‘First Descendant’ crossplay beta delayed until September but will be open to all
Nexon announced that it’s delaying the crossplay beta for its anticipated free-to-play looter shooter “The First Descendant,” but the news isn’t all bad for fans.
When it comes out Sept. 19 to 25, the crossplay beta will be open to all players on PC and PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Producer Beomjun Lee and director Minseok Joo said the during development, the team made so many improvements and wanted to polish new aspects of it that they wanted to create a more complete version for players to experience.
In the process, they shifted from a closed beta to an open one in order to get more people in the game. They pointed to a framerate performance and the option for performance or quality modes on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series.
They took player feedback into account from the first beta on Steam and revamped how the grappling hook worked and added a few parkour movements. Now, players can use momentum and swing around objects with the traversal gear, giving players more freedom and allowing them to take actions in a 3-D space. The upgrades make the grappling hook sound more streamlined and easier to use.
When it comes to parkour, the director said he thought it would interfere with the fast-paced action of the game, but he heard player comments that they needed moves to create natural connection to action. To accomplish this, the team added climbing and vaulting.
When it comes other playable content, the developers said players will have access to 11 playable Descendants and two ultimate Descendants. The first was a handgun called Last Dagger that gains an effect called Patience whenever they kill an enemy. It increases a critical hit chance and the effect stacks up to five levels, with the peak delivering a stronger attack that has a stun effect.
The other Ultimate is a shotgun called the Smithereens, and players get an unconditional critical hit if all the shots hit at once and when you score a critical hit with the weapon. Essentially, players have to use it up close to trigger the perks.
Both weapons have to be acquired through research and the materials for that are obtained through World Missions and Voice Intercept battles. In the open beta, there 8 Void Intercept Bosses and 2 new Void Intercept Battle maps.
Lastly, those who participate in the open beta will receive two rewards. All participants will get a limited-edition social motion and those who h it level 20 will get back-attachment. The developers showed off potential concepts that include a hamster in a wheel, a fish tank and bear.
As for when “The First Descendant” will officially come out, the Nexon developers said much of that has to do with how the beta goes. He said there’ll be more information once that’s finished.
The game itself looks gorgeous and has a somewhat interesting story. Humans have tow fend off alien invaders who crossed dimensions over a 100 years ago. The game is a pure co-op experience, where players in a 4-player squads take on enemies comparable to “Destiny,” “Tom Clancy’s The Division” or “Outriders.” Nexon doesn’t have plans to introduce a PvP component.