Swords, a beloved staple in action-heavy RPGs from Chivalry to Destiny 2 and Sekiro, have finally made their grand entrance into The First Descendant. This long-promised addition arrives as part of Nexon’s extensive 1.3.6 update, which also expands the free-to-play looter shooter with new endgame activities, valuable crafting tools, crucial character balance changes, and several welcome quality-of-life enhancements. It’s a significant patch, packed with content for eager Descendants.
Update 1.3.6 marks the largest patch since the game’s colossal Season 3 overhaul (and the AI-generated advert fracas that ensued). The most talked-about feature is undoubtedly the introduction of swords, which have been a persistent request among the free Steam game’s community for months and are here at last. They’re an entirely new weapon class complete with dedicated modules and components. Players can earn two unique sword variants: the agile Shadow, featuring a dashing Shadow Slash ability, and the powerful Deus Ex Manus, which consumes MP for normal attacks to reduce incoming damage and amplify its Liberation special move.
Further expanding the endgame, a new Void Vessel dungeon awaits mastery rank 13 players who have conquered the existing map on hard mode. This challenging arena will truly test your character builds, with an even more formidable variant unlocking at mastery rank 15. For those at MR 18 and beyond, prepare to face the latest Void Intercept Battle: the fire-aspected colossus Lava Citadel. This intense encounter takes place in an unstable arena that gradually shrinks, demanding strategic movement and combat prowess.
To complement this season’s new system, three fresh trigger modules have been introduced. The Supply Fortress module restores ammo and boosts damage when utilizing barrier-type skills. Wave Eruption increases damage to targets affected by your emission-type skills based on accumulated stacks. Lastly, Rhythmic Step, earned through rhythm-type skills, temporarily boosts your maximum shield and movement speed.
Quality-of-life improvements include the ability to open all amorphous material types at the shaping device near Anais in Albion, with a new ‘shape continuously’ option for automated processing. Photo mode now features a convenient ‘look at camera’ option, and the formidable Executioner field colossus has been relocated to Axion Plains. Additionally, players can look forward to a Halloween-themed Albion Harvest Festival event, running from the update’s launch until Wednesday, November 5.
Players can also anticipate significant balance changes, predominantly buffs. Descendants like Kyle, Ajax, Esiemo, and Bunny receive notable damage and utility upgrades. Luna’s Battlefield Artist ability sees its maximum multiplier increased, alongside the integration of new charm and rhythm types into her skills to synergize with the trigger modules. Furthermore, the introduction of swords brings additional weapon-focused stat boosts to several Arche Tuning nodes.
The First Descendant update 1.3.6 is now live and available to play for free on Steam. Dive in and experience all the new content, from wielding powerful blades to conquering challenging new dungeons!