Fellowship Ascension & Curse Guide - How They Work

The Ascension and Curse system in Fellowship adds strategic complexity to high-rank dungeons. These modifiers increase difficulty and variety, forcing players to adapt their builds, cooldown usage, and group coordination as they climb the leagues.

This guide explains how Ascensions and Curses work, when they appear, and what each of them does, including all active effects, bonuses, and gameplay implications.

What Are Ascensions in Fellowship

Ascensions are fixed modifiers that activate as you advance through higher-tier dungeons and leagues. They represent a baseline increase in difficulty rather than random rotation, similar to keystone scaling in traditional MMOs.
Ascensions begin at Contender 4 and continue scaling across Adept and Champion leagues. They modify fundamental dungeon rules, such as timers, mob ability pools, and loot scaling.

Ascension	Unlock Rank	Description
Asha’s Dilemma	Contender 4+	Introduces dungeon timers. Runs completed overtime grant reduced score but increase Spirit generation temporarily to assist struggling groups.
Vayr’s Legacy	Contender 7+	Enemies gain additional abilities, often granting elite mobs or bosses new spell effects. Increases complexity and coordination requirements.
Asha’s Regret	Adept 1+	Replaces Asha’s Dilemma. Over-timed dungeons lose one loot upgrade level, offering no Spirit compensation. Punishes failed timers but rewards efficient clears.

Ascensions in Fellowship are fixed per league tier, they don’t rotate or change weekly. Each higher league adds one or more Ascensions on top of the previous ones, gradually layering difficulty modifiers as you progress.

Once active, an Ascension affects the entire dungeon from start to finish. These effects cannot be dispelled, avoided, or modified — the only option is to adapt your playstyle and strategy around them.

They act as the core difficulty curve of ranked dungeons. If you’re aiming to climb the rating ladder, understanding how each Ascension changes pacing, damage intake, and loot efficiency is essential before dealing with the added chaos of Curses.

What Are Curses in Fellowship

Curses are randomized (or rotation-based) dungeon modifiers that add both penalties and benefits, often referred to as Kiss/Curse mechanics. They start appearing at Adept rank, with a second slot unlocking once you reach Champion.

Unlike Ascensions, Curses are dynamic: they change over time or between dungeons, ensuring each run feels different. Every Curse comes with a debilitating effect balanced by a bonus, rewarding groups that play aggressively and efficiently.

When Curses Activate

Curses start appearing once you reach the Adept League, where your dungeon runs will include a single active Curse modifier. Upon entering the Champion League, a second Curse slot unlocks, meaning two modifiers will be active at the same time.

Each Curse applies to the entire dungeon instance, influencing every encounter and pull. The combination of Curses can either synergize positively, creating faster clears through beneficial bonuses, or conflict heavily, turning certain weeks into some of the toughest challenges in Fellowship.

All Ascensions in Fellowship

Ascension	Type	Effect
Asha’s Dilemma	Timer / Scoring	Adds a dungeon timer. Overtime completions give reduced score but grant +Spirit regeneration.
Vayr’s Legacy	Enemy Enhancement	Adds new abilities to certain mobs and bosses, increasing encounter complexity.
Asha’s Regret	Punishment / Scaling	Replaces Asha’s Dilemma at Adept tier. Failed timers reduce final loot quality.

Ascensions ensure that every dungeon, even at base difficulty, scales in complexity and reward balance. You’ll need tighter execution, stronger group synergy, and optimized cooldown management to clear on time.

All Curses in Fellowship

Below is a full list of current Curses, including their penalties (Curse) and benefits.

Curse	Effect	Bonus
Binding Ice	A random player explodes after 5s, damaging and rooting nearby allies and mobs.	Enemies also take Frost damage from the explosion.
Blood Shards	Enemies explode on death, damaging the group for 2% of their HP.	Grants +1% Expertise for 30s per explosion (stacks to 15).
Carnage	10% of all incoming damage is shared across the group as a DoT.	Players heal for 10% of all damage dealt, increasing by +5% per defeated boss.
Empowered Minions	Certain enemies gain +100% Health and +150% Power.	Killing them grants +20% Haste and Movement Speed for 40s.
Malevolent Spirits	Killing mobs eventually spawns a spirit that buffs others with +20% Haste and -50% damage taken.	Killing the spirit restores 30% HP and 15% Mana to all players.
Meteor Rain	Meteors fall periodically, dealing heavy AoE and firing projectiles.	Each impact grants +2 Spirit Ability Charges to all players.
Shadow Lord’s Trial	Enemies drop orbs that must be collected; 30 orbs spawn a Shadow Emissary.	Defeating the emissary grants +20% Damage, Haste, and Movement Speed for 60s.
Stone Skin	Non-boss enemies gain +30% HP.	On death, they explode, dealing 15% HP as Physical damage to other enemies (great for chain pulls).
Ultimatum	Bosses deal +10% more damage and have +10% more HP.	Player cooldowns reduced by 10%.
Challenge (Rotational)	Increases enemy aggression and environmental damage.	Rewards +10% loot quality and +10% Bronze per dungeon.

Understanding the Curse System

Curses in Fellowship are designed to challenge players who rely on routine play while rewarding those who adapt and master encounter dynamics. Each Curse presents a drawback paired with a potential advantage.

For instance, Carnage promotes constant activity and coordination between damage and healing output, Empowered Minions rewards smart pull management by granting temporary haste buffs, and Stone Skin transforms well-timed chain pulls into massive AoE opportunities.

When handled correctly, these modifiers shift from pure punishment to strategic tools, allowing skilled groups to convert danger into efficiency and speed.

Final Thoughts

Ascensions and Curses define Fellowship’s late-game identity, they turn routine dungeons into evolving challenges. Understanding how they layer together is key to mastering higher leagues, where timing, adaptability, and composition matter more than raw stats.

If you’d prefer to skip the trial-and-error learning curve and focus on farming high-rank loot, Fellowship Dungeon Boosts can help you clear any league level under optimal conditions: earning loot, rating, and progress toward your next Ascension milestone faster.

FAQ

What are Ascensions in Fellowship?

Ascensions are permanent difficulty modifiers applied at higher ranks, starting from Contender 4. They adjust timers, mob behavior, and loot scaling.

When do Curses appear?

Curses start at Adept rank and add random or rotating modifiers that affect gameplay, up to two per dungeon at Champion tier.

Do Ascensions and Curses stack?

Yes. Ascensions remain active as you climb, while Curses add layers of challenge in later leagues.

Can you remove or reroll Curses?

No. They are fixed for each dungeon level and must be adapted to through gameplay.

How do Ascensions affect rewards?

Higher Ascension tiers yield greater loot multipliers and progression score but penalize slow or failed clears with lower upgrade levels.