FLAME & SHIELDS BUILD

(A Flamethrower that literally MELTS trough enemies, a self-shield, and a dash of AoE healing)

♦ ◊ ♦ ◊ ♦

The Ascent is a fresh 3D action RPG that adopts a Cyberpunk setting aesthetically and combines that with isometric twin-stick shooter-looter combat. “Building” your character might be overwhelming to some so I’ve come up with a setup that takes a mid-range role by spewing Flames and using shields. Survive the initial enemy DPS burst while you thin out the herd!

Video Version:

Weapons:

There are two weapon slots – a primary and a secondary. On each of those slots can go any weapon you want to use without any restrictions. For my primary weapon, I decided to use (and strongly recommend) The MAGMAMAKER – max this hot gal in terms of upgrades as fast as possible. For the second weapon I’d say use a Minigun of your choice which can be especially good for single target DPS vs bosses when combined with the LOCKON FIRE augment. If a Minigun is not to your liking any weapon will be good but I’d say go for something good vs single targets and with a non-fire element.

***I used MAGMAMAKER Mark 8 and it was still pretty good vs mid lvl 20s mobs***

***A Mark 9 STROBOS Minigun felt decently strong against mid lvl 20s mobs***

Tactical:

The “Tactical” slot is reserved for all sorts of gadgets that are active skills/abilities that use our tactical charge. There are all sorts: grenades, mech suit, turret, drones, leap attack, etc.

I recommend using either the: Rejuv Field, Pocket Mech, Drone or even a Turret.

Armor:

The are also 3 types of Armor that you wear for the: Head, Chest, and Legs. Each of those comes with bonuses to 4 resistance types: Physical, Energy, Digital, and Fire. Keep in mind that our Two Augment Skills scale from the Green and Purple stats – Cybernetics & Frame. So the green & purple passives will increase those stats and this results in longer duration for Shield Dronettes the higher the Cybernetics stat is & longer duration of Stasis Stomp the higher the Frame stat is. This needs to be considered when deciding what stats to prioritize.

I’d say the priority here will be somewhat like this:

Body Battery – Will be very helpful in the early game because need at least 150 Energy to be able to cast Shield Dronettes + Stasis Stomp back2back.
Vital Signs – Helpful at the start & later on for extra max health. If you don’t feel the need of HP right away you can ignore it.
Critical Hit Rate – will be helpful throughout the whole game as maxing the stat from skill only gives us 20% crit chance so any extra from armors is always nice. It will also increase the duration of Shield Dronettes
Tactical Sense – increases the tactical charge gained for damage afflicted. It will also increase the duration of Shield Dronettes.
Balance – Not that important but getting extra of this one will boost the duration of Stasis Stomp (if you use it).
Weapon Handling – helps a lot when using long reload weapons such as rocket launchers & also boosts the duration of Lockon Fire (if you use it).
Aiming – Not that important but getting extra of this one will boost the duration of Lockon Fire (if you use it).

Priority from gear should be Energy (amazing early). Later on to boost the Augments’ duration get the Purple and Green stats. Blue stats are only needed as much IF you use the Lockon Target augment.

Skills (Passives):

In terms of customizing our character there are also 8 passive skills /attributes that can we can invest up to 20 point into each. Considering that we get 3 points for each we need to make wise choices (Unless we want to spend 1900 credits per point for a full respec). I’ve listed the skill in order of priority in terms of what to invest into and/or max out first.

The Passive Skills we invest into are:

Tier 1 – High Priority = invest into and maybe max out one of those first then get the rest maxed.

Body Battery – Determines max energy capacity. Associated with Biometrics Attribute. We need at least 145 Energy to be able to cast Shield Dronettes + Stasis Stomp back2back.
Vital Signs – Determines max health. Associated with Biometrics Attribute. If you don’t feel the need of HP right away you can postpone investing into it until it’s needed.
Critical Hit Rate – Determines the Critical Hit Rate. Associated with Cybernetics Attribute. Getting that extra 20% crit chance will be felt during prolonged fights such as bosses.

Tier 2 – Average Priority = invest into and maybe max out some of those based on personal preference.

Tactical Sense – Determines amount of tactical charge gained for damage afflicted. Associated with Cybernetics Attribute. This can be very nice to max out if you want to use your Tactical more often. A must have if you use Rejuv Field.
Weapon Handling – Determines reload and weapon swap speed. Associated with Motorics Attribute. Optional investment which helps a lot when using long reload weapons such as rocket launchers. It also boosts Lockon Fire (if you use it).
Balance – Determines resistance to stun, knockbacks & staggers and the movement penalty for moving while firing heavy weapons. Associated with Frame Attribute. Not that important but if you like it spend some spare points for lowered movement penalty while shooting with the Minigun. It will also boost the duration of Stasis Stomp.
Evasion – Determines evasion cooldown speed. Associated with Frame Attribute. – Not that important but if you like it spend some spare points for quicker dodge-rolls. It will also boost the duration of Stasis Stomp.
Aiming – Determines spread recovery rate. Associated with Motorics Attribute. Not that important but if you want you can invest here to boost Lockon Fire (if you use it).

Each of those goes up to level 20 so you’ll end up with at least 4 and even 5 when max lvl. Keep in mind that our Two Augment Skills scale from the Green and Purple stats – Cybernetics & Frame. So the green & purple passives will increase those stats and this results in longer duration for Shield Dronettes the higher the Cybernetics stat is & longer duration of Stasis Stomp the higher the Frame stat is.

Augments:

Another layer of our “build” are the 2 Augment Slots. Those are the equivalent to skills/spells in other games. I’ve decided to go with specific 2 – Shield Dronettes & Stasis Stomp.

Shield Dronettes – Swarm of small drones that creates a defensive perimeter protecting the host. This seems to make us invulnerable for a few seconds. The higher your Cybernetics the longer the duration. Costs 60 energy and has 14sec. cooldown
Stasis Stomp – Launch nearby enemies into the air and put the into stasis. The higher your Frame the longer the stasis duration. Costs 85 energy and has 4sec. cooldown

Modules:

The next layer are the 2 slots dedicated to Modules – passive boosters. I’ve decided to use Vitasigns Booster (for Max HP) & Speedheal Mod (for extra health gained when healing – this boosts all types of incoming heals such as from Rejuv Field or Life Transfer if you use it)