This is a great game, but I keep getting messed up by the final fight. My final ascension always fails. Is it possible to not focus exclusively on tower defense/ascension and also ascend at the end?
Has anyone been able to completely ascend while romancing the angel? Because no matter what I do I can’t get that to happen, in fact I’ve never gotten further than a partial accession, seriously how do you do this?
Thanks.
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I would like to join the Can’t-Romance-the-Angel Club despite many attempts, although in my last playthrough I did put them in a box, so that’s something.
I haven’t fully ascended yet either, but my favorite ending so far is tied between the vitalist route and rejecting ascension to stay with the bard. I really like how even when you fail to ascend there’s still a grand ending you can obtain.
I think next time I’m going to become an alchemist and make an elixir of immortality. 
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This is a great game and the author did a great job on description that vividly paints images in readers’ minds. However, the description on how the world works left a lot to be desired. The passages are so full of magical “jargons” that reading them almost feels like reading a research paper in the field I have little knowledge on. (In the author’s interview, he said that his magical study represents the real-life academia. So I don’t know if this is the author’s intention). I would like to read more about the theory/ inner working of each magical field (and less about its spectacular powers, in which I feel like they’re too much).
Also, many decisions are forced to be made when we don’t know what’s going on. We are forced to choose our magical paths when the only thing I know about them are their names (like… if I want to be a goddess, should I choose Summoning or Prophecy or Alchemy?). We don’t know what’s so good about “ascension” (basically it is near-unlimited knowledge, power, and understanding. But not many readers would understand the desire to become an undead lich or a living continent without knowing about that first. The motive should be clearer). We don’t know the personalities of our possible archmagical peers (before choosing to correspond with them). And… if we choose to reject ascension for whatever (love, protecting the world, etc.), I would like another choice that tells reader about is implication and ask “Do you really mean that?”, since it’s not a decision that is taken lightly.
And… the game’s plot (how the events went on, not the initial premise of you being an archmage who tried to ascend) is cliche, which is acceptable (well, not all game need to have a great twist). But the CoG description “Somewhere in your past lies the key that will unlock your future. Will you uncover the truth in time? And when you do, will you still want to leave the world behind?” and how the game treats naming the nemesis as a great spoiler, though nemesis’s identity is no secret since the 4th chapter. , really make me expect a great twist, like that “maybe my mentor is the real nemesis who wait to steal my ascension, and use that newfound power to destroy the world. My ‘nemesis’ and the old gods know what’ll happen and are trying to protect the world from her somehow, but my ‘nemesis’ misleads me because she doesn’t think I’ll understand. But we, as players, won’t get that bit of information if we can’t dig deep enough or earn her trust.” So… when there is no plot twist at all, it’s pretty disappointing.
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Why isn’t the romanced angel staying with us after we ascend and free her from the Dragon King? It doesn’t make much sense to me.
Other than that, the game was entertaining even if confusing at times.
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Has anyone gotten any of the hidden achievements, I’ve only gotten master of monsters
Plus I think the stat requirement ones are bs, it’s impossible to raise certain ones to 75
A strange mix of brilliance and the slightly confusing. Loved the language and feel, which hearkened back to the fantasy of writers like Jack Vance. Some of the jargon-laden concepts were a bit hard to follow, though. I’m also still a bit baffled as to how you actually raise your ascension score in-game (after three play throughs I have yet to pull off full ascension* without (MILD SPOILERS) taking advantage of a last minute, ruthless option provided players.
Interesting and distinctive but flawed.
————
- Fourth play through and I did pull this off. I’m still a bit unclear about how you progress towards ascension, at least in the early chapters.
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Ascension is pursued by two things: Winning in battle and seeking really arcane lore.
That could have been made clearer, perhaps with a blurb somewhere.
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Thank you! Are you a Choice of Games employee?
-Matthew G.
Choice of Games employees have “CoG Staff” next to their forum usernames.
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Thank you Mary_Duffy.
I’ll take this opportunity to let you know how much I’ve enjoyed Choice of Games’ output. Like the Choose your own Adventure books I grew up on, only smarter and better written!
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Played the game through a few times, got lots of achievements. I like the concepts and worldbuilding, and I also like the style and tone of the story, it has just enough levity to make things interesting. The epilogues are fun and fresh too.
From a gameplay perspective, it seems sort of opaque. I’m still confused about what specific decisions get me towards ascension, or what gain me particular attribute points (and I really don’t know how you could get 75+% in any attribute).
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So I stole the Xiphaigne Scrolls and made the deal with the Dragon King (tbh, I’m not sure how you can have a deal with both Xiphaigne and Dragon King, I’ve tried many times now), and I rejected Ascension. After the final battle, I killed Dumah myself. I didn’t get a chance to steal the throne.
