“The grind isn’t bad, the missions are”: The First Descendant’s Suffering from a Problem That Has Taken 6 Months for Helldivers 2 to Fix

Repetitiveness might become The First Descendant’s undoing in the long run!

The First Descendant and Helldivers 2

SUMMARY

  • The First Descendant fans are now speaking out about the repetitive and predictable nature of the game’s missions.
  • Given how fans have the missions down to a set formula, Nexon needs to add variation to the title.
  • The studio could look to Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2, which just got a major update, adding new missions, enemies, and a higher difficulty level.
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The First Descendant has launched to very mixed reviews, with many claiming it is another squad-based PvE shooter offering nothing unique. This hasn’t stopped the game from amassing a following, but even those playing the game have complaints about their experience.

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People were not expecting a paradigm-shifting title with Nexon’s latest release, but many feel they are playing the same mission on repeat. Repetition is the bane of any live-service title, and The First Descendant needs to fix it before it starts to bleed players.

The First Descendant’s Mission Structure is Growing Old with Fans

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In an era where a single subscription offers access to hundreds of games, capturing player attention is no small feat. If a game becomes too repetitive, it’s not uncommon for the player base to vanish overnight.

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The First Descendant has been out for close to a month now, and while the title has active players, people are pointing out flaws that may put those numbers at risk.

There are only so many variations and mission types that can be added to the game. While this may not sit well with the community, especially when other The First Descendant players are not up for teamwork, that is the fact of the matter. This doesn’t mean that Nexon can’t add some variation and innovation to the missions to keep them interesting.

It’s this exact issue pointed out by Redditor WeekendStandard1832, who states that they are not annoyed with The First Descendant grind, but rather, the very types of missions. Replies have suggested how Nexon could make missions and The First Descendant farming more appealing to players.

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Another reply states that the grind and mission types go hand-in-hand, as one will only lead to the other.

One fan is hopeful Nexon will live up to its promise of adding more to the game.

The First Descendant has a long way to go, but they could take a page out of Arrowhead’s book with the recent update for Helldivers 2.

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Nexon Games Should Follow Arrowhead’s Strategy

Nexon might want to go the Helldivers 2 route for The First Descendant.
Nexon might want to go the Helldivers 2 route for The First Descendant. | Credits: Arrowhead Game Studios

For a long time, Helldivers 2 players were also complaining about the lack of uniqueness in the game. The recent update, titled Escalation of Freedom, brings a ton of new content to the game, including new enemy types, mission objectives, difficulty levels, and more.

It’s not bringing the Illuminate to the game yet, but it should help get more people interested.

Learning from Helldivers 2 The First Descendant missions can be made more interesting by simply adding variation to the existing structure. Randomizing the chain of events could be another possible route, with events happening in no set pattern in the game. While it’s not a perfect solution, it should help reduce the number of players getting turned away by repetition.

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The game launched with poor reviews on Metacritic and currently sits at a 4.8 User Review score. Not fixing the issue of repetition will further sour public sentiment for the game, leading to people abandoning the title for the next shooter in the market.

How do you think NEXON Games can make their missions interesting? Let us know in the comments below!

Sagar Nerala

Written by Sagar Nerala

Articles Published: 371

Gaming was one of my earliest passions then along came writing, and here we are. I've been in the content creation space for several years now and as gamer for even longer. From understanding the complexities of a multilayer narrative to the simply joy of "big gun go boom", my goal is to capture all the emotions in between and put them down in an engaging manner.