kikii
Member
ohh yeh thats true i just noticed it
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The First Descendant |OT| Co-Hop? Bunny Hop!
- Thread starter cormack12
- Start date
8BiTw0LF
Consoomer
Dev Note Vol. 12 - Season 1: "Invasion" Update Announcement
Greetings, Descendants. This is the Director of The First Descendant, Minseok Joo.
In this Dev Note, I would like to share preview of the Season 1 update.
Please check the major update details along with the weekly updated content schedule for Season 1.
Just when you thought Karel's Legion had retreated, they're coming back with more powerful tactical weapons. The First Descendant Season 1 update "Invasion" features a new episode along with the Invasion events, New Descendant Hailey, Ultimate Freyna, Ultimate Weapons, new Intercept Battle Death Stalker, and a season-exclusive progression system called Inversion Reinforcement. Season 1: Invasion will be released throughout three updates, starting August 29th, offering a variety of content with new challenges and rewards.
The First Descendant is planning to provide seasonal updates, and 'Invasion' is the first step of this journey. We'll explore the secrets of the Descendants and unravel the story of Ingris as we journey through the seasons. You will discover new weapons, new Descendants will join the war, and the Descendants will become more powerful. Of course, the seasons will progress in a way that preserves the progression of your Descendants and your collectibles.
Karel's New Weapon
Karel has prepared a new tactical weapon for revenge. This tactical weapon, forged from the Ancestors' technology discovered by Amon, is the Vulgus legion's new strategy against the Descendants.
When the Invasion Season begins, the Invasion event will occur daily in two of the "Hard Infiltration Operation" dungeons. In the dungeon where the invasion has begun, you can start by selecting either "Infiltration Operation" or "Invasion", and the Invasion event can be cleared twice per day for each dungeon.
Invasion Dungeons will put your skills and wits to the test. To hold back the Descendants, Karel has built a defense system with different mechanisms for each legion. These dungeons are solo challenges that feature different routes, puzzles, and strategies from the normal dungeons, where your objective is to fend off the invasion as quickly as possible.
New Descendant, Hailey Scott
Once a guerilla unit supply soldier who gained fame as a legendary sniper, Hailey is now the newest member of the Descendant Corps. Not only can she take out enemies from a distance with her anti-materiel Sniper Cannon, she can also rapidly decrease her body temperature to spew Chill when emotions run high. While Hailey is an admirer of Viessa who can manipulate Chill at will, and is a cold-blooded sniper on the battlefield, she's also a warm-hearted hero who loves to make snow crystals and bring smiles to children's faces.
- Cryo Round: Instantly fires a Cryo Round that automatically tracks the enemy, deals damage and inflicts 'Cryo' which deals Additional Damage along with Hailey's Firearm Damage.
- Storm Snare: Fires a Freezing Beam that unleashes a Chill Vortex around you and knocks back enemies. Inflicts 'Cryo' on enemies that take Damage.
- Cold Fury: Hailey's Movement Speed gradually decreases, but her Firearm and Skill Critical Hit Rate, and Firearm Penetration all increase significantly.
- Zenith: Replaces Hailey's weapon with her Unique Weapon, anti-material Sniper Cannon. Penetration of the anti-material Sniper Cannon and Firearm ATK greatly increase and deal additional Chill skill damage. Recovers MP upon successfully attacking Weak Points and decreases the Cooldown the more Bullets you have remaining when the skill ends.
Inversion Reinforcer for Season Progression
Descendants experienced a change in their Arche as they've come into contact with Ironhearts multiple times. Their Arche began to draw energy from a destroyed Ironheart. Embracing this energy as a source of strength, the Descendants can now gain new abilities through the Inversion Reinforcers.
- Hunt: Improves the Descendant's basic Stats.
- Attribute: Improves the Descendant's Attribute Resistance.
- Recovery: Improves the Descendant's Recovery.
- Survival: Receives a defense buff that activates under certain conditions.
- Season: Receives an effect that is useful for Invasion Dungeons.
Inversion Reinforcement is a progression system that only lasts for the season. You can learn the Inversion Reinforcement Effect using the "Ironheart Particle," which can be earned by clearing Invasion dungeons or being active in the Hard Difficulty Fields. You can choose three of the effects that have been unlocked. When you unlock all four of the effects in a line, you automatically acquire that line's Collection Effect. Collection Effects are passive effects that are always applied during the season. This means that if you unlock all Inversion Reinforcement effects, you can utilize 3 Selected Effects and 5 Collection Effects from each line in battle.
Freyna's Awakening, Ultimate Freyna
Still trapped in the day of the Room 0 Incident, Freyna's trauma has stopped her time. In Season 1, we follow the story of Freyna who continues to grieve alone. In this Descendant-exclusive story, you'll explore the inner mind of a crestfallen hero, who is trapped in guilt and self-hatred for surviving alone after failing to save her love and comrades.
Will she be able to overcome her trauma? You will then get to meet Ultimate Freyna, who broke through her limits. There are also exclusive Modification Modules for her.
Future Ultimate Descendants will be added with the seasonal updates and as the Descendants' stories and The First Descendant's lore expands. After Season 1 Ultimate Freyna, the next update to the Ultimate Descendants will launch sequentially, starting with the initial Descendants to join Corps.
New Ultimate Weapons
- Excava: A powerful and versatile Ultimate Weapon, this Assault Rifle arrives with this update. Also acquirable as a free Battle Pass reward, Excava charges voltage when attacking enemies and uses the charged voltage to fire Energy Grenades.
- Frost Watcher: Acquirable through gameplay, this Scout Rifle reduces an enemy's Chill Resistance and increases your Chill Skill Damage each time you hit the enemy at long range. It's a perfect weapon for Viessa or Hailey who use Chill attribute skills.
The Looming Threat Over Ingris, Death Stalker Intercept Battle
The Colossi still threaten Ingris from behind the Dimensional Wall, and it's time to meet the most powerful Colossus of Season 1, Death Stalker.
Death Stalker emerges from the darkness and unleashes attacks based on poison and fear. Stalking the Descendants in the darkness of the Void, Death Stalker is more formidable than any other Colossus you've intercepted. You must jump back into the Void to protect Ingris from this menace. Solve the mystery shrouded in the dark and intercept Death Stalker.
