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The Ascent field guide

Masteries, Oaths & Banners

Decide what kind of saga this will be before you set out. Then keep making the build your own along the road.

Three paths for every hero

Mastery selection opens after your first run ends, won or lost. Each hero offers three paths with a perk, card swaps and a signature card, chosen before you begin the next saga.

The mastery sets a direction. The cards you earn, weapons you carry and forge choices you make still matter as the run unfolds.

Mastery screen for the Ranger with three panels: Bow Mastery, Survival Training and Toxins, each listing perks and cards.
Choose a mastery: three paths per hero, each with its own perk, swaps and signature card.

Make an oath. Accept the cost.

Eleven optional oaths add handicaps in exchange for a higher score multiplier. Choose the restrictions you want to take on, rather than assuming every run needs every oath.

Oath selection opens when you reach Graskarn or finish two runs. Read what each oath changes on the selection screen. A higher multiplier means little if the party cannot finish the journey.

Oaths screen with a grid of oath tiles grouped as The Road, The Foes and The Fight, and a score multiplier of x1.82.
Swear oaths: harder runs for a higher score multiplier.

Choose your banner

Sail Unsworn or swear to the Crimson Legion, Iron Covenant or Verdant Order. Joining a banner brings a boon and a bane, with rival Warcamps and ambushes on the road.

Banner selection opens after your first island boss victory. It changes the terms of future runs, alongside your heroes, masteries and oaths.

Faction screen with four panels: Unsworn, Crimson Legion (red banner), Iron Covenant (blue banner) and Verdant Order (green banner).
Swear to a banner: sail Unsworn or join the Crimson Legion, Iron Covenant or Verdant Order.

Start simple, or open every choice

Your first saga begins with the hero choice. The game introduces masteries, oaths and banners as you play so the opening screen does not ask you to learn everything at once.

If you would rather see every option immediately, enable Show all pre-run choices in Settings.

The run tells its story

Your choices accumulate: the deck you built, the equipment you kept, the cards the warband took and the challenges you accepted. The score screen breaks down the saga when it ends.

The game is in development. Use the current build's card and selection screens for exact values as the balance changes.