Art of Ascension
Art of Ascension is a free RPG modification for Half-Life 2. Art of Ascension combines the spirit of online role playing games with the faster battling pace of classical first-person shooters.
At first glance, Art of Ascencion is deceptively simple. You begin gameplay just as in any HL2:DM game. You spawn in with a weapon and you attempt to kill your various opponents. But you immediately notice a couple of things:
- Your beginning weapon set is weaker than normal.
- Your opponents appear to be kicking your tush all over the place.
And you ask yourself, how did that guy kill me so fast?
As you continue playing, and gaining kills, you eventually notice that the game states you have ascended to Level 1. You patiently sit through the explanation that some helpful soul provides you with. Then you put the weapon and attribute points you just obtained into the weapons and attributes of your choice respectively. You'll notice a marked improvement in your damage dealing potential, and possibly also notice that you have done one of the following.
- Gain an ability
- Gain more hp
- Gain more ap
Rinse, Repeat.
Deceptively simple? Sure. Insanely fun in the long run? Definitely.
How can I become an AoA champion?
- Kill opponents to gain experience points (XP)
- Dedicate time to play and level up your character
- Gain points for character attributes and weapons
- Upgrade your weapon and select from special abilities
AoA-Unique Commands
NOTE: Enter commands in console!
aoa_begin - Enter the game to begin battling and Ascension
aoa_help - Provides help for beginner players
aoa_menu - Displays the AoA menu
aoa_weapon [weapon] [amount] - Raises the level of [weapon] by [amount]
aoa_attribute [attribute] [amount] - Raises the level of [attribute] by [amount]
aoa_spawn_weapon [weapon] - Sets spawn weapon to [weapon]
aoa_status - Displays player information in console
+aoa_user_stats - Opens a pane to view the stats of others on the server
aoa_fly - Toggles fly ability
+aoa_pogo - Uses pogo ability
aoa_invisible - Toggles invisibility ability
Basic Character Building
If you really want to be an AoA champion, you gotta have thick skin. And with weapons doing well over your base hp, you'll want to upgrade yourself to endure more damage while in battle.
As of now, upgrading your max_hp is the quickest way to stay alive. Upgrading Stamina can make you resist damage, and Intelligence will cause your armor to do the same. Upgrading your spawn_ap rather than your max_hp is only recommended with level 30 Intelligence or higher.
Useful Skills:
Fly - Agility level 30
Invisiblity - Alchemy level 90
Pogo - Charisma level 10
Mana Recovery Skills:
Respawn Mana - Aggression level 10
Mana Regen - Guile level 10 (recommended)
Victory Mana - Charisma level 30
Upgrade whatever you think is best for your character. There is no necessity to use the aforementioned skills, they are just recommendations.
Hints, Tips And Tricks
Try varying your spawn weapon with aoa_spawn_weapon [weapon] and see what works best for you.
When your character is low level try changing into the super soldier combine skin, higher levels MAY have pity on you.
Have a strategy on how to level your character.
When you find in-game objects to be cumbersome to manuever around, try jumping and crouching while in the air, this raises your feet, allowing greater clearance over those objects your getting caught on.
Play when nobody is on the servers to familiarize yourself with item locations on maps. Knowing where your health, armor, ammo, etc. will spawn is crucial.
Look for chances to pick off a wounded high level player to level up even quicker.
Have fun and don't get pissed just because someone is owning you. Either you need more experience or more patience . . . or both.