Ascend to ZERO News

[h3]Hello, Ascenders![/h3]

A small hotfix has been applied today (April 14) to enhance your gameplay experience.
This patch focuses on improving some usability issues and adjusting game balance.

[h3]⚪ Key Improvements[/h3]

• The visibility of interactive objects in the tutorial section has been improved, allowing for a more intuitive experience.
  
• An issue where skipping the tutorial would progress the game too far has been fixed, and now it starts at a more appropriate point.
  
• Camera angle and movement speed have been adjusted slightly to make movement feel more responsive.
  

[h3]⚪ Balance Adjustments[/h3]

• Stats of monsters up to level 70 have been slightly reduced to ease early-stage combat difficulty.
  
• Certain boss monsters had excessive HP, which has now been adjusted.
  
• In the horde frenzy phase, the excessive level increase of enemies has been corrected for a more reasonable difficulty curve.
  

[h3]We always welcome your feedback![/h3]
Your input is a key part of making this game even better.

Thank you!

- Ascend to ZERO Team

[h3]Hello, Ascenders![/h3]

This April 11 update brings a major content patch!

Following this update, a new high-difficulty mode called Simulation Mode will become available after clearing Stage 1, along with a brand-new avatar and a new item system.

We hope this patch brings you an even more exciting and diverse demo experience!


[h2]⚪ New Avatar[/h2]



A new avatar joins the battlefield! Unlock the new avatar through gameplay and experience a unique playstyle unlike before.

In addition to the new character, exclusive Tech Chips are being added for each of the 4 existing avatars, giving them new and distinct styles of gameplay.

You will acquire one of these avatar-exclusive chips upon entering, so try out their unique mechanics and see which fits your style!


[h2]⚪ New Item System[/h2]



Powerful new items have been added! But remember—you can only equip one of each type.

As mentioned in previous updates, item farming is intended to become a key progression factor in Ascend to ZERO. Try obtaining the following items in the new Simulation Mode, and let us know your feedback!

Alongside the powerful items, a variety of basic items have also been added. While less flashy, these can still prove highly useful depending on the situation—so experiment and make the most of them!


[h2]⚪ Simulation Mode[/h2]



Simulation Mode is here—a new high-difficulty mode where you’ll face much tougher enemies!

Enter Simulation Mode after clearing Stage 1 and test your limits as an Ascender while earning new rewards.

As you progress through this new content, you’ll unlock 4 new gadgets. Combine them in creative ways to expand your arsenal and discover fresh new strategies!


[h2]⚪ Fixes & Improvements[/h2]

In addition to the new content, this patch includes several bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements. The main fixes and improvements included in the April 11 update are as follows.

• The tutorial stage’s layout and cutscene effects have been significantly revamped.
  
• A new option to skip the tutorial and start the game immediately has been added.
  
• Fixed certain UI text that was not properly localized.
  
• The visual state of the Time Machine now changes depending on whether it is repaired or not.
  
• Fixed an issue where the game consumed excessive graphic resources due to a lack of a default frame rate cap.
  

[h3]Play Now![/h3]
store.steampowered.com/app/3279910

Thank you!

- Ascend to ZERO Team

[h3]Hello, Ascenders![/h3]
Are you enjoying the demo version of Ascend to ZERO?

Thanks to your incredible support, our development team is more motivated than ever to create even more content for the game.

We've received a wide range of feedback regarding game balance and content volume, and we’re doing our best to make improvements based on your valuable input.

In this announcement, we’d like to share the current power balance status and our future response plan.



[h2]On Balance After Clearing Stage 1[/h2]


To ensure that players still have opportunities to grow after completing the first stage, we implemented the Horde Berserk mechanic.

However, this system led to a sharp inflation in growth speed, and some players noted that the repetitiveness made gameplay feel tedious over time.

Taking upcoming content into consideration, we are currently working on balancing this mechanic. In future updates, we aim to introduce more engaging growth systems rather than simple inflation-based progression—so please stay tuned for exciting new patches!



[h2]Development Direction & Plans for Items[/h2]


We believe that item farming is essential for long-term enjoyment and progression in Ascend to ZERO, and we're working on improving the systems to make farming more rewarding and fun.

The upcoming patch will introduce new content updates along with a core game system that marks the beginning of unique item farming!



However, during the planning of future content, we discovered that some of the demo-exclusive items were significantly more powerful than expected.

