Ascension Skill System
The Ascension Skill System allows you to divert experience into an Ascension Training Point (ATP) pool, which can then be spent on Ascension Skills to further define your character.
Note: The initial release was limited to the Common tier. The Elite/Legendary tier will be released at a later date.
Ascension Tiers
Once earned, Ascension Training Points (ATPs) are spent to unlock a number of passive and active abilities. On the back end, spending ATPs is managed through the Player System Manager which means that it works very similarly to Combat Maneuvers, Armor Specializations, and Shield Specializations.
There are 3 tiers of abilities: Common, Elite, and Legendary.
- Common abilities are intended to be very generic and apply to things that most characters might be interested in. It includes things like boosts to stats, skills, and resistances. Just those 3 different areas represent 71 different abilities, since each stat/skill/damage type is a separate ability.
- Elite abilities are designed to enhance build or character archetypes (such as squares, semis, pures, archers, locksmiths). It may include things like rapid health/mana/stamina/spirit regeneration, elemental arrows for archers, or locksmiths detecting traps when being handed a box.
- Legendary abilities are designed for specific abilities/spells and usually tailored to a specific profession. It may include things like rangers being able to tame one of each animal companion type (and separate ability to temporarily summon them all in combat), warriors being able to manually stop a Berserk, bards being able to create higher enchant sonic armaments, double attacks/spells, etc.
Characters will be required to invest a certain amount of points into the Common tier before they can access the Elite tier. They will then also be required to invest a certain amount of points into the Elite tier before they can access the Legendary tier. The abilities in each tier will get more expensive to unlock as the perceived power that those abilities represent grows. In addition, the development team intends to have a lot of chained abilities to promote certain builds. Some abilities may be exclusive of each other (so if you learn X, you can't learn Y).
Earning ATPs
To earn ATP, characters designate a specific experience percentage split to absorb from their field experience pool into their standard experience pool and their ascension experience pool. Any experience going into the ascension experience pool is experience that is not going into the standard experience pool and cannot be used for training in skills. A character who would normally absorb 30 experience per pulse who has set 50% field experience going into their ascension experience pool would gain 15 standard experience and 15 ascension experience per pulse.
Every 50,000 AEXP earned yields 1 ATP, which may then be spent on Common, Elite, or Legendary skills.
Ascension was designed to enhance character post-cap development and ensure character longevity, but is not restricted to level 100 characters. Starting at level 20, characters can select up to their level as a percentage of their experience gain towards Ascension Experience (AEXP). This means at level 20, a character can select up to 20% of their field experience going into their ascension experience pool with the remainder going into their standard experience pool. The development goal is that the average character will easily earn 10 ATPs by level 100, with an additional 5 or so ATPs being possible for more dedicated characters. This is enhanced by characters' ability to earn milestone ATP (see below).
Milestones
Characters earn milestone Ascension Training Points (ATPs) for completing certain activities.
| Number | Name | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Noble Effort | Reach level 20 |
| 2 | Great Expectations | Reach level 40 |
| 3 | Master of My Fate | Reach level 60 |
| 4 | High and Mighty | Reach level 80 |
| 5 | A Grand Triumph | Reach level 100 |
| 6 | Up to the Task | 1,000,000 Bounty Points |
| 7 | Class-specific | Differs by Class |
| 8 | Master of your Craft | Master an Artisan Skill |
| 9 | All the World's a Stage... | Acquire 10 Full RPAs (multipliers, orbs do not count) |
| 10 | Big Game Hunter | Kill a Challenging Creature (Currently not available) |
Class-specific
- Cleric, Empath, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warrior, Wizard: Daily Grind -- Master a Guild Skill
- Bard: Virtuoso -- Master an Instrument
- Monk: The Art of War -- Tattoo 500,000 Motes
- Paladin: A Sacred Bond -- Fully Bond with Holy Weapon
- Ranger: Kindred Spirit -- Fully Bond with Companion
Spending ATPs
The development goal is that no character should ever maximize every ability, or even more than a handful of them. With this goal in mind, some abilities can be unlocked multiple times with an increasing skill cost for each unlock and abilities may have different set costs depending upon their perceived power. The Elite and Legendary will potentially be significantly more expensive than the Common tier, but also more impactful and character defining.
Common Tier
Common abilities, which include +statistic/skill/resistance, act as enhancives and stack with enhancive items, but are not subject to the enhancive limit and require no recharging. Each rank of +statistic ability is +1 stat, not bonus. Each +skill rank is +1 skill bonus. Each +resistance is +1% resist, but resist items and abilities do not stack and only use the largest bonus from all categories.
The first 5 ranks of each +stat/skill/resist Common ability cost 1 ATP each. Every 5 ranks after that, the cost increases by +1 ATP. As such, it will require 9 million Ascension experience just to reach rank 40 in any one individual Common ability, and there are over 70 of them.
