Clicker Heroes is an idle RPG game where players tap (or click) to defeat monsters and level up heroes. Over time, players accumulate gold to upgrade their heroes, defeat stronger monsters, and progress through more challenging levels. One of the key features in Clicker Heroes is “ascending,” a process that allows players to reset their game in exchange for valuable Hero Souls, which are crucial for long-term progress. In this guide, we will explore what ascending is, how to ascend efficiently, and strategies for maximizing your ascensions in Clicker Heroes.
What Is Ascension?
In Clicker Heroes, ascension is a mechanic that allows you to reset your progress in exchange for Hero Souls. These souls are a persistent resource that stays with you after you ascend, providing a significant boost to your damage and overall progression. Ascension essentially acts as a “prestige” mechanic, where you start fresh but with the added advantage of Hero Souls that make each subsequent run easier and faster.
Why Ascend?
Ascension is essential to the long-term growth of your heroes in Clicker Heroes. Without ascending, your progress will eventually stall because enemies will become too strong to defeat with your current damage output. Ascending allows you to:
- Earn Hero Souls: Hero Souls increase your DPS (damage per second) and can be used to purchase Ancients, powerful upgrades that offer various buffs to help your progression.
- Break Level Caps: Ascending resets your level but allows you to break through level walls more efficiently with the added power from Hero Souls.
- Start with Boosts: After ascending, your heroes start at level 0 again, but the Hero Souls you’ve earned provide significant damage boosts that allow you to advance faster.
- Unlock Ancients and Relics: As you collect more Hero Souls, you can unlock and upgrade Ancients, which give you powerful abilities to speed up your progress. Additionally, ascension opens the possibility of finding relics, which grant various bonuses.
How to Ascend in Clicker Heroes
Ascension is triggered by acquiring the skill from the hero Amenhotep. Here’s a step-by-step guide to ascending:
1. Unlock Amenhotep
You need to unlock and level up the hero Amenhotep to at least level 150. Amenhotep is available relatively early in the game, and his ascension ability becomes available once he reaches level 150.
2. Maximize Your Current Progress
Before you ascend, you should aim to push as far as possible in your current run. This means defeating the highest-level monsters you can and upgrading your heroes to their maximum potential. The farther you get, the more Hero Souls you will earn upon ascending.
3. Defeat Primal Bosses
Primal bosses are special bosses that reward you with Hero Souls when defeated. Primal bosses appear at certain levels (typically every 5 levels starting at level 100). Before ascending, try to defeat as many primal bosses as possible to maximize the number of Hero Souls you earn.
4. Ascend with Amenhotep
Once you’ve reached your limit and are ready to ascend, activate Amenhotep’s ascension ability. This will reset your game, but you will keep all your Hero Souls and Ancients, giving you a strong head start in your next run.
Understanding Hero Souls
Hero Souls are the key to progression after ascending. For every 2,000 hero levels across all your heroes, you earn 1 Hero Soul. In addition to this, defeating primal bosses will grant you extra Hero Souls. Each Hero Soul increases your DPS by 10%, making them an invaluable resource for boosting your power after ascension.
Optimal Times to Ascend
Choosing when to ascend is crucial to maximizing your Hero Soul gain. Here are a few things to consider when deciding if it’s time to ascend:
- Stalled Progress: If you’ve reached a point where your progress has significantly slowed down, and you can no longer defeat monsters or bosses easily, it may be time to ascend.
- Primal Bosses: Ascending right after defeating a primal boss is a good idea because it ensures you’ve maximized your Hero Soul gains.
- Idle vs. Active Playstyle: If you’re playing actively, you can push further between ascensions by manually clicking and using skills. However, if you prefer idle gameplay, you may want to ascend more frequently since progress tends to slow down sooner.
Using Hero Souls Effectively
Once you’ve ascended and collected Hero Souls, it’s important to spend them wisely to maximize their benefits. Here’s how to make the most of your Hero Souls:
1. Purchase Ancients
Ancients are powerful entities that provide permanent bonuses, such as increasing your idle DPS, reducing the cost of hero upgrades, or speeding up the accumulation of gold. You can summon Ancients by spending Hero Souls, and each Ancient offers unique buffs that complement different playstyles (idle or active).
Here are a few key Ancients to prioritize:
- Siyalatas, Ancient of Abandon: This Ancient boosts your DPS while idle, making it perfect for players who want to progress without constantly clicking.
- Libertas, Ancient of Freedom: This Ancient increases your gold gain while idle, which synergizes well with Siyalatas for idle players.
- Argaiv, Ancient of Enhancement: Argaiv boosts the effectiveness of your critical clicks, making him a must-have for active players who rely on clicking to deal damage.
- Solomon, Ancient of Wisdom: Solomon increases the amount of Hero Souls earned from primal bosses, making it an essential Ancient for maximizing your long-term Hero Soul gains.
2. Upgrade Your Ancients
Once you’ve unlocked a few Ancients, spend your Hero Souls to level them up. The higher the level of an Ancient, the more powerful their buffs become. Focus on upgrading Ancients that align with your playstyle (idle or active) and those that increase your Hero Soul gains.
3. Avoid Overspending Hero Souls
While it may be tempting to spend all your Hero Souls on upgrading Ancients, keep in mind that each Hero Soul boosts your DPS by 10%. It’s a good idea to keep a portion of your Hero Souls unspent to maintain a strong DPS boost after ascending. As a general rule, try to save around 10-20% of your Hero Souls to benefit from their raw DPS increase.
Efficient Ascension Strategies
Now that you understand the basics of ascending and how to use Hero Souls, here are a few strategies to help you ascend more efficiently:
1. Focus on Primal Bosses
Primal bosses are the most reliable source of Hero Souls, so always aim to defeat them before ascending. You can plan your ascensions around these bosses, ascending right after defeating a primal boss to maximize your Hero Soul gains.
2. Balance Hero Upgrades
Spending all your gold on a single hero may not be the best strategy. Instead, spread your gold across multiple heroes to maximize your overall DPS. Certain heroes, such as Treebeast, Ivan, and Brittany, provide significant DPS boosts early in the game, so prioritize upgrading them before moving on to higher-tier heroes.
3. Use Clickstorm and Other Abilities
Clickstorm is a skill that automatically clicks for you, providing a significant DPS boost when combined with other skills such as Powersurge and Lucky Strikes. Using these skills strategically can help you push through tough bosses and levels, earning more Hero Souls before ascending.
4. Plan Your Ascensions Around Idle Bonuses
If you’re an idle player, focus on accumulating bonuses from Ancients like Siyalatas and Libertas before ascending. These idle bonuses will help you progress faster after each ascension, allowing you to reach higher levels more efficiently.
5. Use the Transcendence Mechanic
Once you’ve ascended multiple times, you’ll unlock the option to transcend. Transcendence is a more powerful form of ascension that allows you to reset your game on a deeper level in exchange for Ancient Souls, which are used to upgrade powerful new entities called Outsiders. Transcending significantly boosts your long-term progress, so be sure to take advantage of this mechanic when the time is right.
Conclusion
Ascending in Clicker Heroes is a key mechanic that allows you to progress further in the game by resetting your level in exchange for Hero Souls. By ascending strategically, maximizing your Hero Soul gains, and using them to unlock and upgrade Ancients, you can significantly boost your DPS and reach higher levels with each run. Whether you’re an idle player or an active clicker, mastering the art of ascension will help you progress faster and more efficiently in Clicker Heroes.
