Ascenders

ASCENDERS

Background

Ascenders combines a story-driven open world with a fully decentralized,

player-driven crypto economy to deliver a totally new ARPG experience. The

Ascenders ecosystem is complex, with lots of opportunities for trade, cooperation, and competition.

Players drive an emergent economy: players craft all NFT gear and weapons, build cities on NFT lands, and band together to create powerful guilds. There are a variety of ‘play-and-earn’ roles a player can specialize in, each with its own resources, challenges, and economic loops. Player decisions can make permanent changes to the world itself.

Player created. Player driven. Player owned.

Blockchain

Ascenders is built on the Avalanche network, and is proud to be one of the first games to leverage the power and flexibility of Avalanche Subnets.

Built on an Avalanche Subnet, third-party developers can extend the economy by developing their own GameFi features for the Ascenders platform - creating a deep and ever-growing emergent sandbox economy.

This new technology is optimal for GameFi, as subnets leverage the existing security and ecosystem of the Avalanche Network while providing an approximate 80% reduction in gas costs for users when compared to operating on the Avalanche C-Chain.

Introduction - CALLING ON ALL ASCENDERS!

Your boldness, wonder, and drive to discover have all led you to this moment. An unbridled opportunity to become an active part of a thriving and exciting future of your making.

Welcome to the world of Ascenders!

Ascenders is an original AAA multiplayer open-world Action RPG that brings forward influences from Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Eve Online, forges them into a fresh and stunning immersive experience and catapults them into the dynamic crypto gaming scene. The result is a new multi-platform science-fantasy world filled with danger, adventure, and exotic horizons – all to

be explored and mastered.

GAME HIGH LEVEL

Set in the not-so-distant future, Ascenders takes place on the shores of a teeming and enigmatic alien world, just after human explorers have unexpectedly been marooned there while attempting the first wormhole

jump.

With no going back, we are thrust into this beautiful and unfamiliar landscape – dubbed “Ascension”. This expansive world is ours now, with all of its vast riches, unknown dangers, and deeply-held secrets. We must explore it –

in this stunning third-person RPG - if we are to survive.

From here, the journey and the world calls to us. Strike out into the unknown! Establish your settlement! Weave your own path and legacy in the tapestry of human experience!

Scavenge and craft gear as you rise to notoriety while selling your old equipment on the market for the next generation to use. Cultivate and grow others alongside you in an economy that is fully in players’ hands.

Explore! Enhance! Expand! Dive into the Remnants of ancient alien civilizations and unlock their secrets. Lay the foundations of a new metropolis. Become the hand that steers its destiny into future glory.

The Game

Story Brief - IT WAS THE DAWNING OF A GREAT NEW AGE FOR HUMANITY: THE FIRST ATTEMPT TO EXPAND INTO A NEW GALAXY USING WORMHOLE TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY.

In the beginning, scientists and cosmologists selected what they believed to be the perfect planet – fertile ground for the seed of mankind to flourish. It was then up to the engineers and astrophysicists to find a way to get there.

By creating and harnessing the power of an artificial wormhole, it was believed that the 27 million years it would normally take to traverse

the vastness of space would be dramatically reduced. It was the perfect solution.

You – and a collection of the boldest and bravest – would be among the first to board the specially-crafted Seedships to make the leap to the distant galaxy.

It should have all worked perfectly, but something has gone horribly wrong.

Instead of the soft voice of the ship’s A.I, you suddenly wake to hear the sound of warning klaxons. Instead of a fertile and welcoming world, you find yourself not just off course – but off the map of the known universe, gazing

at a totally unknown and alien planet. And worse, with no communication possible with earth, and your malfunctioning Seedship locked in this mysterious planet’s gravitational pull, you have no choice but to land.

Scans also reveal you are not the first ones here. Many crash sites and ancient ruins tell the story of others who met similar fates – as if you have all been drawn here somehow. To a supernatural flytrap, isolated from the rest of

the galaxies, with no way back home. What is this place?

Surrounded now by the mysterious and beautiful alien landscapes on an often-hostile world, you dub this planet “Ascension” as you

take on a new mission: You will succeed where others have failed.

You will rise above where others have fallen. And you will thrive where others have been forgotten. You. Will. Ascend.