Ascension Hunting Grounds
The development team hopes to introduce new post-capped hunting grounds that are significantly more difficult, but offer greater rewards for the effort (more Ascension experience and treasure) compared to existing options once the tiers have been released.
HELP
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ASCENSION is a system verb that is part of the Player System Manager for Ascension.
Menu
USAGE: ASCENSION [option] {args} or
USAGE: ASCENSION {ability} {target} or
ASCENSION [option] {args}
Options:
EXP - View your Ascension experience and ATP
SET # - Set the percent of experience to absorb as Ascension experience
MILESTONES - View your Ascension Milestone progress
LEARN {ability} - Spend Ascension Ability Training Points for abilities
UNLEARN {ability} - Unlearn abilities known to you for Ascension Ability Training Points
LIST {type} [extra] - List abilities by type
- {type} can be ALL,
- Any profession (or PROFESSION itself) may be included at the end
INFO - Displays your current ability training info
HELP {ability} - List information about the selected ability
WIKI {ability} - Show Wiki output for the selected ability
WIKILIST - Show Wiki list output for abilities
Note: {ability} references above require use of the ability mnemonic.
Usage
EXP
ASCENSION EXP allows a player to view their Ascension experience and earned ATP.
Messaging
(Character), your Ascension experience is as follows:
Ascension Experience: 0
Absorption Rate: 0%
ATPs Earned: 6
ATPs Spent: 0
ATPs Available: 6
SET #
ASCENSION SET # allows a player to set a percentage of experience to be absorbed as Ascension experience in order to gain ATPs.
Messaging
You must provide a number between 1 and 100 for the percent of normal experience you wish to absorb as Ascension experience.
MILESTONES
ASCENSION MILESTONES lists specific milestones that a character may have reached, along with gained ATPs as a result. These ATPs are earned outside of Ascension experience earned.
Messaging
(Character), your Ascension Milestones are as follows: ## Milestone Requirement Acquired ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. A Noble Effort Reach level 20 Yes 2. Great Expectations Reach level 40 Yes 3. Master of My Fate Reach level 60 Yes 4. High and Mighty Reach level 80 Yes 5. A Grand Triumph Reach level 100 Yes 6. Up to the Task 1,000,000 Bounty Points No 7. Cleric: Daily Grind Master a Guild Skill Yes 8. Master of your Craft Master an Artisan Skill No 9. All the World's a Stage... Acquire 10 Full RPAs No 10. Big Game Hunter Kill a Challenging Creature No
LEARN
ASCENSION LEARN works in a similar way to other PSM verbs that allow players to learn a skill. In Ascension, LEARN can be used to add to skills, stats, or other abilities. For a full list of available skills, see the Ascension Verb: ASCENSION#LIST.
UNLEARN
ASCENSION UNLEARN works in a similar way to other PSM verbs that allow players to unlearn a skill.
LIST
ASCENSION LIST lists potential skills available for a character to train in.
Messaging
You must specify a valid tier. Try one of the following: Common. (Character), the following Ascension Abilities are available for you to train in: Skill Mnemonic Ranks Cost Tier Category ID Script --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Acid Resistance resistacid 0/40 1 Common Resist 89 22119 Agility agility 0/40 1 Common Stat 23 22119 Ambush ambush 0/50 1 Common Skill 41 22119 Arcane Symbols arcanesymbols 0/50 1 Common Skill 46 22119 Armor Use armoruse 0/50 1 Common Skill 31 22119 Aura aura 0/40 1 Common Stat 25 22119 Blunt Weapons bluntweapons 0/50 1 Common Skill 35 22119 Brawling brawling 0/50 1 Common Skill 40 22119 Climbing climbing 0/50 1 Common Skill 72 22119 Cold Resistance resistcold 0/40 1 Common Resist 81 22119 Combat Maneuvers combatmaneuvers 0/50 1 Common Skill 33 22119 Constitution constitution 0/40 1 Common Stat 21 22119 Crush Resistance resistcrush 0/40 1 Common Resist 78 22119 Dexterity dexterity 0/40 1 Common Stat 22 22119 Disarming Traps disarmingtraps 0/50 1 Common Skill 68 22119 Discipline discipline 0/40 1 Common Stat 24 22119 Disintegration Resistance resistdisintegr 0/40 1 Common Resist 92 22119 Disruption Resistance resistdisruptio 0/40 1 Common Resist 