Signal Studios recently gave its forum users the opportunity to ask developers questions about the studio’s upcoming action-RPG Ascend: New Gods. The community jumped at the opportunity and got some valuable information from their questions about the game’s loot and multiplayer systems in return.

Loot will play a big part in Ascend; weapons and armor will be scattered around the world, with only the rarest and most powerful of items hiding in the most dangerous of dungeons. Equipment will gain experience as you use it, so the longer you stick with it the more powerful it will become. Some items are craftable and some are customizable. The world is also littered with consumable items, such as blessings and curses. If you ever become experienced enough to become an Ascended Champion, the New Gods themselves will bestow upon you special equipment with the powers of Light, Dark and Void.

While a single-player game at its core, the game features a parallel multiplayer experience. This means if you’re running through a dungeon, you may come across another player doing the same. Although visible, you won’t be able to effect them directly. You can, however, change their fate with the powers of the New Gods; giving other players either a blessing or a curse will alter their universe. Ascending your character will prove fatal for others, as you could appear as a boss in their game. Your game can be open to the whole world, just your friends or it can be a solo affair.

Ascend: New Gods will be available exclusively on Xbox Live Arcade in early 2013.

Source: Signal Studios