Summary
The First Descendanthas a large and ever-expanding roster of unique characters to destroy the Vulgus menace. Unfortunately, some are certainly better than others. Two Descendants in particular, Sharen and Enzo, are so useful that they should be one of the first Descendant unlocks after Bunny. However, their strength does not come from their stats or their combat abilities; instead,these two stand out because they have unique abilities outside of combat.
Sharen is the only Descendant with an ability that lets her turn invisible. In turn, this makes her the only character who can realistically infiltrate outposts successfully. Enzo, on the other hand, gets additional rewards for clearing Encrypted Vaults. He is also able to solve them more easily than other Descendants, which will help players save their precious code analyzers. Vaults that require ultra-precision code analyzers are difficult without Enzo’s buff,making him all but necessary for this mechanic.
The First Descendant New Cosmetics: All Hidden Details & Hints At Future Content Explained
One in-game battle pass reward could hold clues to the inspiration for some of the game’s biggest Descendants, as well as the future of the game.
Outpost Farming Is Not Worth It Without Sharen
Her Stealth Skills Help Infiltrate Outposts Quickly
Vulgus strategic outposts are scattered throughout the various regions which dot Ingris. Successfully infiltrating these outposts without being detected will result in additional rewards in normal mode, but in hard mode,some amorphous materials can only be acquired through successful infiltration. This means unlocking certain Descendants and ultimate weapons will require the use of Sharen’s Active Camouflage ability. WithoutSharen’s stealth build, infiltration requires a careful game of cat and mouse which can take several times Sharen’s clear time, if the player can manage it at all.
This means unlocking certain Descendants and ultimate weapons will require the use of Sharen’s Active Camouflage ability.
The fact that Sharen is the only one who can successfully infiltrate an outpost can be a major hurdle for newer players. Her abilities are centered on guerrilla tactics - she gets in, hits hard, then gets out. While this can be useful in normal missions, it can be a detriment in outposts, as they are filled to the brim with endlessly respawning enemies.Her abilities also fall off once the boss enters the picture, as they generally do not deal sufficient damage and her stun becomes useless in many cases.
Encrypted Vaults Are A Major Problem Only Solved By Enzo
His Skills Provide Optimized Farming
Starting in the Sterile Lands, players will start to run across holograms on the ground, which denote a nearbyencrypted vault location. These vaults can hold gold, Kuiper Shards, modules, and valuable crafting materials which are a chore to farm otherwise. Enzo is the only Descendant who gets bonus drops when he unlocks an encrypted vault, meaningthe use of this character can greatly reduce how much material farming is needed.
Encrypted Vaults that require normal or precision code analyzers can be completed easily with any character, but the ultra-precision vaults reduce the sweet spot to a small sliver.
While the bonus rewards are reason enough to use Enzo for opening vaults, the mini-game becomes incredibly difficult without him. Similar tolockpicking inSkyrim, Encrypted Vaults have a sweet spot, and Enzo increases its size. Encrypted Vaults that require normal or precision code analyzers can be completed easily with any character, but the ultra-precision vaults reduce the sweet spot to a small sliver. Failing the mini-game still uses an analyzer, and because they only rarely drop from enemies, thatfailure can quickly consume your resources.
A Rework Is Sorely Needed For The First Descendant
Mimic Descendant Abilities
The First Descendant’smain gameplay loop is designed around farming for materials, and Sharen and Enzo are crucial for that task. Some changes could be made to gameplay which still make the benefits possible for other Descendants while still giving these two their time to shine. The best way to accomplish this would be toadd some mechanics which allow the player to mimic their special abilities.
Outposts can only be successfully infiltrated by avoiding detection. While being completely unseen is one way to do this,stealth games are full of methods to sneak around guards without being completely invisible. One of the more reliable methods would be to produce a sound that draws guards away. This could be an iteration of the surveillance towers, which currently only increase the outpost mission time from being disabled. They could also be modified to produce a short alert sound that draws the guards.
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The First Descendant has a pretty large community for a new game, but initial release features put some people off. Hotfix 1.0.7 looks to change that.
Encrypted Vaults could also be slightly reworked, so Enzo is not implicitly required. Nexon could take advantage of the existing holograms on the ground. Currently, they only hint at a vault being nearby. Instead, finding those clues could cause the mini-game to become easier and the reward to increase. These changes would be incremental so thatonly by finding all the clueswould a player be able to match Enzo’s innate bonuses.
Both of these reworks make the Descendant’s abilities attainable, but at the cost of time. Sharen would still be able to clear outposts more easily than other Descendants by walking right in, and Enzo would still have his bonuses from the start. However, players who have not unlocked these Descendants, or just prefer others, would not be pigeonholed into choosing them for those activities. Just like howThe First Descendantplayers might forego Bunny during an elimination mission to use a Descendant they prefer, the option to play inefficiently should still exist.
The First Descendant
Nexon Games presents The First Descendant, a third-person action RPG shooter set in a distant future where Humanity fights for survival against a hostile alien race. As a Descendant, players will embark on various missions and quests as they learn about the origins of the Descendants and partner up with up to four players to engage in expansive boss battles, unlocking new gear and skills.
