The First Descendant will receive its next major update on July 15, 2026. Nexon outlined the planned changes in Dev Note vol. 27, including a new Extreme version of Void Intercept Battle, balance work for several Descendants, new modules, weapon adjustments, and a broad summer event schedule.
The developer noted that some details may change before the update goes live. Exact numbers for the Serena and Ines changes will be included in the full patch notes.
Players can also watch the accompanying developer presentation here:
Void Intercept Battle: Extreme enters beta
The update will combine Hard Void Intercept and Void Abyss Intercept into Void Intercept Battle: Extreme, which will launch in beta on July 15.
Unlocking the mode requires players to defeat each Void Intercept Colossus. After meeting the required Mastery Rank for each Colossus and defeating all normal Colossi in Extreme, players will unlock Critical Point Breakthrough. This system allows them to choose extra challenges before starting a run.
Critical Points can reduce a Descendant’s shield or defense, increase a Colossus’s physical or attribute attack, add damage requirements involving the grappling hook, or lower movement speed. Higher Critical Point values will produce better farming efficiency, giving players a choice between more difficult fights and stronger rewards.
Successful Extreme runs will grant a Quality Certified ETA Voucher for limited items in the season-exclusive shop. The beta balance will continue to receive adjustments for about a month, with the full version planned for Season 4. A leaderboard will run during the beta and rank players by their highest Critical Point value.
Serena and Ines are receiving balance changes
Serena’s Redemption skill will receive a new area-of-effect damage structure. Its current AoE additional damage will be split into Base Additional Damage and AoE Additional Damage, with the goal of giving the skill stronger single-target output without allowing its area damage to scale too far over time.
Her skill synchronization value will increase from 0.496 to 1.177. Two new Transcendent Modules, Battlefield Nun and Archangel, will also give Serena more ways to build around firearms or skills.
Battlefield Nun focuses on midair firearm use against a single target. Repeatedly hitting the same weak point with Serena’s second skill builds Consecration, up to 10 stacks. Consuming those stacks summons her fourth skill, Aurora, with the buff duration based on the amount of Consecration used.
Archangel focuses on midair skill use. It raises skill power and skill critical hit rate while Serena is airborne, changes her first skill into a projectile attack, and gives her third and fourth skills new aerial attack behavior tied to the Holy Passion effect.
Ines will also receive a reduction to the skill power damage of Dark Current. Nexon said data collected after Patch 1.3.32 showed that Ines was performing ahead of other top-tier Descendants in Onslaught Mode Level 3, Axion Plains, and Bounty Operations. The team plans to keep watching her performance after the adjustment.
Blair’s kit gets a broad pass
Blair is the focus of this month’s monthly balance update. His base skills and several modules will be changed to give his Flame Zones more uses.
- Blaze Up: Can be canceled, creates Flame Zones faster, and can create extra Flame Zones around enemies. The number increases with skill effect range.
- Extinguish: Can be used while firing a weapon.
- Burn Taste: Deals much more damage, while enemy defeats reduce the cooldown of Deadly Cuisine.
- Deadly Cuisine: Has a shorter cast time, faster fireball projectiles, and higher damage on the giant fireball.
Blair’s modules are also being reworked. Flame-Grilled Special replaces Incendiary Bomb and adds movement speed when approaching a burning enemy. Its Flame Man skill grants defense, HP, and immunity to knockback and knockdown while consuming MP over time. Its Hot ‘N Spicy skill attacks nearby enemies and can turn Red Flavor stacks into a skill-power-based explosion after a critical melee hit.
Truly Deadly Cuisine will throw three Flames, create its projectiles faster, and deal more Skill 4 damage. When that skill explodes near a Flame Zone, its cooldown will be reduced. Backdraft gains a permanent reload-time modifier, a faster Extinguish cooldown, instant magazine recovery when absorbing a Flame Zone, and extra skill-power damage when using a Beam Rifle.
Classic Chef changes its first two skills to Singular type and gains Overcooked, which creates more explosions from Blair’s Flame Zones. Killer Recipe adds an aerial Skill 3 called Flare Up and allows Deadly Feast to hit the same target more than once. Next-level Recipe increases the damage of skills 1 and 3.
Weapons, firearm cores, and combat systems
Divine Punishment and The Final Masterpiece will both receive balance adjustments. Divine Punishment will use Praise, Purifying Blaze, and Warmth to connect healing or charging skills with multi-hit attacks, attribute resistance, and HP and shield recovery. The Final Masterpiece will create a chill explosion and apply Frostbite to normal monsters, while hits against Elite or Commander enemies can call down Icicles. Weak-point hits will increase the Icicles’ damage.
The core types for three firearms will change:
- A-TAMS: 1 Special Core and 1 Precision Core will become 2 Hit Cores.
- Nazeistra’s Devotion: 1 Special Core and 1 Precision Core will become 1 Firepower Core and 1 Hit Core.
- Truly Deadly Arson: 1 Special Core will become 1 Free Core.
The maximum cooldown-reduction value will move from 90% to 75%, but Nexon said the final cooldown Descendants can reach will remain the same. For example, a skill that reached five seconds before the change will still reach five seconds afterward.
