The First Descendant’s microtransaction system draws mixed reactions from players

With the launch of The First Descendant, its microtransaction system has garnered mixed reactions from players. The game has also encountered some issues and developer Nexon is offering in-game compensation.

The First Descendant has been compared to other multiplayer games, such as Warframe, which is also free-to-play. One Reddit user compared the two games’ microtransaction system and claimed that The First Descendant was “20 times more expensive than Warframe.”

Reddit user goompas used the example of character mods, which help improve characters’ stats, such as increasing the amount of damage they deal or reducing the amount of damage they take from enemies. In Warframe, players can purchase Orokin Reactors to increase the capacity of character mods for 20 premium currency, which comes to about $1.50. In The First Descendant, however, a similar item costs 1,500 premium currency, which comes to about $30. Mods can still be earned through gameplay, however.

Other Descendants require time and resources to unlock, but can be purchased immediately with premium currency. However, the problem here and with many microtransactions is that the premium currency bundles do not match the cost of these new characters. Players are forced to purchase multiple currency bundles because they do not individually match the cost of the characters, so players are left with excess premium currency. There are also the Ultimate Descendants, which are more powerful versions, and require rarer materials to unlock. They cost even more premium currency to unlock immediately, which has led to some backlash from players.

Nexon is also offering in-game compensation for launch day issues in the form of a 30% gold gain for three days, Kyper Shards gain, EXP gain and Weapon Mastery EXP gain boosts, and two Matte Red Paints.

The First Descendant is currently available on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. It features cross-play and cross-progression, allowing players to play with others on different platforms, as well as carry over their progress regardless of which platform they are playing on. Despite its issues, which include connection errors to the game, The First Descendant has had a strong start with over 200,000 concurrent players on Steam on its launch day.