The First Descendant update nerfs its Destiny-style loot cave but keeps its reward efficiency "significantly higher than originally intended" thanks to its popularity
Outpost cooldown times have now been reduced, though
![The First Descendant character Valby, a young woman with dark hair wearing what looks like a futuristic space suit, looks into the camera with one hand on her hip.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cDybnAKnJ35ATEPwaFuzq-320-80.jpg)
Days after accidentally suggesting all of The First Descendant's farming spots were about to get buffed thanks to a "misinterpretation" during translation, Nexon's looter shooter has had its fan-favorite loot cave nerfed, reducing the amount of rewards you can get from it.
Until now, one of the best ways to earn gold, EXP, and resources in The First Descendant was to try your hand at the 'Valby run' – a strategy that uses the character Valby's 'Clean Up' skill to destroy hordes of constantly respawning enemies at the Vulgus Strategic Outpost in the Fortress. Originally, a statement unintentionally suggested that Nexon was planning to make all other farming spots in the game just as effective as this, but an amended one soon clarified that it was actually the other way around, with the plan to "adjust the rewards efficiency at the Fortress Outpost to balance it with other regions," instead. That's what we're seeing in hotfix 1.0.4, which was rolled out today.
Rewards at the Vulgus Strategic Outpost have been reduced, and the time it takes for monsters to respawn there has been increased, too. However, it's not all bad news, as a director's comment included in the patch notes adds that Nexon has still "set the reward efficiency significantly higher than originally intended" to make sure that the Valby run stays as popular as before. "Instead of reverting Valby run to its original design intent, we have adjusted it to offer similar efficiency to other high-reward hunting grounds."
On top of that, the cooldown time for all Outposts has been significantly reduced – with the wait to retry the Vulgus Strategic Outpost going from five minutes to one. This is so "players can play them more frequently without deliberately failing" or having to look elsewhere on their map for something to do.
"Through issues like the Fortress Outskirts and Valby run, we are learning what kind of play style our players enjoy," the director's comment continues. "The experience of sweeping through and farming monsters is of significant value in our game."
While still not quite the enormous live service win we initially thought Nexon was giving us thanks to that translation snafu, it's clear that the developer still cares a lot about players' feedback, and isn't afraid to make tweaks to its original plans if it means fans will enjoy it more. Here's hoping that the looter shooter will see more of that in the future.
If you're new to Nexon's looter shooter, be sure to check out our guide to The First Descendant best characters.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
I'm one of GamesRadar+'s news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.