Highest Difficulty Infiltration Operation and ETA-0
In Season 1, the highest Difficulty of the Infiltration Operations will be added. It's a proving ground to test and polish your optimized builds. Form a team or challenge yourself to more difficult Infiltration Operations in Public Matchmaking. Prove the strength of the Descendants and acquire loot that can only be obtained in more difficult Infiltration Operations.
Along with this, a mysterious merchant, ETA-0, visits Albion. Every time he visits, he shows up with a variety of products that can be purchased with exclusive currency. With each visit he brings different products. Since he visits Albion with Blueprints for Descendants and Ultimate Weapons, and occasionally hard-to-find consumables, don't miss out on visiting ETA-0.
Season 1: Invasion Update Schedule
All content will be updated sequentially during the Invasion Season.
Additional Improvements Applied to Season 1
Finally, here's the news on the improvements that will be applied with Season 1 on August 29th.
■ Void Fragment and Fusion Reactor Loop Improvements
It has been improved so that playing Void Fragments once on Hard Difficulty now grants enough Void Shards to use the Fusion Reactor once. Consequently, the amount of Void Shards rewarded in Special Operations has also been increased. Additionally, Void Shards required for the Fusion Reactor have been consolidated into a single type. Now, the same type of Void Shards will drop from both Void Fragments and the Fusion Reactor within the same battlefield. This change enhances the convenience of farming Void Shards and optimizes the monster placement for representative Void Fragments of each attribute.
Finally, the Fusion Reactor now requires Void Shards when using the Reconstructed Device, rather than at the start of the mission. This adjustment ensures that Void Shards are not consumed if you accidentally enter the Fusion Reactor.
■ Hard Infiltration Operation Improvements
As previously announced, random options will be replaced with preset selections. The presets offer three options: 0%, 125%, and 250%, and Descendants who choose the same preset can play together in Public matchmaking.
In addition, to prevent the number of types of matchmaking pool from growing indiscriminately, Descendants who select the same Infiltration Operation will now be matched together, regardless of their selected rewards. Instead, the global effects that were applied based on the selected rewards will be removed.
Lastly, the timed Occupation Mission will be removed from Hard Infiltration Operations and replaced with the Extermination Battle, where the time can be reduced based on the Descendant's skill.
■ Socket Type Saving Feature Improvements
Now, once you assign a Socket Type, the Socket Type granted to that slot is permanently saved, so you can easily change it to the previously granted Socket Type at any time. For example, if a Descendant changes an Almandine Socket to a Malachite Socket, you can easily choose between Almandine and Malachite in that Socket afterward.
Additionally, the Socket Type applied to Loadout Setting 1 can also be used for Settings 2 and 3 as well, allowing you to grant multiple Socket Types only to the slots that require multiple Socket Types depending on your builds.
■ Descendant Balance Adjustments
Jayber's Turret has been improved to apply stats such as Skill Power Modifier and additional ATK and will be able to be enhanced by Descendant Modules. Additionally, Jayber's "Turret Sync" skill has been adjusted to apply to the Turret Jayber has summoned and if the "Turret Engineering" Modification Module is equipped, the summoned Turret has been improved to create an area.
Blair's "Pitmaster" skill has been improved to have a more enhanced effect based on the number of Flame Zones. The duration of the "Blaze Up" skill has been increased, and the MP cost has been reduced. When using the "Extinguish" skill, the "Flame Zone" will no longer be retrieved, instead, the "Taste of Aggression" effect will stack based on the number of "Flame Zones". The damage of the "Burn Taste" skill has been increased, and a skill button input feature has been added to allow canceling the skill mid-use. Additionally, the Max Stacks of the "Incendiary Bomb" Modification Module has been increased, and the performance of the "Deadly Cuisine" skill has been enhanced when the "Classic Chef" Modification Module is equipped.
Ajax's "Orbital Barrier" and "Hyper Cube" skills are now affected by Attribute Resistance, making them stronger. The "Body Enhancement" Modification Module increases HP, DEF, and Shield and when using these skills Void Energy will always recover to 100%, allowing the use of Enhanced Skills more often. Additionally, the "Void Charge" Modification Module will allow the "Void Walk" skill to be stacked and the "Void Walk" and "Expulsion" skills have been modified to increase Damage based on DEF. When using an Enhanced Skill, the Cooldown will now reset.
■ Various UX Improvements
First, a feature to designate random options has been added to the External Components Junk Filter and Reactor. This allows you to conveniently designate items that don't have the needed random options as Junk. Additionally, dismantling items in combat is now available.
The shapes displayed to show your preferred item attachments can now be designated using a variety of shapes, enabling you to manage them with different shapes according to their uses.
A Favorites feature has been added to the Research menu and the acquisition information of the applied item will now be shown on the map.
Other updates include additional improvements to the icon information display that was included in version 1.0.7, a feature to disable voice playback during Hard Missions, the addition of visual information to the Encrypted Vault, and various other improvements.
Don't miss The First Descendant's first Season, starting on August 29th.
Greetings, Descendants. This is the Director of The First Descendant, Minseok Joo.
In this Dev Note, I would like to share preview of the Season 1 update.
Please check the major update details along with the weekly updated content schedule for Season 1.
Just when you thought Karel's Legion had retreated, they're coming back with more powerful tactical weapons. The First Descendant Season 1 update "Invasion" features a new episode along with the Invasion events, New Descendant Hailey, Ultimate Freyna, Ultimate Weapons, new Intercept Battle Death Stalker, and a season-exclusive progression system called Inversion Reinforcement. Season 1: Invasion will be released throughout three updates, starting August 29th, offering a variety of content with new challenges and rewards.
The First Descendant is planning to provide seasonal updates, and 'Invasion' is the first step of this journey. We'll explore the secrets of the Descendants and unravel the story of Ingris as we journey through the seasons. You will discover new weapons, new Descendants will join the war, and the Descendants will become more powerful. Of course, the seasons will progress in a way that preserves the progression of your Descendants and your collectibles.
Karel's New Weapon
Karel has prepared a new tactical weapon for revenge. This tactical weapon, forged from the Ancestors' technology discovered by Amon, is the Vulgus legion's new strategy against the Descendants.
When the Invasion Season begins, the Invasion event will occur daily in two of the "Hard Infiltration Operation" dungeons. In the dungeon where the invasion has begun, you can start by selecting either "Infiltration Operation" or "Invasion", and the Invasion event can be cleared twice per day for each dungeon.
