Rocket Ascent campaign guide — Moon to Sun without melting your hull
Mission order, rocket unlocks, upgrade priorities, and the Thermal Coating requirement for the Sun run.
Rocket Ascent is Skywar's vertical flight sim. Pick a destination, tune your rocket in the hangar, launch, dodge obstacles, collect coins, and push distance. Ten missions gate from the Moon (100 km) to the Sun (100,000,000 km). Five rockets unlock through the tree. This guide is the route we recommend for a first full campaign clear.
Mission order
- Moon — tutorial distance; unlocks Titan Heavy rocket.
- Mars → Venus → Mercury — build fuel and engine tiers here.
- Uranus → Neptune → Jupiter — ring storms and dense obstacles; buy Hull Shield.
- Saturn — hardest obstacle field before Pluto; stack Aero Nose Cone.
- Pluto — unlocks Helios Vanguard; max thermal before the Sun.
- Sun — requires Thermal Coating levels; without it your hull melts.
Upgrade priorities
Nineteen upgrade lines exist but early progress hinges on four: Fuel Tank, Liquid Fuel (efficiency), Main Engine, and Aero Nose Cone (drag reduction). Buy Fuel Tank and Liquid Fuel together — efficiency compounds capacity. RCS Thrusters matter once obstacles thicken after the Moon. Coin Magnet and Gold Plating are economy multipliers for longer grinds.
Rocket unlock path
- Mk1 Explorer — starter; fine through Mars.
- Titan Heavy — post-Moon; better thrust multiplier.
- Nova Cruiser — post-Venus; special upgrade tree opens.
- Solaris Prime — post-Neptune; end-game stats.
- Helios Vanguard — post-Pluto; required for serious Sun attempts.
Saturn and Sun warnings
Saturn introduces ring-storm obstacles — erratic debris that punishes straight-line flight. Slow down, use RCS, and do not skimp on Hull Shield. The Sun applies passive heat damage unless Thermal Coating is leveled; stack thermal upgrades in the hangar before launching. Failed Sun runs still keep coins collected mid-flight — fund thermal levels even from partial attempts.
Controls reminder
W / Up thrusts (burns fuel). A and D apply RCS lateral thrust. Space triggers afterburner when unlocked. Hold thrust on ascent; release to coast through coin fields. Full bindings are on /games/rocket and /controls.