A new The First Descendant update has rolled out today with improvements to its recently introduced endgame multiplayer mode, buffs to several rare and ultimate weapons, and a new login rewards event. Nexon’s free-to-play looter shooter is currently in the midst of its second season, with its last major patch adding newcomer Ines Raya and the Void Erosion Purge mode, designed as a challenging test of late-game builds. This latest update targets some of the most frustrating parts of that, while also ensuring more weapons are viable.
The First Descendant hotfix 1.2.7 brings a range of improvements to the free Steam game. Three ultimate weapons have been improved. The Last Dagger’s default attack has been massively increased, and hitting an enemy applies both a stacking critical hit rate boost and its old buff, Patience. This has been slightly reworked, and now grants you the Strike effect when you reload the weapon at max Patience stacks. Strike causes you to fire enhanced rounds while active, and temporarily increases your movement speed when it runs out.
Alongside this, the Restored Relic unique launcher’s guided rounds now create cluster rounds upon explosion. You’ll get more of these depending on the weapon’s enhancement level, and they track nearby enemies – at a glance, it reminds me of the heyday of Destiny’s original Gjallarhorn. Finally, the damage dealt by the sticky bombs of the Sigvore’s Proof launcher will now increase proportionally to the number you have applied when they are detonated.
The Void Erosion Purge mission type has had quite a few adjustments. You’ll see far fewer ranged skills on elite wardens, and normal and elite trackers no longer apply the chill status effect. Monster spawns from stage 21 onward have been reworked, with a lower chance of some of the most troublesome types. There’s now a slight drop to the difficulty of the entire mode for solo players, while Commander Monsters have been nerfed when playing in groups of two to four people.
The attribute attack of weapons in Void Erosion Purge has been increased across the board. You’ll notice roughly double the ammo drops for all tiers of General, Special, Impact, and High-Power Rounds, and new reward distribution rules mean you’ll get clear rewards for finishing regardless of the penalty duration. All of these should make the new mode feel less frustrating without stripping away too much of its intended challenge.
Game director Minseok Joo notes that the team is still working on improving the balance between members of The First Descendant’s roster. As things stand, he explains, balancing high-difficulty content such as Void Erosion Purge is tough because of the power gap between different Descendants. Tune it too high, and many characters will struggle; turn the challenge down and the strongest characters will completely dominate the leaderboard.
The plan is therefore to adjust character balance before refining the mode itself. “However, with the ongoing preparation for Season 2 Episode 2 and live-service management, we regret that we cannot implement these improvements as quickly as possible,” he writes. “We sincerely apologize for this delay. We will share further details as soon as we finalize our improvement plans and schedule.”
To round out the update, a new event is underway. Kate’s Experiment: Call of the Flame is available now and hands out a wide range of cosmetics and crafting items. You’ll get the ‘Boost Morale’ emote and a ‘Big Game’ Ecive skin to show when you’re checking your menus. Then there are 14 days of login bonuses, which you can gather each day until Wednesday March 12, and additional challenge rewards available through Wednesday February 26.
The First Descendant hotfix 1.2.7 is out now. You can play the game for free on Steam. Check the full patch notes courtesy of Nexon Games for all the individual changes.
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