Invasion Dungeons will put your skills and wits to the test. To hold back the Descendants, Karel has built a defense system with different mechanisms for each legion. These dungeons are solo challenges that feature different routes, puzzles, and strategies from the normal dungeons, where your objective is to fend off the invasion as quickly as possible.
New Descendant, Hailey Scott
Once a guerilla unit supply soldier who gained fame as a legendary sniper, Hailey is now the newest member of the Descendant Corps. Not only can she take out enemies from a distance with her anti-materiel Sniper Cannon, she can also rapidly decrease her body temperature to spew Chill when emotions run high. While Hailey is an admirer of Viessa who can manipulate Chill at will, and is a cold-blooded sniper on the battlefield, she's also a warm-hearted hero who loves to make snow crystals and bring smiles to children's faces.
- Cryo Round: Instantly fires a Cryo Round that automatically tracks the enemy, deals damage and inflicts 'Cryo' which deals Additional Damage along with Hailey's Firearm Damage.
- Storm Snare: Fires a Freezing Beam that unleashes a Chill Vortex around you and knocks back enemies. Inflicts 'Cryo' on enemies that take Damage.
- Cold Fury: Hailey's Movement Speed gradually decreases, but her Firearm and Skill Critical Hit Rate, and Firearm Penetration all increase significantly.
- Zenith: Replaces Hailey's weapon with her Unique Weapon, anti-material Sniper Cannon. Penetration of the anti-material Sniper Cannon and Firearm ATK greatly increase and deal additional Chill skill damage. Recovers MP upon successfully attacking Weak Points and decreases the Cooldown the more Bullets you have remaining when the skill ends.
Inversion Reinforcer for Season Progression
Descendants experienced a change in their Arche as they've come into contact with Ironhearts multiple times. Their Arche began to draw energy from a destroyed Ironheart. Embracing this energy as a source of strength, the Descendants can now gain new abilities through the Inversion Reinforcers.
- Hunt: Improves the Descendant's basic Stats.
- Attribute: Improves the Descendant's Attribute Resistance.
- Recovery: Improves the Descendant's Recovery.
- Survival: Receives a defense buff that activates under certain conditions.
- Season: Receives an effect that is useful for Invasion Dungeons.
Inversion Reinforcement is a progression system that only lasts for the season. You can learn the Inversion Reinforcement Effect using the "Ironheart Particle," which can be earned by clearing Invasion dungeons or being active in the Hard Difficulty Fields. You can choose three of the effects that have been unlocked. When you unlock all four of the effects in a line, you automatically acquire that line's Collection Effect. Collection Effects are passive effects that are always applied during the season. This means that if you unlock all Inversion Reinforcement effects, you can utilize 3 Selected Effects and 5 Collection Effects from each line in battle.
Freyna's Awakening, Ultimate Freyna
Still trapped in the day of the Room 0 Incident, Freyna's trauma has stopped her time. In Season 1, we follow the story of Freyna who continues to grieve alone. In this Descendant-exclusive story, you'll explore the inner mind of a crestfallen hero, who is trapped in guilt and self-hatred for surviving alone after failing to save her love and comrades.
Will she be able to overcome her trauma? You will then get to meet Ultimate Freyna, who broke through her limits. There are also exclusive Modification Modules for her.
Future Ultimate Descendants will be added with the seasonal updates and as the Descendants' stories and The First Descendant's lore expands. After Season 1 Ultimate Freyna, the next update to the Ultimate Descendants will launch sequentially, starting with the initial Descendants to join Corps.
New Ultimate Weapons
- Frost Watcher: Acquirable through gameplay, this Scout Rifle reduces an enemy's Chill Resistance and increases your Chill Skill Damage each time you hit the enemy at long range. It's a perfect weapon for Viessa or Hailey who use Chill attribute skills.
The Looming Threat Over Ingris, Death Stalker Intercept Battle
The Colossi still threaten Ingris from behind the Dimensional Wall, and it's time to meet the most powerful Colossus of Season 1, Death Stalker.
Death Stalker emerges from the darkness and unleashes attacks based on poison and fear. Stalking the Descendants in the darkness of the Void, Death Stalker is more formidable than any other Colossus you've intercepted. You must jump back into the Void to protect Ingris from this menace. Solve the mystery shrouded in the dark and intercept Death Stalker.
Highest Difficulty Infiltration Operation and ETA-0
In Season 1, the highest Difficulty of the Infiltration Operations will be added. It's a proving ground to test and polish your optimized builds. Form a team or challenge yourself to more difficult Infiltration Operations in Public Matchmaking. Prove the strength of the Descendants and acquire loot that can only be obtained in more difficult Infiltration Operations.
Along with this, a mysterious merchant, ETA-0, visits Albion. Every time he visits, he shows up with a variety of products that can be purchased with exclusive currency. With each visit he brings different products. Since he visits Albion with Blueprints for Descendants and Ultimate Weapons, and occasionally hard-to-find consumables, don't miss out on visiting ETA-0.
Season 1: Invasion Update Schedule
All content will be updated sequentially during the Invasion Season.
Date | Type | Update Items |
August 29th | 1st Update | New Descendant Hailey and Hailey Skins Invasion Dungeon Inversion Reinforcement Invasion Season Battle Pass and Ultimate Weapon Excava |
September 26th | 2nd Update | New Intercept Battle Death Stalker Ultimate Weapon Frost Watcher New Ultimate Skins and Ultimate Descendant Exclusive Spawn Effects |
October 30th | 3rd Update | Ultimate Freyna and Freyna Exclusive Story Ultimate Freyna Modification Modules Hailey Modification Modules New Ultimate Modules Highest Difficulty Infiltration Operations ETA-0 |
Additional Improvements Applied to Season 1
Finally, here's the news on the improvements that will be applied with Season 1 on August 29th.
■ Void Fragment and Fusion Reactor Loop Improvements
It has been improved so that playing Void Fragments once on Hard Difficulty now grants enough Void Shards to use the Fusion Reactor once. Consequently, the amount of Void Shards rewarded in Special Operations has also been increased. Additionally, Void Shards required for the Fusion Reactor have been consolidated into a single type. Now, the same type of Void Shards will drop from both Void Fragments and the Fusion Reactor within the same battlefield. This change enhances the convenience of farming Void Shards and optimizes the monster placement for representative Void Fragments of each attribute.