By fail to ascend, do you mean you have to have a partial, incomplete ascension?
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…Huh? If you make a deal with the Dragon King, you shouldn’t need to kill Dumah.
Making the deal means that you pledge yourself to the DK if you don’t ascend, then rejecting ascension. You must have positive compassion for this to work.
Maybe I didn’t do it properly. I thought that making a deal with the DK referred to the part where you contact him and he sends Templars to help defend Harpe.
Nope. Try doing that with a high Compassion and see how you fare…
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Well, I think I got it:
The Dragon King raises one clawed hand to banish you, then hesitates.
“Of course, you need not perish, should you fail in your quest for ascension. You could join Me here. Dumah could welcome you as a brother, instead of destroying you as an abomination. And swearing an oath to Me will allow Me to grant you the power you need, right now.”
Under better circumstances, it would be funny to hear the God of Gods pitch you like a common archdemon, but the offer only shows that the Dragon King is nearly as worried as you.
But then, I got this cryptic message:
XXXXX of Harpe,
Soon you will belong to the Dragon King. This does not make you my enemy, not yet. All of humanity bows to the dragon upon His stolen throne, and even an archmage of your power might be tempted to surrender his will to that awesome power.
But allow me to remind you of an alternative.
The Dragon King’s power is in His throne, and in the treaties He has signed with the coward-gods and traitor-angels whose authority He has supplanted. But with Trothane and the Armageddonists on the move, His treaties are in tatters. His higher angels plot rebellion. That leaves only the throne.
Soon you will find yourself on your knees before the usurper-king of the universe, there upon His stolen throne. I offer you no advice, XXXXX. I only remind you that His greatest power is in the Kalyos Kalyonon, the Throne of Thrones. If He were to step off of it, for any reason, even for a moment, He would be like any other god.
Idrian, Speaker of Llyrit Skel, Lord of the West, Humble Servant of the True and Forsaken Gods
And then this happened. Surprised she showed up even after I stole her scrolls.
“Are you still planning to abase yourself before the Kalyos Kalyonon and serve that ridiculous dragon who claims to rule the universe? What if I could offer you something better?”
You wait, wondering how mad Xiphaigne would be if you sucked her projection into the Staff of Doors. Destroy it, and its power would return to the archdemon, but trap it and she would be missing that fragment of power forever. It would infuriate her…though it would also reveal the Staff’s power to Xiphaigne, who is such a gossip that half the universe would know before the moon fully rose.
“What if I could offer you the Throne of Thrones?” the demon-queen says.
But even after driving the arrow into the Solar Gate…
Heptagrammatica Bonewhite stopped for a moment to study the remains of Venechine the Rubescent, who had vanished trying to find XXXXX’s tower. Apparently she had found it. She picked through the remains for a moment, hunting for anything of arcane value. Finding nothing of consequence, she turned to confront the ruins.
She needed to hurry. The greatest treasures of necromancy awaited her inside.
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Here’s a hint to the stats you need:
I risk everything by ruthlessly driving Ydrette’s green arrow into the Solar Gate and invoking the ritual to seal it, forcing the Dragon King from His throne to deal with me.
Try maxing Compassion and then transcending it.
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Well man, you did it. Thanks so much!
" You have enemies, yes. But you have done it. You have claimed the Throne of Thrones. You have ascended beyond the dreams of Vastrid or Teren the Atomist or the Nomad Bride. The universe is yours.
It was so easy. But you feel other threats all around you, new kinds of apocalyptic plots that you could not imagine, even as an archmage. The Dragon King, you realize, neglected these threats in blind pursuit of His thousand-year plan. You will do better, because you must. You must begin your work and secure the Throne of Thrones.
You recall your surviving spirit-warriors and look out upon Heaven. Your Heaven. And from the Kalyos Kalyonon, you look out upon every corner of the universe–your universe. Others will challenge your dominion, and you must be ready."
I decided to kill the people of Harpe and use their life energy against the Dragon King. I reasoned that without many points in Heavy, I wasn’t strong enough to use the tower as a battering ram. And my stupid allies would probably get cold feet, I wouldn’t be surprised if Dumah, Abrec, and Fyla would betray me outright. Least I have a friendly Golem around.
Guess now I have to get the attribute achievements. And I’ll bet that the second Hidden Achievement is usurping Xiphaigne.
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Anyone have advice on how to get the attribute achievements? Even after stacking all the “Heavy” gains I could find in the code, and then transcending Heavy/Light, I still couldn’t reach 75.
Also, does Transcending count when trying to get the achievement? I looked it up in the code and think it does, but just wanted to be sure.