Overview
Ascenders is a story-driven open-world game combined with a fully decentralized, player-driven crypto-economy to deliver a totally new ARPG experience. Built on the Avalanche network, Ascenders features a dual token economy and player-created NFTs and is one of the first major games to leverage the power and flexibility of AVAX subnets.
Avalanche (AVAX) is a blockchain platform that is smart contract-capable. It aims to deliver a scalable blockchain solution while maintaining decentralization and security, focusing on lower costs, fast transaction speeds, and eco-friendliness. Make sure you check out AVAX as it could be a sleeper for where a lot of games launch!
With similarities in looks to Legend Of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, players can enjoy quests, clear dungeons, and build cities on their digital properties. NFTs of weapons, armors, heroes, skins, resources, and even animal companions can be used or traded by gamers on a decentralized player-driven economy. Gameplay wise, it feels similar to a Ninja gaiden where it’s a lot of hack and slash quick actions as you slay mobs.
The world of Ascenders, called Ascension, is vast and contiguous — a metaverse of numerous diverse landscapes where players craft swords, helmets, and armors as their own NFTs. Gamers choose play-to-earn by exploring, fighting, or building.
Gameplay
The game was created on Unreal Engine Ascender’s gameplay looks very familiar as it took some inspiration from 2017’s Game of the Year, Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild. It also imitates the popular EVE Online MMO economy, with the four lanes that make up the game.
- Explorer: Ascenders has a rich open-world environment that players can freely explore to discover new lands, hidden dungeons, and rare resources. Here you can get rewarded for your exploration.
- Fighter: The dungeons that infest the land are filled with enemies and need clearing out before it is safe enough for the community to begin construction. Combat will put players to the test in return for rich rewards — perhaps even land! This element is for competitive players who enjoy the challenges of an unforgiving world.
- Builder: Buildings can be built on owned lands. Silos and refineries improve productivity, Armorsmiths and stables enable players to craft new items, hospitals and shops provide services, and Guildhalls create community. There are many structures to choose from but limited space to build. Players must observe the market and decide what to build wisely. If you’re not into exploring or fighting and you’re more into the resources the game offers, this will suit you.
The game story will take you through two worlds, namely Overworld and Dungeons.
- Overworld contains different terrains with features, other challenges, resources, and enemies. Players can explore the Overworld for resources that can be used to mint NFT items. Certain areas demarcated in the Overworld map indicate NFTs that allow landowners to create buildings visible to other players.
- Dungeons serve as periodic tournaments that allow players to compete on PvEvP leaderboards for rare and valuable resources. Players can explore deep dungeons to get rewards that can be used to mint NFT items. The dungeons are filled with enemies, and they need clearing out before it is safe for the community to begin construction. Players have to use their combat skills here to obtain rich rewards.
The game is now in Beta, and if you want to try it, there is an event called The Combat Challenge Event, an early version of a dungeon that works as a one-month leaderboard event. The top 100 players will receive AGC tokens, and the best of them will receive lucrative rewards. The prize pool is one million AGC tokens.
The challenge will revolve around attacking the hordes of enemies in a secluded area of Ascension within a time limit. You have to defeat as many enemies as possible and collect orbs. This combat challenge will be the first test of what Ascender’s combat mechanics are going to be. The final release of the game will feature a unique story campaign, a deep combat system, and other exciting things.
The Economy (Tokenomics)
Just like any other NFT game, Ascenders have their economy to imply the play-to-earn mechanics. Players have complete control of oversupply and demand. Players find and trade resources from around the Overworld, used by players to craft new items. All items are player minted and player distributed, with player-designed specializations.
- Glow Gems: An utility token used as an in-game currency for primary economic actions such as building construction, item minting, crafting upgrades, buying items from marketplaces, etc. Uncapped Supply.
- Ascenders Governance Council ($AGC): A governance token used by players to participate in votes on important game direction decisions. Supply is capped, and staking is rewarded.
- Land Parcel: a digital parcel of land situated in the Ascenders overworld, each with its unique layout, terrain, and resources. Players buy Land Parcels to gain passive resource income and build shops, armorsmiths, refineries, hospitals, guildhalls, and many other buildings. Each Land Parcel is a non-fungible token.
- Game Items: NFT token created by players when they craft resources into items. These NFTs can be upgraded and sold on marketplaces.
The Development Team
Formed in 2021 by a group of experienced game developers and blockchain industry experts, Legendary Foundry Games was founded with the dream of building the world’s first true AAA crypto game.
LFG is committed to building an actual player-driven economy, where players determine what to make, where to make it, decide what the world looks like, and how it functions. Players build their communities and manage the governance of the game itself.
The team combines experienced AAA game devs with experienced crypto degen ninjas to bring massive, player-driven worlds to life. Senior positions on major AAA titles. A decade of successful startups in the crypto space. Put them together, and LFG!
Final Thoughts
With the crypto market is in a deep bear, teams who are ready to build and refocus efforts on fun gameplay and sustainable economics may do well. We all know that oversupply of tokens in a game is a hard issue to solve, and until now, even established NFT games are having problems with it. With this game’s triple-A aspirations and its impressive looks, I think there is a shot where gaming personalities might try it. In my opinion, if this game will turn out what it should be, even if the economy crashed, it will thrive. I mean, the graphics alone is appealing, the combat, even in the beta stage is great, and the world, there is so much to experience here. Just imagine a play-to-earn Breath of the Wild, that’s all I can say.
What do you think of ascenders? Can it be a playable game with AAA aspirations or will it be another flop?