Up Fast

by Robbie Stevens / Articles, Highlights, The Ascent / 03 Aug 2022

Perhaps most surprisingly of all, it was developer Neon Giant’s The Ascent that shot to overnight stardom this summer. Thus, becoming one of this year’s most sort after titles. Who’d have known, right?

Despite a few bugs from day one, many sci-fi fans across the globe have immersed themselves in The Ascent’s viscerally realized Cyberpunk universe. What’s more, the added option of cooperative play has made the core fundamentals of combat even more gratifying.

Today, we share five essential tips & tricks for The Ascent, guaranteed to see you through the campaign in one piece.

Be Sure to Play with Friend

First and foremost, playing with friends is always an enjoyable pastime, but that delightful prospect comes with perks in The Ascent. For instance, should a squad member level up, then all other squad mates’ level alongside them.

Thankfully, this can be incredibly useful in combat scenarios throughout your ascent. After all, having friends fight by your side allows you to formulate strategies and win exchanges far more quickly than when flying solo. In doing so, you should earn XP considerably faster.

While at the same time, any healing and DPS strategies will be much more effective when working with a real-life partner.

Level Up Skill Points Effectively

Okay. This one sort of goes without saying, but skill point assignment is essential throughout, The Ascent. The main reason being; that many employable tactics tend to depend on Critical Hit Rate, Vital Sense, and Tactical Sense to achieve success.

Firstly, Vital Signs heighten the health of indents, keeping them alive long enough to fend off other foes. Elsewhere, Critical Hit Rate affects damage, especially on augmentation-type builds. While lastly, Tactical Sense involves the player’s replenishment of grenades.

When playing as a weapon-based build, I would recommend focusing on aspects of firearm proficiency, such as aiming and handling. Conversely, plotting points into energy would be a wise path to follow for augments.

Don’t Forget to Activate Augmentations

It can be hard to remember in the blazing heat of battle, but augmentations are devasting in the field. So much so, they can eliminate an entire wave of enemies from just a single-use. Grenades are decent, but they lack accuracy by comparison.

Try to familiarize yourself with the different AOE’s. Since using them effectively will allow you to dispatch enemies at a faster rate. As a result, you’ll be topping up XP quicker in the process.

The Biometric Timestamp is an excellent asset to the team, as it restores health after a short window. So too is the Spiderbot, which helps boost leveling speed while streamlining combat when properly used.

Make Smart Use of Tacticals

Next up, we have tacticals. These are, by a mile, one of The Ascent’s most valuable aspects of play. Typically, grenades are great for dealing DPS against mobs but are equally impactful against bosses.

EMP’s, on the other hand, offer the ability to stun your opponent, leaving them exposed to the kill. Therefore, always be sure to make maximum use of your grenades in battle.

Probably the most effective incendiary in the game is the Rejuv grenade, which offers a healing AOE, essentially restoring nearby party members of health on the fly. Pretty useful indeed.

Pick Up Plenty of Side Quests

Of all the tips presented today, this one is perhaps the most precious. In total, there is a healthy myriad of side missions to digest in The Ascent – each one of them granting a decent slice of XP.

However, unlike the main story quest, which often involves lengthy missions, these side ventures take half as long. Perfect for those pushed for time. Equally, if you find yourself falling behind in battle, these excursions provide a great way of leveling the score and improving your skills for the perils and pitfalls ahead.

That concludes your list of five essential The Ascent tips & tricks. But do be sure to share your favs down in the comments.

I’ll see you in the Ascent, comrades.

Robbie Stevens

Robbie is a lifelong gaming enthusiast who grew up in the glorious era of Goldeneye split-screen multiplayer. Although he's excited for Ragnarok, Robbie is often found delving back into his retro roots; entirely convinced Metal Gear Solid 1 and Ocarina of Time are masterpieces of equal merit.
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