Rolling will gain damage reduction and crowd-control immunity. After being resurrected, players will receive a period of invincibility along with crowd-control and status-related immunity.
Two Trigger Modules will join the game. Arche Reflux connects Firing Enhancement skills with extra damage against targets recently affected by a Ground DoT skill. Arche Blaze triggers extra damage when a tracking projectile skill is used during a levitation skill.
Onslaught Mode Level 4 and quality-of-life changes
Onslaught Mode Level 4 will be added with 12 new Arche Parameters. Its weekly bonuses will match Level 3, but completing the higher difficulty can award more Gold, Superconductive Cooling Units, Kuiper Shards, and EXP. There will also be a low chance to receive a Rare Alignment Device or Ultimate Alignment Device.
The interface will show total Arche Activity, equipped weapons, and how much Arche Activity each piece of gear can provide. Field Missions, Infiltration Operations, and Special Operations will be grouped together, with sorting improved to show recently updated content first. Nexon also mentioned changes to radio communications and other presentation details.
On July 30, Trigger Module unlock requirements will be lowered.
Summer skins and events
The July cosmetic lineup will begin with the female Descendant skin Awesome Service and the male Descendant skin Awesome Burger guy on July 15. Sharen’s Albion Academy Cadet and Hailey’s Classic Maid skins will also return that day.
On July 30, Bunny, Freyna, Luna, Ines, Nell, and Dia will receive individual pirate-themed skins, alongside a shared pirate-themed skin for male Descendants. Sharen and Harris will also have Medical Support skins tied to the Summer Battlefield Support Operation.
The main event schedule includes:
- Summer Battlefield Support Operation: A six-week login event running from July 15 through August 27. Sharen’s Medical Support skin arrives on Day 14 and Harris’s on Day 35. Rewards also include Dia’s Ancestors Module Selection Box, an Ultimate Weapon and Trigger Module Selection Box, and Ultimate Alignment Devices.
- Assemble Event I: Runs from July 15 through August 6 with personal and global missions. Rewards include Gold, Crystallization Catalysts, customization items, Ancestors Module Loot, and a Dia Ancestors Module Selection Box.
- Assemble Event II: Runs from August 6 through August 19. Global mission tiers award Superheat Materials, while personal missions award Ultimate Alignment Devices.
- Descendant Progression Mission I: Runs from July 15 through August 19 for new and returning Descendants below Mastery Rank 18. Rewards include Growth Support Boxes and Descendant Purchase Ticket Selection Boxes.
- Descendant Progression Mission II: Begins August 7 for Descendants below Mastery Rank 18 and offers an Ultimate Weapon Selection Box, Weapon and External Component Augmentation Core Box, Trigger Module Selection Box, and other rewards.
- Descendant Firepower Check Mission: Runs from July 15 through August 19 and rewards players who develop Fire-attribute Descendants. Its rewards include a Fire Transcendent Module Selection Box containing Serena’s new modules.
- Accelerate Research Week: Begins July 15, with research acceleration at 50% efficiency on weekdays and 100% on weekends.
- Descendant’s Weekend: Runs on weekends from July 17 through August 17. Players will receive 20% more Descendant EXP, Weapon Proficiency, and Unique Arche Factor EXP in Infiltration Operations and Sigma Sector, plus 20% more Gold and Kuiper Shards in Special Operations and Breach Tracking dungeons.
- Dismantle Ancestors Module Week: Runs from August 7 through August 19 and lets players exchange dismantled module fragments for an Ancestors Module through the BB-On shop.
- Readjustment Discount Weekend: On August 7–9 and August 14–16, the Gold, Kuiper Shards, and Superconductive Cooling Units required for Ancestors Module readjustment will cost 50% less.
- Today’s Readjustment Benefit: From August 7 through August 19, the first Ancestors Module readjustment of each day will cost 100% less in those materials.
The July 15 update will bring a lot of moving parts to The First Descendant, with Extreme content, character changes, progression events, and new cosmetics all arriving together. Tell us what you think about the planned changes in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, and Instagram.
The First Descendant
Developed by Nexon Games
Launched in July 2024, The First Descendant is a next-generation third-person co-op action RPG looter shooter featuring high-quality graphics developed using Unreal Engine 5. In the game, players become a Descendant whose mission is to combat against alien invaders – The Vulgus who crossed dimensions over 100 years ago and brought with them the devastating Colossi and destruction– for the survival of humanity and to protect Albion and the continent of Ingris. Players will encounter spectacular stories as they grow stronger through various missions and raids to finally discover the Descendants' secret. Cooperation is crucial as players team up with one another in strategic multiplayer boss fights where teamwork and tactics are key. New equipment, materials, and items obtained through a myriad of missions and boss fights will contribute to players’ character development.
- Genre: Shooter, Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One
- Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
- Release: 2024-07-02
- Publisher: Nexon Korea
-
Age Rating:
ESRB M / GRAC 19+ / ACB M / PEGI 12 / CLASS_IND 12 / USK 16
- IGDB Rating: 59.3/100
