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With Ascension fast approaching, today we are going to discuss three features intended to improve gameplay variability and increase player engagement through operations, directives and various opportunities to catch up to the server’s top players.
Operations
To begin, while it was not directly was not subjected to any global changes, Operations will be simplified and be more player-friendly. What makes the Operations in Ascension stand out most, is that they no longer depend on the active invasions, which means that they will include quests against all kind of threats to Aelion!
During the activity, which lasts for 14 days, players can only be signed up for a single operation. To access it, players must complete any appropriate mission or continue to complete them in any order to improve their rank. Operation tokens will only be received by completing Squad, Group, or Invasion adventures. In order to earn more progress points and improve your Operation rank, you should focus on completing higher priority tasks available via the Aelion Globe.
Other than that, Operations were not subjected to drastic changes: players attempt to reach the top of the ranking, and, consequently, increase the rank of the operations they can participate in. Their personal and total progress will yield enticing in-game bonuses.
Rewards for participating in Ascension’s Operations are as follows:
| Rank | Personal Progress (Daily) | Total Progress (Daily) | Upgrading Your Rank (once during an operation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 500 Knowledge of Enemies | 10,000 Credits | 100 Argents |
| 2 | 600 Knowledge of Enemies | 15,000 Credits | 150 Argents |
| 3 | 700 Knowledge of Enemies | 25,000 Credits | 200 Argents |
| 4 | 800 Knowledge of Enemies | 35,000 Credits | 250 Argents |
| 5 | 1,000 Knowledge of Enemies | 50,000 Credits | 300 Argents |
| 6 | 1,250 Knowledge of Enemies | 75,000 Credits | 350 Argents |
| 7 | 1,500 Knowledge of Enemies | 100,000 Credits | 400 Argents |
| 8 | 2,000 Knowledge of Enemies | 150,000 Credits | 500 Argents |
Directives
The update will also bring Directives to the game, which are sets of in-game activities that replace old promotion adventures. By fully competing those quests you will receive significantly more resources, and benefit from them much more than from individual adventures alone! A set may include solo and group adventures, regions, and PvP activities.
In addition to regular adventure rewards, you can receive Credits, Argents, Victor's Medals, Bastion progress, Divine Deeds, and Construction Points for your Pantheon for completing sets. The amount of bonuses is based on your character’s prestige, and there is some probability that it could be increased 5- or even 20-fold!
Directives are generated individually for each player and updated daily. Any player can “accumulate” up to 7 Directives. After you start any set, you will have 24 hours to complete it. On average, it takes about two hours to complete all adventures in a directive. You can access adventures included in a set directly from the directive adventures list simply by clicking it. You can also find particular adventures on your regional map or in the adventure list.
A directive counts as completed once all included activities have been completed at least once. You are allowed to skip one or several adventures included in the set by using Stimulants, which you will receive for completing Directives and participating in promotions.
Occasionally, on the Globe you will find special Directives that have a time limit, but are unlocked for everybody. Usually, they will be launched on the occasion of global game events such as Invasions or holidays. Additionally, top-ranking players on the server will be able to influence those in the future!
And, to conclude, let’s discuss catching up with the server’s stronger players. What should you do to close the gap in Ascension?
We successfully developed a system that accommodates for the average quality of Equipment, Bastion level, and Divine Specializations of all active characters on a server. Based on that data, lower-level players will receive special Directives with additional rewards. Bonuses might include significant Bastion progress and large volumes of Divine Deeds. Additionally, the Globe might offer a special Directive which would give all willing players an opportunity to fight a training version of an Avatar of a Great God and unlock a new Divine Specialization!
All players can access adventures with difficulty that adjusts to their character, and one can always find equipment that will correspond to their Might. That way, new players will be able to reach levels required for the next-to-latest generation equipment by completing Bastion quests and receiving more Might with the bonuses described above. This will bring you just a small step from accessing maximum difficulty adventures where you can earn the last generation equipment together with other players on your server.
This material focuses on content that is in development. When the update is live, some elements of the system may change