Main Story

Although you didn’t end up where you expected and your Seedship is now in need of repairs, that doesn’t mean that you are stranded on this planet without a purpose. And while Ascension is a very dangerous place, it is also a world of beauty, wonder, and secrets. Exploration is a fundamental part of

the experience. It also has a compelling main storyline through which players can progress through the narrative and dig into this world’s many mysteries, hidden places, and deeper conjectures.

Side Missions

Ascension is a dangerous world where everyone and everything is trying to survive. The stakes are high! You will find plenty of beings that need your assistance. A wide range of side missions will be available that take you on smaller adventures and unique story vignettes for extra rewards. Side missions can be found both in local settlements or the overworld, so keep your eyes peeled as you traverse the planet!

Completing these side missions will not only help the Seedships grow but can also improve your standings with Outposts and local communities found around the world.

Intro To Heroes

As one of the first Ascenders to land on the planet, you are among the true Heroes of Humanity! Take control over one hero at a time from an epic cast of characters available to you.

Starting out, you get a set of heroes with different attributes that you can improve. Expand your selection through the Seedships by acquiring new heroes on the marketplace to form the strongest team on Ascension.

Heroes can grow in power and skill by completing more activities, which means you can control what tools and physique they can develop for the tasks at hand.

Important Areas

Ascension is a massive world brimming with exotic locations and untold

secrets. Your success and survival both rely on your ability to explore

and reveal them. This is not an easy task. The world presents challenges

everywhere you go and does not give up its secrets easily. Ascension has

a long and shrouded history, and only the most heroic Ascenders can

uncover the clues that surround them, determine their meaning, and

ultimately expose the truth of the world.

SeedShip

Your Seedships serve as the center of your new city, and a base of

operations to work from. At each Seedship, you can convene with other

players to craft, trade, and use any of the other facilities it provides. It also

offers basic starter equipment for any new Ascender.

The Seedships took significant damage from the wormhole jump. After

the rough landing, the ships are in dire need of repairs and support.

You play a vital role in eventually developing the area from its humble

beginnings into a bustling and lively cityscape. If you can improve the

Seedships, and the city as a whole, you may rise to success as one of the

most prominent civilizations of Ascension!

Enemies on Ascension

From alien colonies, fallen to madness and picking up arms to battle you

over the scraps of decaying civilizations, to corrupted automated defense

systems preventing you from entering alien crash sites, and predatory

beasts that stalk you in the jungle undergrowth, Ascension is teeming

with a wide array of different dangers that threaten your survival at every

turn.

Because each enemy challenges you differently, you must use your skills

to adapt to each specific enemy.

Thankfully, not every creature you meet works for your downfall. There

are also other survivors and colonies on Ascension still trying to survive

and take control as the dominant species. You may challenge them for

the resources needed to survive, or perhaps work towards an alliance and

mutual dependency. The choice is yours!

Ascender's Economy

Ascenders has rebuilt the RPG economy from the ground up around the power and flexibility of DeFi.

The Ascenders economy is not some traditional RPG with a few NFTs thrown in - Ascenders reimagines what a multiplayer RPG economy would look like if fully decentralized, and built entirely around DeFi concepts. All items are created by players, at player-managed smitheries, on player-owned land. In-game guilds grant membership via their own guild tokens. Players

don’t buy resources from a game developer, they trade for them at a global marketplace. The DAO actively balances the economy.

From this comes a dynamic, player-created ecosystem - over time growing from a seed to a world-spanning civilization.

Player Lanes

There are many ways to participate in the economy, each with its own resources, loops, and strategies. Each of these “lanes’’ isn’t sustainable all by itself. Each contains only a part of the resources and rewards required

for success in Ascenders; and where these player lanes intersect new opportunities for trade are created. No matter what type of player you are, there is a role for you in Ascenders.

Explorers

Explorers play the story, complete quests, and explore the massive open world in search of resources only found in the wild. Many of these are only available in hard-to-reach places, making them valuable

commodities. Adventuring is hard work though, and the far reaches of Ascension are extremely dangerous. Explorers will need to know the terrain, where and when necessary resources can be found, and keep their eyes

on the events calendar to survive - much less succeed. Of course, the truly successful Explorer will always be studying the marketplace to take advantage of a missing niche at just the right moment. Many stories

of Explorer fortunes won and discoveries made will be told in grandiose Guild Halls.

