Author - Jerry Paxton

Yesterday, NEXON and The First Descendant development team revealed the Season 3 Episode 3 Update in a special livestream, unveiling details for the new Episode coming on February 5th. This Episode is jam packed with exciting new announcements, including the introduction of the new and long player awaited Descendant Dia who is featured in the newest trailer. In this episode, Dia awakens from a long slumber, setting off a series of events across Albion while uncovering the secrets of her past that had long remained hidden. The trailer and livestream also offer a first look at newly added content in this update, including the new dungeon Exposed Undersea Base and the new boss Sarcophage, along with Ultimate Weapons, balance updates and more.

• New Descendant: Dia

  • First revealed during the December developer livestream, Dia is depicted as a skill dealer who fights by summoning a lance.  Her character comes with a full roster of new skills and skill modules for players, including:

    •  ‘Glacial Clash’ – Can be used in two different modes

      • ‘Glacial Clash’: Deals area-of-effect damage

      • ‘Glacial Breakthrough’ : Advances forward while pushing enemies

    • ‘Glacial Breakthrough’ – A buff skill that increases Dia’s Defense and Critical Damage Multiplier

      • And increases the breakthrough speed of ‘Glacial Clash’

    • ‘Ice Wall’ – Summons a slowly advancing avalanche that pulls enemies toward its path

      • Hitting enemies with  ‘Glacial Clash’ during the avalanche deals additional damage

      • Enables an effective combat pattern by grouping enemies with ‘Ice Wall’ and finishing them with  ‘Glacial Clash’

    • ‘Avalanche’ – Fires a spear that travels forward, dealing damage to enemies around its trajectory

      • When enemies are nearby, the spear travels more slowly, allowing it to deal increased damage as it passes through

    • Transcendent Module 1 – ‘Blooming Ecstasy’

      • Changes ‘Glacial Clash’ to ‘Snowflake Clash’, which pulls in collided targets, applying a ‘Snowflake’ effect to enemies that explodes immediately upon expiration.”

      • Changes ‘Frost Storm’ to ‘Frost Bloom’, which fires a ‘Frozen Spire’ to create a ‘Frost Bloom’ at the point of impact, which increases in skill power and range according to the charge time.”

    • Transcendent Module 2 – ‘Chill Brand’

      • Attacking with skills has a chance to grant ‘Chill Brand’ stacks, which increase damage dealt. The ‘Chill Brand’ skill can then be used to apply these stacks to an enemy, inflicting continuous damage

• New Content: ‘Exposed Undersea Base’

  • Players can experience the newly added ‘Exposed Undersea Base’ content.

    • The ‘Exposed Undersea Base’ dungeon is a Vulgus base discovered along the coast of Axion, featuring a new ‘Infiltration Operation’ that includes a new enemy type and new boss ‘Sarcophage’. A new elite monster effect will be added that provides a benefit to the player if they successfully evade attacks.

• New Ultimate Weapons

  • Two new weapons have been added for players to go hands-on with:

    • E-Buster: Suited for Ines, this weapon features a unique ability to increase electric skill power, delivering powerful damage to a single target.

    • Eye of the Storm: A beam rifle that can switch between ‘Typhoon Mode’ and ‘Storm Mode’.

      • Typhoon Mode – Automatically targets and attacks 8 enemies at once.

      • Storm Mode – Inflicts powerful damage to a single enemy.

• Monthly Balance Update: Gley and Kyle

  • Gley will be improved as a Descendant who uses both firearms and skills, and reborn as a character who can inflict explosive damage in critical moments by fully embracing the ‘berserk’ concept.

  • Kyle’s Synchronization value has been increased, and damage now scales in proportion to his shield. Additionally, the bombardment speed of ‘Superconductive Bombing MARK 2’ has been increased, enabling faster attacks.

• Monthly Balance Update: Ultimate Weapons

  • Clairvoyance

    • Has been reimagined as a frost weapon that creates 5 Frozen Spears when players shoot an enemy, inflicting powerful damage on a single target.

  • Hammer and Anvil

    • In Anvil Mode, firing it into the air transforms it into a weapon that attacks nearby enemies with homing projectiles, making it an excellent weapon for annihilating multiple monsters.

• Battle Pass

  • The New Season 3 Episode 3 Premium Battle Pass is more accessible for players to reach Level 100 and earn various rewards.  Rewards range from customization skins like ‘Operations HQ’ and ‘Neo Knight’ to major unlocks such as the ultimate weapon ‘Eye of the Storm’ and in-game currency.

• Battlefield Support Operation & HQ Orders

  • Battlefield Support Operation

    • A Boost Path designed for beginners with Mastery Rank 12 or below, allowing players to progress through the game by following the Boost Path from the very beginning, earning various progression rewards including Ultimate Weapons.

  • HQ Orders

    • A new system designed to support new and returning Descendants divided into ‘HQ Standing Orders’ and ‘HQ Special Orders’

      • HQ Standing Orders: A collection of missions for new Descendants, available at all times. Players complete designated objectives and select one reward from the quest rewards.

      • HQ Special Orders: Missions that expire every 72 hours. Each directive has a limited number of completions, with different missions and rewards rotating on a fixed schedule.

• Quality of Life Upates

  • On Feb. 6th, a feature will be added to the Companion App to start and receive research.

  • On Feb. 5th, a feature will be added to the in-game search to select desired options and tier, and a feature where module tier are displayed in color will be added.

• New Modules and Skins

  • New Modules and Skins have been added, including Three new Trigger Modules that enhance skill performance, and three Ultimate Modules that can be utilized in combination with Trigger Modules.

  • New skins include ‘Red Rider’, ‘Intensive Regeneration Suit’, and ‘Obliviant Commander Suit’ for Dia.

• February Events

  • Starting February 5, in-game events will offer progression-focused rewards. All players can obtain login items like the “Ultimate Weapon Selection Box III” and “Dia’s Red Rider Box,” alongside a research acceleration event, where the more you play the game, the faster the research time will decrease, along with weekend effects.

  • New and returning players have dedicated tracks: new players receive Ines and a Level 50 Ultimate Weapon “Thunder Cage”, while returning players earn not only Ines but a “Dia Ancestors Module Selection Box.” Both groups also get additional research acceleration.

• XBOX Game Pass PDLC / Xbox Play Anywhere

  • Xbox players will be excited to hear that Premium DLC for The First Descendant will be available on Xbox Game Pass starting Thursday, February 5!

    • In the PDLC, contents include back attachments, weapon skins, makeup, sprays, and dye paints. Players will also be granted Gold, Kuiper Shard, various boost items, and Xbox Game Pass–exclusive paints

    • Additionally, Xbox Play Anywhere will be added, a feature that allows players to purchase the game once with a single Microsoft account and continue playing seamlessly across Xbox Console and PC.

• Episode 3 Update Roadmap Overview (February – April)

  • The First Descendant team showcased a first reveal of the monthly update roadmap for Season 3 Episode 3, highlighting key features such as ‘Onslaught Mode” and providing a brief overview of the planned monthly rebalance updates, including Sharen in March and Viessa in April.