The First Descendant’s October 15 Update Will Rework Freyna and Add Onslaught Stage 5
The preview also details Gley and Enzo changes, a new assault rifle, and a 12-weapon drop pool that will begin cycling in November.
The First Descendant’s October 15 update will change Freyna’s skills, add Onslaught Stage 5, and bring a second map to Trials. Nexon’s October 13 developer note also previews adjustments for Gley and Enzo, a new assault rifle, and a rotating pool for Transcendent Weapon drops. Nexon cautions that some previewed content could change before release.
Freyna’s overhaul brings MP-based damage
Freyna’s Skill 2 will grant Concealment as soon as it is used and create a Catalyst Zone around her. The zone deals extra damage to enemies affected by Room 0 Trauma. Skill 4 will no longer have a duration limit, letting players use it until its magazine is empty. All of Freyna’s skills will also gain damage based on her MP, with the maximum reached at 645 MP. Her Synchronization Value will decrease to 1.602 as her skill-power coefficients and base power increase.
Her modules are also changing. Toxic Stimulation will extend Skill 2’s Catalyst Zone to allies, with the module turning them into mobile turrets that amplify Room 0 Trauma. Toxic Mixture will lose its firearm effects and focus on skill damage through Necrosis stacks, while Venom Injection will add damage based on Shield.
Neurotoxin Synthesis receives a larger set of adjustments. Skill 1 will push enemies back and create Toxic Haze, which grants Concealment within its range. Skill 3 will apply Hypersensitivity. Defeating an affected enemy with Skill 4’s Unique Weapon will scatter damaging fragments and temporarily stop the weapon from consuming ammunition. The new Trigger Module Prepping in the Dark is designed to pair with this setup, reducing Skill 4’s cooldown and raising Toxic skill power when Ground DoT and Concealment-type skills trigger it.
Gley and Enzo get new skill and support options
Gley’s Increased Sensory skill is changing, and three of her modules are being reworked. Explosive Life will drop its firearm effects in favor of skill power and Critical Hit Rate, including a single-target damage role for Skill 4. Blood & Iron will make Custom Resource easier to collect and increase melee damage, with Rampage kills granting more resource for additional Skill 4 uses. Demonic Modification will raise Skill 4 damage enough to support area-of-effect clearing.
Enzo’s Firing Specialist will require half as many rounds and deal more additional damage, while Skill 2’s Explosive Drone gains a Firearm ATK buff. Tactical Acceleration’s cooldown will fall to 12 seconds, with near-constant uptime possible using top-tier options. Reinforce Front Line will follow Enzo and buff nearby allies within 22.5 meters. Focus Fire will also become a firearm-and-skill damage module, raising skill damage when Enzo attacks with a firearm through Skill 3.
Trials and Onslaught add new weekly choices
Trials will gain a second map, with the selection rotating daily in a pattern similar to 400% Infiltration. Rewards and completion times will remain the same. A third map and a Variable Code for firearm damage builds are planned for a later update.
Onslaught Stage 5 will arrive as the new top-difficulty content after Karel’s Mothership Conquest event ends. The stage takes place in Axion Plains, in a different area from Stage 4, and requires at least 93,300 Arche Activity, equivalent to Transcendent Weapon Tier 4. Its combat zones will feature more special monsters with clearer spawn directions, making firearm damage builds a strong fit. For the weekly reward, players can choose Stage 5’s guaranteed Transcendent option or Stage 4’s two guaranteed Ultimate options.
Monster Hunter joins a changing weapon pool
The new Transcendent Weapon, Monster Hunter, is an assault rifle aimed at critical-hit builds. Its visual effects will depend on how players distribute its ability points. Yellow options trigger explosions based on shots fired, with critical hits causing them more often and higher values increasing their area. Purple options can ricochet shots to as many as five nearby enemies, prioritizing Elites, Commanders, Tyrants, and Colossi. Green options add damage against Commanders, Tyrants, and Colossi. The Colossus Hunter skin will also be updated.
A Transcendent Weapon Rotation Boost will raise existing drop rates by 15% through a separate multiplier, not an additive increase. The boosted activities will change daily across both higher- and lower-tier content, and the bonus will apply alongside Battle Pass effects, boost items, and External Component options. Karel’s Mothership will also receive a higher Transcendent Weapon drop rate. A challenge event tied to the rotating activities begins October 15.
The drop pool will be capped at 12 weapons starting with the November update. Each monthly addition will push one existing weapon out of the pool. Malicious Dominator is scheduled to retire as a Transcendent version of EXCAVA joins in November. Retired weapons will remain usable and tradable, but will stop appearing as new drops. Nexon plans to announce retirements one month in advance and bring retired weapons back through a separate system on an irregular schedule.
Control settings and item alerts get quality-of-life changes
Players will be able to save keyboard, mouse, and controller settings in loadouts for each Descendant and recall them when needed. Saving those settings as part of a preset is planned for a later update. Other changes include a more visible, fixed-position notification for high-value drops, Arche Activity values in place of monster levels for Field Missions, and search functions for Ancestors Module and Trigger Module selection boxes. Transcendent Weapons will appear in the Library, monster invulnerability states will be easier to identify, and Enzo’s Hammer and Anvil default will change to Anvil Mode.
Melee builds will also see a tighter range between minimum and maximum attack speeds. Base attack speed will rise while the speed gained from modules falls, leaving final attack speed after a build unchanged. Normal attack animations for existing melee weapons will be improved.
October events bring login rewards and Halloween cosmetics
Karel’s Mothership Conquest Phase 2 will end with the October 15 update. Rewards will be distributed afterward, and Nexon plans to create a space on the official website celebrating participating Descendants.
The Halloween Event Pass begins October 15 with free and premium tracks. The 1,000-Caliber premium track includes Little Red Riding Hood and Big Bad Wolf universal skins, a weapon skin, an emote, and more. Event missions will also offer free rewards such as growth items and chest attachments. A 33-day attendance event starts the same day, with Raven’s makeup on Day 14, a chest attachment on Day 21, a back attachment on Day 28, and a Nell’s Medical Support skin box on Day 33.
The October 15 Descendant Overhaul Mission will reward Archive Shards and Ultimate Gley’s Amorphous Material Pattern for completing HQ Special Orders and Sigma Sector missions, with extra rewards for missions featuring Freyna, Gley, or Enzo. A related growth event targets Descendants at Mastery Rank 20 or below, and weekend research acceleration and boosts are also planned. October 29 brings a Breach Tracking Box event and Dice Run. Nexon also plans to re-release 2025 Halloween skins on October 29, followed by Angel and Demon skins, wings, and a Spawn on November 5.
Which Descendant’s announced changes are you most interested in trying? The first weapon retirement is planned for November, so stay connected for updates on that rotation through X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
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
- Perspective Third person
- Modes Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
- Release July 2, 2024
- Publisher Nexon Korea
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