Introduction to Trial of Ascension (ToA)

The Trial of Ascension (ToA) is a pivotal Player vs Environment (PvE) feature in Summoners War: Sky Arena, consisting of 100 floors that players must conquer by defeating the monsters on each level. The Summoners War Trial of Ascension Hard is available in two difficulty modes: Normal (ToAN) and Hard (ToAH), and it becomes accessible once a player reaches account level 15.

Participating in and completing ToA, particularly in Hard mode, is an important aspect of progressing in the game, offering valuable rewards that significantly enhance a player’s account. The rewards for clearing ToA include essential resources like Mystical Scrolls, Legendary Scrolls, Light and Darkness Scrolls, and All Attribute Scrolls. Players can also earn Rainbowmons, useful for monster evolution, Summoning Stones, and Crystals. Crucially, Devilmon, needed for skill-ups, is a recurring reward. These rewards reset every month, providing consistent opportunities for progress.

Successfully navigating ToA, especially in Hard mode, reflects a player’s skill and understanding of the game mechanics, marking a significant achievement in their progression. It is considered a vital aspect of mid and late-game success. Additionally, ToA is an excellent way to deepen one’s understanding of the diverse monsters in Summoners War. The trial features a wide array of enemies across its 100 floors, each with unique abilities and mechanics. As players adapt to these challenges, they gain valuable insights into monster synergies, combat strategies, and how to assemble effective teams for both PvP and other PvE content.

Beyond the tangible rewards, clearing ToA Hard mode offers a profound sense of accomplishment. It is a significant milestone that many players proudly strive for, boosting motivation to tackle even greater challenges in the game.

It is recommended to start attempting ToA once you can consistently clear Giant’s Keep B7 (GB7). This milestone typically indicates that your team has the strength necessary to progress through the early stages of ToA, such as floors 5 and 10, and begin earning energy and initial crystals.

Remember that the Trial of Ascension resets every month, providing a fresh opportunity to ascend the tower and claim its rewards. The key is to clear as many stages as possible before the reset to maximize your monthly gains and continue strengthening your account.

Understanding Trial of Ascension Hard

Trial of Ascension Hard (ToAH) in Summoners War presents the next level of challenge beyond the normal version of the Trial of Ascension. This PvE challenge spans 100 floors, each with enemies that become increasingly difficult to defeat. Unlike ToA Normal, where success can often be achieved through raw power and speed, ToAH demands a strategic mindset. Players must rely heavily on crowd control (CC), utilizing monsters that can stun, freeze, or sleep enemies to effectively manage the challenges posed by the harder levels. Units like Tyron and Verad, with their AoE CC abilities, are particularly valuable for progressing through the harder floors of the tower.

Key to success in ToAH is strategic crowd control, which plays a crucial role in denying enemy units their turns and preventing them from overwhelming your team. In addition to CC, having healing and revival units such as Fran is essential for maintaining team sustainability throughout the challenge. Ensuring your team has adequate HP and defense through runes and leader skills is also important to survive the increasingly difficult encounters.

The diverse enemy compositions across the floors of ToAH require adaptability. Players must be prepared to adjust their team compositions and strategies to counter specific threats and overcome various mechanics. Understanding the skills of enemy monsters and identifying which enemies pose the greatest danger is key to success. By tailoring your team to neutralize these threats, you’ll significantly improve your chances of progressing through the floors.

Creating a balanced team that incorporates damage, crowd control, and support is vital for managing the variety of situations encountered in ToAH. In addition to CC, it’s beneficial to utilize buffs and debuffs, such as continuous damage (DoTs), attack bar reductions, and immunity to protect your team and enhance your damage output.

Success in ToAH also heavily depends on having high-quality runes, typically acquired from dungeons like Giant’s Keep (GB10/GB12) and Dragon’s Lair (DB10/DB12). These runes are crucial for boosting the stats and abilities of your monsters, allowing them to survive and perform effectively in the challenging environment of ToAH.

Climbing as high as possible in ToAH rewards players with valuable prizes, including Legendary Scrolls and Devilmon. These rewards, which reset every month, are even more lucrative at higher floors. Floor 70 is a key milestone, as it grants the highly sought-after Devilmon.

ToAH is most effectively tackled once you have reliable Violent runes from Dragon’s Lair (DB10). Prior to that, focusing on clearing Giant’s Keep (GB10) and ToA Normal (ToAN) should be your priorities to build a strong foundation.

In comparison to ToA Normal, ToAH presents stronger enemies with higher stats, and requires more intricate strategies to defeat them. The monthly reset and progression system in ToAH offer ongoing challenges and rewards, pushing players to refine their strategy and adapt their approach to overcome these tough enemies. Completing ToAH is not just about having a strong roster but also about demonstrating your adaptability, strategic thinking, and mastery of monster synergy, offering substantial rewards and a sense of accomplishment.

