Swedish developer Neon Giant’s debut title, The Ascent, has landed on Windows 10, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, immediately becoming available via Xbox Game Pass upon its release.
Set on the futuristic, cyberpunk world of Veles, you’re plunged into the life of a worker enslaved by The Ascent Group – a powerful corporation that seized control of Veles. After the mysterious fall of The Ascent Group, you must prevent another faction from filling the power vacuum created whilst uncovering the demise of your former owners.
The game comes with single-player, local co-op, and online co-op modes, allowing you to explore the open world with up to four players. In this article, we’ll be walking you through all of the controls for The Ascent on Xbox consoles and PC, with some additional gameplay tips further down.
Xbox controls for The Ascent
| Action | Xbox One and Series X|S Controls |
| Move | (L) |
| Tactical | L3 |
| Aim | (R) |
| Evade | A |
| Crouch | B |
| Cyberdeck: Hack & Ice | Y (Hold) |
| Swap Weapon | Y |
| Interact / Reload | X |
| Augmentation 1 | LB |
| Raise Weapon | LT |
| Augmentation 2 | RB |
| Fire Weapon | RT |
| Mission HUD | Up |
| Call Taxi | Left |
| Map | Down |
| Journal | View |
| Game Menu | Menu |
In this The Ascent controls to guide, the analogue sticks of the controller are shown as (L) and (R), while pressing the analogues in is denoted as L3 and R3. The directional buttons on the D-Pad are listed as Up, Down, Left, and Right.
PC key bind controls for The Ascent
| Action | PC Key Binds |
| Move | W, A, S, D |
| Evade | Spacebar |
| Crouch | Left Ctrl |
| Fire | Left Mouse Click |
| Raise Weapon | Right Mouse Click |
| Reload | R |
| Cyberdeck: Hack & Ice | C (Hold) |
| Tactical | G |
| Swap Weapon | Mouse Wheel Down |
| Augmentation 1 | E |
| Augmentation 2 | Q |
| Interact | F |
| Mission HUD | O |
| Map | M |
| Call Taxi | T |
| Journal Menu | Tab |
| Game Menu | Esc |
How to remap The Ascent controls on PC
If you’re travelling to Veles on PC, you’ll need the default key binds for The Ascent shown above. To remap the key binds to your liking, you need to:
- Press Escape to bring up the menu;
- Click on the Settings option;
- Select the Key Mappings option;
- Select the action that you wish to rebind;
- Enter the key that you want to replace the old bind;
- Exit out of the menu, and your new key bind will be active.
How to get and use experience and skill points The Ascent
You’ll earn experience points, or ‘XP,’ by completing missions, side missions, collecting bounties, and killing enemy units. As you gain XP and complete objectives, you’ll level-up, granting you skill points. These skill points can be spent on the Character tab, enhancing your character’s strength in various ways.
There are four main attributes: Cybernetics, Motorics, Biometrics, and Frame. These four attributes are increased as you spend skill points on the two skills connected to each attribute. The attributes enhance your Augmentations, improving their potency in the field. For example, a high Motorics attribute increases the damage of your Hydraulic Slam Augmentation; you also benefit from high-level Weapon Handling and Aiming skills in this scenario.
How to get and equip better gear in The Ascent
As you progress through the game, you’ll gain access to better weaponry by either defeating powerful enemies, opening chests, or simply buying items from the shop. You can even upgrade the level of your weapons by visiting a Gunsmith and spending components – which can be found as loot on the map.
The weapons in The Ascent can deal different types of damage, so when you’re looking to inflict maximum damage on an opponent, it helps to equip a damage type that they’re weak against. If you’re struggling to tell your enemies apart, you can always check out the ‘Enemies’ tab of the Codex page.
The Armor tab displays your current armour stats against the varying types of damage in the game, and also allows you to change the armour that you have equipped, increasing your defensive capability.
Just like the weapons, varying levels of armour can be found across the map in chests, the shop, or being used by formidable enemies. Your armour is separated into three segments – Head, Torso, and Legs – and will protect you from the four damage types: Physical, Energy, Digital, and Fire. Different types of armour offer more protection against certain damage types than others.
Another bonus to your armour is that it can also boost your attributes, further enhancing your Augmented abilities. Armour equipped to different parts of your body will increase certain attributes. Headgear can increase your Cybernetics. Torso gear can increase Motorics and Frame. Leg gear can increase your Biometrics.
Keep in mind what damage type your armour is protecting you from and which enemies you’re up against, as doing so could give you a vital edge in battle.
How do Augmentations and Mods work in The Ascent
The Augmentation tab is where you’ll be able to view and equip Augmentations and Modules; be warned, though, as changing Augmentations yourself will drain your energy. Instead, visit a Grafter to save energy.
Augmentations will grant you powerful abilities and can work even better if they sync well with your attributes and skills. Modules, on the other hand, will give you passive boosts, and you can also have two of these installed at one time.
From the start of the game, there are a few Augmentations available to buy from the Grafter, with more being added to the shop’s inventory as you progress through the story. Alternatively, you can unlock Augmentations by completing various side missions throughout The Ascent.
Modules can also be purchased from the Grafter and received as rewards from side missions just as Augmentations can, but you can also find Modules hidden in the many chests across the map.
That’s all that you need to know about The Ascent controls for PC and Xbox; it’s time for you to get stuck in and shoot something!
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