Finally, the Fusion Reactor now requires Void Shards when using the Reconstructed Device, rather than at the start of the mission. This adjustment ensures that Void Shards are not consumed if you accidentally enter the Fusion Reactor.
■ Hard Infiltration Operation Improvements
As previously announced, random options will be replaced with preset selections. The presets offer three options: 0%, 125%, and 250%, and Descendants who choose the same preset can play together in Public matchmaking.
In addition, to prevent the number of types of matchmaking pool from growing indiscriminately, Descendants who select the same Infiltration Operation will now be matched together, regardless of their selected rewards. Instead, the global effects that were applied based on the selected rewards will be removed.
Lastly, the timed Occupation Mission will be removed from Hard Infiltration Operations and replaced with the Extermination Battle, where the time can be reduced based on the Descendant's skill.
■ Socket Type Saving Feature Improvements
Now, once you assign a Socket Type, the Socket Type granted to that slot is permanently saved, so you can easily change it to the previously granted Socket Type at any time. For example, if a Descendant changes an Almandine Socket to a Malachite Socket, you can easily choose between Almandine and Malachite in that Socket afterward.
Additionally, the Socket Type applied to Loadout Setting 1 can also be used for Settings 2 and 3 as well, allowing you to grant multiple Socket Types only to the slots that require multiple Socket Types depending on your builds.
■ Descendant Balance Adjustments
Jayber's Turret has been improved to apply stats such as Skill Power Modifier and additional ATK and will be able to be enhanced by Descendant Modules. Additionally, Jayber's "Turret Sync" skill has been adjusted to apply to the Turret Jayber has summoned and if the "Turret Engineering" Modification Module is equipped, the summoned Turret has been improved to create an area.
Blair's "Pitmaster" skill has been improved to have a more enhanced effect based on the number of Flame Zones. The duration of the "Blaze Up" skill has been increased, and the MP cost has been reduced. When using the "Extinguish" skill, the "Flame Zone" will no longer be retrieved, instead, the "Taste of Aggression" effect will stack based on the number of "Flame Zones". The damage of the "Burn Taste" skill has been increased, and a skill button input feature has been added to allow canceling the skill mid-use. Additionally, the Max Stacks of the "Incendiary Bomb" Modification Module has been increased, and the performance of the "Deadly Cuisine" skill has been enhanced when the "Classic Chef" Modification Module is equipped.
Ajax's "Orbital Barrier" and "Hyper Cube" skills are now affected by Attribute Resistance, making them stronger. The "Body Enhancement" Modification Module increases HP, DEF, and Shield and when using these skills Void Energy will always recover to 100%, allowing the use of Enhanced Skills more often. Additionally, the "Void Charge" Modification Module will allow the "Void Walk" skill to be stacked and the "Void Walk" and "Expulsion" skills have been modified to increase Damage based on DEF. When using an Enhanced Skill, the Cooldown will now reset.
■ Various UX Improvements
First, a feature to designate random options has been added to the External Components Junk Filter and Reactor. This allows you to conveniently designate items that don't have the needed random options as Junk. Additionally, dismantling items in combat is now available.
The shapes displayed to show your preferred item attachments can now be designated using a variety of shapes, enabling you to manage them with different shapes according to their uses.
A Favorites feature has been added to the Research menu and the acquisition information of the applied item will now be shown on the map.
Other updates include additional improvements to the icon information display that was included in version 1.0.7, a feature to disable voice playback during Hard Missions, the addition of visual information to the Encrypted Vault, and various other improvements.
Don't miss The First Descendant's first Season, starting on August 29th.
Pejo
Gold Member
Question for those of you that had a normal descendant and then researched an Ultimate - what carries over to the Ultimate version? I'm assuming that any catalysts you use to mark mod slots do not transfer, but does level? I hope it's more than just cosmetics...
Like I really like Freyna but with her Ultimate coming in a few months, I don't want to dump a lot of investment into her if none of it transfers to the Ult version.
Like I really like Freyna but with her Ultimate coming in a few months, I don't want to dump a lot of investment into her if none of it transfers to the Ult version.
Lunnarre
Neo Member
Just skins unfortunately. They're essentially a seperate character for the most part. Ult bunny is the only one I've gotten so far and that's all that carried over. There are exclusive red modules for them and higher base stats I believe, although I haven't gotten her to 40 yet to compare stats.
Pejo
Gold Member
Damn, what a bummer. That's what I was afraid of. Well, I guess it's good that all I did was give her one of those activators. I'll hold off on her for now and focus on my only Ult character, Gley.
Kinda shitty of them to not offer some sort of upgrade path if you get the Ult versions of characters.
Lunnarre
Neo Member
Yeah, I wish you could at least dismantle or trade the base version for your choice of blueprint for the ult version or something like that. Would make the grind alot more bearable. Been trying to get the Ult Valby cells for 3 days now with no luck.
FunkMiller
Member
I have absolutely no idea why this is much, much, much more popular than Concord. Absolutely none.
Agent_Nobody
Member
You keep the cards though, so you at least save yourself farming the upgrades and crystallizing the slots becomes a breeze minus the 7 and half hour wait time creating them.
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Pejo
Gold Member
Well you say it's a breeze, but I've been playing since launch and only play a handful of hours per week, and I don't have a single maxed character yet. Even more so than the catalysts, leveling to 40 every time is very time consuming if you don't put in a few hours every day. I just wanna make the most of my time that I have to play, with the characters I like. But yea, I've gotten pretty lucky with the descendant ultimate mods, so that's always nice.
Pejo
Gold Member
I'm 100% sure they will rerun down the line. The worst part is the forced hairstyle bundles with the outfits. Like they have exactly one long hair Valby and you gotta buy the cadet outfit as a bundle just to get it. I don't mind offering incentive/discounts to buy packages, but where everything is its own slot in this game, they absolutely should sell every piece standalone too.
This FOMO shit a real bitch aint it? Got me panic spending xD well not the one on the right, shit is ugly af. But that cadet and maid outfits?
Bye bye wallet.
Also that Bunny skin is actually pretty cool. The more you use and kill enemies with her, you unlock 2 different outfits that are decently different than the base design. I appreciate that extra effort. The final version actually shows her skeleton and feels very cyberpunk. It also looks way better with paints applied (surprise surprise).
