One World on PC and Mobile: Ancient Online Cross-Platform and Mobile Controls Guide

Ancient Online: Remastered is being designed as a single world: the aim is for you to carry on from your phone with the adventure you started on your PC, and to meet your friends in the same place whatever device each of you is on. This guide explains step by step what cross-platform means for players and how the game is controlled on a phone.

The game is in development. Controls and platform support may change before launch.

Which platforms?

The target platforms are Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. The development build is currently tested on Windows and Android devices.

All platforms are being designed to connect to the same servers; there is no separate "mobile server". Your account, character, inventory and guild are independent of your device. Because the rules of the game run on the server, a rule that applies on one device applies in exactly the same way on another; there is no separate, easier balance for mobile players.

The hardware each platform needs is in the system requirements and graphics settings guide.

Mobile touch controls

The mobile interface is not a scaled-down version of the desktop interface; it was designed separately for playing with your fingers.

Movement and camera

• Movement: Touch an empty spot on the left half of the screen; the joystick appears under your thumb. Push it gently to walk, push it all the way to run.
• Camera: Drag with one finger on an empty area to rotate the camera, and pinch with two fingers to zoom in or out.
• Jump, crouch, lie prone: With the buttons around the attack button.

Tap-to-move is left out on purpose: the joystick handles movement, and a tap is for selecting a target. That way, a target tap that misses does not turn into a run you never wanted in the middle of a fight.

Targeting and attacking

• Tap a monster to select it. Tapping an NPC or an item on the ground starts the interaction; tapping empty ground clears the selection.
• Your character keeps hitting for as long as you hold down the large attack button.
• With auto attack on, tapping a monster or pressing the attack button walks you to the target and makes you hit it; if no target is selected, the nearest monster is taken.
• When you tap a skill that needs a target and none is selected, the nearest enemy is chosen; if the target is far away, your character runs into range first.
• The Pick up button collects items that have dropped on the ground.

Skill and item slots

• Tapping a filled slot uses it; tapping an empty slot lets you choose an item or a skill.
• Long-press and drag to move slots around, and drop outside the slot to empty it.
• The page arrows on the skill arc switch between four pages. The item slots at the top stay where they are when the page changes, so you are not searching for your potion in the middle of a fight.

Inventory, map and menus

• Long-press an item to see its details. In the inventory, a short tap opens a menu of actions such as Use, Equip and Drop.
• Tap the minimap to open the world map; tap a spot on the map to set a destination, and use two fingers to zoom and pan.
• The Inventory, Character, Skills, Quests and Mount windows open from the menu buttons at the top; you can close an open window with your phone's back gesture.

Chat

Tap the chat box or the bubble button to open the chat panel. The keyboard only opens when you tap the text field, and a message you left half-written is not deleted.

Set it up your way

• Left-handed layout: Turn it on in the Settings → Touch tab and the joystick moves to the right, while the attack and skill buttons move to the left.
• Touch settings: Interface size, joystick dead zone and camera sensitivity are in the same tab.

Gamepad

The game is being developed so that it can be played with a gamepad too. A gamepad is useful in menus as well as in combat: while a window is open, you move between items with the directional buttons and select with the confirm button; the shoulder buttons switch quick slot pages. When you start using the gamepad, the touch buttons withdraw from the screen.

Different devices, one chat

• Voice chat starts in push-to-talk mode on PC; you can change the key in the keyboard settings. On a phone, you turn talking on and off with the microphone button.
• Distance-aware voice: Nearby players are heard more strongly, distant ones more faintly.
• Personal mute: You can mute a player for yourself alone; this preference is kept after you leave the game as well.
• Chat translation: Chat messages are translated into the language of the reader. The translation is done by a model running on our own servers; messages are not sent to an outside service.

Settings take shape around your device

The mouse and keyboard tabs appear only on PC, and the touch tab only on a phone. Desktop-only graphics options such as Lumen, DLSS and FSR give way on mobile to resolution and anti-aliasing options. On every device, you see only the settings that are actually of use.

For performance on mobile

• Setting the resolution to 720p or 900p reduces battery drain and heat.
• If your phone heats up during long sessions, lower the quality by one step.

Frequently asked questions

Will mobile and PC players be on the same server?

Yes; all platforms are being designed to connect to the same world.

Will I be at a disadvantage on mobile?

The touch controls were designed to carry the click-to-target habit from PC over to the phone. Assists such as auto attack, selecting the nearest target and running into range make combat easier on mobile, while the rules of the game are the same on every device.

When can I download it to my phone?

There is no release date yet; announcements will be made on this website and in our Discord community.

Next step

Check whether your phone is up to the job on the system requirements page, then plan your first hours with the beginner's guide.