84 22119 Dodging dodging 0/50 1 Common Skill 45 22119 Edged Weapons edgedweapons 0/50 1 Common Skill 34 22119 Electric Resistance resistelectric 0/40 1 Common Resist 82 22119 Elemental Lore - Air elair 0/50 1 Common Skill 53 22119 Elemental Lore - Earth elearth 0/50 1 Common Skill 54 22119 Elemental Lore - Fire elfire 0/50 1 Common Skill 55 22119 Elemental Lore - Water elwater 0/50 1 Common Skill 56 22119 Elemental Mana Control elementalmc 0/50 1 Common Skill 50 22119 First Aid firstaid 0/50 1 Common Skill 74 22119 Grapple Resistance resistgrapple 0/40 1 Common Resist 87 22119 Harness Power harnesspower 0/50 1 Common Skill 49 22119 Health Regeneration regenhealth 0/50 1 Common Regen 95 22119 Heat Resistance resistheat 0/40 1 Common Resist 80 22119 Impact Resistance resistimpact 0/40 1 Common Resist 85 22119 Influence influence 0/40 1 Common Stat 29 22119 Intuition intuition 0/40 1 Common Stat 27 22119 Logic logic 0/40 1 Common Stat 26 22119 Magic Item Use magicitemuse 0/50 1 Common Skill 47 22119 Mana Regeneration regenmana 0/50 1 Common Regen 93 22119 Mental Lore - Divination mldivination 0/50 1 Common Skill 62 22119 Mental Lore - Manipulation mlmanipulation 0/50 1 Common Skill 63 22119 Mental Lore - Telepathy mltelepathy 0/50 1 Common Skill 64 22119 Mental Lore - Transference mltransference 0/50 1 Common Skill 65 22119 Mental Lore - Transformation mltransform 0/50 1 Common Skill 66 22119 Mental Mana Control mentalmc 0/50 1 Common Skill 51 22119 Multi Opponent Combat multiopponent 0/50 1 Common Skill 42 22119 Perception perception 0/50 1 Common Skill 71 22119 Physical Fitness physicalfitness 0/50 1 Common Skill 44 22119 Picking Locks pickinglocks 0/50 1 Common Skill 69 22119 Picking Pockets pickingpockets 0/50 1 Common Skill 76 22119 Plasma Resistance resistplasma 0/40 1 Common Resist 83 22119 Polearm Weapons polearmsweapons 0/50 1 Common Skill 39 22119 Puncture Resistance resistpuncture 0/40 1 Common Resist 79 22119 Ranged Weapons rangedweapons 0/50 1 Common Skill 37 22119 Shield Use shielduse 0/50 1 Common Skill 32 22119 Slash Resistance resistslash 0/40 1 Common Resist 77 22119 Sorcerous Lore - Demonology soldemonology 0/50 1 Common Skill 60 22119 Sorcerous Lore - Necromancy solnecromancy 0/50 1 Common Skill 61 22119 Spell Aiming spellaiming 0/50 1 Common Skill 48 22119 Spirit Mana Control spiritmc 0/50 1 Common Skill 52 22119 Spiritual Lore - Blessings slblessings 0/50 1 Common Skill 57 22119 Spiritual Lore - Religion slreligion 0/50 1 Common Skill 58 22119 Spiritual Lore - Summoning slsummoning 0/50 1 Common Skill 59 22119 Stalking and Hiding stalking 0/50 1 Common Skill 70 22119 Stamina Regeneration regenstamina 0/50 1 Common Regen 96 22119 Steam Resistance resiststeam 0/40 1 Common Resist 90 22119 Strength strength 0/40 1 Common Stat 20 22119 Survival survival 0/50 1 Common Skill 67 22119 Swimming swimming 0/50 1 Common Skill 73 22119 Thrown Weapons thrownweapons 0/50 1 Common Skill 38 22119 Trading trading 0/50 1 Common Skill 75 22119 Two Weapon Combat twoweaponcombat 0/50 1 Common Skill 30 22119 Two-Handed Weapons twohandedweapon 0/50 1 Common Skill 36 22119 Unbalance Resistance resistunbalance 0/40 1 Common Resist 86 22119 Vacuum Resistance resistvacuum 0/40 1 Common Resist 88 22119 Wisdom wisdom 0/40 1 Common Stat 28 22119
LIST PROFESSION
ASCENSION LIST PROFESSION works like ASCENSION LIST but for profession-based skills.
LIST ALL
ASCENSION LIST ALL lists all available skills to train in.
INFO
ASCENSION INFO displays a character's current ability training info.
Messaging
(Character), your Ascension Abilities are as follows: Available Ascension Ability Points: 6
HELP
ASCENSION HELP (ability) lists information about a specified ability.
Messaging
Name: Aura [aura] (#25, s22119) Type: Passive Buff Other Requirements: None Available to: All Prerequisites: Ascension Ability Points: CEIL(Rank / 5) Mechanics: Gain +1 Aura statistic per rank
WIKI
ASCENSION WIKI (ability) outputs GSWiki code to be added to the Wiki.
See Also
Resources
- Skill tier lists
- Saved posts
- Ascension Skill System Official Forums - Official forums to discuss and brainstorm.
- Leafiara's Ascension Considerations
- GS4 Ascension Ideas - Player document to add ideas for ascension into a sortable list.