WoW Project Ascension: 7 beginner tips

WoW Project Ascension is a huge and often very confusing game, so we’ve come up with a few beginner tips to help you get started. It’s a World of Warcraft private server that’s been around for quite a few years, and has made its name primarily for its Classless System, as well as its randomizer (Skill Cards). Constantly cooking up interesting ways to approach Blizzard’s classic MMO, there’s so much to see and do in the game.

Some of these may be obvious, or things you might completely miss upon diving into the game, but we want to make sure you don’t overlook these important, beginner tips for WoW Project Ascension.

Beginner tips to help you get started in WoW Project Ascension

1) Learn the difference in the two main servers

WoW Project Ascension has two primary Live servers open: Elune and Area 52. Elune is the Seasonal Server (currently Season 9 as of this writing), and Area 52 is the “Free-Pick” server. That means this is the official classes server. Instead, you have a Hero, and you can pick from all of the class skills that you’d like, within reason, of course.

There are plenty of ways to play on these two servers alone (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Many skills have level requirements in WoW Project Ascension. Sorry, you can’t start picking Death Knight skills as soon as you make your character, that would just be overpowered. The current expansion of both servers is a progressive Burning Crusade experience, but the primary difference is how you gain skills. Free Pick lets you select whatever you want, within reason.

Wildcard is different in Season 9, with players not only receiving random abilities, but a random set of talents as well. This is a turn-off to some players, while others enjoy being able to combine parts of Mystic Enchants in fresh new ways. Personally, I love randomizers, so this is my favorite way to play.

2) Don't overthink your build on your first character

As you can see, there's a lot of potential combinations of skills and talents (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

No matter what server you’re on, don’t overthink your build in WoW Project Ascension. There are endless ways to play, but I would recommend picking a primary stat, and sort of building around that, with skills that make sense.

There are little things though, like you can only have one “Pet” summon out at once. Sorry, you can’t have both a Water Elemental and a Voidwalker out at once. At least, not in any way that I could find. Pick combinations that look fun, or that you think are interesting, instead of trying to min-max the perfect build right out of the gate.

3) Don't be afraid to look into other player's builds

There are plenty of great builds already made by experienced players (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Not everyone wants to cook up an overpowered build in WoW Project Ascension, because it can be a lot of work. Having access to the full suite of class skills can be wildly overwhelming, and it certainly was (and still is) for me. In the Character Advancement tab, there’s an icon called Hero Architect, and I recommend checking it out at least once.

You can see a wide assortment of builds that have been rated by the community, with their difficulty rating, and what role they play in group-related content. You can see the primary stat easily, as well as the Mystic Enchant that they use for the build. You can find these on gear or by fusing them together yourself at Mystic Altars. This can be a great way to find a fresh way to play on a new character.

4) Use the Path to Ascension to learn more about the differences/updates in WoW Project Ascension

If you're new to WoW or Project Ascension in general, this can certainly be useful (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

At Level 8, players unlock the Path to Ascension tab, and it serves primarily as a sort of tutorial for newcomers and returning players alike. It gives you a series of quests and tasks to complete, and explains why it’s necessary to take part in these (what they do for you in-game). Completing these also gives you Marks of Ascension.

You can gain these Marks of Ascension in a variety of ways in-game, and can be used to purchase important items like Scrolls of Fortune, Hands of Fate, Skillcards, Mystic Enchants, and Heirlooms. The Path to Ascension feature wasn’t in the game last time I was active, so it’s a pretty nice addition to the game as a returning player.

5) You don’t have to look far for addons or mods that work with WoW Project Ascension

Just open up the right tab and download the addons that meet your needs (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

One of the harder parts of playing private servers in World of Warcraft is getting the right addons, and WoW Project Ascension has simplified that. All you have to do is load up the launcher, and you can find the addons right there, in the Addons tab.

Then, you just click Download! It’s as simple as that. Whether you want Auto Quest, better bags, or more detailed stats, they’ve got you covered. There are also a few localization mods too (German, Spanish, Chinese) that can be downloaded in the same location. I’m a huge fan of having the addons in one easy-to-find location.

6) Manastorms are a great way to level up in WoW Project Ascension

The Manastorm is a great way to level, alone or in a group (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Manastorms are another thing that was pretty new to me in WoW Project Ascension. It’s a fast-paced, endless dungeon event for one to five players, and it features scaling difficulty and rewards.

You can start doing this at Level 10, and can find it in your Dungeon Finder tab. The deeper you go, the better your rewards, and you can pick up Manastorm Caches, and Marks of Ascension/Mystic Orbs. It’s also easily one of the best ways to level grind a character, if you’re just trying to get stronger.

It’s even better if someone has an Aura of Experience — something you can purchase in-game. And people constantly advertise that they have it, and are looking for a group on social channels. Just look for something like “LF Manastorm have Aura,” and if you get in, you’re good to go!

7) Don't shy away from the chaos of the Wildcard system or the various Challenge Modes

Why not try something fresh and take on a challenge? (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

There are so many incredible ways to play WoW Project Ascension. There’s the Wildcard system, we’ve already mentioned, but there are also tons of Hardcore trials to suit your needs. There are some where you only gain exp from quests (Champion of the People), you can give yourself a Fatigue Bar (Narcolepsy), or have the Vanilla WoW exp gains (Resolute 1x Experience).

There are also Challenges made by players (Trial Architect), and specific Gamemodes you can activate at the start of a new character. These can also grant you fantastic rewards, if you’re looking for something different, in terms of how you play the game. This is just another highlight of this private server, in the many ways you can challenge yourself.

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About the author

Jason is an Esports and Gaming journalist at Sportskeeda holding an amazing 11 years of experience under his belt. Having put out 4000-plus articles and amassing over 12 million reads for Sportskeeda, he is among the company’s most experienced writers. Jason holds a Bachelor's degree in English from UNC Pembroke and was inspired to become a gaming journalist very early on in life after reading Nintendo Power.

Jason is a jack of all trades when it comes to gaming journalism. He’s a key writer in Sportskeeda's MMO department, but he also likes to help out in other categories, like streamers, RPG, card games, and whatever else is needed. A solo gamer at heart, Jason's favorite titles include Earthbound and Dragon Warrior.

Jason places high value on accuracy and relevance in his write-ups. He achieves this with thorough research to sift facts from rumors. One of the biggest highlights of his career is his interview with Canadian pro wrestler Kenny Omega about his inclusion in the Like a Dragon game series. He is also good friends with journalist Kazumo Hashimoto, who he admires for the kind of stories he works on and his deep ethics.

A true cinephile, one of Jason’s primary hobbies involves enjoying cinematic experiences. He also loves reading, be it fiction or manga, when not working. Additionally, he streams on Twitch and posts his gaming insights on YouTube.

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Edited by Jason Parker