Agent_Nobody
Member
She’s stealing my woman‘s hair cut…but luckily she’s open to sharing…
Me neither, it completely boggles the mind; no idea at all…
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Agent_Nobody
Member
It took me more than a month to max my first character playing every day…so I totally understand patience, but I can get the farm for Crystal mat farm done in record time now with a maxed bunny, and there‘s really nothing going on after that level wise or build wise at the moment. Just get the crystal farm (and shard farm if you aren’t already on it) on lockdown and you’re golden, every other character is just a time sink...for the 7 and a half hours.
peek
Member
Too late ended up buying the rest of the cadet skins
I had to take a shower after realizing how much money ive already spent on the game xD
I'm 300€ in. Slightly regret buying a few catalysts after I started the game as now I'm swimming in them. I also bought ultimate Bunny and Gley but don't really regret that as I wanted a good farmer and boss killer I can invest in and use them to progress. All the other money went into skins and looking at Hailey my credit card will likely have to do some work againToo late ended up buying the rest of the cadet skins
I had to take a shower after realizing how much money ive already spent on the game xD
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peek
Member
Okay i feel less bad now lmao.I'm 300€ in. Slightly regret buying a few catalysts after I started the game as now I'm swimming in them. I also bought ultimate Bunny and Gley but don't really regret that as I wanted a good farmer and boss killer I can invest in and use them to progress. All the other money went into skins and looking at Hailey my credit card will likely have to do some work again
Also... buying for power/convenience?? Why do that when there are SWIMSUITS to be bought!
The cost of a single max capacity activator is like $25 i think. No way jose. That money will instead go towards more lewd skins. After all thats the true end game xD
Pejo
Gold Member
I bought Ult Gley, the swimsuits, and a handful of misc cosmetics. Mostly had to buy bundles to get the hairstyles I wanted, whether I liked the skins or not. I've been trying to hold out from buying Freyna's space suit because it's hideous and I'd never use it, but I really love the go-go hairstyle that's packed with it...
peek
Member
Omg i know what you mean. They do that shit on purpose im convinced. If it was me Id put out two bundle of skins that come with body and head ya, then make one where the body is ugly but the head is great... then vice versa on the other bundle.
Incentive to make people buy both... and it worked on me lmao.
Oh yeah. At some point I was really tempted to buy a capacity activator but the high price made me think twice. I'm glad I didn't as once you start farming other ultimates/weapons you will get enough of them naturally.Okay i feel less bad now lmao.
Also... buying for power/convenience?? Why do that when there are SWIMSUITS to be bought!
The cost of a single max capacity activator is like $25 i think. No way jose. That money will instead go towards more lewd skins. After all thats the true end game xD
With Ultimate Bunny/Gley I wanted to have good starting characters I could work on and I was too impatient to farm them first. And no way i would have invested into normal Bunny or Gley with their Ultimates being available.
But after that and for the future I'm just buying cosmetics.
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peek
Member
Oh yeah the ult bundles from the star made sense. Ive seen many others who did the same. Im envious... i can imagine the cutscenes woulda hit way harder if I was in there as my ult bunny
Oh, actually I DID buy one power item which was base viessa. I started as ajax and regretted it because I realized the cutscenes had lots of facial animations. So if you ajax you just stare at a helmet LOL. With viessa you get some sweet shots in the cutscenes.
8BiTw0LF
Consoomer
I've now farmed all characters and only need 4 ult weapons. Currently MR25. 4 characters fully loaded - Ult bunny, ult gley, ult lepic and ult ajax. Yesterday I began to level up ult valby.
4 ult weapons maxed - nazeistra, enduring, greg and Python.
I've bought ult bunny and gley skin - and summer skins for Ajax and Valby.
No convenience transactions - but I get why people with less free time than me would do it.
4 ult weapons maxed - nazeistra, enduring, greg and Python.
I've bought ult bunny and gley skin - and summer skins for Ajax and Valby.
No convenience transactions - but I get why people with less free time than me would do it.
Last edited by a moderator:
peek
Member
Im a sucker for fomo. Couldnt resist and lost. Honestly, im sure those skins will come back. Too much money to NOT bring em back.
Lunnarre
Neo Member
There's probably better/faster ways, but I run the Defend Albion Resources mission in Kingston and can go from almost 1-30 in one run. Just make sure you have a gold character exp sub-stat on your component. You also get a ton of void shards.
8BiTw0LF
Consoomer
Full text of the developer interview with better translation
Thanks to CarpenterContent2349 for original post but this is a better translation:
Q. Let's start with recent events. The update schedule was initially announced to be split into three phases, but it was changed to two, and the timeline was significantly moved up. Considering the development timeline, it must not have been easy. Is everything okay?
Q. It’s been about two months since the live service started in early July. It seems like there have been many internal changes during the preseason. Have there been any changes in development direction or operational policies, such as handling character OP or content structure design?
Additionally, the direction of the builds turned out to be somewhat different from what we expected. We anticipated that a more diverse range of builds would be used, but ultimately, the dominant strategy became one that overwhelmingly increases damage output to skip patterns and reduce time. You could say that the average player spec has skyrocketed more towards offense than defense or utility.
Although we didn't foresee it, looking at the situation, it was inevitable. Players always tend to seek the most efficient methods, and builds that allow for rapid repetition naturally appear more efficient, which has resulted in extreme damage-increasing builds becoming the norm.
Therefore, we also shifted our direction from various gimmicks and diversity to quicker battles, more monsters, and more loot. Overall, we aimed to eliminate "gimmicks that forcibly consume time." For example, the gimmick of consuming shields while escorting has been completely removed from higher infiltration missions, and all capture sections that required time have been changed to extermination. In fact, at the beginning of development, there was only "extermination," and during internal testing, the idea of adding more gimmicks was suggested for fun. It feels like we’ve come full circle.
This change in direction will also apply to the "Invasion" being introduced in Season 1. "Invasion" will have puzzle gimmicks, but if players can quickly figure them out, they can trigger an overload to proceed without waiting.
Q. Could the time constraints for each content or the uncertainty of ammo supply have created the damage-maximization meta?
One of the reasons we believe the damage-maximization meta arose is due to a lack of system refinement in the preseason build. Initially, the gameplay concept for "First Descendant" was to switch between different Descendants and builds based on the situation, which was the 'combat meta' we envisioned. You can see traces of this in Void Interception.