Preparing Your Monsters and Runes for ToAH

Successfully tackling Trial of Ascension Hard (ToAH) in Summoners War requires a comprehensive approach to preparing your monsters and runes. Here’s a breakdown to help you prepare effectively:

Rune Quality is Paramount:
Rune quality plays a crucial role in success in ToAH. You’ll need to farm high-quality runes from dungeons like Giant’s Keep (GB10/GB12) and Dragon’s Lair (DB10/DB12). These runes are essential for maximizing your monsters’ potential. Violent runes from DB10 are particularly important, as they provide extra turns and are key for many ToAH strategies. Ensure your team has solid runes before you dive into ToAH, with a strong foundation built from your GB10 team first.

Recommended Rune Sets and Stats for Key ToAH Monsters:
For ToAH, certain monsters excel due to their abilities to control crowds and support your team.

Fran (Light Fairy Queen) should use Swift or Violent with Will runes, focusing on SPD, HP%, and ATK% for a healing and cleansing role.

Spectra (Fire Griffon) benefits from Violent or Swift with Energy or Focus and should prioritize SPD, CRI Dmg%, and ACC% for attack bar reduction and scaling damage. Water Homunculus uses Despair or Focus with SPD, HP%, and ACC% to provide AoE freeze and attack bar reduction.

Loren (Light Cow Girl) shines with Swift or Violent and Revenge, prioritizing SPD, HP%, and ACC% for defense break, slow, and attack bar reduction.

Sigmarus (Water Phoenix) requires Fatal or Violent with Blade runes, focusing on ATK%, CRI Dmg%, and ATK% for AoE freezing and max HP scaling damage.

Tyron (Water Sylph) uses Despair or Focus with SPD, HP%, and ACC% to provide AoE freeze, attack bar reduction, and a speed lead.

Bellenus (Fire Druid) benefits from Despair or Guard with SPD, DEF%, and DEF% to apply AoE continuous damage and provoke. Focusing on SPD, HP%, and ACC% with Despair or Violent runes is generally effective for crowd control units.

Monster Levels and Awakening:
Leveling up your monsters improves their base stats and increases their effectiveness in ToAH. Awakening your monsters provides stat boosts and additional skills, significantly enhancing their capabilities. For ToAH, it’s important to 6-star your core team members, as the increased difficulty of the trial demands stronger monsters for better survivability and performance.

Understanding Monster Roles and Team Synergy:
ToAH requires a deep understanding of monster synergy. Your team should have a balance of damage, crowd control (CC), and support. Combining CC (such as stun, freeze, and sleep) with Damage Over Time (DoTs) and debuffs like attack bar reduction or provoke is effective for managing enemy threats. Additionally, buffs such as immunity, attack power increases, and speed boosts can help your team survive and deal damage efficiently. Building a team with complementary skills is essential to handling the variety of challenges ToAH presents.

Free-to-Play (F2P) Monster Options:
Several farmable and fusion monsters are effective for ToAH, especially for free-to-play players. Fran (Light Fairy Queen) can be obtained through Summoner’s Way, Spectra 2A (Fire Griffon) through the Second Awakening, and Loren (Light Cow Girl) from the Hall of Light or chat channels. Sigmarus (Water Phoenix) is a fusion monster, while Tyron (Water Sylph) is farmable. Water Homunculus is craftable, and Veromos (Dark Ifrit) is a fusion monster as well. Other useful farmable monsters include Bernard (Wind Griffon), Shannon (Wind Pixie), Mav (Wind Penguin Knight), and Verdehile (Fire Vampire).

By efficiently farming high-quality runes, carefully selecting and leveling key monsters, and understanding the importance of team composition and strategy, you’ll be well-prepared for the challenges of Trial of Ascension Hard. Adaptability and a deep understanding of enemy mechanics will be essential to overcoming the difficult stages and maximizing your rewards.

Strategy for Clearing ToAH Floors

Clearing the 100 challenging floors of Trial of Ascension Hard (ToAH) requires more than just powerful monsters. Success depends on employing strategic thinking, adaptability, and team synergy. Here’s an overview of effective strategies to help you conquer the tower:

Crowd control is critical in ToAH. Unlike ToA Normal, where raw power and speed can dominate, ToAH requires a strategic approach to prevent enemies from taking turns and overwhelming your team. Utilize monsters with abilities to stun, freeze, or sleep enemies. Units like Tyron and Verad, known for their AoE crowd control, can be invaluable. The goal is to deny enemy units turns entirely, and using the Despair rune set on CC monsters can increase the chances of landing additional stuns from their AoE skills.

While controlling enemies is essential, keeping your team alive is equally important. Include healing and reviving units such as Fran in your team to ensure longevity. Be sure to enhance your team’s durability with HP and defense-boosting leader skills and runes. These will help your team withstand the enemy’s onslaught during prolonged battles.

