Overview
Ao Shin's Ascent is the new TFT PvE mode for Set 15 that will be live for the remainder of Patch 15.5 and for all of Patch 15.6. It features two stages of fights that feature two boss fights you must overcome with two or three lives (depending on where you are on your ascent). We're here to give you the lowdown on all the quirks about the mode and how to climb your way to the summit! The quick details:
Each game is between 15-25 minutes. You choose when the fight begins, though, so technically you could just leave it up. Your parents nagging you about "pausing" the game will definitely enjoy this!
You can just leave the game if you don't like your opener. You can also leave it you do like it. It doesn't matter. There are no penalties!
As you play, you will level up your "Journey Tracker," which will provide you with better resources throughout every game of Ao Shin's Ascent that you play. This means that you are expected to struggle until you are level up more. For context, as a Challenger TFT player, I finished my first Summit at level 42 (using only Zoe) -- see if you can beat it!
Guides
There are four free guides: Pantheon, Zoe, Soraka, and Teemo. Each comes with two upgraded versions of them for 12 total guides. There are also two premium guides that require you to purchase to bundle (575 RP for the guides) to use.
Pantheon will slam down onto the board in a spot of your choosing to damage enemies and shield allies
Zoe gives you loot every turn
Soraka provides you with a tanky golem
Teemo makes it so your shops can only roll 1-cost, 2-cost, or 5-cost units
As you progress, each guide also provides you with a different augment to start the game.
We don't recommend Teemo until higher levels -- he's pretty difficult to build a proper comp around once you reach Crest and above on the mountain.
How to Beat Each Level
Approach
This stage is mainly meant to help you learn what the mode is all about -- it should not be particularly challenging.
You have two lives. Once you lose once, you will receive an injection of resources. It should be gold and a champion duplicator, but as it's hard to lose on this stage, I am not positive.
The game will cap around level 6 or 7, which means you want to build around 2-cost and 3-cost units. I recommend Janna (with Veteran Power Up) or Xayah + Bastions. Both of these comps are going to be good options for your entire ascent, especially because the game will provide you with a lot of resources to help you 3-star them.
Slope
This will feel fairly similar to the Approach Stage. You shouldn't need to make too many adjustments.
Crest
This is where it starts to get harder. You'll actually need to roll at different intervals if it looks like your board is going to lose (or if you literally lose). You may lose a few times before you gain enough levels through the Journey Tracker to win.
You want to make 10 gold as soon as possible -- the first couple of rounds against the computer are not difficult, as they won't have items or upgraded units. Your goal is to try to barely win each round so you can maximize your economy.
It's especially okay to use your free rolls and to be aggressive with champion duplicators you receive early.
You don't have to fully send it until you're down to one life, but you'll generally need to spike your board two or three times by rolling -- the first key interval is right before the first boss fight. You generally want to be level 6 for it.
For this stage, Yasuo + 6 bastion could be a strong comp to lean towards. 4 Mentor + Mech could be strong as well if you are able to find Ryze or Jarvan on level 6 or 7. Otherwise lean to the aforementioned 2-cost centric comps.
Crux
Starting with Crux, you should absolutely expect to lose a few times before you are able to win. Apply the above strategies to this stage but with an even bigger emphasis on not fully committing to a rolldown before you are on one life. You will receive a Champion Duplicator that you can use to play around a 4-cost carry.
This means standard level 8 boards like Star Guardian or Sorcerers can find success now -- with all of the gold you'll receive and the free rolls at this point in your Journey, you should be able to push level 8 (even with low gold) thanks to your free rolls. I found some success leveling to 7 to fight the first boss round (especially if I lost a fight and was given more resources).
Starting on this stage, it's going to matter more what bosses and challenges you opt for. Giving opponent weaker 4-cost units like Ashe or Yuumi can make the run much easier.
Summit
On Summit, you'll have 3 lives. This means you can definitely afford to take a loss early so that you can spike later. The more lives you can save until the end, though, the better. Again, you want to wait until you are on one life before fully committing to an all-in.
Most games will end on level 8 here -- it's going to be easiest to play towards a standard level 8 board, which you can find on our comps page here. You can play a reroll comp (like Janna or Kog'Maw) but it can be difficult to both hit the board and push levels to fit in key trait units. This mode seems designed to spike well with comps that can come online in Stage 4, but 3-cost reroll and 2-cost reroll comps often face a power trough in Stage 4.
Ideally, you hit your 4-cost units without needing to use Champion Duplicator on them -- being able to fit a 2-star legendary unit can often be the push you need to actually win the final fight, which is going to be rather difficult until you're able to get more resources from the Journey Tracker.
Final notes
If you want to skip grinding for levels, you can simply purchase levels or buy the big bundle -- no shame in that if you don't have any time!
The way this mode is designed means you are expected to lose a few times before overcoming it. There are recommended levels but you should be able to clear stages before those levels as long as you play some good TFT.
There are a lot of cheese strategies to be discovered in this mode thanks to Journey Tracker giving you a lot of power. One example of a strategy is to restart the game until your opponent gets Hellion -- each little unit spawned counts towards stacking Power Ups (Max Arcana, Singularity, etc.) or stuff like Kai'Sa's passive. This will result in you having a very strong carry by the end of the game (though this will typically mean a 1-cost or 2-cost carry that you reroll).
Just have fun with it! It's not meant to be a try-hard mode, but that doesn't mean it's not hard! Use the space to try some combinations, and take your time between rounds. There's no rush to hit the Fight button!
