Tribes: Ascend



Tribes: Ascend is a free-to-play first-person shooter that was developed by Hi-Rez Studios as part of the Tribes franchise. It was unveiled on March 11, 2011 at the Penny Arcade Expo East, and was released on April 12, 2012 for the PC as a digital download. It incorporates many of the series' iconic features such as skiing and jetpacks.

Are you new to Tribes: Ascend or want a quick refresher? Then check out the Beginner's Guide!

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Loadouts
The game uses a freemium payment system where players pay to unlock classes or new class weapons via in-game earned experience points (XP) or purchased Tribes Gold. Currently a player can swap classes at will during respawn or at an inventory station. Upgrades are available for each piece of Class specific Equipment which cost XP. The rate at which experience is earned can be increased by purchasing Boosters or VIP status. Experience can be shared between classes as all Experience goes in to a general pool to be spent.

Players who are unsure about spending credits/XP can now test weapons in the training map Target Practice. Simply select the desired weapon from the Modify Class page and you will equip it no matter what class you are using.

Light

 * Infiltrator
 * Pathfinder
 * Sentinel

Medium

 * Raider
 * Soldier
 * Technician

Heavy

 * Brute
 * Doombringer
 * Juggernaut

Perks
Main article: Perks

Perks are special abilities that are unlocked for all classes. Each class can equip two perks at a time but not every combination is possible because perks are divided into two groups.

Credits
Main Article: Credits

During matches the players can earn credits to spend on Call-Ins or Vehicles. Credits are earned based on damage dealt to Enemy Players and Accolades. At the end of the match players will be shown a Summary screen with their score and accolade accumulation during that match and a performance comparable to other players in the match.

Vehicles

 * Beowulf
 * Grav Cycle
 * Shrike

Voice Game System
Main Article: Voice Game System

One of the most popular ways to communicate in the game is through the VGS, a system of voice commands accessible through the "V" shortcut. You use the list it brings up to press the appropriate keys to send a voice message to your team and the enemy. This is similar to the system used by games like Planetside, Unreal Tournament and the the original Tribes games. In addition the User may also press "T" in game to type in their own message to all players on server, or "Y" to talk only to people on your team.

Game modes and Maps
Currently, Hi-Rez is working on Capture the Flag, Capture and Hold, Team Deathmatch, and Arena game modes. Rabbit was tested during beta but is currently playable on only one custom server. Some maps are traditional Tribes maps with large open spaces and some maps have a more urban feeling.

Tribes: Ascend features a remake of the map Katabatic from Tribes 2 as well as Raindance from Tribes. The map Crossfire is a 'spiritual successor' to a map named Broadside/Blastside in both Tribes and Tribes 2, but at first glance does not appear so.

Team Deathmatch

 * Outskirts
 * Quicksand
 * Sulfur Cove
 * Drydock Night
 * Nightabatic
 * Inferno

Capture the Flag

 * Drydock
 * Crossfire
 * Katabatic
 * Arx Novena
 * Temple Ruins
 * Sunstar
 * Raindance
 * Bella Omega (not currently in rotation)

Capture and Hold

 * Katabatic
 * Raindance
 * Outskirts (Not currently in rotation)

Arena

 * Air Arena
 * Lava Arena
 * Walled In

Mods and Servers
The game will be released without any mods or map making features, however custom servers will be available. According to Hi-Rez COO Todd Harris, those wishing to run a custom server will be able to rent one from Hi-Rez and set their own rules.

Forums

 * Official subforum on HiRezStudios.com
 * AscendElite
 * Bittah.com - Tribes community for Australia & New Zealand
 * Thread on Junkyard