Hawken's Ascension Update brings sweeping changes, Revamped Player Progression

If you've ever watched an Anime with mechs, you'll know the first version of a mech is never the best version. With each new release the mechs become stronger, faster and begin sprouting even more weaponry. In the case of Hawken, the first person mech shooter is about to undergo its largest innovation yet. The Ascension update for Hawken contains everything from new tuning modifications, to a new offline mode and a complete rebalancing of all existing mech classes.

A major complaint addressed in Ascension deals with how players gain xp and unlock upgrades. The notes are quite extensive, but in summary players will be able to progress continuously regardless of what mech they are currently using. Players can even opt to spend overflow xp they earn in a max level mech on another as well. By leveling up both the pilot level and mech rank, players can now unlock new mechs, unique cosmetic upgrades and additional tuning options. The mechs earned by leveling up are provided to the player for free and can be customized like all other purchased mechs.

The patch is also the first time Hawken will officially support the Oculus Rift on the off chance you own an Oculus Rift yet. Other additions include a brand new forest map called " Last Eco" and a new party system which should make it easier for players to join a game as a group. The nuts and bolts of the update sees a frame rate increase and an overall improvement to Hawken's stability. Adhesive Games also noted they had redesigned several UI menus and HUD options ingame.

The update was originally slated to go live today, but was pushed back to September 10th at the last moment. Players interested in checking out the new changes ahead of time can download a special test client which will also net them a free 7-Day XP Boost.