The First Descendant fans were already skeptical about the game’s monetization, and the latest premium currency pricing doesn’t make things any better.
The prices of Caliber, the premium currency in The First Descendant, were revealed via SteamDB on June 26, and players on Reddit started putting the cash prices to in-game shop items according to their Caliber price in the latest Technical Test. While most prices are in line with what you see in other games (e.g. battle pass for around $10), there are a few items with questionable pricing.
Energy Activator, in particular, caught players’ attention. It’s an item you can use to increase the module capacity of your Descendant or weapon, allowing you to make them stronger. The Energy Activator costs $24 worth of Caliber, and according to players, you need one per character/weapon. If you want to play with different Descendants, you naturally need more Energy Activators.
“There is no reason to pay-wall mod capacity like this. What’s worse is that players will purchase their favorite characters without realizing that they need 1 of these for each of them,” one fan wrote. Others pointed out that while you could limitlessly farm the items for free in the playtests, the drop rates were incredibly low. This means you have to invest either a bunch of time or money to bring your loadout to the top of the meta, especially if you decide to buy an Ultimate Descendant, which can set you back a whopping $60.
The prices mentioned here are all based on what was listed during the Technical Test back in May. There’s a chance things will be different when the game launches on July 2. The developers addressed complaints regarding the Paint acquisition in the last test, after all, but don’t get your hopes up too much.
