Ascension

From TheKolWiki

Ascension becomes available to you once you finish the Naughty Sorceress Quest. To encourage continuation of the game, you may choose to step through a mysterious astral gash and arrive in the even more mysterious world Beyond the Pale. It was implemented on June 9, 2005.

The Basics

• First, you must unequip all of your equipment. You may choose one of your familiars to take with you. If it is equipped with an item, you must unequip it.
• If you have anything for sale in The Flea Market, you cannot ascend until it sells, the listing expires, or you remove the item from sale manually.
• All of your familiars' XP will be reset to 0, and their weights reset to 1.
• While in Valhalla, you cannot access your inventory or receive items from other players. You cannot adventure anywhere, except for the special Valhalla adventures.
• When you want to leave, go to After-After-Life Al in The Valhalladay Inn. He can send you back to the Kingdom, reincarnated as a new character.
• As a reward for ascending, you are entitled to several rewards for defeating The Naughty Sorceress, as well as access to new content depending on the choices you make when talking to Al.

Notes:

• Your first run (i.e., the run you begin on, before you ascend), is considered a no-pathed, normal run without a moon sign or Ronin period.
• When you ascend, any items in your possession are moved to long term storage. The only exceptions are quest items, which are deleted; you must obtain them in your next run.
• After you ascend, only Your Mystical Bookshelf, Your Colossal Closet, Familiar-Gro™ Terrarium, Certificate of Participation, Trophy Case, Quest Log, Telescope, and Advent Calendar remain in your campground. The Ground is always available to new or newly ascended players.

Decisions

• After-After-Life Al provides you with many choices about your next life. You must choose:
  1. A lifestyle (casual, normal, or hardcore)
  2. A class
  3. A gender
  4. Which dietary path you wish to follow in your next life (optional)
  5. A skill to make permanent (see normal or Hardcore for more information)
  6. A moon sign

Familiars

• On ascension, all familiars' experience are reset to 0, and weights are reset to 1. The number of kills stay.
  • A familiar with 0 kills is treated as weighing 0 pounds, for trophy purposes.
• Any equipment on the familiars in your terrarium goes into long term storage, as if it were in your inventory when you ascended.
• Your current familiar goes to Valhalla with you and appears in spirit form. After NS13, the familiar with which you ascend no longer has any impact on gameplay.

Paths

• There are currently four different dietary paths you may choose to take to make the game more challenging. These are voluntary restrictions on the items you may consume.
  1. Normal (No Path) -- No restrictions on what you may consume.
  2. Teetotaler -- May eat food and drink non-alcoholic drinks, but may not consume booze.
  3. Boozetafarian -- May drink booze but may not eat food (or drink non-alcoholic beverages).
  4. Oxygenarian -- May not consume any food or drink.
• By taking a voluntary restricted path, you are entitled to an extra reward depending on the difficulty of the path.
• The reward for completing the Deep Fat Friars' Gate Quest varies depending on which path you select.
• You cannot inadvertently violate a path; the game will prevent you from taking any action that would do so.
• At any stage throughout the game, you may choose to drop your dietary path and resume a no-path Ascension with an option in your account menu. Doing so forfeits the reward for completing the pathed Ascension, as well as the path-specific reward and skill from the Azazel, Ma Belle quest and the ability to access the item in the current ascension
• Once you have freed the King at the end of the Naughty Sorceress Quest, all dietary restrictions are lifted without penalty (i.e., you still receive the same prize at the end).

Casual Difficulty

A casual incarnation means you'll be able to play through the game again with full access to the Meat and items you acquired in your last life. There are also no restrictions on your interactions with other players. However, you won't be eligible for any Ascension leaderboards or get to keep a skill for your next incarnation. Casual runs do count for all currently known trophies (except those listed as requiring a specific type of Ascension, such as the Golden Meat Stack).

