Nexon has released another big patch for The First Descendant and in the process made some important changes to the game.
The headline here is a change to the icons that were found to be similar to those in rival looter shooter Destiny 2. Nexon had confirmed plans to change these icons in response, and with the release of patch 1.0.3 across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, it’s done just that.
“The First Descendant has been developed with deep affection and respect for various looter shooters, and we take feedback regarding other similar games very seriously,” Nexon insisted in the update 1.0.3 patch notes, below.
“Through this hotfix, we are trying to reflect the unique identity of The First Descendant. We will continue to improve the game for the fans of the genre.”
It’s also worth noting that this patch adds “away from keyboard (AFK)” to the player report menu in response to the prevalence of AFK farming and players going AFK during co-op missions. In the patch notes, Nexon said it’s taking a “cautious approach” to how it handles The First Descendant’s AFK problem, and once again called on the community to show restraint as it works out what to do.
“We have been keeping a close eye on recent trends regarding AFK, and we agree that AFK hinders the game play for other players,” Nexon said. “However, we believe that a cautious approach is required in this matter. This is because AFK judgment mechanisms can sometimes be bypassed with simple shooting or moving actions, and the AFK kick system can be exploited for other purposes.
“First, we are trying to learn the patterns of AFK players with AFK reports. Through this, we plan to collect the information necessary to separate AFK players in matchmaking and prepare an appropriate measure in the future.
“We are considering ways to resolve the AFK issue so that everyone can enjoy the game together. We ask you to respect other players in the meantime, and if you have an idea on this matter, please let us know.”
Nexon said it will skip next week’s patch in favor of releasing the game’s fifth week update on August 1. This adds the new Descendant Luna and Ultimate Valby, new intercept battles, new ultimate weapons, modules, external components, and skins.
Nexon’s free-to-play co-op focused looter shooter has enjoyed enormous popularity with over 10 million players in just 10 days. But it has been heavily criticized for its ultra aggressive monetization, which includes the cost of Ultimate versions of its playable characters. This week, IGN reported on one player who spent an eye-watering 200 hours to unlock every Ultimate Descendant currently available in the game without paying money.
The First Descendant Update 1.0.3 Patch Notes
Content Improvements
(1) UI/UX
– An option has been added to turn off other players’ effects (projectile explosion).
– In order to improve the visibility, the explosion effect and the duration of ‘Vestigial Organ’ have been reduced.
# Director’s Comment
As Gley’s infinite launcher build became popular, we took temporary measures to address an issue where the explosion effect was disrupting gameplay severely. Currently, we only provide the option to disable other players’ projectile explosion effects, but we are planning to enhance this feature for other effects as well.
– A system message has been added to make it easier to check the DBNO status of allies, and an extra measure has been added to the party member UI.
– Reduced the research completion visual effect duration for materials frequently used in research.
– ‘Away from keyboard (AFK)’ has been added to the player report menu.
# Director’s Comment
We have been keeping a close eye on recent trends regarding AFK, and we agree that AFK hinders the game play for other players. However, we believe that a cautious approach is required in this matter. This is because AFK judgment mechanisms can sometimes be bypassed with simple shooting or moving actions, and the AFK kick system can be exploited for other purposes.
First, we are trying to learn the patterns of AFK players with AFK reports. Through this, we plan to collect the information necessary to separate AFK players in matchmaking and prepare an appropriate measure in the future.
We are considering ways to resolve the AFK issue so that everyone can enjoy the game together. We ask you to respect other players in the meantime, and if you have an idea on this matter, please let us know.
– The UI has been updated so that major rewards obtained from quests that have already been cleared are checked in the quest list.
– A function has been added to view acquisition information directly in the target section of Library.
– Fixed an issue of scrolling to the top when moving from the target item of Library to the corresponding item list.
– Added Firearm types and Rounds types to the Library Weapon List.
– Fixed an issue where a player who joined the Void Fusion Reactor could use the Reconstructing Device even if there were no Void Shard after completing the mission.