For example, the 'Executioner' boss gradually increases its armor over time, but this effect can be nullified using Esimo’s skills, unique weapons, or modules. This is something we were hoping for, but players ended up just overpowering it with raw damage. This likely happened because upgrading modules, weapons, or creating Esimo just to counter the Executioner seemed too inefficient, and even if they did, it wasn't easy to switch builds.
When 'Gluttony' first appeared, players found it difficult because Gluttony was a boss that was hard to handle with a damage-maximization build; simply overpowering it with damage wasn't feasible, and changing builds wasn't easy either. 'Spiral Tide' was also designed to encourage the 'combat meta,' but since skipping patterns with raw damage became more mainstream than using the intended combat meta, it naturally felt more challenging. The pre-adjustment 'Frost Walker' might have felt similar.
We learned a lot from this. We realized it’s better to create multiple clear routes without forcing a specific meta. We considered how to construct content to diversify the meta once it has settled and how to allow for more flexible changes within a single Descendant's build without having to switch Descendants.
Q. Is the socket type change introduced in Season 1 a result of that consideration?
Q. Isn’t the fundamental reason that it takes too long to fully level up a single Descendant? If the growth of Descendants were faster, wouldn't there be enough utilization of various Descendants as envisioned?
We are aware that reactor farming is a very grueling process. The repetitive content is one thing, but perhaps the most tedious part is sorting through the options on the farmed reactors one by one. Therefore, we plan to introduce an additional random option filter to the junk filter. If an item doesn't have the pre-designated options, it automatically gets categorized as junk with the press of a button.
Q. I want to ask about ultimate unique weapons. Except for a few weapons, their usability is quite low. Are there any plans to improve the existing low-utility weapons in addition to adding new ones?
Q. There was also a criticism about the low usability of 'shields' in defensive factors. The current meta focuses on health and defense, and in extreme cases, players don't even bother with defense. Isn't 'shield' important for Descendants like 'Kyle'?
Q. Let's talk about Season 1 content. Could you explain the 'Reverse Array' system in detail?
Q. You say it's season-limited, does that mean the enhancement effects will disappear after this season?
Q. Speaking of Haley, the schedule for the module update is delayed, which has caused controversy. Why is that?
Q. Will there be no additional new modules in Season 1?
PD Beom-jun Lee: At first, I fell into contemplation when I saw the Metacritic score. I didn’t expect a high score, but I certainly didn’t expect a 56... or even a 57. Initially, I hoped for better reviews even if the indicators were a little lacking, but the result was the complete opposite. The reviews were much lower than expected, while the indicators were better than anticipated.
This caused all our plans to go awry, and we had no choice but to change our mindset. We abandoned our pride and tried to grasp the current trends. The problem was that the players were moving much faster than we anticipated.
Therefore, our focus is now on increasing basic stamina. Until now, we’ve been trying to pull future resources forward to fill in, but there’s no time to build up reserves. That’s why I recently conveyed to the development team that the most important thing is to maintain an update speed that meets player needs while building up basic stamina.
Two years ago, at IGC, I listened to a lecture by 'Bungie.' It turns out they were facing the same concerns we have. I think the key is 'speed.' Rapid changes, responsive feedback, and quick decision-making are what we are currently focusing on from this perspective.
Director Min-seok Joo: I think there’s a lot lacking. For me, everything happening after launch is a first. It's the first time a game I’m involved in has been so successful, the first time I’ve received so much feedback, and the first time there are so many issues to ponder.
Since everything is a first, rather than drawing a big picture, I’m working with the mindset to tackle the immediate issues before me with all my might. Sometimes harsh feedback catches me off guard, but most of the time, it's the same issues that both I and the development team also feel. We, too, are hardcore gamers of "First Descendant," and sometimes we get feedback from our staff that doesn’t differ much in intensity from what we hear from gamers.
I want to build the foundation for a game that can be enjoyed for a long time and a game that will be serviced for an extended period. There is no abandonment.
Thanks to CarpenterContent2349 for original post but this is a better translation:
Q. Let's start with recent events. The update schedule was initially announced to be split into three phases, but it was changed to two, and the timeline was significantly moved up. Considering the development timeline, it must not have been easy. Is everything okay?
- We had to respond somehow because there was a lot of feedback saying the third update was too far away. The problem was that there were quite a few holidays in early October, plus the company's anniversary was around that time, so we weren't sure if we could meet the schedule. We just decided that everyone would come to work. So far, no employees have voiced opposition (laughs). I feel like they habitually hit the "like" button, but I'm not sure if they really like it. Considering that, we set the current schedule, which is the fastest we could manage while ensuring the minimum well-being of our staff.
Q. It’s been about two months since the live service started in early July. It seems like there have been many internal changes during the preseason. Have there been any changes in development direction or operational policies, such as handling character OP or content structure design?
- Speaking of OP (Overpowered) first, the strength of the current OP builds that players are using is within our expectations. However, the speed at which they’re advancing is much faster than we anticipated.
Additionally, the direction of the builds turned out to be somewhat different from what we expected. We anticipated that a more diverse range of builds would be used, but ultimately, the dominant strategy became one that overwhelmingly increases damage output to skip patterns and reduce time. You could say that the average player spec has skyrocketed more towards offense than defense or utility.
Although we didn't foresee it, looking at the situation, it was inevitable. Players always tend to seek the most efficient methods, and builds that allow for rapid repetition naturally appear more efficient, which has resulted in extreme damage-increasing builds becoming the norm.
Therefore, we also shifted our direction from various gimmicks and diversity to quicker battles, more monsters, and more loot. Overall, we aimed to eliminate "gimmicks that forcibly consume time." For example, the gimmick of consuming shields while escorting has been completely removed from higher infiltration missions, and all capture sections that required time have been changed to extermination. In fact, at the beginning of development, there was only "extermination," and during internal testing, the idea of adding more gimmicks was suggested for fun. It feels like we’ve come full circle.
This change in direction will also apply to the "Invasion" being introduced in Season 1. "Invasion" will have puzzle gimmicks, but if players can quickly figure them out, they can trigger an overload to proceed without waiting.
Q. Could the time constraints for each content or the uncertainty of ammo supply have created the damage-maximization meta?
- I don't think the time limit for Void boss battles is an issue. During the growth phase, it's common not to clear due to lack of time, but now we see posts about 2-second or 5-second clears. The time limit for Void bosses is more like a minimum spec requirement.
