Upgrades to armor, weapons and perks are unlocked based on how much players use them in-game, but can also be purchased by experience points. Paid-for loadouts are available to the user immediately, while those who unlock them through playtime have a much longer wait. Loadouts may be acquired either through an upfront payment, or through playing the game and earning experience points, which can be used to purchase classes, weapons, perks, and upgrades. Players can select which loadout to use either when first joining a game, respawning, or at an inventory station.

There were three possible sizes of armor to choose: light, medium and heavy, with three loadouts in each weight group (for a total of nine). Hi-Rez also sold cosmetic items such as player skins, along with boosters that allowed players to gain experience points at a faster rate. Each loadout supports two in-hand weapons, a set of belt items such as grenades or mines and a pack. Each loadout specifies what type of armor the player has, along with what weapons and items they carry. Tribes: Ascend features a class-based loadout system. The game was delisted on Steam and removed from the Hi-rez website in 2018 for unknown reasons, however it is still accessible from the official Tribes Universe website. Sean McBride, creative director of Tribes: Ascend, likened the game's history to be “death by a thousand cuts”. The final update, dubbed Parting Gifts, was released on September 29, 2016. Due to the nature of the patch, the company reverted all previous in-game purchases. In December 2015, Hi-Rez Studios announced a patch, called Out Of The Blue, for the game which introduced major changes. Despite the previous statement, a small team resumed development in August 2015.

In July 2013, Hi-Rez halted further development on Tribes: Ascend to focus on Smite, citing lackluster financial returns from Tribes: Ascend and Global Agenda. In February 2013, Hi-Rez released a Game of the Year Edition, which unlocked all classes, weapons, equipment, and perks in a single package. The game entered open beta on Febru (with some modes disabled such as Rabbit) and was officially released on April 12, 2012.

Aspects from previous Tribes games such as jetpacks and skiing are featured in the game. Tribes: Ascend is a free-to-play first-person shooter developed and published by Hi-Rez Studios for Microsoft Windows, as part of the Tribes series.

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