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Unfortunately, there just aren’t enough upgrade pieces in the game to max out a bunch of different weapons by the end. Even after gathering every single treasure on every single map, there are barely enough pieces to max out two. And with only two weapon slots, that means choosing the right gun is of the utmost importance. Here are the most worthy candidates to be selected for the player’s loadout in The Ascent.
Updated on September 22nd, 2021 by Hodey Johns: With respect to the many gamers who, often correctly, state that the best item is the one that works best for the player, The Ascent is a different game. Some guns are upgrades across the board compared to other guns and, unfortunately, the game doesn’t have a built-in Atlas for players to see when they’re using an inferior weapon. As a result, they might end up fully upgrading an inferior gun and wasting valuable resources they can’t get back. Still, there does need to be some way of accounting for player taste and personal preference. More weapons have been added and a chart in each section should give the player a basic overview.
13 Dismemberer
The Dismemberer lives up to its name. Players might dismiss the weapon due to its lackluster overall damage numbers, but it still has enough to kill most minions in one shot. Oh, and it should be mentioned that the “shot” is a gigantic razor disc that ricochets off of walls.
It’s a great tool for exploring compact secret areas that almost nobody finds. Peek in, fire a disc, reload, peek again, and if anything is still standing (there rarely is) fire again. Impractically speaking, it’s also the weapon of choice for players looking to add a little gore to the game.
12 Blastmaster
Most of the game’s “heavy” weapons leave something to be desired in the “heavy” department. Lots of machine guns, a flamethrower, and some automatic rocket launchers. But, in a tight spot, when players just need one shot to blow up all of the little things, the Blastmaster does the job.
Defeating every boss in the game is a tall order already and most of them come with minions. This is the perfect way of dispatching these minions with a single, violent shot. It’s not recommended for consistent damage because there is only one round in the chamber, but when players just need one shot, this is the launcher to go to.
11 P9000 Roomsweeper
When choosing between long-distance and rate of fire, gamers are playing a dangerous balancing act. With all distance and no fire rate, one or two enemies die and then the Indent is overwhelmed. With all fire rates and no distance, they’re lethal up close but exposed to all kinds of attacks.
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Here comes the P9000 Roomsweeper to save the day. The distance, even with the trigger fully pressed down, is just as accurate as a precision rifle. The firing rate is expected from the SMG that it is modeled after. It’s a great gun for those who need the best of both worlds.
10 ER Chrome Puncher
There are only two precision weapons in the game and, frankly, both options are underwhelming. Fixing their garbage damage might be one of the first of many fixes The Ascent needs.
But between the two precision weapons, there is no contest. The ER Chrome Pounder does more damage per second and it deals energy damage, meaning it’s even better against dreaded robotic units. Snipers in the making will want to consider this and only this gun.
9 P1 Protector
There is nothing fancy about the P1 Protector Pistol. It looks basic, shoots single shots, deals ballistic damage, and behaves like an average pistol in every way except for one seriously major exception.
The damage per second on it is about five to six times higher than all of the other sidearms. Beginners make plenty of mistakes when learning the game, but if they accidentally invest too many points into a sidearm, they won’t regret it so long as it is the P1 Protector Pistol.
8 ES4 Eraser
Shotguns are a great secondary weapon when opponents get too overwhelming. Being able to switch to something that clears them out is handy for virtually every build. The ES4 Eraser is the clear-cut best shotgun, doing roughly double the damage of its competitors.
It also deals that coveted energy damage, taking down tough robotic units with ease. Once players get familiar with how to upgrade weapons, this shotgun is a smart, safe choice thanks to how many bases it covers.
7 Magmamaker
The gaming community has figured out how to fix many of the game’s major bugs, but they’re hoping the developers never catch on to the “bug” with the Magmamaker. If it’s working as intended, then that’s actually quite impressive.
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This flamethrower deals extensive damage immediately, in addition to catching enemies on fire, virtually melting anybody who gets close. Maybe the damage on both fronts was intentional, compensating for the slowness that comes with using heavy weapons. If so, the extra damage is a little bit heavy.
6 Astrosmasher
There is a love/hate relationship players have for The Ascent and nothing perfectly captures this dynamic quite like the Astrosmasher. Players hate the way heavy weapons make the Indent slow, but they can’t argue with the damage.
Statistically, the damage looks low, but the weapon plays differently than the statistics imply. It shoots rockets faster and faster as the trigger is held down, so by the end, the damage is really off the chain. Oh, and it’s a minigun that fires rockets. Awesome.
5 BC7 Disintegrator
Right off the bat, this is the second-highest damage dealer in the game by raw numbers (the first is coming up later). Factor in that this damage is energy and that means that mechanical units will be dropping like flies. Their cohorts won’t fair much better.
It is a minigun, meaning it is cumbersome and slow to carry around, yes, but when enemies are dying this quickly, it’s hard to find many instances when needing to quickly run for cover will be necessary.
4 Besieger
The game’s excessive weaponry tends to be very cumbersome for player movement. In many battles, getting slowed down by a minigun or flamethrower will result in death.
The Besieger is a flat-out upgrade for the base RPG23 Launcher (which is already pretty great). The area of effect damage will clear out enemies and the Indent will still be able to move around fairly well.
3 EBR Enforcer
Machine guns are The Ascent’s bread-and-butter, allowing maximum player movement and permitting them to empty clip after clip against enemy onslaughts. Most of these machine guns behave like clones, but the EBR Enforcer is refreshingly different.
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Aside from the energy damage that ruins machine opponents, this gun fires in three-round homing bursts. This firing mode blends the need to aim well and the need to pump out several shots perfectly. And if that’s not enough, it’s got the second-highest damage in the game for all machine guns.
2 The Dealbreaker
Officially, no weapon deals more damage than the Dealbreaker does. Without any upgrades at all, it is the only weapon that boasts a four-digit damage per second. There are a few asterisks to add.
It’s a minigun, so it’s going to slow down movement substantially. And it fires in a shotgun-style cone, so this DPS likely factors in landing the entire cone. But it’s still incredible because anything remotely close signs its own death warrant, so speedy getaways aren’t necessary.
1 Overwhelmer
It feels like somebody decided that, when they were making the game, there should be one weapon that gets all of the perks. If this is true, the AR Overwhelmer was the recipient of that idea.
It’s a machine gun, so it gets all the usual perks of mobility, range, and speed of firing. But in addition to this, it gets best-of-class damage per second, fire damage, and explosive damage. So not only is the damage ludicrous, but it damages enemies in an area. This is the top dog and unless a major patch comes along, it won’t be giving up its throne anytime soon.
The Ascent was released on July 29th, 2021, and is available on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One.
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