One of the reasons we believe the damage-maximization meta arose is due to a lack of system refinement in the preseason build. Initially, the gameplay concept for "First Descendant" was to switch between different Descendants and builds based on the situation, which was the 'combat meta' we envisioned. You can see traces of this in Void Interception.
For example, the 'Executioner' boss gradually increases its armor over time, but this effect can be nullified using Esimo’s skills, unique weapons, or modules. This is something we were hoping for, but players ended up just overpowering it with raw damage. This likely happened because upgrading modules, weapons, or creating Esimo just to counter the Executioner seemed too inefficient, and even if they did, it wasn't easy to switch builds.
When 'Gluttony' first appeared, players found it difficult because Gluttony was a boss that was hard to handle with a damage-maximization build; simply overpowering it with damage wasn't feasible, and changing builds wasn't easy either. 'Spiral Tide' was also designed to encourage the 'combat meta,' but since skipping patterns with raw damage became more mainstream than using the intended combat meta, it naturally felt more challenging. The pre-adjustment 'Frost Walker' might have felt similar.
We learned a lot from this. We realized it’s better to create multiple clear routes without forcing a specific meta. We considered how to construct content to diversify the meta once it has settled and how to allow for more flexible changes within a single Descendant's build without having to switch Descendants.
Q. Is the socket type change introduced in Season 1 a result of that consideration?
- Yes. As mentioned before, we wanted players to rotate and use various Descendants, but in reality, there were more attempts to focus growth on a single all-purpose Descendant. However, even after expanding sockets, the inability to change types means it’s difficult to change the build direction, even with the preset function.
Q. Isn’t the fundamental reason that it takes too long to fully level up a single Descendant? If the growth of Descendants were faster, wouldn't there be enough utilization of various Descendants as envisioned?
- We didn’t hold any in-game events during the preseason. Starting from Season 1, we plan to promote external growth through in-game events, and overall experience efficiency is scheduled for an update. Growth speed should pick up more momentum compared to the preseason.
- We are working on a solution for the accumulation of part blueprints. Although I can't specify the exact ratio, it might involve breaking down blueprints to convert them into other materials.
- This is an important issue that needs an update. The intention was for players to experience and use regular Descendants first and then move to the ultimate ones, but since they pale in comparison to ultimate Descendants, most players tend to wait for the ultimate versions. Although a concrete solution hasn't been decided yet, it might involve applying the growth of regular Descendants retroactively when upgrading to ultimate Descendants.
- There are no changes to reactors in this update, but the reactor system is a topic of deep discussion. I also feel this issue when playing; finding the reactors you used every time you switch Descendants is a problem.
We are aware that reactor farming is a very grueling process. The repetitive content is one thing, but perhaps the most tedious part is sorting through the options on the farmed reactors one by one. Therefore, we plan to introduce an additional random option filter to the junk filter. If an item doesn't have the pre-designated options, it automatically gets categorized as junk with the press of a button.
Q. I want to ask about ultimate unique weapons. Except for a few weapons, their usability is quite low. Are there any plans to improve the existing low-utility weapons in addition to adding new ones?
- To be honest, I was going to show the results later rather than just talking about it because I thought you wouldn't believe it, but I’ll tell you in advance: we're preparing a rework and balancing update for all of them. All weapons and Descendants that are currently deemed 'useless' will have their time to shine. In Season 1, major changes are planned for Ajax, Blair, and Jayver.
- We have been steadily changing the UX/UI issues through hotfixes. The reason the menu was split is that it was designed with controller operation in mind. Since more than half of the "First Descendant" users are console users, the interface was designed to be suitable for controllers, resulting in a high demand for operations when switching between the full map and the inventory.
Q. There was also a criticism about the low usability of 'shields' in defensive factors. The current meta focuses on health and defense, and in extreme cases, players don't even bother with defense. Isn't 'shield' important for Descendants like 'Kyle'?
- I don't think the current meta will change just by improving modding. Ultimately, what's important is content that guides the player's patterns. There needs to be content that requires shields for shield research to naturally happen, and shield-based modding to be created, but since that hasn’t been prepared yet, the health meta has become dominant. I think as content increases in the future, research on shields will naturally take place.
- I think this is also an issue that will be alleviated as more content is added. For example, currently, 'Lepik' and 'Bernie' are the most prominent Descendants. Lepik is strong in concentrated damage, and Bernie is good at handling wide areas. Meanwhile, it’s true that in the current content structure, Descendants like Preyna, Blair, and Esimo don't have specialized uses. If content is created where their abilities shine, research will naturally progress, and it will fulfill the power fantasy beyond just gunplay.
- There were specific blueprints that dropped at a high rate from certain irregularities obtained in outposts, causing repeated outpost play. We also know the reduced waiting time from 5 minutes to 1 minute felt tedious.
Q. Let's talk about Season 1 content. Could you explain the 'Reverse Array' system in detail?
- The Reverse Array system is a type of season-limited buff system where you earn specific experience points while playing the invasion dungeon, which levels up the Reverse Array Enhancer and unlocks one by one. You can select up to 8 buff effects from the categorized ones.
Q. You say it's season-limited, does that mean the enhancement effects will disappear after this season?
- No. When the next season comes, it will probably appear under a different name. The season-limited buff system is designed to enhance the convenience of the content for that season. Since Season 1 focuses on invasions, it was designed to match invasion operations, but the next season will likely have a different form.
- The way to obtain Haley is a bit different from before. We tried to reduce randomness as much as possible. Upon clearing an invasion operation, trophies are awarded based on the results (clear time and score), and you earn a set amount of blueprint fragments corresponding to the trophy grade. For example, earning a Gold Trophy would give you 3 blueprint fragments, which are then collected to craft Haley.
Q. Speaking of Haley, the schedule for the module update is delayed, which has caused controversy. Why is that?
- To be clear, it's not that we did it maliciously to annoy players. Except for the pre-prepared Descendants, we had planned for transcendent modules for Haley to be released after a bit of time. We wanted to show that Descendants are useful even without transcendent modules and then introduce the modules later to allow for final build configurations. But in hindsight, this seems like a misjudgment. Since it has been so unpopular, we won't be doing that again in the future.
