Greetings, Descendants!
During the June 12th Developer Live Stream, we provided detailed information about upcoming content updates and the direction of future development.
As we covered a wide range of topics, we have summarized the key information from the broadcast below. For more detailed information, please check the YouTube video.
https://www.youtube.com/live/USRx4SklFdg
■ June 19th Update Introduction
- External Component Augmentation Core Added: This update supports Descendant defensive setups, obtainable from 400% Infiltration Operations and Sigma Sector and able to be crafted up to Level 10. Core Slots will start unlocked to prevent excessive time investment. All External Components will have 2 Slots (Recovery/Defense) to maintain set utility across different combinations.
- Multi-Hit Core Added: Based on community feedback, the Multi-Hit Core will be added as a Hit Augmentation Core. New Hit Augmentation AB items have been added to allow players to choose between Critical Hit or Multi-Hit setups.
- Ice Maiden Challenge Difficulty: Advanced content featuring new Skills and Debuff Immunity Mechanics have been added. First Clear rewards include a large amount of "Quality Certified ETA Vouchers" and a Leaderboard has been added.
- Quality of Life Improvements
ㄴ Display options for Descendant-exclusive Attachments
ㄴ Preset order change feature
ㄴ Intercept Battle Individual Death Count and reduced start waiting time
ㄴ Added Photo Mode Frames and Sticker features
■ July 3rd Planned Updates
- Erosion Purge Improvements: Stage count reduced from 30 to 10 Stages with Public Matchmaking support for all. The final stage, Stage 10, will feature 5 maps in daily rotation to reduce repetitive play fatigue.
- Core Farming Improvements: Lower-tier Weapon Cores can now be acquired from 400% Infiltration Operations and Sigma Sector, with reduced Crafting/Conversion costs.
- Descendant Balance Adjustments: We will gradually improve Descendants who struggle to perform in their roles in 400% Infiltration Operations, Sigma Sector, Erosion Purges, and Void Intercept Battles. Additionally, Bunny Sprint Speed cap will be increased from 1,300 to 1,600.
- Weapon balance Adjustments: We plan to improve specific Weapon DPS and make adjustments to encourage the use of a wider range of Weapons.
■ Skin Updates
- On June 19th, the shared dog Fellow costume skin "Furry Companions" will be added.
- On July 3rd, to celebrate the 1st Anniversary and summer, individual summer swimsuit skins will be added, and a massive swimming pool will open in Albion.
■ Breakthrough Update Preview
- New Field Axion and Hover Bike: The massive Field, Axion, and quick-moving transportation method, the Hover Bike, will be added. Hover Bikes come in Basic, Balanced, and Acceleration types. When Season 3 begins, you’ll receive one Basic Hover Bike just for logging in, so please stay tuned.
- Axion Environmental Changes: Like Albion, Axion will feature changing skies based on time of day, along with weather variations such as cloudy and rainy conditions.
- World Boss "Wall Crasher": A Colossus boss that appears in Axion at set times, allowing up to 8 players to participate in real-time. Server-wide rewards that all players can enjoy including reduced Research Time and increased Arche Tuning EXP gains.
- Breach Creatures: Controlled by a single host "Cluster Sac," these monsters adapt and evolve based on the attribute they’re attacked with, spawning new Breach Creatures with higher resistance to that attribute. Various strategies, including mixing different attributes, will be required.
- Breach Follower: A type of monster that is deployed by Assault Ships. You can prevent their deployment by shooting down the Assault Ships before they land.
- Spiker: Massive variants randomly appear among Common Monsters, adding an element of unpredictability to combat.
- Trigger Modules: Consists of effects that automatically activate when using specific types of Skills, enabling new build possibilities.
■ Breakthrough Update Roadmap
- August: Season 3 Release, New Descendant "Nell," Axion Field Content
- September: Lounge System, Ultimate Luna Release
- October: Sword Weapons and New Dungeon Added
- November-December: Episode 2 Story, Ultimate Yujin, Ancestors Modules, Module Black Market, etc.
■ Event Info
- Pre-registration Event: A wide range of rewards including Ultimate Descendant Ticket when reaching 1 million registrations.
- Events Starting June 19th
ㄴ Burning Summer Attendance: Provides various rewards including the Ines’ Twisted Worship Skin for 6 weeks of attendance.
ㄴ Burning Summer Training: Provides a variety of Growth Items based on Mission completions.
- Events Starting July 3rd
ㄴ Anais 1st Anniversary Gift Workshop: Exchange 1st Anniversary Tokens for Customization and Growth Items.
ㄴ Grab the Breakthrough Web Event: Get 1st Anniversary Tokens through draws, plus Acrylic Merch Sets and Art Books.
- Skin Design Contest: Extended until August 12th. Everyone is welcome to participate, and we look forward to seeing your entries.
■ Q&A Key Points
The Q&A session was conducted based on pre-submitted questions. We’re sharing the Dev Team direction and items under internal review across various topics.
- Arche Tuning System: We believe content difficulty and balance adjustments should take priority to prevent Descendant power creep. The system will be expanded gradually depending on future developments.
- Mutant Cells: A variety of types will continue to be added. We’re preparing to expand Mutant Cell farming locations to Axion in Season 3.
- Repeatable Content: Centered on Axion as an all-in-one farming location, we’re preparing elements to add variety to repeated farming through event features like Spiker and Colossus appearances. We aim to gradually improve the system so that most farming can be done through Core Content.
- End Game Content: We will continue to create challenging experiences, including the Ice Maiden Challenge Difficulty coming June 19th, Season 3 Axion, Wall Crasher, and Void Abyss Intercept Battles.
- Intercept Battle Structure Improvements: We are discussing various improvements, including modifications to the Amorphous Material opening structure and overall enhancements to Hard Intercept Battles.
- Descendant Balance Direction: We will continue to improve Descendants who are less efficient at eliminating multiple monsters or lack effectiveness in Hunting or Intercept Battles.
- Dia Release Plans: We have no plans to release Dia as a new Descendant this year. We are reviewing a range of ideas for multiple upcoming Descendants, including Dia.
- AFK Countermeasures: We are operating a separate matchmaking system through accumulated reports and automatic identification. While setting sensitive detection criteria could lead to unfair penalties, we will work to find practical solutions to create a more pleasant gaming experience.
- Community Feedback System: We collect feedback regularly by daily monitoring of overall community reactions. We are also conducting detailed analysis of player drop-off through Focus Group Testing. We are also positively considering implementing an in-game survey system, as requested by many players.
- 400% Infiltration Operation: Rather than modifying this content itself, we are designing Axion as an all-in-one piece of content where all growth and farming is possible, and plan to restructure half-power gameplay around this.
- Optimization: We are improving various aspects including crash fixes, memory usage optimization, effect optimization, and optimizations related to AI and monsters.
- Dynamic Motion: We have fixed major issues such as costume clipping, excessive movement, and jittering, and are continuing to improve material-specific expressions and motion responses.
We hope to repay the loyalty of our Descendants with even higher quality content.
Thank you.