NateBera's NG Ascension
Free Heroes of Hammerwatch II endgame tool
Automate the climb. Respect the game.
A free NG-pushing script for veteran players who have reached the end of the natural grind. Connect to the hosted embera mule, automate repeatable ascensions, and explore how far endgame scaling can go—on your own terms and with respect for everyone else's experience.
Before you automate: ask whether removing the climb will also remove the point of playing. NG pushing can bypass the challenge, reward, discovery, and sense of achievement that give progression meaning. It may leave the game feeling empty or directionless, and that change can be difficult to emotionally “undo”—even if you restore an older save. Use this only at your own discretion, when you believe your natural journey is complete.
The ascent protocol
The script joins embera's stationary boss arena, advances the selected character, completes the local transition, and repeats. Major states are detected visually rather than trusted to blind timers.
Before anything else
Use the game's Save Profiles feature and keep a separate copy before starting NG cheese. Protect the character history you earned normally.
Get AutoHotkey v2 ↗For the script to work reliably, add the Steam account embera as a friend from the account you want to level. The easiest method is to join embera's public game first, then send a friend request through Steam. NateBera already hosts embera inside the target boss arena, so you do not need to create a VM or purchase a second copy of the game.
Open embera's Steam profileJoin the public game, then send a friend request↗Do not run the launcher from inside the ZIP preview. Right-click NateBera-NG-Ascension.zip, choose Extract All…, select a normal folder, and click Extract. Open the new extracted folder before running Start-NateBera-NG-Ascension.cmd. Running directly from the ZIP creates a temporary path and causes the “Script file not found” error.
Install AutoHotkey v2 on your main PC. The script uses it to control your Steam Friends window and your main Heroes of Hammerwatch II game window.
Open the extracted folder and double-click Start-NateBera-NG-Ascension.cmd. This is the file you use to launch NateBera's NG Ascension—do not start the .ahk file manually. When the script window appears, keep it open and follow the setup and calibration prompts shown inside it.
Double-click this CMD fileStart-NateBera-NG-Ascension.cmd · Then follow the calibration prompts · Click to enlargeShared-arena housekeeping
Before starting, disable or unequip pets and summons. They can remain inside the shared mule arena after a cycle, accumulate over time, and interfere with embera. The mule is reset daily, but keeping pets off helps the service remain reliable for everyone.
In the main Steam window, click Friends & Chat in the bottom-right corner. This opens the separate Steam Friends window that must sit beside the game during calibration and every automated cycle.
Open Friends & ChatFind it in the bottom-right corner of Steam · Click to enlargeSet Heroes of Hammerwatch II to 1024×768 in Windowed mode. After changing these settings, you may need to close the game normally and open it again so the settings are saved correctly. Before calibrating, confirm that the game reopens in Windowed mode at 1024×768. Then center the game window, keep Steam Friends beside it, search for embera, and leave that filtered friend row visible.
If the game reopens at the wrong size or in fullscreen: select Windowed and 1024×768 again, exit through the game's normal Quit option, and relaunch it before continuing.
Game display settingsResolution: 1024×768 · Fullscreen: Windowed · Restart normally and verify · Click to enlargeWith the script window still open, follow its calibration list. Set your desktop up exactly like the example: game window centered, Steam Friends beside it, and embera typed into the Steam Friends search box. Keeping the list filtered to embera is essential because it keeps the friend row in the same place and makes the saved calibration reliable. Leave that search active whenever the script runs.
Calibration simply records where your mouse is pointing. Hover over each target—do not click it—then press the matching shortcut shown in the script.
Correct desktop arrangementGame centered · Steam Friends beside it · embera filtered · Join Game visible · Click to enlarge
First type embera into the Steam Friends search box and leave it there. Close the right-click menu, hover over embera's filtered friend entry, then press the shortcut. Do not calibrate from the unfiltered friends list.
