The Ascent is making waves as one of the best indie titles this year, and began building a huge player base just days after its release. As more gamers seek out The Ascent, new players will need to get up to speed with how the skill point system works. With every new level, each character will get additional skill points, which they can allocate into one of eight different categories.
The best skills in The Ascent will depend on what type of character users would like to create. However, some skill categories clearly outshine others. Some, regardless of the player's build, have a greater impact than others in-game.
Updated on September 17, 2021 by Payton Lott: After logging more than ten hours on the Ascent, it becomes apparent that some skills simply aren't necessary. Balance is by far the worst skill, but skills like evasion and aiming are irrelevant if players are using the flamethrower. Likewise, people do not need max vitality if they have an extremely high Body Battery. This updated guide will cover the relative usefulness of each skill, as well as update the rankings based on end game performance. There is no question that the skills at the bottom of this guide are the best skills in the Ascent.
8 Balance
Most players acknowledge that Balance is the worst skill in The Ascent. Most low level enemies will not stun or stagger, so this skill can be built up later on in a playthrough. One added bonus of balance is the increased movement speed with heavy weapons.
Anyone that likes wielding massive machine guns will enjoy being able to move quicker while dealing damage. Solid movement is fundamental to success in The Ascent, so with the big guns may consider adding a few skill points in this category.
7 Evasion
Dodging will be the primary method that players use to avoid heavy attacks and enemy gunfire. Putting points in this skill will let players dodge more often and avoid getting hit. Evasion should be a priority for those that play aggressively and push groups of enemies.
Larger AI and bosses almost always have a strong melee attack. To avoid these hits, characters must have some skill points in the Evasion category. Additionally, dodging lets users move around the map more quickly, as the walk animation can be quite slow. *Because it is in the Frame attribute tree, most people will want to endure low stamina and increase the other skills instead. Although, the character will feel sluggish without at least 5 points in the category.
6 Aiming
The Aiming skill helps gamers control the spread of a weapon. This skill will help those that use automatic weapons or shotguns. The less spread a gun has, the more likely a well-aimed shot will connect with the target. A good goal would be to get to around 400% or +4 to ensure the spread is accurate enough to connect shots.
Aiming is not the most important skill, but it will have a bigger impact as people progress through the main missions. Be sure to level it up later on in the game. *Like all skills in the game, the importance of Aiming will depend on which weapon is being used. Weapons with tight hip fire spreads will need little to no Aiming skill points to be accurate. Launchers and the flamethrowers do not benefit from increased Aiming at all.
5 Weapon Handling
Every weapon in-game has a set reload speed. Shotguns and single fire pistols take longer to reload than automatic weapons. These weapons also happen to deal the most damage.
As a result, increasing reload speed with Weapon Handling is a must. In tight quarters, swapping to a shotgun or a pistol will be more effective than reloading. Thankfully, Weapon Handling increases weapon swap speed as well. This skill is more suited to those who enjoy using the heavy hitting close quarters guns. *Gamers will appreciate a faster reload speed and swap speed, but there are more important skills in the game. People should put a few skill points in the category, but no more than 10.
4 Body Battery
The Body Battery skill increases energy, which allows the character to use more augments. In The Ascent, augments play a huge role in fights. Many deal a ton of damage if they hit, and they can get players out of dangerous situations. The more often a player can use augments, the less likely it is that they will be killed. Players will have to decide if they want to focus on gunplay, grenades, or augments when allocating these skills. Augments are incredibly powerful, and every player should put at least a few points into this category as they begin to level up.
Body Battery is easily one of the best skills in The Ascent for an augmentation DPS build. Augments like Spiderbots and Neutron Beam are ridiculously effective against any enemy in the game. If players can spam those abilities every few seconds, weapons will not even be necessary. The skill is useful in every build, but not quite as impressive as the skills in the top three.
3 Tactical Sense
This skill determines how fast the character's grenades recharge. For those who enjoy using a lot of thrown explosives, this will be a skill to focus on. There are a number of different grenades, and each presents its own advantages.
Tactical Sense is crucial because players will want their Rejuv Grenade to charge up as quickly as possible. The Rejuv Grenade is the quickest and most effective way to heal in The Ascent. Biometric Timestamp is incredible, but it will only heal once the timer runs out. Rejuv Grenades provide a healing AOE that benefits all the players on the team, and they start healing each character immediately. Every Indent should have the healing grenade equipped if possible.
2 Critical Hit Rate
In boss and mission mob fights, there will always be a few enemies with large health pools. Critical hits will be crucial in these fights, as they will decimate adds quickly. Once the Critical Hit Rate exceeds 10%, taking care of random mobs will be a breeze.
Players will want to get their health up first, but dealing more damage is one of the most important attributes to focus on. With upgraded weapons, gamers will tear through enemies in an instant if they have a high crit chance. *Having a high critical rate chance benefits pretty much any playstyle. Every weapon is better when it has the chance to deal more damage per second. Critical chance applies to both tacticals and augmentations as well. Combine all those benefits and nearly every build will feature Critical Hit Rate as one of the top skills to focus on.
1 The Best Skill In The Ascent: Vital Signs
Health is the single most important skill in The Ascent. As players progress through missions, enemies will hit harder, and having more base health is essential. New players will have less trouble leveling up if they focus on Vital Signs early, as higher-level enemies lurk everywhere in the beginning of the game. Once a character has 200 HP, it will be less of a challenge to get through mobs.
Health will drop every few enemies or so, making around 200 HP a good target for level 10. While it may not be the most exciting skill, Vital Signs will keep players in the fight. It will also increase the pool for Biometric augments, and determine how often they can be used. Because of how powerful augments like Hydraulic Slam are, this skill must be a priority throughout the game.* Players are able to allocate a total of 20 points toward Vital Signs. However, the health cap is much higher because of armor and modifications. With good armor and modifications, characters can have well over 300 HP.