Ascendance¶
You feel an arcane presence...
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The locations of Mythical and Legendary items are intended to be discovered as you explore the world. If you wish to discover gameplay elements such as unique weapons for yourself, then you should not continue reading this article.
Ascendance is one of 8 Mythical Weapons obtainable in Drehmal: Apotheosis.
Modeled after the moonlight greatswords of the Soulsborne series, Ascendance is a large, heavy sword found at the Moonlight Sanctum, a hidden dungeon in Lorahn'Kahl. Ascendance was utilized in necromantic rituals of the region, having allegedly claimed millions of lives through a necromantic loop.
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Stats | +6 Max Health (+3 Hearts) 50% Knockback Resistance -0.01 Movement Speed 18 Ability Damage 15 Attack Damage 1 Attack Speed |
| Ability | Holy Moonlight: "Press your drop item key to fire an armor-piercing wave of weakening moonlight." Cooldown: 20s |
| Lore | Deep within the flooded caverns of Lorahn'Kahl lies the Moonlight Sanctum, the crux of the Tri-Moon Theocracy's greater machinations. As said by the eidolic whispers, the sanctum was designed to create an endless necromantic loop. This blade was part of that cycle, having killed millions of undead souls. To what ambitious end the sanctum served was known only by its creators. |
| Obtain | Complete the Moonlight Sanctum dungeon, hidden in Lorahn'Kahl. |
Gameplay¶
Ascendance is a heavily NBT-modified netherite sword.
Ascendance is a greatsword, and provides a somewhat less committed approach to the tank-style build that Malevolentia allows. Ascendance gives the player only 50% knockback resistance instead of Malevolentia's full knockback resistance, grants the player 3 bonus hearts, and does not do as much damage. However, it also allows the player to be more mobile, with only a minor movement speed penalty, greater attack speed than its competitor, and a more aggressive special ability.
The sword's special ability, Holy Moonlight, projects a wave of moonlight, which deals damage through armor and weakens enemies in front of the player on contact. The wave also ricochets off of solid blocks, sometimes dealing damage on contact multiple times to the same entity. This ability has a comparably short cooldown, making Ascendance a relatively balanced weapon in terms of the playstyle it encourages.
Late-Game Spoilers: Upgrades
Like the other Mythicals, Ascendance can be upgraded with one of each Fervor Stone at the Soletta, increasing its health, cooldown, and movement speed bonuses. A fully upgraded Ascendance grants the player +10 Max Health (+5 Hearts), has no Movement Speed penalty, and has a special ability cooldown of only 15 seconds.
How to Obtain¶
Ascendance is found at the end of the Moonlight Sanctum dungeon, obtainable by defeating the enemies and solving the puzzle at that location.
For a full dungeon guide, see the main Moonlight Sanctum article.
The Moonlight Sanctum makes use of Elder Guardians ("Dahrkin Negators"), which, as in vanilla Minecraft, curse the player with a mining fatigue status effect. The player must defeat the three Elder Guardians in the sanctum, each housed in a separate tower within the flooded cavern. At this point, a button on a platform near one of the walls can be pressed to lift the magic ward, removing the mining fatigue effect and triggering a dialogue line:
[Ascendant Voice] Elders slain. Magic ward lifted.
The player can then break the glass leading into the room behind this wall, and will find a sign that reads "THE FIRST OF EACH RITE IS THE WAY TO THE LIGHT."
The "rites" referred to here are the Ancient Theocracy Rites, a piece of paper found inside of the fourth tower, in the center of the sanctum. Before lifting the magic ward, this was inaccessible, but the ability to mine means that the player can reach inside the tower by breaking the glass. Inside of the glass is a structure with valuable blocks, hiding a chest with the Ancient Theocracy Rites, which read:
Dahr fahn Lorahn
Ihb fahn Rihelma
Voynath nylsh axh'malrih
Ithlahr harhte
Nari fahn tohsima
Ertahn oul silnar
Puzzle Solution
The 6 arrows on the wall can each point towards one of 8 letters, and there are 6 lines on the piece of paper. If the player turns each arrow in its item frame to point toward the first letter of its respective line in the Ancient Theocracy Rites, spelling out the word "DIVINE," a flooded passageway will open in the ground. Ascendance is found at the end of this tunnel.
Ascendance, as it appears in-game.
Lore¶
The Moonlight Sanctum was a location at the center of the Tri-Moon Theocracy's goals, attempting to use an infinite necromantic loop to generate incredible amounts of energy by repeatedly killing and reviving subjects. Ascendance was a key part of this, as its item description tells us that this weapon was used to kill within this necrotic engine millions of times.