To elaborate, we had intentionally hidden some powerful items in the demo to reduce monotony during repeated playthroughs and to allow players to preview growth mechanics.

That said, we've concluded that these items allow for growth beyond intended limits through repeated looting, which could negatively affect the balance and enjoyment of upcoming farming content.

As a result, the following items will be removed in the next content patch:

• SW Overclock
  
• SW Mind Tool
  
• Brain Bolt
  
• Cutting Gene
  
• Toxic Gene
  
• Overheat Gene
  
• Paralysis Gene
  
• Multidimensional Enhancer
  
• Multidimensional Nano Shield
  
• Multidimensional Core
  

These items will be automatically converted into currency equal to 2 times their dismantling cost.
We sincerely apologize for the unexpected inconvenience and promise to be more careful to prevent such incidents from happening again in the future.


[h2]We Want Your Feedback![/h2]
One of the most valuable aspects of a demo is being able to shape the game together with you—our Ascenders.

Please continue to share your thoughts and feedback on the game's direction through our Steam Community, Discord channel, or player surveys.


store.steampowered.com/app/3279910

We’ll be back soon with an exciting new patch!

Thank you for your continued support!

– Ascend to ZERO Team

[h3]Hello, Ascenders![/h3]


The key fixes and improvements included in the April 4 update are as follows.


[h3]⚪ New Additions[/h3]

• A character-specific tech chip has been added. When entering a stage, you can now select one type of character-specific tech chip.
  
• A level ranking system has been introduced. Check in-game to see how high your maximum level ranks!
  

[h3]⚪ Balance Changes[/h3]

• The attack patterns of level 70 monsters have been adjusted to be slightly easier.
  
• Overall prices of items available in the shop have been reduced.
  
• The selectable stats upon entering via the time machine have been changed.
  

[h3]⚪ Quality of Life Improvements[/h3]

• UI guides for in-game systems that previously lacked sufficient explanation have been enhanced.
  

[h3]⚪ Art & Visual Improvements[/h3]

• The appearance of some NPCs has been improved.
  
• The colors of item drops and gadget drops have been changed to enhance visibility.
  
• The VFX for some characters has been improved, and trails are now displayed correctly.
  
• Visibility has been improved when multiple damage effects appear on the screen.
  

[h3]Play Now![/h3]
store.steampowered.com/app/3279910

Thank you!

- Ascend to ZERO Team

[h3]Hello, Ascenders![/h3]
In this patch, significant optimizations have been applied, greatly improving game performance! Further detailed optimizations for smooth gameplay will continue to be implemented.

The development team is also paying close attention to game balance, and starting with this update, we will continue to provide regular balance patches for an even more exciting experience.


The key fixes and improvements included in the March 28 update are as follows.


[h3]⚪ Balance Changes[/h3]

• The difficulty patterns of the Lv.333 and Lv.570 elite monsters that appear in the early stages have been eased.
  
• Warning indicators have been added to some attacks of the Lv.10800 and Lv.12100 monsters, which previously did not have any warnings.
  
• The health of the Lv.20000 Boss monster has been increased.
  
• The required currency amounts for unlocking avatars and gadgets have been adjusted.
  

[h3]⚪ Quality of Life Improvements[/h3]

• The Pluripotent-Cell item has been changed to a currency and can now be viewed in the HUD.
  
• During tech chip selection, current stats can now be checked.
  
• An indicator has been added to display the type of items.
  
• The location of the Skip button during dialogue and cutscene sequences has been improved.
  

[h3]⚪ Bug Fixes[/h3]

• An issue where the UI sound would not play on some pads has been fixed.
  
• A bug that allowed tech chips to be re-selected in certain situations has been fixed.
  
• An issue where monsters continued to spawn while the feedback and settings windows were open has been fixed.
  

[h3]⚪ Art & Visual Improvements[/h3]

• Background VFX has been improved to be consistently affected by time stop.
  
• The visibility of the monster's rush effect has been improved.
  
• The visibility of VFX when using some gadget skills has been improved.
  
• The visibility of effects when characters are hit has been improved.
  

[h3]⚪ Performance Optimization[/h3]

• An issue where game performance gradually degraded over time has been improved.
  
• Performance issues during battles with many monsters on the field have been improved.
  
• Support for Nvidia DLSS 4 and FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 has been added. Upscaling is automatically applied depending on the device, and detailed settings will be supported in a future patch.
  

[h3]Play Now![/h3]
store.steampowered.com/app/3279910

Thank you!

- Ascend to ZERO Team