Since its launch in late June, The First Descendant has been experiencing a missing keyboard (AFK) issue. Now, developer Nexon has asked its players to stop playing without a keyboard and refrain from farming AFKs.
Nexon’s free-to-play co-op shooter is enjoying massive popularity, with over 10 million players in just 10 days. But on the battlefield, an increasingly annoying issue is making some players grind their teeth: AFK farming.
AFK farming isn’t a problem unique to The First Descendant, but in this game it’s particularly bad. The idea is that players join a mission with others and simply twiddle their thumbs while everyone else does the hard work, then reap the rewards like experience at the end.
I’ve seen AFK farmers with my own eyes while playing The First Descendant: they sometimes run in circles, clearly in an attempt to avoid any AFK detection that Nexon might have set up. As players progress through the mission, the AFK farmer will be forcibly teleported to catch up, even up to the boss fight, where they will continue to run in circles.
Nexon issued a statement in response on social media that covered AFK farming, as well as going AFK during co-op play in general. “If you have to go away, only do it in Albion!” Nexon said, pointing to the game’s main city. But the statement also covers cheating, which is a growing problem for The First Descendant.
Here is the statement in full:
Lately, we have been receiving more and more reports of inappropriate behavior in our game. While the development team works on measures, we would like to remind Descendants of the following guidelines:
1️⃣ The use, distribution or creation of unauthorized programs is strictly prohibited. 🚫
2️⃣ Don’t leave during a co-op game. If you have to leave, only do so in Albion! 🚶♂️🚶♀️
3️⃣ Please refrain from farming in AFK mode during missions. 🤖🚫
We always strive to create a fun and enjoyable gaming environment for Descendants! 🎮✨
Please keep these rules in mind and help us build a bigger community together! 🤝🌟
This statement, which essentially amounts to a warning to “play properly,” won’t have any major effects, which is why players are calling on Nexon to add proper anti-cheat measures and anti-AFK farming mechanics. Some, however, are defending AFK farming because, they insist, they’re so sick of The First Descendant’s crushing grind that they’ve lost the will to play properly.
The First Descendant is already a huge success, but Nexon will be keen to grow its player base as the game evolves, and we’ve seen how difficult that has become for many publishers and developers who have entered the ultra-competitive live service market in recent years.
While The First Descendant is clearly a success, it is not without controversy and has a “mixed” user review score on Steam. Players have heavily criticized The First Descendant’s Ultra-Aggressive Monetizationwhich includes $100 character packs and premium customization items that expire after use. Nexon was also accused of copying Destiny 2 icons for the icons used in The First Descendant, something The company has now said it will tackle the game.
Anti-AFK measures would be great. You already have it in Albion if you stay inactive for too long you get kicked back to the menu.
So far, this is one of the few things I don’t like about the game.
— James Getty (@DigitalHitmann) July 16, 2024
For god knows how long every game has had an auto-kick, this game even has an auto-kick! I know because I got sent off in Albion! It’s a pretty toothless answer to the problem, unfortunately.
— NXN Gaming (@NXNStreams) July 16, 2024
Overall, The First Descendant is a mix of mechanics from various looter shooters already on the market. There are a number of Destiny traits that can be found in The First Descendant’s design, systems, and mechanics, but there’s also a lot of Warframe.
Last week, Nexon released A major update for The First Descendant This brings big changes to the game, but leaves out some aspects that had become a topic of discussion within the community.
IGN Review of The First Descendant gave it a 5/10 rating. We said: “The First Descendant has all the basic elements of a fantastic looter shooter, but they’re buried under a pile of monotonous quests, a terrible story, and an infuriating free-to-play model that influenced its game design in the worst possible way.”
Wesley is IGN’s UK News Editor. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or in confidence at wyp100@proton.me.