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The First Descendant is getting heavily criticised by its fanbase ahead of the next update, and a lot of this circulates from two features which are expected to “kill the game” if they are not sorted out soon.
The two issues in question are laid out by YouTuber Vertigo, who claims that the “Strategic Outpost CD Timer needs to be removed ot rediced to [roughly] 10 seconds,” while focusing the second claim on the fact that “Void Shards rewards need to be at least tripled.”
The First Descendant update 1.0.3 is expected to launch today (July 18th) and it’s the largest patch to the game so far. While we know from a Nexon blog that the update is going to aim to “fix game errors,” there’s little suggestion that we’re going to see any meta balancing implemented. This is bad news for anybody who is worried that TFD’s life-span will be cut short by poor decisions and quality of life changes not helping the player.
Vertigo says that the Strategic Outpost CD Timer and Void Shard rewards are “inexcusable,” and that they will “kill the game within a few weeks.” They go on to say that most players haven’t “hit the endgame Amorphous grinds yet,” and when they do, the existing problems are going to be absolutely swarmed by influxes of other players facing the same issues.
Farming for Amorphous material is already a huge ask. Low drop rates, timers, and a long and grindy process all contribute to this feeling. Vertigo thinks that most casual players are going to quit the game as soon as this pain-point becomes a wide-spread issue.
A solid solution is also offered that compromises on the desperate need to implement these updates fast, while also allowing for a long-term solution to be considered too. “The Strategic Outpost cooldown timer needs to be removed … or reduced to 10 seconds or so” while saying that “Void Shards need an overhaul, but it in the absence of that they at least need to give MASSIVELY more shards.”
Replies to the post have lamented how grindy and boring the latter parts of the game are. “I just spent most of the day grinding outpost and it is absolutely killing my enjoyment of what’s supposed to be a fun, co-op, looter shooter.”
We’ve recently had a look at how The First Descendant is designed to make looting boring, and instead urges you to pay-to-win instead. Despite the fact that Nexon have – so far – been pretty good at incorporating player feedback, how likely is it that we will see these changes implemented without impairing its microtransaction strategy?
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