Ascent is a climb. The first two rounds take any word of four letters or more, and every two rounds after that the floor goes up a letter, until rounds 9 and 10 want eight. It sounds simple. In practice it's a test of whether you spent your long words too early.
The rule
Ascent is one of the five Uncharted rules, which change what you may play in an Outlier Live game. Each round has a minimum length, shown above the input, and a shorter word won't be accepted.
A minimum isn't a target. An eight-letter word is fine in round 1, and that's exactly the trap.
What makes it tricky
Difficulty: ◆◆◆ Tricky, 3rd of 6 from easiest to hardest. 26% of the words players normally lock are too short for their round, and long words get scarce late.
The rule gets harder while you play. Four letters is easy; by rounds 9 and 10 you need eight, and long words are the scarcest thing on any board.
The trap is spending them early. A long word played in round 2 scores the same as it would in round 9, and in round 9 you may have nothing left that's long enough. It's a ten-round plan, not ten separate rounds.
How it compares with the other five: Uncharted, all six.
Step by step
- Pick itOpen Outlier Live and start a game. Under Uncharted, below the board types, choose Ascent. Or join a room someone else opened on it.
- Read the cardIn the waiting room a card explains the rule. It opens by itself the first time; after that, tap the Ascent chip at the top whenever you want it.
- Read the climbA small ten-step climb sits in the line above your input. The lit step is this round, and the line beside it says how many letters you need.
- Meet the minimumFour letters in rounds 1 and 2, then five, six, seven, and eight in rounds 9 and 10. The round card at the start of each round says the new number.
- If a word is too shortIt's refused with a message that says how many letters the round needs and how many your word has, with a How it works link to the rule card.
Here's the climb on a sample board.
How to play Ascent well
Where you'll find it
Ascent is an Uncharted rule in Outlier Live. It rides on whichever board type the game is dealt, turns up in open Live rooms, and any host can choose it under Uncharted when starting a game. Rematches keep it. It never appears in Outlier Live Daily, and Uncharted games don't move your Live rating. It's completely optional: regular Live games haven't changed.
The first time you meet Ascent, a card explains the rule before round 1. Tap the Ascent chip at the top of the waiting room to see it again. The FAQ has every Uncharted rule, and the other Uncharted guides are linked from it.
One tap opens a room with Ascent on. Send friends the link to join.
Why we built them: Uncharted, from the founder. The rest of Uncharted: