The First Descendant Update Makes Big Improvements to Endgame Activities

Summary

• The First Descendant Hotfix 1.2.11 improves rewards in Void Erosion Purge, making progression easier for players.
• The update introduces visual adjustments aimed at reducing visual fatigue.
• Nexon has also tackled balance issues, fixed bugs, and made UI/UX improvements.

Nexon has released a hotfix introducing improvements to The First Descendant Void Erosion Purge endgame mode, ramping up the rewards players obtain as they progress through different stages. Along with rewards, the hotfix brings changes to the Sigma Sector, balance adjustments, and plenty of bug fixes to The First Descendant.

Nexon’s free-to-play third-person looter shooter saw some success upon release, with The First Descendant reaching 10 million players in its first seven days. However, the game’s player count dropped significantly over the year due to mixed reviews, with concerns highlighting its free-to-play model and grind-heavy gameplay. Despite all that, Nexon continues to support the game and has recently released the Season 2, Episode 2 update, Beyond The Void, adding a new main story, a new Descendant, and more. Now, Nexon is fine-tuning some aspects of it to improve players’ experience.

Patch 1.2.11 introduces some necessary changes to The First Descendant Beyond The Void update, ramping up rewards in the Void Erosion Purge endgame mode. The number of Core Amplifiers players needed to improve their Ultimate Weapon seemed quite unfair, so Nexon significantly increased the number that can be acquired as a reward when completing Stages 21-30, with the reward for Stage 30 jumping from 40 to 70—making it much easier for players. Additionally, the time limit for the Void Erosion Purge has also been increased from 10 to 12 minutes for stages 1-30, the Death Penalty has been reduced from 24 to 20 seconds, and the monsters’ HP in stages 25-29 has been decreased.

The latest update introduced a new character to The First Descendant called Serena, a firearm-based DPS who can fight enemies using fire-element skills while soaring through the skies. The recent hotfix made some tweaks to the Purifying Blaze effect from Serena’s Module “Divine Surge” to make it less tiring on the eyes. Additionally, some weapons’ visual effects were also fine-tuned for the same reason.

Nexon has also addressed some UI and UX issues to make it easier for players to navigate menus, along with fixing several issues and introducing convenient features, such as new notification messages for in-game shopping actions. Sub-quests have been added to “View Quest Again” in the Descendant Instructor, making it easier for players to track their progress.

The patch also fixes many bugs impacting Descendants, weapons, UI, and an issue that prevented some players from progressing in The First Descendant’s main invasion quest “A New Encryption Scheme.” The patch has already been rolled out for PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, and PS5, and players can already experience the changes.

The First Descendant Update 1.2.11 Patch Notes

Content Improvements

(1) Content Improvements

Sigma Sector

– Sigma Sector Broken Boundary High-risk: Reduced the height of the Vulgus Storm Breaker appearing in Landing Zone Cassian.

– Changed the number of attempts of the Sigma Sector Mission Challenge from 5 to 8.

– Modified the effects to minimize visual fatigue when the commander monsters “Karel’s First Descendant Dia” and “Obliviant Commander, Pattern Elias” teleport the descendant.

Void Erosion Purge

– The number of Core Amplifiers that can be acquired a reward when completing Stages 21-30 has been increased as follows:

– Core Particle Disruptors have been added to the obtainable loot from defeating monsters in Stages 21-30.

ㄴ The higher the Stage, the greater the chance to acquire a Core Particle Disruptor.

– Changed the time limit for the Void Erosion Purge Stages 1-30 from 10 min to 12 min.

– Reduced the Death Penalty for the Void Erosion Purge in Stages 1-30 from 24 sec to 20 sec.

ㄴ Death Penalty start time → 20s

ㄴ Death Penalty increase time → 20s

– Decreased Monster HP in Stages 25-29.

(2) Descendants

– Modified the Purifying Blaze effect from Serena’s Module “Divine Surge” to reduce visual fatigue.

(3) Weapons & Modules

– Modified the projectile explosion and Cluster Rounds effect of “Restored Relic” to reduce visual fatigue.