Fighters

Fighters ready themselves to take on the hardest Remnants and defeat the biggest bosses. Success depends on choosing the right specialization for the right fight, and planning ahead to assemble the right loadout and the strongest teams. Fighters must study the enemy, hone their skills, and then start crafting or start scouring the marketplace for the perfect build with which to conquer the leaderboards!

Builders

Builders play the long game, making investments in buildings and tech trees that permanently change the economy and the world itself. Every item in the game is made at a smithery they build, every trade is done at one of their trade halls, and every ore is refined at one of their refineries. Playing the markets takes hard work and a lot of research, but the rewards are great.

Ascenders understands that there are many kinds of players in the world, and each likes to interact with a game in their own way. Player lanes are not prescribed, and any player can explore or fight or build as they like. However,

as in any economy, players are more likely to succeed when they specialize in a lane and rely on others to supply the resources they are missing.

Lanes represent different economy loops a player can specialize in. To craft gear requires inputs from each lane - resources found in the overworld by Explorers, resources won in Remnants by Fighters, crafted together

at a Builder’s smithery. The smitheries themselves were crafted from a mix of

Explorer and Fighter resources. Player lanes are reliant on each other, which creates a high-velocity economy with lots of trading between lanes. The more active the trading, the healthier the economy. This is good for the long-term health and sustainability of the Ascenders ecosystem and generates fees

that support long-term game development and the Ascenders DAO.

Ascenders also has room for non-crypto players. They can collect Common Resources, craft non-NFT weapons, armor, and play through the story campaign. Over time, as they interact with interesting GameFi systems, many of these players will become crypto players.

Marketplace

Ascenders features a full function marketplace, at which players can trade

almost everything in the game. Players choose what to list on the marketplace and can set their own fixed denomination asking price within a range.

• Common Resources can be traded for Resource Chips.

• Trade Premium Resources for GG.

• Trade GG for Ascenders NFTs.

Ascenders NFTs and Premium Resources can be traded in-game at a global marketplace, with plenty of gameplay-related categories and personalized suggestions based on player profile to help players immediately find what they are looking for. All trades of Ascenders NFTs are subject to a 5%

transaction fee payable to the Ascenders DAO, with an additional 2% for trades on the in-game marketplace payable to the Ascenders DAO.

Ascenders Bank

In-game banks allow players to lend and borrow Premium Resources. Players can use the bank in the following ways:

• Players with a surplus of Premium Resources can deposit them at the bank, and earn additional Premium Resources as interest.

• For players who need a specific Premium Resource to complete an item or structure build, he/she can go to the bank and borrow what they need using AGC deposit as collateral. Borrowers repay their Premium Resource loan with interest, which is shared among player lenders.

• Players who see a temporary market opportunity - such as a good bounty or event weapon - can borrow the resources they need and pay it back later.

• Opportunistic players can borrow Premium Resources that he/she is bearish on and sell it in the DEX and purchase the Premium Resources at a later date and return it to the bank.

Third Party Applications

Because Ascenders is built on Avalanche Subnets, third-party developers can develop their own DeFi dapps for the Ascenders platform. These external dapps can run natively in-game, delivering all-new GameFi features to create a deep and ever-growing emergent sandbox economy.

If it is DeFi, it can be built to run within Ascenders platform, including:

• An NFT marketplace.

• Decentralized exchange.

• NFT lending.

• NFT fractionalization.

• Guild management tools for Web3 guilds.

• Crypto derivatives for in-game resources. E.g.: players may own land that produces a rare Premium Resource, and wish to lock in its price by shorting it on the derivative market.

Tokenomics

$AGC GOVERNANCE TOKEN

ASCENDERS FEATURES A NEW GAMEFI MODEL: A DUAL TOKEN ECONOMY OF A GOVERNANCE TOKEN (ASCENDERS GOVERNANCE COUNCIL) AND A CURRENCY TOKEN (GLOW GEMS), SUPPORTED

BY A THIRD NON-CRYPTO, IN-GAME ONLY CURRENCY (RESOURCE CHIPS).

The Ascenders Governance Council (AGC) is more than a governance token, AGC is core to the Ascenders ecosystem. The AGC tokens can be used for:

• Governance over in-game balance through veAGC mechanism.

