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