Required: search for embera and leave the filtered row visibleRight-click the filtered embera row, hover directly over the Join Game menu item, then press the shortcut.
Example: hover directly over Join GameNormal mode calculates top-left automatically and does not use this shortcut. In Rotation mode, hover over the last roster position you want included and press Ctrl+Alt+3. Position 3 cycles characters 1–3; position 5 cycles 1–5; the final slot cycles the full roster.
Rotation example: hover over the last position to includeWith the game on its main menu, hover directly over the gold Singleplayer text and press the shortcut.
Example: hover over the gold Singleplayer textOpen the resume-run question, hover directly over the gold Yes text, and press the shortcut.
Example: hover over the gold Yes textImportant: keep embera in the search box and keep the game and Steam Friends in these same positions after calibration. If the search is cleared or either window moves, restore the layout or rerun the affected shortcut. The script remembers the saved points between launches.
Press F4 and choose the workflow that matches your goal.
Use this to push one chosen character repeatedly. Prepare that character once by entering and abandoning a normal run so it moves to top-left. No character-position calibration is required.
Use this to share NG cycles across a group. Hover over the final roster position you want included and press Ctrl + Alt + 3. The script cycles from top-left through that position.
Plan the repeat count: characters in the rotation × NG wanted per character. For example, selecting position 3 creates a three-character rotation. To give each character 10 NG, set F7 to 30 cycles.
Press F8 for one watched test cycle. When it completes cleanly, press F9 for repeating cycles. F9 pauses; F10 exits the bot without closing your game.
Operational controls
The script includes launch detection, retry recovery, a five-minute cooldown after repeated Steam launch failures, and state checks for character selection, gameplay, and mission completion. External factors can still interrupt long or overnight sessions, so check the bot regularly. Continuous unattended operation is never guaranteed.
The endgame code
This is an endgame experiment, but that does not mean you must avoid newer players. Join respectfully, understand what kind of help they actually want, and protect the moments they deserve to experience themselves. Never jump in and erase a first clear, kill their final boss for them, or trivialize their progression without permission.
Choose your own finish line carefully. A useful benchmark is roughly 200–300 hours, but the real answer depends on you and how you want to experience the game. This process can flatten the progression curve so completely that playing no longer feels meaningful. Proceed only at your own discretion.
Protect your history. Back up a save profile before the first automated push and before experimenting with infinite-resource methods.
Respect every lobby. Playing with newer players is fine—just follow their lead. Ask before carrying, avoid deleting bosses or milestones they have never completed, and do not force extreme progression on anyone who did not request it.
Own what you use. Each Steam account needs its own legitimate game access. The project is free, not a licensing workaround.
Field notes
GUIDE 01
Add the hosted embera mule, arrange Steam Friends, calibrate the controls, and learn the recovery and safe-operation workflow.
Read above ↑GUIDE 02
Do one ascension at a time through embera's public lobby without installing or running the script.
Open manual guide ↗RECORD 01
NateBera's highest recorded level so far: XP continues rising beyond 100%, but the character no longer levels up.
View experiment record →RECORD 02
Select any roster position to rotate from top-left through that character, sharing one NG per cycle across the chosen group.
View rotation details →GUIDE 03
Prepare the character you want to NG push using one normal run and Abandon Run—without character-card calibration.
Open character guide →GUIDE 04
A documented endgame experiment with boundaries, backups, and clear recovery instructions.
GUIDE 05
A controlled guide for high-NG characters whose normal leveling path has become impractical.
Ready for the far end?
Free to use. Not for profit. No warranty. Built as a community endgame experiment.
This script is always free. If anybody charged you money for it, ask that seller for a refund.
Before you download
This tool can permanently spoil the intended progression curve and may leave the game feeling as though there is nothing meaningful left to pursue. That risk is personal and difficult to reverse. Confirm each point before downloading.
Provided free of charge and without warranty. Use at your own risk. Back up first. If you paid someone for this script, request a refund from that seller.