Normal Difficulty

• Unless you elect to take Hardcore, this will be the option you automatically select when ascending.
• Normal (or "softcore" as it is unofficially referred to) difficulty runs are practically the same as the casual run, with the exception of the Ronin phase.
• Ronin lasts one thousand adventures; while in Ronin, you cannot...
  1. Withdraw more than 20 items or 20,000 Meat per day from long term storage. You can mix the two; each item pulled reduces the amount of Meat you may pull by one thousand, and each one thousand Meat pulled removes one possible item pull. Meat can only be pulled in blocks of 1,000.
  2. Receive items, buffs or Meat from other players. You may receive items and Meat in gift boxes, but you cannot open them until you have finished Ronin.
  3. Trade any items with other players.
  4. Withdraw any items from your Clan Stash.
  5. Purchase any items from the Mall of Loathing or the Flea Market.
  6. PvP for anything other than pretty flowers or rank.
  7. Withdraw anything from your Display Case.
  8. Collect Meat from A Potted Meat Bush, A Potted Meat Tree, or An Exotic Hanging Meat Orchid in your Clan Rumpus Room.
  9. Receive extra adventures at rollover if your clan has An Inspirational Desk Calendar, Calendar of Loathing or A Shelf of Self-Help Books in the Clan Rumpus Room.
• During Ronin, you may still receive Mr. Accessories through donations.
• After the Ronin phase is complete, all restrictions are lifted and normal play is resumed.
• Unlike dietary pathed runs, if you manage to complete the Naughty Sorceress Quest within the 1,000-turn Ronin phase, and free King Ralph, all restrictions still apply until you have used all 1,000 turns of Ronin.
• After each normal Ascension, you are able to select a skill to keep as a regular permanent. This skill will become available for you to use in every future non-Hardcore Ascension.

See also

• Ascension Strategy

Hardcore Difficulty

• This option is a much harder version of the game, in which many restrictions are placed on the character. However, completion of a Hardcore Ascension results in much greater rewards.
• While in Hardcore, you cannot...
  1. Withdraw any items or Meat from long term storage. Mr. Accessories can be "withdrawn" by clicking the link at the bottom of Mr. Store; however, you still may not equip Mr. Accessories during Hardcore, and can only use them to purchase items from the Mr. Store.
  2. Receive items, buffs or Meat from other players. You may receive items and Meat in gift boxes, but you cannot open them until you are no longer under Hardcore restrictions.
  3. Trade any items with other players:

     That player cannot receive Meat or items from other players right now. If you want to send them something to open later, try The Gift Shop in Market Square.

  4. Withdraw any items from your Clan Stash:

     You can't take items from the stash while you're in Hardcore mode.

  5. Purchase any items from the Mall of Loathing or the Flea Market (including buying a store in the mall):

     You can't buy items at the Mall while you're in Hardcore mode.

  6. Buy or sell items at The Flea Market:

     You may not use the Flea Market in hardcore mode.

     You can't sell items at the Flea Market while you're in Hardcore mode.

  7. PvP any non-Hardcore players.
  8. PvP for anything other than pretty flowers or rank.
  9. Collect Meat from A Potted Meat Bush, A Potted Meat Tree, or An Exotic Hanging Meat Orchid in your Clan Rumpus Room.
  10. Receive extra adventures at rollover if your clan has An Inspirational Desk Calendar, Calendar of Loathing or A Collection of Self-Help Books in the Clan Rumpus Room.
• Like dietary paths, Hardcore may be dropped through your account menu. If you are on a path, you do not have to drop the path to drop Hardcore. If you drop Hardcore before you have played 1,000 turns, you will still be subject to Ronin restrictions until that phase expires.
• Warning! To prove that you accomplished the trophy tasks while Hardcore restrictions were in effect, you must purchase the Gourdcore or Golden Meat Stack trophy before freeing King Ralph XI. If you do not, you will not be able to obtain the trophy without repeating the process in a new run.
• After you complete the Naughty Sorceress Quest and free King Ralph, all restrictions that apply only to Hardcore are lifted without penalty (except for non-Hardcore-permanent skills, which do not become usable until you begin a new non-Hardcore run or buy them again during Hardcore). Normal restrictions still apply, so if you manage to complete Hardcore in under 1,000 turns, you will still be subject to Ronin restrictions until that phase expires.
• After each Hardcore Ascension, you are able to select a skill to keep as a Hardcore permanent (HP). This skill will become available for you to use in every Ascension (Normal or Hardcore) you carry out from then on.
  • Warning! This skill must be chosen from the skills gained or purchased on this run. You do not regain use of skills you have kept as Normal permanent after freeing King Ralph XI, and hence you cannot select any of those skills to keep as a Hardcore permanent when you next ascend. If you have made Pulverize (for example) a permanent skill on a non-Hardcore run, you must still complete a Hardcore Ascension as a Seal Clubber and repurchase the skill in order to make it a Hardcore permanent. However, you may free King Ralph XI and lift Hardcore restrictions before purchasing the skill that you want to make permanent.

