Heroes' Ascent (mission)

''"Tombs" redirects here. For the PvE section now present at that location, see Nightfallen Tombs.''

Overview
The tournament (former location being Tomb of the Primeval Kings) is a continuous knockout tournament consisting of battles of teams from all territories which starts in the Heroes' Ascent. Winning matches in the tournament is the only source of fame, which in turn determines a player's rank. The tournament is also the only source of Celestial Sigil drops in the game. As with other PvP areas, defeating opponents and winning maps awards you faction.

Getting There

 * 1) Map travel to the Battle Isles (Great Temple of Balthazar) from Lion's Arch, Kaineng Center, or Kamadan.
 * 2) Enter the Random Arenas by talking to the Canthan Ferry Captain on the Isle of the Nameless
 * 3) Fight in the Random Arenas and win 5 consecutive matches. This will "unlock" the Team Arenas for all characters of the same account.
 * 4) Fight in the Team Arenas and win 5 matches (not necessarily consecutive). This will "unlock" Heroes' Ascent for all characters of the same account.
 * 5) Once unlocked this way, you can map travel to Heroes' Ascent any time.

The Tournament
The party size in the Ascent is 6. There are 4 henchmen to recruit. However, since the December 20th, 2006 update, parties must have a minimum of four human players. The introduction of Nightfall allows players to form a team consisting partly of Heroes. If a player drops out at any time during play, from the next map on they will be replaced with a henchman (unless they drop during the countdown before loading the next map, in which case the team must play short a player on that map and will receive a henchman afterwards).

There are three different types of maps with their own objectives:


 * Annihilation (death-match)
 * Capture the Relic (capture the flag)
 * King of the Hill

Upon entering the mission, a team is always placed in the first map, a death-match against NPC Zaishen. Depending on how fast a team beats the Zaishen, they will receive a certain percentage morale boost. See Heroes' Ascent (Tournament Map) for details.

After this, teams progress forward through the maps as they win. Depending on how many other teams are playing in the tournament and their positions in the map list, a team may skip forward over any number of maps. It's common that a team won't traverse through the full list of maps, even if they reach the Hall of Heroes. In the most extreme case, a team may go straight to the Hall after defeating the Zaishen. If you win a match in the Hall of Heroes, your team will play again in the Hall, starting out holding the altar and defending against new teams.

When a team loses, they are returned to the Heroes' Ascent staging area and may immediately re-enter if they desire.

Heroes' Ascent maps

 * 1) Heroes' Ascent (PvE - 1 team)
 * 2) The Underworld (annihilation - 2 teams)
 * 3) Burial Mounds (Priest Annihilation - 2 teams - originally designed for 6 teams, recently redesigned for 2 teams)
 * 4) Broken Tower (king of the hill - 2-3 teams - designed for 3 teams)
 * 5) Unholy Temples (capture the relic - 2 teams)
 * 6) Dark Chambers (annihilation- 2 teams)
 * 7) Courtyard (king of the hill - 2-3 teams)
 * 8) Sacred Temples (capture the relic - 2 teams)
 * 9) The Vault (waiting area for the Hall of Heroes - 1 team)
 * 10) Hall of Heroes (king of the hill - 2-3 teams - designed for 5 teams)

Every six minutes there is a battle won in the Hall of Heroes.

After the PvP Extreme Weekend the number of teams participating in many maps was decreased while the maps themselves were unaltered.

Out of rotation maps
The following maps are currently out of rotation, but may be re-added in the future like Burial Mounds
 * Scarred Earth (annihilation- 2 or 4 teams - designed for 6 teams)

Winning
For winning any battle in the Heroes Ascent you gain faction and fame points. Later maps in the tournament provide more faction for wins than earlier ones and bonus faction is awarded for a flawless victory. The amount of fame is based on the number of consecutive wins achieved and the amount of faction on the map and whether your win was flawless or not.

You can also earn the hero title by earning rank through fame.

Winning in the final round of the tournament, the Hall of Heroes, affects the PvE world as it determines which territory has the Favor of the Gods. When teams of a single territory manage to win five consecutive games in the Hall, their territory will be granted the Favor. A team that wins in the Hall also gets a random drop of high class loot consisting of Celestial Sigils and gold items