Champions Ascension Review

Introduction

Champions Ascension delivers an action-packed experience with a vibrant world full of intense PvP battles and exciting progression. The game allows you to dive into various game modes, each one challenging you to test your skills in unique ways. With diverse game modes, high-quality graphics, and an exciting mix of combat and strategy, the game is a thrilling ride. While there are occasional lags due to its alpha status, the content is far from limited, and the overall experience is already quite engaging.

Gameplay

The current open alpha of Champions Ascension is a significant evolution from the closed alpha phase nearly two years ago. The game has evolved from a more MMORPG-style experience, where you had to travel through NPCs to access game modes, to a more streamlined and accessible game menu where everything is now just a click away. However, since it’s still in alpha, there’s plenty more to come, and we’re not seeing the final version yet.

You start by choosing one of three starter characters: Fenrir (Beast), Ilgra (Humanoid), or Saadari (Undead). Each one has its own unique abilities, so pick whichever matches your playstyle or the strategy you want to try. The game doesn’t hold your hand, choosing the right champion can influence your approach to combat, so spend a little time getting to know their abilities before jumping into the action.

Once you’ve selected your champion, you’ll enter the game menu, where you’ll find a variety of game modes to try out. You can start with Practice Mode, which is great for getting a feel for the controls. Combat is the core of the game, you’ll be battling it out in closed arenas, with your basic attacks mapped to mouse clicks, movement controlled by the keyboard, and abilities assigned to number keys. It’s a familiar RPG-style combat system, though the limited space of the arena adds a layer of strategy.

1v1 battles pit you against another player in a head-to-head match where the first player to win two rounds comes out on top. 3v3 is a team-based mode where you’re randomly teamed with other players, and the first team to eliminate all the opposing champions wins. Matches here can be quick, since there’s no second round or respawn.

But the real fun kicks in with Vault of Carnage, a chaotic deathmatch mode where 10 players fight to the death in an arena, with the twist that when you die, you get revived. It’s a fast-paced, time-limited skirmish where lava slowly engulfs the arena as the timer runs out. The player with the most kills at the end of 5 minutes wins, and it’s a blast. Right now, the leaderboard system is locked behind the Eternal Tier, so you’ll have to grind to unlock that competitive element.

For those who want more of a high-risk, high-reward experience, Hardcore Mode is where you can bet your champion’s life. If you fail, your champion perishes, but if you win, the rewards are significantly greater. It’s a gamble that adds some serious stakes to your matches, making victories feel all the more rewarding.

While Champions Ascension is still primarily focused on PvP, they’ve also added a PvE component where you can team up with friends to face off against a single boss. These bosses aren’t pushovers, and you’ll need allies. Up to 5 players can join forces to bring down these tough enemies. It’s a nice change of pace if you want to take a break from the usual player-versus-player chaos.

The progression system revolves around Ascending your Champions, and it’s definitely a grind. There are four Ascension Tiers: Grunt, Challenger, Gladiator, and Eternal. To level up, you’ll need to win battles and gather materials like XP and Essence. Ascending to the next tier requires Scrolls of Ascension and Essence Crystals, which can also be bought from the store, but you’ll need a fair amount of gold to make that happen. Ascending doesn’t just make your champion stronger, it also changes their appearance based on the element they’re attuned to. Watching your champion evolve through each tier is a satisfying part of the progression system.

One of my favorite features is the ability to build your own champion by combining parts from other champions or from corpses you’ve collected. You can mix and match elements to create hybrid champions, adding a fun layer of customization to the game.

Graphically, Champions Ascension is stunning. The animations, especially for character skills and combat effects, are fantastic, and the environments feel dynamic. Each arena has its own set of changing elements, so the battles never feel stale. There’s also a great variety of champions to choose from, so you’ll never feel stuck with the same playstyle for too long.

That said, the combat system still has some kinks to iron out. I’ve noticed a few delays when executing attacks, which can break combos and disrupt the flow of combat. Taunts and emotes, while fun, can’t be cancelled once initiated, which is frustrating if you’re trying to quickly move or attack. It’s clear that the combat system still needs some polishing, but it’s already a fun experience in its current state.

All things considered, Champions Ascension is a fun, fast-paced game with a lot of mechanics to dive into. While the game still has some room to grow, especially in terms of combat responsiveness, the sheer variety of game modes, progression systems, and the unique champion-building mechanics make it a game worth keeping an eye on.

Review

Champions Ascension is an exciting and intense experience, especially for players who thrive on combat and progression. The game’s combat system is fun and fast-paced, offering a lot of room for strategy, though it does feel a little rough around the edges with occasional delays in attacks and some unskippable animations. Still, the thrill of battle keeps you coming back. The real highlight is the variety of game modes, from the chaotic Vault of Carnage to the high-risk Hardcore Mode, where you bet your champion’s life. If you love that rush of competition with real stakes, this is where the game shines.

However, the grind for Ascension is real. It’s not an easy road to leveling up and ascending your champions, which can feel repetitive at times, but the satisfaction of watching your champion evolve and change with each tier makes it worth the effort. Champions Ascension is clearly still in development, and while there’s a lot of polish left to do, especially with the combat mechanics, it’s already an engaging game that shows a lot of potential.