See also

• Hardcore
• Hardcore Strategy

Bad Moon

Bad Moon is a special Hardcore Ascension type, appearing on one's character sheet and Ascension history as a special moon sign. In order to access it, the previous run must have been Hardcore within NS13 and must not have used any ten-leaf clovers. Instead of receiving a disassembled clover and rewards from one's previous Ascension, players instead receive a big rock and a smoldering box (containing their rewards). Previously acquired permanent skills are not accessible, and the player begins without a terrarium, requiring all desired familiars to be re-earned. In addition, various "unlucky" things will happen to the adventurer in certain places during the run.

The message you get immediately upon ascending (in a results box above Valhalla) from a 100% Black Cat Bad Moon run is:

By completing a 100% Black Cat Bad Moon run, you have permanently unlocked the Bad Moon sign for your character.

Rewards

Normal

• Every player who completes a normal Ascension receives an upgraded normal difficulty ascension tattoo, unless they have already previously completed twelve or more normal Ascensions.
• Upon beginning a new Ascension, a player receives a disassembled clover and either a baconstone, hamethyst or porquoise gem. The gem you receive is randomly selected.
  
• For completing a voluntary dietary path, adventurers receive additional bonuses:
  1. Teetotalers receive a single Retenez L'Herbe Paté.
  2. Boozetafarians receive a single bottle of single-barrel whiskey.
  3. Oxygenarians receive a single can of Breathetastic™ Premium Canned Air.

Hardcore

• Every player who completes a Hardcore Ascension receives an upgraded Hardcore difficulty ascension tattoo, unless they have already previously completed twelve or more Hardcore Ascensions.
• Upon the beginning of a new Ascension, a player receives a disassembled clover and a pork elf goodies sack.
  
• For completing a voluntary dietary path, adventurers receive additional bonuses:
  1. Teetotalers receive three tins of Retenez L'Herbe Paté.
  2. Boozetafarians receive three bottles of single-barrel whiskey.
  3. Oxygenarians see "Hardcore Oxygenarian," below.

• As an additional reward for ascending Hardcore, players receive an animated tattoo of their previous class.
• Each player also receives a stainless steel item of their previous class.

Hardcore Oxygenarian

• For ascending in this challenging path, Hardcore oxygenarians (also called OxyCore or HCO) are entitled to extra rewards.
• Oxygenarians receive three cans of Breathetastic™ Premium Canned Air.
• They also receive an especially sparkling, animated class tattoo.
• Rather than obtaining a stainless steel item of their previous class, oxygenarians receive a plexiglass item.

Bad Moon

• Instead of a stainless steel item, characters that complete a Bad Moon run get a Brimstone item specific to their previous class.

