By Blackmead · Development milestone:
Six heroes. Four islands. A deck of cards and three friends who all have a plan. Meet Tarnished Crown: Ascent, our standalone co-op roguelike deckbuilder.
The sea has a new invitation
The next boat out of Crownfall has room for four. It also has a deck, which is convenient, because you will need somewhere to stand when the sea beast arrives. Bring your cards. Bring your friends. Try to bring everyone back.
This is Tarnished Crown: Ascent, a standalone roguelike deckbuilder set across the islands of Tarnished Crown. Play solo or in online co-op with up to three friends. Pick a hero, build the deck as you go and choose your road through fights, events and the occasional badly needed rest.
Ascent is a separate game from Faction Wars. The islands will be familiar; the way you fight through them is its own adventure. Watch the demo above, then explore the new Ascent section for the details.
Pick your kind of trouble
Vanguard, Berserker, Ranger, Pyromancer, Cleric and Druid each start with their own deck, passive and weapon. Protect the party, turn lost health into damage, mark a target, burn a line of enemies, heal an ally or let the roots do their work.
Each hero has three mastery paths. Selection opens after your first run, giving later sagas a new starting perk, card swaps and signature card. Then see what the rewards offer you. The opening hand is a direction, not the entire story.
In co-op, everyone plays during the same turn and presses Ready when finished. You can make your move while a friend makes theirs. You can also discover that four separate plans would have benefited from one short conversation.
The next shore is earned
Crownfall, Graskarn, Thrymgard and Cindermaw each have a map to navigate, events to discover and an island lord to face. Pick the road through fights, Champions, Hearths, Ravens and barrows. Consider how much of the party is still standing before choosing the ambitious route.
Between the islands comes the Voyage. Hold the knarr against boarders, then face the Skerry-Back, Hafgufa or Ashcoil at the end of the crossing. The sea is a part of the run, with its own chart and its own objections to your arrival.
There is a rival warband behind you, too. It takes cards you leave on reward screens and brings them to the chase and the gate. That card you did not want may soon want you.
Make the build yours
Carry a weapon and two spares. Repair it, improve it and carve runes at the forge. Work your cards there too: upgrade, remove or reforge them as you shape the deck.
Eleven optional oaths raise the score multiplier by making the journey harder. Sail Unsworn or choose the Crimson Legion, Iron Covenant or Verdant Order, accepting a boon and a bane alongside rival Warcamps and ambushes.
The saga saves automatically, even during a fight. Come back at the start of the turn you left. A long journey should not require clearing an entire evening just to begin it.
Come aboard
Ascent is in development, and its Windows preview is available to download with no signup or approval. Grab the build and installation instructions on the downloads page.
An auto-updater is coming soon. Until then, return there for new builds and compare the version with the number on your title screen. This download is separate from the Faction Wars launcher.
Tell us about the close fights, the confusing turns and the deck that suddenly came together. Six heroes can produce plenty of arguments. We would like to hear yours.