The First Descendant Dev Note Details Weapon Pity System, Winter Albion Decorations, and Fixes

Nexon has shared a new November dev note for The First Descendant, outlining several updates in the works and responding to player concerns about the looter shooter’s direction. The short version: a pity-style system for Transcendent Weapon abilities is planned, Albion’s seasonal decorations are coming back, and the team says it has tracked down a few stability problems affecting PC, Xbox, and other platforms.

The biggest long-term change is aimed at Transcendent Weapon farming. Players have complained that chasing the right Transcendent Ability is too punishing, especially with weekly limits on Transcendent Wave Modulator readjustments. Nexon says it’s building a system that will let players obtain a desired Transcendent Ability more reliably after a set number of readjustments. It’s currently scheduled for February 2027, and past Transcendent Wave Modulator uses will count retroactively for each weapon.

Before that, the team is preparing November updates that include the new Descendant Monet, plus changes to older systems like the Grappling Hook, Sub Module slots, and Inversion. Later in the year, Nexon is also working on Colosseum-A, a new Transcendent Melee Weapon, and broader improvements for melee-focused Descendant builds.

Albion’s missing seasonal decorations were also addressed. Nexon says memory usage has grown as more Descendants, skins, Fellows, and NPCs have been added, leaving too little room on some consoles for event dressing in the hub. Memory optimization is now underway, and winter decorations for both Albion and the lobby are planned for the December 17 patch.

On the technical side, the studio says it fixed brief gameplay freezes that affected all platforms and were especially noticeable on Xbox. It also identified a compiler optimization issue behind abnormal Grappling Hook behavior on some platforms. On PC, Nexon says abnormal memory growth is tied to NVIDIA shader cache files, with deleting those files serving as a temporary workaround while a fuller fix is developed.

Nexon has also published a broader restriction policy after criticism of unclear penalties tied to abnormal Onslaught gameplay in August. The policy says punishments can range from warnings to permanent bans depending on intent, repeated use, impact on trade or paid currency, and whether the exploit continued after a fix.

More details are expected during the next Dev Live on November 15.

Further reading: The First Descendant November Dev Note on Steam