The First Descendanthas quickly established a player base, but the endgame is one aspect that draws constant ire.
The time it takes to grind materials is a constant topic of discussion on Social Media, and inmultiple threads on Reddit. In good news,Nexon has just addressed this in their latest patch notes.
The First Descendant Puts The Focus On Players By Prioritizing “Honest” Feedback
The First Descendant’s director looked for “honest” player feedback throughout its early access playtests.
Thepatch notes for Season 1have just dropped, with a few pleasant gameplay changes to Void Shards.
The First Descendant Seasonal Update Patch Notes
For those out of the loop, many items in The First Descendant are locked behind Amorphous Materials.
Most of these can only be obtained by completing a short activity with a 20% drop rate. Next, you must run multiple activities to get Void Shards, then beat an encounter to finally open the material.
That’s three layers of grind, all for a slim chance of getting the desired item. Those drop rates can be as low as 3% so the odds are usually against you.
In the patch notes, Nexon directly addresses this issue, stating that playing Void Fragments once on Hard Difficulty now grants enough Void Shards to use the Fusion Reactor once. This currently takes two plays, sothe time requirement is effectively slashed in half.
This change dramatically speeds up the grind as Void Shard acquisition is the most time-consuming part of opening Amorphous Materials. The patch notes also point to the system being simplified and Void Shards being more readily available from other activities.
Grinding is a core part of The First Descendant, but these changes should make the most mind-numbing parts of it a little less insufferable.
It’s important to remember that other games in the genre, likeDestiny 2, were also exceptionally grindy until theygrew with expansions.
More Content Is On The Way For The First Descendant
The Void Shard changes are a big deal for endgame players, but there’s plenty more to look forward to. Nexon has announced that the newest Descendant,Hailey Scott, will join the roster on August 29th. Players can also try out new post-game content and weapons on the same day.
The patch notes reveal thatseasonal contentis dropping in three parts, and players can look forward to new activities at the end of each month.
Update Items
August 29th
1st Update
New Descendant: Hailey and Hailey Skins added Invasion Dungeon Inversion Reinforcement Ultimate Weapon Excava Invasion Season Battle Pass
September 26th
2nd Update
New Interception against Death Stalker Collosi Ultimate Weapon Frost Watcher New Ultimate Skins Ultimate Descendant Exclusive Spawn Effects
October 30th
3rd Update
Ultimate Freyna and Exclusive Story Ultimate Freyna Exclusive Modules Hailey Modification Modules New Ultimate Modules Highest Difficulty Infiltrations ETA-0 Trader
Oddly enough, the eagerly-awaited Ultimate Descendant,Freyna, and her Exclusive Story aren’t coming until October 30th. The patch notes hint at a tragic love story for Freyna, but asWarframehasrecently added romance options, who knows if they’ll end up in TFD down the line?
Feedback is understandably mixedregarding the drip-feed of content, as many expected a massive drop at the end of August. Still, it’s good to see Nexon addressing community woes so soon after launch, and it sets a positive precedence for future seasons.
Early on, the developers boldly claimed thatThe First Descendantwas to bethe next generation of Looter Shooter. It will be interesting to see if that holds true with future seasons.
The First Descendant
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Are you ready for a brutal grind, Descendant?
