There are few games -- let alone multiplayer first-person shooters -- to which the phrase "There's really nothing else like it out there" can be applied. Its own ancestors aside, however, Tribes: Ascend is more than deserving. Even so, all was not well when last we donned our Blood Eagle armor and learned to communicate entirely in minor variations on the phrase "Shazbot." Sure, everyone had a fighting chance, but unlocking new weapons and classes was slower than skiing uphill -- at least, without a few bucks to put some extra wind in our sails. Now, though, Hi-Rez has made all sorts of tweaks in the major Accelerate update, aimed specifically at scaling back the grind
a bit. So, is our bill still flying to infinity and beyond, or has Hi-Rez finally made free a more feasible option?
No Money Down
What we said then: Set up a Tribes: Ascend account, and everything within the game -- all of its modes, its nine character classes, and its many weapons, equipment, and perks -- can be unlocked simply by playing and earning XP. The only things locked behind paid doors are cosmetic skins. I started out my free Tribes: Ascend experience with the balanced Soldier class (three classes, including the light armored speedy Pathfinder and heavily armored slow-poke Juggernaut are available for free at the outset) and jumped into a round of Team Deathmatch. I then proceeded to die roughly every 20 seconds.
Another teammate picking up my slack on the battlefield.
It was a frustrating early experience, but that was for lack of skill, not equipment. Once I got my ski legs under me, I started having a ball, particularly in the tactically challenging Capture the Flag mode, where a balanced squad of Soldiers, turret-building and repairing Technicians, speedy Pathfinders, and wall-like Juggernauts is required to achieve victory.
What we say now: Even after the addition of entirely new weapons for the Raider, Brute, Infiltrator classes and a whopping
27 variants on older guns for all classes, Ascend is still remarkably balanced -- for fresh-faced new recruits and obsessive high-tech gun nuts alike. The new gear, then, is more about what best suits players' skillsets. And, happily, many of the weapon variants are pretty cheap from an XP standpoint.
Unfortunately, many weapons and items still sport fairly impractical XP pricetags.
Within three or four CTF matches -- not all of which my team actually won -- I could already afford my Pathfinder's Dueling Spinfusor, which I instantly fell in love with. Like many variants, it simply switches up a couple stats -- in this case, single-target damage went up, but splash went down. But man, it turned me from flag-defending flea to a freaking jetpack-seeking missile. At one point -- after I'd gotten my aim and timing down -- I single-handedly thwarted an attempted flag steal mere
feet away from my team's base. Each time my opponent so much as lightly caressed the ground, I made him pay with a perfectly placed full-damage shot. One. Two. Three. Dead. I felt like a mix between a majestically graceful synchronized skater and a vengeful
god.
On top of that, weapon upgrades now occur automatically via usage, meaning that one of the main drains on XP is no longer an issue unless you choose to manually speed up the process by chipping in a chunk of experience points. Unfortunately, many weapons and items still sport fairly impractical XP pricetags. The short version? Yep, the Soldier's Spinfusor is still mystifyingly locked by default, and nobody will be saying "Hello" to that rather
un-little friend unless they pony up 42,000 XP -- which, sans VIP status or any XP boosts, would take at least a few hours to earn.
Insert Coin
What we said then: You can not only instantly buy the Spinfusor when you spend a minimum of $10 (giving you 800 gold), you will dramatically increase your XP gain with any paid purchase. Buy anything in Tribes: Ascend and Hi-Rez will label you a VIP, and as a VIP you earn 50% more
XP for life. Not only that, a number of paid Booster XP packs are available that increase your XP gain by another 50% for a set period (one day to permanent if you shell out enough gold).
Look at me! I'm skiing on one foot!
I spent $10, became a VIP, and picked up a number of items -- including a one-day Booster. The 100% XP gain difference was night and day, making the XP gain rate from my free experience look snail-like. For example, those 42,000 XP Spinfusor points I slowly acquired playing for free over multiple hours were now obtainable in just a handful of matches. And overall, the item unlocks my leap in XP gain enabled every single match were extremely rewarding.
What we say now: In truth, going VIP and maybe also snagging an XP boost is probably still your best bet. However, Hi-Rez has also added an interesting new system to keep a bit of extra meat on piggy banks' bones: Ascend now offers player-specific deals of the day, so that Spinfusor Soldiers the world over are hurting for so badly? It might suddenly pop up at a whopping 50% off. Unfortunately, that price cut applies to real money only -- not XP -- but it's still a very convenient addition.
Hmm, I'll pass. I don't want all that sticky stuff on my fingers.
Well, some of the time, anyway. Beyond being restricted to items I didn't already own, the deal rotation turned out to be sort of a crapshoot. I desperately wanted to snag a light assault rifle sidearm for my Pathfinder (normally 88,000 XP or nearly $7.00), but it kept serving up items for the Raider -- who I hardly ever play.
Also, transactions are still based around a point system, so the $10 minimum's still in effect. As a result, I find that it leads to all sorts of weird situations where my leftover points aren't
quite enough to buy an item I want, so -- conveniently for Hi-Rez -- I have to spend another $10. Just let me directly spend real money, guys. This is verging on out-and-out deceptiveness.
Free or Flee?
I recommend you think of Tribes: Ascend as a $10 game.
What we said then: Are Tribes: Ascend free players at a disadvantage? Not at all. Everything can be earned simply by playing the game. But there is no denying the incentive to spend money and increase your XP gain by up to 100% is monumental. In fact, I recommend you think of Tribes: Ascend as a $10 game and make a fun free game an even more enjoyable paid experience from the get go. In the end, though, I was more than happy to support Hi-Rez. Still in beta, Tribes: Ascend is highly polished, smooth (I've never been booted from a match or experienced a moment of lag, even at 180 km/h), and just plain fun. Tribes is back, it's better than ever, and it even made me look like a jerk. I'd pay $10 for that any day.
Jango Fett would have made for a pretty good Tribes player.
What we say now: Does "ditto" work? Between all sorts of weapons, variants, items, and new maps, Tribes: Ascend's now rocking boatloads of new content. That, however, hasn't capsized balance in the slightest, so jetpack jousting and flag capturing are just as fun as they always were. That said, while automatic weapon upgrades definitely ease the grind a bit, weapon and item unlocks are still fairly slow. $10 remains an excellent starting point -- though you may end up with a bit burning a hole in your heavily armored pocket if a deal of the day slices a coveted item's price down to size.
Spy Guy says: It's great to see the trend in free-to-play shifting away from grind. And this is just the beginning! Once Dota 2 goes open beta and lets everybody play all its champions for free, we could see a major shift in how free-to-play is done. Are you skiing around in Tribes? What's your favorite class?