Each floor in ToAH features unique enemy compositions and mechanics. You’ll need to swap monsters in and out to counter specific threats or exploit enemy weaknesses. Understanding the skills of the enemy monsters is crucial—prioritize eliminating the most dangerous foes first, whether they apply harmful effects, deal significant damage, or disrupt your strategy

Crafting a team with complementary skills is key to success in ToAH. Balance your team with damage, CC, and support. Consider how different skills interact. For example, using a monster that applies slow can enhance the effectiveness of a unit that relies on stuns. A well-rounded team with synergies between offense and defense will be much more effective than a team that lacks coordination.

Buffs and debuffs can turn the tide of battle. Apply continuous damage (DoTs) to wear down high-HP enemies, with units like Baretta and the Water Homunculus (with a DoT build) being ideal choices. Use monsters with attack bar (ATB) reduction skills, like Spectra and Tyron, to prevent enemies from taking their turns. Ensure your team is protected with buffs like immunity or defense buffs (Fran and Shannon are great examples). Attack break debuffs can reduce the damage taken, while provoke is especially effective against bosses to control their attacks and redirect damage to a specific unit—Mav excels in this role.

High-quality runes are essential for success in ToAH. Focus on farming Giant’s Keep (GB10/GB12) and Dragon’s Lair (DB10/DB12) to acquire runes with the necessary stats. For most ToAH units, Speed (SPD), HP%, and Accuracy (ACC%) are crucial for CC and debuff application. Offensive monsters should focus on ATK%, Crit Rate (CR), and Crit Damage (CD%). Consider Despair runes for monsters with AoE skills to maximize their crowd control potential. Violent runes are also very effective, as they allow monsters to take more turns and reuse their powerful skills more frequently

Bosses appear on every 10th floor and often have unique mechanics that require specific strategies. Since bosses cannot be stunned, frozen, or slept, strategies focused on these forms of CC will be ineffective. Instead, attack bar reduction and provoke are crucial for controlling bosses. Additionally, heal block and defense break can be effective debuffs to use against them to mitigate healing and enhance damage.

ToAH is a long-term challenge, and you may not clear all 100 floors immediately. Focus on climbing as high as possible each month to maximize rewards. Analyze which floors are the most challenging and reassess your strategy and team composition accordingly. As you progress, improve your runes and level up your monsters to increase your chances of clearing tougher floors.

There are several team archetypes to consider for ToAH. A No Healer Team focuses entirely on denying enemy turns through CC and ATB manipulation. These teams can be effective but require more manual control. Auto Teams prioritize survivability, using healers, revivers, and damage mitigation to allow for automated play, though these teams may be slower. DoT Teams stack continuous damage to take down high-HP enemies and often feature units like Baretta, Thrain, and Hemos. Bomb Teams use burst damage from bomb skills, which are effective on non-boss stages. Cleave Teams rely on AoE damage dealers to quickly eliminate enemies, often used for speed-clearing lower floors by more advanced players.

By employing these strategies and adjusting them to your specific monsters and runes, you can gradually climb the floors of Trial of Ascension Hard and reap the valuable rewards it offers. Mastering ToAH requires a mix of adaptability, team synergy, and a deep understanding of enemy mechanics.

Conclusion

Successfully conquering the Trial of Ascension Hard (ToAH) in Summoners War is a notable achievement that offers substantial rewards and demonstrates a player’s strategic prowess. The monthly reset of rewards includes invaluable resources such as Legendary Scrolls and Devilmon, which are essential for enhancing your monsters. However, completing ToAH is not only about the rewards; it also reflects a deep understanding of game mechanics and monster abilities, which is crucial for success in both PvP and other PvE content.

Navigating the 100 challenging floors of ToAH provides players with an opportunity to hone their strategic thinking, adapt team compositions, and refine tactics for various encounters. It requires a balance of crowd control, healing, and damage mitigation, alongside a well-thought-out team synergy. ToAH encourages players to apply these tactics in dynamic and evolving situations, ultimately fostering skill development that extends beyond just this particular challenge.

A core aspect of succeeding in ToAH is rune quality, which plays a pivotal role in your ability to progress. High-quality runes acquired through dungeons like Giant’s Keep (GB10/GB12) and Dragon’s Lair (DB10/DB12) are essential prerequisites for advancing in the tower. Additionally, understanding monster roles and crafting teams that complement each other is fundamental for overcoming the varied challenges presented in ToAH. Effective strategies often involve crowd control (CC) techniques like stuns, freezes, and attack bar reduction, as well as ensuring your team’s sustainability with units that provide healing and damage mitigation.

Although some floors and bosses require niche strategies or specific monster compositions, a solid foundation of well-runed monsters with complementary skills is key to success. The availability of free-to-play or easily obtainable monsters, capable of filling essential roles in ToAH, ensures that this challenge is achievable for all dedicated players.

Ultimately, clearing ToAH is not only about immediate rewards but also about the sense of personal achievement that comes with overcoming significant challenges. This sense of accomplishment can serve as motivation to take on other demanding content within Summoners War, driving players deeper into the end-game. By consistently applying strategic thinking, investing in high-quality runes, understanding monster synergies, and adapting to the unique demands of each floor, players can steadily progress through ToAH and reap its valuable monthly rewards.