– When in Sigma Sector with the unique weapon “Ground Sweeper” equipped, interacting with another “Ground Sweeper” will replenish the weapon’s Rounds per Magazine.

(4) UI & UX

– Improved the Shop page navigation hotkeys to allow continuous input.

– Changed the text of the Deselect All button in the Descendant selection window of the Shop to Select All.

– Improved the “Related Items” list to show products that are only available in Customize.

– Fixed the Remaining Time display for the “Assist with Serena’s Covert Operations” Event to correctly show the first Achievement period.

– Modified the Research interface to display “Owned” for Fellow-related Research Materials when the Fellow is already owned.

– Improved the Screen Tilt/Rotate Descendant option sliders in Photo Mode to operate continuously.

ㄴ When reaching one end, continuing to move in the same direction will take you to the opposite end.

– Changed the gamepad buttons for reflecting options on the core equip result screen.

(5) Miscellaneous

– Sub Quests have been added to “View Quest Again” in the Descendant Instructor.

ㄴ Creating the Sound of Thunder with Thunder Cage!

ㄴ Weapon Phase Exchanger

ㄴ Complete Basic Weapon Training

ㄴ Weapon Readjustment Training

ㄴ Introduction to Special Operations

ㄴ Complete Energy Activator Training

ㄴ Reactor Enhancement

ㄴ State-of-the-Art Training Facility

ㄴ Make an Ultimate Weapon Even More Ultimate

ㄴ Something To Be Improved

ㄴ Reactor Implant Training

ㄴ Disseminating Response Policy to the Void Anomalies

ㄴ Weapon Core Unlocking Training

ㄴ Introduction to Void Erosion Purge

– Fixed an issue where completing Today’s Bonus benefits in Sigma Sector would prevent the selection of the corresponding list in Acquisition Info.

Bug Fixes

(1) Content

– Fixed an issue where the initial attack range and effect direction of the Commanders “Karel’s First Descendant Dia” and “Obliviant Commander, Pattern Elias” did not match while they were Immune.

– Fixed the issue where the main invasion quests “A New Encryption Scheme” and “Invasion” could not be progressed when reconnecting to the game during the quest.

(2) Descendants

– Fixed an issue where Valby and Ultimate Valby would display abnormal animations when their “Clean Up” Skill ended while airborne.

(3) Weapons & Modules

– Fixed an issue where incorrect stat values were displayed in the tooltips for the “Multi-Sight Module (Impact Rounds)” and the “Multi-Processor Module (Special Rounds)” at Enhancement Level 0.

– Fixed an issue where the “Firing Duration” was displayed in red in the information UI when enhancing the Unique Ability of the “Albion Cavalry Gun.”

(4) UI & UX

– Fixed an issue where the UI filter was not updating in real-time when applying Descendant filters in the Shop.

– Modified the Shop Inbox tab to display a red dot when there are items to receive.

– Modified the “Acquire Attached Item” key guide to show when hovering over attached items in Shop Inbox.

– Added a notification message when attempting to exceed purchase limits in the “[Event] Operation Support Shop.”

– Fixed an issue where the experience bar was not filled completely when reaching the maximum Unique Arche Factor level.

– Added a notification message when acquiring Today’s Bonus in Sigma Sector.

– Fixed an issue where Back Attachment Paints were not being displayed when moving between Maps.

– Modified the Weapon Info to display the Fire Rate stat without decimal points.

– Fixed an issue where equipment could not be unequipped from slots using a controller in the Customize > Fellow Main Screen.

– Fixed an issue where the display values for the newly added stats “Multi-Hit Chance” and “Multi-Hit Damage” were missing a calculation formula in the DPS UI.

ㄴ Actual applied values were correctly displayed; only UI stat values were displayed incorrectly.

(5) Miscellaneous

– Fixed an issue where item Acquisition Info from Combining and Dismantling did not scroll correctly.

– Fixed an issue where UI tooltip values for certain Inversion effects were incorrectly displayed and differed from the actual applied values in all languages except Korean.

ㄴ Strike Point Amplification

ㄴ Ammo System

ㄴ Evolutionary Cutting Mechanism

ㄴ Aerial Maneuvering Raider