Developer Nexon has released the first post-launch update for The First Descendant, bringing some much-needed improvements to the game after its rocky launch.
Patch 1.0.1, now available on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, improves performance on PlayStation 5 in particular (the PS5 version had significant frame rate issues), brings gameplay changes and various bug fixes, and fixes the logo sound volume when launching the game.
In terms of gameplay, the recovery times after being knocked down and knocked down have been increased by 1.5 times, and the maximum use of the Eterllick shield ability per phase has been reduced from two to one. However, no changes have been made to The First Descendant’s much-criticized monetization, which some have called “microtransaction hell.”
Nexon’s free-to-play co-op shooter, a sort of fusion of Warframe and Destiny, launched on June 30 and has attracted a sizable number of players on Steam (Sony and Microsoft don’t disclose player counts on PlayStation and Xbox). On Valve’s platform, The First Descendant has so far registered 239,513 concurrent players, enough to put the game in the top five most-played games on Steam. Check out IGN’s review The First Descendant review in progress to find out what we think of the game so far.
But the launch has been plagued by significant issues, including the aforementioned framerate and crashing issues, and many players are still waiting for promised rewards, including Twitch drops. Nexon has issued numerous apologies and handed out compensation in the form of resources and in-game items, but that hasn’t stopped the complaints. Nexon even had to ask gamers to stop purchasing the same item multiple times through Steam or the PlayStation or Xbox platform stores because players were not getting what they were paying for.
Full First Descendant Hotfix 1.0.1 Patch Notes:
Platform and system
– Fixed the issue where the logo sound volume was too high when launching the game.
– Server and client stabilization has been performed.
– (PS5) Removed unintended factors that degraded performance.
– (PS5, XSX) Fixed the issue where FSR Upscale was malfunctioning.
Content Improvements
– Recovery times after knockback and knockdown have been sped up by 1.5x.
– Maximum use of Eterllick shield skill per phase has been reduced from 2 times to 1 time.
Bug Fixes
(1) User interface/user experience
– Fixed the issue where the back button was not working after closing the capacity exceeded popup in the module upgrade UI.
(2) Descendant
– (XB1) Fixed issue where other players’ heads wearing skins would intermittently not display.
(3) Module
– Fixed the issue where the “Skill Power Modifier” number was not applied correctly after upgrading the “Deadly Infection” module to level 5.
– Fixed the issue where the Ultimate Module drop animation was used when the normal module “High Power Bullet Capacity Increase” was dropped.
(4) Field
– Fixed issue where object destruction animations were not appearing in Strategic Outpost.
– Fixed the issue where the name and description of the NPC Dominique in the Hagios region were displayed incorrectly.
(5) Equipment
– Fixed the issue where the Ultimate Weapon “Restored Relic” guided tour was not applying the “Ancient Fire” status effect.
– Fixed tooltip error for Fire skill of the 2-part external component set effect “Active Volcano”.
– Fixed tooltip error for weak point damage of 4 external components effect “Frozen Heart”.
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.