• Staking for token rewards & exclusive drops.

• Founding and upgrading player Guilds

• Purchase high flex cosmetic items.

• Season Pass style in-game rewards, including tokens and rare NFTs.

• Access to VIP tournaments and events.

• Subnet transaction fees

AGC is not earned in-game. A total supply is fixed at 1 billion AGC, with lifetime distributions defined at minting, unless revised via governance proposal.

AGC STAKING

AGC can be staked to several pools for rewards. Duration is flexible: the longer the lock duration, the higher the number of rewards received. In addition to staking APY rewards, there are lots of optional incentives

and surprise rewards - including Ascenders NFT lands and heroes!

VEAGC MECHANISM

Users can also stake AGC to receive non-transferable veAGC (vote-escrowed AGC) tokens over time. Holding veAGC grants holders additional votes within the Ascenders DAO. The longer the AGC is staked, the more

veAGC acquired, the more the staker’s vote weight is increased. Holding veAGC also provides other benefits, including increased AGC staking APY. Un-staking AGC causes all accrued veAGC to be lost.

THE ASCENDERS SEASON PASS

Players who stake AGC tokens also receive in-game rewards via the Ascenders Season Pass. This pass is not a token, and cannot be sold or traded. The Season Pass is active as long as the player is staking the minimum amount for the minimum duration - for example staking 1,000 AGC for 12 months. The dollar amount required to be staked will be comparable to purchasing a Season Pass for a traditional game.

The Season Pass provides three main ways to improve earnings while active:

• A series of quests and challenges, with rewards at each level. Rewards include common and premium resources, limited-edition cosmetic NFTs, GG tokens, and powerful weapons and Armor NFTs.

• Tournament rewards are greatly increased, with valuable rewards for top players - including for the top players, NFT land.

• Access to exclusive content, like valuable Season-Pass-only bounties with token or NFT rewards.

The Season Pass has 4 reward tiers, each with increasingly valuable rewards. Staking the minimum amount of AGC for the minimum duration activates Tier 1 Season Pass, for base level rewards. Larger stakes and longer durations will activate higher Season Pass tiers - further increasing the in-game

rewards earned while playing. Other ways to gain Season Pass tiers include holding NFTs marked with a Season Pass trait, including Genesis Hero NFTs and Genesis Land NFTs. Some of the most valuable NFT rewards in

the entire Ascenders ecosystem are found in the highest tier Season Pass!

AGC AS IN-GAME CURRENCY

Players can mint NFTs by using Resource Chips and Glow Gem tokens, but when they desire uniqueness in their NFTs, AGC tokens will be used. Some marketplaces and upgrades can only be purchased with AGC - including the rarest cosmetic items and high flex skins for buildings and Guild Halls. These upgrades will not only be just for cosmetics but also have social value. Ascenders will continually add new cosmetic items, often in partnership with new artists and external NFT creators, with the goal to make AGC the bridge between Ascenders and the wider crypto metaverse.

AGC AS GAS TOKEN

The Ascenders platform is built on an Avalanche Subnet, subnet transaction fees can be denominated in AGC. Fee proceeds are divided between subnet validators and the Ascenders DAO treasury. A gas fee AGC token burn mechanism is being considered.

AGC TOKEN BURN

The system is designed to absorb sell pressure from players wishing to realize their in-game earnings. The funds used for token repurchase come from a portion of the game revenues shared with the DAO treasury. The system responds to market conditions by acquiring AGC and performing burn operations as necessary, creating a healthy deflationary pressure in token

supply.

According to the need of a specific situation and stage in game lifecycle, the tokens will be purchased either through open market operations on DEXs, or through a bespoke fair value inverse bond mechanism offered directly to the players.

Conclusion

Ascenders brings together the latest in both blockchain and game technology - pairing the flexibility of Avalanche subnets with the power of the latest Unreal 5 engine to create a state of the art, open-world GameFi ARPG. Players explore the massive world, complete a full length story campaign, and from empty lands grow sprawling cities full of life and commerce. Players of all types can find a niche in the dynamic ecosystem, expanded over time with new content releases and 3rd party dapps. The combination of technologies and creative, experienced game developers comes together to create a gameplay experience unlike any other - a living, growing world. Player driven, player owned.