Hey Folks
Last week I saw a couple of post's by @kaelci covering a World of Warcraft private server named Ascension.
When @kaelci mentioned this was a classless server I got intrigued enough to download the client and check it it out.
I haven't played retail WoW since around 2011 when Cataclysm was the newest expansion. When Shadowlands released last year I checked out the new starter island which was fun but I didn't really enjoy the content which followed it.
So what's this Ascension server all about then?
It is set in the Wrath of The Lich King era. There are no classes to pick at the start of the game, instead you have ability points to spend on the skills you want.
When you start the game at level 1 you have 9 ability points to play around with. You also need to pick a starting stat from either intelligence, agility, strength or spirit, this will be the main stat that increases as your character levels.
You don't earn the 10th ability point until level 10 then each level after 10 grants a new ability point. Talent trees open up at level 10 and require talent points which are also earned as you level past 10.
You can unlearn spells really easily just by clicking on them and selecting unlearn. It costs a few silver to do but lets you try many different builds while out adventuring.
Most of the spells and skills cost 2 ability points each but others like pet spells have a higher cost. I've been using the Warlocks summon Imp spell which costs 3 ability points. The hunters tame pet ability costs 6 points. Some of the more powerful talents cost a combination of ability points and talent points.
Experience is gained faster than on a normal server, probably around 10 times faster. Loot drops are far more common here and what got me really excited to keep playing is that most of the items have random mythic enchants on them.
In the video above I have started a Dwarf character since the Dwarven starting area is the one I'm most nostalgic for.
I started the video in the Ironforge auction house so I could show how different the loot is here. There is no soul binding on an item once you equip it which means when you out level your gear you can sell it on the Auction house or give it away to a new player.
The random enchants make each item more unique which really is a nice addition to the game....
There are also no bind on pick up items which means you can trade most of the blue items that drop in dungeons and you can find most of them already on the auction house.
The server is really popular ,I was curious to see how long it would take to find a group for the lowest level dungeons like Ragefire Chasm and Deadmines.
On a Wednesday evening UK time it took about 20 minutes of waiting to get a group together.
I took the role of healer even tho I didn't really have the gear for it at the time. I was using the Shamans healing wave spell and the priests renew spell. We killed the end boss of Ragefire Chasm and after it cleared the Deadmines, unfortunately I ran out of hard drive space while recording with fraps and missed the last boss fight in the Deadmines.
You can watch this first dungeon run here...
After learning that the server population is healthy and active enough to find groups for the lower level dungeons I decided to deck my character out in healer gear.
I'm currently using a mixture of Restoration Shaman, Priest and Mage abilities and I still have the Warlock Imp pet.
The hotbar in the screenshot above shows...
Mana spring totem (Restoration Shaman)
Summon imp (Demonology Warlock)
Water shield (Restoration Shaman)
Mana Drain (Destruction Warlock)
Healing Totem (Restoration Shaman)
Tidal Focus (Restoration Shaman)
Renew (Holy Priest )
Healing Wave (Restoration Shaman)
Pyroblast (Fire Mage)
Holy Nova (Holy Priest)
Resurrection (Holy Priest)
I'm using the mages Pyroblast talent for soloing as it kills most mobs my level in 2 or 3 hits. My talent trees are mostly a mix of Restoration Shaman and Fire mage which is a freaking awesome build ,fun for soloing and more than powerful enough for healing dungeon groups.
I guess its also worth mentioning that the low level items I have listed on the Auction house sold pretty fast. One of the best things about WoW is logging on to find you have a load of gold in your mail box from successful auction house sales :).
So that pretty much covers the new player experience on WoW Ascension. My Dwarven Restoration-Fire Shaman-mage-warlock-priest is ready to start running dungeons in search of sexy loot with sexy Mythic enchants.
Conclusion: This server rocks! Seriously this is the most fun I have ever had with World of Warcraft .Its easy to see why the server is so popular. The classless system and random mythic enchanted loot makes it feel like a whole new game. Getting into low level dungeon groups is easy enough. Making cash to gear up in the early game doesn't feel like a grind. The ability to unlearn spells in favour of new ones is going to keep me busy for a long time.
Stay tuned for more WoW Ascension adventures real soon!
▶️ 3Speak
This server seems really cool. Kealcis posts intrigued me as well but I'm so caught up in Final Fantasy XIV. Looks like a refreshing take on WoW. Nice description of the skill system early in the video!
Yeah it is definitely a refreshing take, it feels much more like an action rpg with the faster levelling and higher amount of loot drops.
Its easy to see why its so popular. I was playing on Sunday night and there must have been more than 100 players gathered around the Stormwind auction house and the area outside of it. Gotta love the hustle and bustle of a capital city ,it makes the game feel alive.
I've tried most big MMOS but never Final Fantasy 14 .I guess I could look around for private FF14 servers if I need to pay a subscription I likely wont stay interested for long. I imagine there is a free trial of FF14 tho,I should probably check it out one of these days.
I guess ill see how the launch of New World goes, I can see that being the first MMO I've paid for a sub to in over 5 years.
I love Fraps, but this right here is why I just can't do videos with it! A 1 minute recording is around 1gb; it's crazy! I used to take teeny, tiny videos of random things that happened in games, like funny dialogue and whatnot, and be so disappointed at the filesize. 😅
So glad to hear that you're enjoying the server!! I recently finished my Iron Man Mode character and have started a Nightmare Mode one. Turns out I'm allowed to die in Nightmare Mode. 😅 Such a relief, it is quite difficult!
Because I was playing Iron Man, I wasn't able to get into any dungeons or battlegrounds, but good to hear that the queues popped relatively quickly. The server really is full! Orgrimmar is packed to the brim with people, then when I visited Stormwind on my new character, that too was pretty full, and Shattrath is crowded too.
It's really healthy!
I just tried a dungeon run of Black Fathom depths but we got a stuck in combat bug which wouldn't let me drink to restore mana.
The rest of the group logged and I thought I would see how well I could solo it.I tried one of the huge turtles near the turtle boss and managed to get him down so I figured maybe the turtle boss is solo-able.
I managed to kill it at level 29 , the boss is level 25 elite so I guess with the right spec I could solo some of the dungeons.
This would be a good way to train for the Iron man mode.
Im using the druids regrowth spell, priest renew spell and the shamans healing wave. For mana regen I have the shamans mana totem, water shield and the paladins blessing of wisdom. My main damage spell is the fire mages pyroblast.
I bet if I tweak my gear a little more I could do solo dungeon runs fairly easily.
I was taking on a few elites higher level than me and I wondered if dungeons might be soloable at a reasonable level. That's good to know. 🙂
If soloable, with care, then definitely duo-able with care too! Might try a couple with my partner later.