Other

• Your name, ID number, and number of turns played will be retained, as will Tattoos and Trophies. There are also new counters that track number of completed Ascensions and turns played this Ascension. You'll accumulate the normal class tattoos from every class you ascend into, so it is possible to collect all the class tattoos on one character (and, if you wish, all of the Hardcore class tattoos).
• All quest statuses and your stats are reset on ascension. Any quest items you have will be deleted.
• You can only ascend after completing all Council of Loathing quests, as they are prerequisites to opening the Naughty Sorceress Quest.
• Campground furnishings disappear and must be re-obtained, as described at the beginning of the article.
• Your PvP hippy stone is reset along with ranking, but your win/loss ratio will remain until you manually repair your hippy stone.
• If you have access to Hobopolis, you will be sent back to the beginning of A Maze of Sewer Tunnels.
• Most counters for food and booze will remain, including those for trophies, e.g., herb brownies and white Canadian consumption.
• Clan membership, leadership and karma are unaffected by Ascension.
• Your store persists through Ascension. You will be able to add items and adjust the prices of items in your store when in Hardcore/Ronin, but you may not remove items. Any Meat earned from the store enters Hagnk's Ancestral Mini-Storage, and is subject to standard Hardcore or Ronin restrictions if you wish to remove it from storage.
• You can still chat normally, and send clan messages and kmail, as long as there aren't Meat/items attached.
• After ascending, you will start your next incarnation with exactly 40 adventures, no matter how many you had left before ascending. Note that you do not need to have at least one adventure remaining, but you may not be falling-down drunk, in order to rescue the King (after defeating the Sorceress, and before ascending). You can actually ascend while drunk and with no adventures.
• Note that beating the Sorceress is not the same as freeing King Ralph XI, and that you must still be level 13 or higher (as of NS13) before you can muster the ability to smash the prism in which he is entrapped. After you have smashed the prism, you may lower your level without repercussions.

One Time

As you play the game, you will encounter a number of adventures, item drops, quests, and the like that are described as "one time". What this actually means is that the adventure, item drop, etc. will occur once during the course of a single Ascension. Once you complete an Ascension, the "one-time" adventures, etc., will all be available all over again. Some "one time" examples are the Spirit of the Dolphin King adventure, the Boss Bat bandana item drop, and Doc Galaktik's Quest for Herbs. There are some exceptions -- some things really are one time only, as described below.

Really, Really One Time

As described above, most "one-time" experiences in fact recur from ascension to ascension. There are, however, some adventures, items, and quests that really are one time only. Once you experience or acquire or complete them, you can never again experience them again, no matter how many times you ascend. These things generally pertain to "newbhood" and to gaining access to chat channels, and include:

• The Toot Oriole Quest and its item drops and rewards (except, bizarrely, the pile of shiny pebbles):
  • action figure body
  • action figure head
  • bowl of oriole's nest soup
  • bunny liver
  • Certificate of Participation
  • Mighty Bjorn action figure
  • Mt. Noob Pale Ale
  • oriole-feather headdress (formerly)
• Chat Channel access:
  • Passing the The Altar of Literacy test to gain chat access.
  • Passing the Most Extreme Haiku Challenge to gain access to the haiku channel.
  • Buying a KWE-brand transistor radio to gain access to the kwe channel.
  • Using a 'Villa' document to gain access to the villa channel.
  • Completing your first Ascension allows you to gain access to the valhalla channel.
  • Completing your first Hardcore Ascension allows you to gain access to the Hardcore channel.
• Trophies and Tattoos are permanent and do not have to be re-earned each Ascension.

Noobspheres

Some aspects of the game are affected by the number of Ascensions you have:

• The amount of ten-leaf clovers from The Hermitage
• The Naughty Sorceress and Baron Von Ratsworth's Attack and Defense
• The Naughty Sorceress's familiar debuff
• The number of items available at The Gift Shop
• The chance of getting The Manor in Which You're Accustomed
• Adventure Version
  • drunken half-orc hobo / hung-over half-orc hobo
  • flame-broiled meat blob / overdone flame-broiled meat blob
  • Goomba / Buzzy Beetle
  • Hammer Time
  • The Hole in the Sky monsters
  • Knob Goblin dilemma
  • Knob Goblin Thief
  • The Singing Tree (Meditate)
• Availability
  • Anything related to moon signs
  • box of sunshine
  • A Battlefield / A Small, Bright Light when you are level 4 or 5
  • The Mall of Loathing if you are under level 5 and out of Ronin

References

• Ronin means "wandering person" or a samurai who has lost their master.

See Also

• The Official Ascension FAQ
• Ascension Aids
• Ascension Strategy
• Hardcore Strategy