– When completing a Void Fragment mission obtaining two types of Void Shard, the amount obtained has increased by approximately 1.5 times.
– Void Fusion Reactor mission tooltip has been updated to display the number of Void Shards.
– Added Linked Amorphous Material to Void Fusion Reactor mission tooltip.
– Void Shard attribute will now be displayed on the map directly.
# Director’s Comment
We discovered and fixed an issue where a party member’s ‘Abort Mission’ system was being exploited to repeatedly play the Void Fusion Reactor without consuming any Shards. While addressing this glitch, we also considered why players might resort to using it. We realized that the transition from Shard farming to actual Void Fusion Reactor missions was quite inconvenient and tedious. Therefore, we not only fixed the bug but also increased the amount of Void Shards obtained and improved the farming process to make it more convenient. Please wait a little longer, as we will significantly improve the Fragment farming routes in the upcoming Week 5 update scheduled for August 1st.
The Dev Team will continue to learn and grow from your playing experiences. We will always listen to your valuable feedback and strive to provide a better gaming environment.
– The number of Attached Items that can be registered has been updated to 1,000 each for weapons, reactors, and external components.
(2) Descendants
– ‘Thrill Bomb’ and ‘Lightning Emission’ with the Ultimate Bunny ‘High-Voltage’ module will now target nearby targets rather than random targets.
– ‘Allergy’ of ‘Reconstruction Serum’ of Yujin now applies to Colossus as well.
– Ultimate Bunny ‘Electric Charge’, ‘High-Voltage’ and Bunny ‘Electric Condense’ sound effects have been changed.
– ‘Use Bunny’s Skills to inflict Electrocution on enemies’ has been removed from the 2nd and 3rd stage evolution conditions of the bunny Evolving Skin ‘Speedy Awakened One’.
(3) Infiltration Operation
– You can now view mission results through the ESC menu after completing an Infiltration Operation.
– The time limit for destroying the Ironheart has been removed in the Infiltration Operation ‘Fortress – Heart of the Fortress’.
– The location of the supply droid in the Infiltration Operation ‘Fortress – Quarantine Zone’ has been moved to the battle zone, making it easier to supply bullets.
(4) Mission
– The position of immunity spheres of Named Monsters will not change anymore as the monsters move or rotate.
– The sequential sphere type of the Named Immunity of ‘Alternate Hand of Nazeistra’ that appears in White-night Gulch ‘Eye of Truth’ has been updated.
(5) Field
– The drop quantity on Hard difficulty has been increased by approximately 1.5.
(6) Miscellaneous
– The stack limit for consumable items has been increased from 1 million to 100 million.
– Updated some icon images.
# Director’s Comment
The First Descendant has been developed with deep affection and respect for various looter shooters, and we take feedback regarding other similar games very seriously. Through this hotfix, we are trying to reflect the unique identity of ‘The First Descendant’. We will continue to improve the game for the fans of the genre.
Optimization Improvements
– Fixed the memory leak that occurred intermittently in windowed mode.
– Fixed the memory leak when using Frame Generation.
– Fixed the issue of temporary frame drops when opening inventory with DLSS Frame Generation.
– Fixed an issue where frame limit was not restored even if additional options were changed to Off when DLSS Frame Generation or FSR Frame Generation is enabled.
Bug Fixes
(1) UI/UX
– [Russian][Spanish][Portuguese] Fixed an issue where the material quantity text was cut off in Weapon Transmission.
– Fixed an issue where the top menu remained when Scroll Map > Top Library through Acquisition Information, and then moving to the screen with ESC.
– Fixed an issue where a black screen was briefly displayed when starting Special Operation.
– Symbol effects have been added for ‘Code Analyzer’, ‘Code Breaker’, and ‘Core Material’ dropped.
– Fixed an issue where account names starting with ‘#’ were not visible.
(2) Descendants
– Fixed an issue where the Descendant couldn’t be changed after completing the exclusive dungeon of the quest ‘To Bunny, Our Beloved Daughter’ in the Bunny quests.