- It utilizes the existing 16 dungeons. Two dungeons will have invasion events daily, and players will progress through them in reverse order or with altered configurations. The invasion dungeon is divided into three sections, with players repeating the process of performing gimmicks and opening doors. As mentioned earlier, there are no sections where time is forcibly spent. Puzzles also allow players to reduce time based on their discretion.
- It is somewhere between the first Ultimate Descendant and Ultimate Balbi in terms of difficulty. It's not extremely hard but not as easy to obtain as Balbi. Every time we design these, there’s a lot of deliberation. If it’s too easy, content will deplete quickly, but if it’s too hard, it becomes a barrier.
- The reason is that mobs die too quickly. Dot-based Descendants are designed to have a higher upper limit than other Descendants, but the situation to show that potential doesn't arise. Increasing the health of enemies significantly to enhance dot dealing would cause a balance collapse in its own way.
Q. Will there be no additional new modules in Season 1?
- There are no new modules planned yet. Given the many builds that vary depending on how you mod, there’s too much to consider when adding a new module. While there are no plans for new modules in Season 1, we are continually planning new ones.
- I can't tell you all the patterns, but it’s considered to be on par with the difficulty of Gluttony. Currently, the hardest boss is Gluttony, and before that, Frostwalker was the most challenging. With Gluttony's introduction, Frostwalker's difficulty was adjusted, and with Deathstalker’s introduction, Gluttony will be similarly adjusted.
PD Beom-jun Lee: At first, I fell into contemplation when I saw the Metacritic score. I didn’t expect a high score, but I certainly didn’t expect a 56... or even a 57. Initially, I hoped for better reviews even if the indicators were a little lacking, but the result was the complete opposite. The reviews were much lower than expected, while the indicators were better than anticipated.
This caused all our plans to go awry, and we had no choice but to change our mindset. We abandoned our pride and tried to grasp the current trends. The problem was that the players were moving much faster than we anticipated.
Therefore, our focus is now on increasing basic stamina. Until now, we’ve been trying to pull future resources forward to fill in, but there’s no time to build up reserves. That’s why I recently conveyed to the development team that the most important thing is to maintain an update speed that meets player needs while building up basic stamina.
Two years ago, at IGC, I listened to a lecture by 'Bungie.' It turns out they were facing the same concerns we have. I think the key is 'speed.' Rapid changes, responsive feedback, and quick decision-making are what we are currently focusing on from this perspective.
Director Min-seok Joo: I think there’s a lot lacking. For me, everything happening after launch is a first. It's the first time a game I’m involved in has been so successful, the first time I’ve received so much feedback, and the first time there are so many issues to ponder.
Since everything is a first, rather than drawing a big picture, I’m working with the mindset to tackle the immediate issues before me with all my might. Sometimes harsh feedback catches me off guard, but most of the time, it's the same issues that both I and the development team also feel. We, too, are hardcore gamers of "First Descendant," and sometimes we get feedback from our staff that doesn’t differ much in intensity from what we hear from gamers.
I want to build the foundation for a game that can be enjoyed for a long time and a game that will be serviced for an extended period. There is no abandonment.
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Pejo
Gold Member
This part is huge to me, and something we were just discussing:
*edit*
Just finished reading the whole thing. WOW they have a lot of plans in place. Completely rebalancing unused Descendants/weapons. Color me impressed so far with these devs. Flexible but not overly reactionary so that they create even worse problems. I feel pretty good about the state of the game and the future for it.
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8BiTw0LF
Consoomer
Yes! I really want to make Enzo, but not twice
Lunnarre
Neo Member
Wow that's gonna be huge if done right. As long as it's more than just carrying over levels it should be a meaningful upgrade.
Lunnarre
Neo Member
Hopefully it's gonna carry over catalyst slots. That would be great because then you can work on that while grinding mats for the ultimate. It feels shitty not wanting to essentially waste catalysts on a base version, I want to be able to play other characters that don't have ults without that thought in the back of my mind. I was already regretting putting anything into Freyna after they announced her ultimate.
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8BiTw0LF
Consoomer
Patch notes 1.1.0: https://tfd.nexon.com/en/news/2631799
Lunnarre
Neo Member
Just finished reading them and I gotta hand it to these devs man, they really seem to be paying attention to feedback and taking it seriously. These changes are massive.
Pejo
Gold Member
Fuck yea, they got rid of some of the shield orbs. I can't think of a worse mechanic than the ones that respawn if you don't kill them fast enough or the ones that rotate invulnerability with near-transparent shields.
I was hoping Freyna got a buff, but they'll probably wait until after her Ult releases before they do any balancing. It's not that her skills are bad on paper, but in practice everything dies too fast from Bunnies to even take more than 1-2 ticks of poison. It's a bad mechanic when the TTK on everything is so short.
Lunnarre
Neo Member
Yeah they already said they plan to rework DoTs as a whole which is her entire kit.
FIREKNIGHT2029
Member
I can’t wait to check out the update once I get off work, sounds great
P:axMagellanic
Member
Fucking hell these invasions are shit.
Make a fast paced shooter and force you to stand still like a dickhead, which snipers that clock you from half a map away.
And that's not even getting to the usual GAAS shit of daily's which this game mercifully avoided.
Make a fast paced shooter and force you to stand still like a dickhead, which snipers that clock you from half a map away.
And that's not even getting to the usual GAAS shit of daily's which this game mercifully avoided.
Madflavor
Member
I agree. QoL changes are awesome, but they flopped hard with the new content. Hopefully Part 2 of Season 1 in October makes up for this.
Reizo Ryuu
Member
decided to jump in this weird warframe/outriders clone because of the sniper girl, but seeing how this follows a lot of warframe's systems, it's probably going to take a lot of grinding to unlock her parts?
LaughingStock
Member
Apparently it's meant to take days to unlock her. Her parts are tied to the new invasion event.
Blitzmangoman
Member
Days? Unlocking her will take ages, lol.
Plague Doctor
Member
Still no pity system or addressing the drop rates? Come on Nexom
Pejo
Gold Member
Unfortunately (or fortunately I guess? Depending on your luck with drops) she unlocks in a different way than past characters. They wanted to put her behind a long grind to allow themselves time to churn out new content, but the playerbase is pretty mad about it. Well specifically they're mad that the new mode you have to play to grind her kinda sucks.
The devs have been doing a good job of listening to feedback and implementing changes quickly, so may just wanna play the story for now with the free characters you get by playing and see how it shakes out in a week or two.