Arkheron's new Spires mode eases the skill gap before the real Ascension grind

Arkheron — the isometric PvPvE battle royale action RPG where you and two teammates climb a tower in the afterlife — revealed a new Spires mode during the PC Gaming Show. It's a direct response to player feedback pointing out a steep skill gap between the training mode and the main Ascension mode.

Spires plays almost identically to Ascension: you fight monsters, grab loot, and tune your build between floors, then face off against a rival team at each floor's end. The key difference is that Spires gives you three attempts instead of one, creating far more room to learn and experiment rather than getting repeatedly stomped by players who've already mastered the high-stakes Ascension format. Developer Bonfire Studios made the call based on feedback from its ongoing playtests — a sign the studio is paying close attention to how new players actually experience the game.

Arkheron is targeting a gap in the market that's been open since Battlerite — isometric PvP with real mechanical depth and no obvious successor. The Spires approach mirrors what Deadlock does with Street Brawl: a lower-stakes mode that lets players get comfortable before they're thrown into the optimised deep end of competitive play.

Anyone interested can sign up for the Arkheron playtest on the game's website. A full release is planned for later in 2026.