– Fixed an issue where Bunny’s Lightning Emission was used even if there was no moving distance when rolling over a box or wall.
# Director’s Comment
We love how Bunny runs fast, unleashes electric energy to take down her enemies. Bunny is a Descendant who gains her power in proportion to the distance she travels. However, rolling around in a corner and using her skills was not what we expected from her, so we decided to fix this.
Additionally, we are detecting the use of various macros and unauthorized programs through our monitoring system, including the rolling in place macro. We are currently taking actions against macros and unauthorized programs, and will continue to strive to create a more enjoyable gaming environment for everyone.
– Fixed an issue where sound effect was not played intermittently when landing on the floor with Kyle’s ‘Superconductivity Thrusters’.
– Fixed an issue where the charging motion was repeated with Kyle’s ‘Repulsion Dash’.
(3) Modules
– Fixed an issue where the ‘Arche Acceleration’ module did not increase the speed and distance of projectiles.
– Fixed an issue where Ajax’s ‘Body Enhancement’ module did not reflect the max shield in the current shield after moving to the map.
– Fixed an issue where the Firearm ATK of the ‘Shoot Focus’ module was applied as a sum operation and not as a multiplication operation.
– Fixed an issue where the module list scroll was reset to the top after Module Enhancement.
(4) Mission
– Fixed an issue where monsters would not spawn if the first monsters spawned upon entering the Vulgus Strategic Outpost were immediately killed.
– Fixed an issue where the next quest could not be started under certain circumstances.
– Fixed an issue where the sphere would tremble when it was far away during the Named Monster’s sphere gimmick.
– Fixed an issue that prevented field change by removing the shield created during the ‘Upper Hatchery’ mission in the White-night Gulch Hatchery.
– Fixed an issue where monsters would spawn even without an actual battle in the White-night Gulch ‘Fortress Outskirts’.
# Director’s Comment
The Fortress Outskirts have become a popular farming area, with many monsters pouring in from the beginning of launch. We love the ‘run and kill’ play and believe running, shooting, and bursting are the fundamental aspects of a looter shooter. However, using the terrain to exploit and gather monsters without any action was not what we intended. If everyone simply stood still and hunted, the game’s enjoyment would quickly diminish. Therefore, we decided to make a change.
We maintained the spawn rate by keeping the 4 Vulgus Resource Storages active simultaneously, but monsters will not increase when players are idle. Run, shoot, and create some explosions! Many more monsters will continue to appear.
(5) Field
– Fixed an issue where ‘Code Analyzer’ was intermittently required when working with the Encrypted Vault in the Hard difficulty.
– Fixed an issue where falling while using a grappling hook in a certain section of the prologue caused you to spawn at the next location with the Mission Unfinished status.
(6) Void Intercept Battle
– Fixed an issue where the Removal did not happen intermittently and the grappling hook was maintained during a battle.
(7) Miscellaneous
– Fixed an issue where items were not collected when purchasing multiple items of the same product.
# Director’s Additional Comment
Thanks to the love and interest that you have shown us, we feel the brimming energy of the community. Hotfix 1.0.3 includes many fixes, which we hope will improve your gaming experience.
Recently, we saw a video in the community where the Colossus was defeated more quickly through module switching. If we had a bit more time, we would have liked to include a fix for this in Hotfix 1.0.3, but unfortunately, it didn’t make it into this update.
The Dev Team does not want module switching to become another strategy. This method makes combat tedious and does not fit well with the run-and-gun playstyle. The Dev Team wants skills, weapons, modules, and external components to be part of the strategy. We hope that in-depth build research will progress, but strategies requiring inconvenient control are not what the development team aims for.
Last but not least, we are planning to skip the patch next week for the upcoming 5th week update on August 1st. Please look forward to the new Descendant Luna and Ultimate Valby, new intercept battles, new ultimate weapons, modules, external components, and skins on August 1st.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.