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At its core, TFD is a looter-shooter game, meaning you use various types of firearms to do the trick. From Handguns to Launchers, the Descendants have access to a vast array of ranged weaponry. And let’s not forget their Arche abilities. However, it became quite common for modern futuristic games to also have close-combat weapons. Mainly popularized by the decades-old Warhammer 40.000 setting, futuristic melee weapons have become a staple of sci-fi games today. Surprisingly, The First Descendant is seriously lacking in them, focusing predominantly on firearms and only having a “Sub-Attack” melee option (more of a utility option than a weapon), in the form of Shortswords, Tonfas, or simple punches. But, in the old trailer for The First Descendant, you could see characters with melee weapons, that once again sparked a debate on whether they belong in the game or not.
Players Debate: Is There a Place for Melee Weapons in The First Descendant?
In one of the older trailers, the one from July 2024, there is a part where Ajax is charging at a shield-carrying Volgus, wielding a huge hammer. It is a known fact that a lot of stuff from those older trailers is not included in the final, official release of the game, but it begs the question: why were melee weapons left out?
One of the players, named EducationalCompany1 on Reddit, asked a similar question, asking for the community’s thoughts. “Would melee weapons be a good thing, or would they be too ‘slow’ for the direction the game is going?“
A lot of players would love to see them, just for the sheer awesomeness. “I really hope so. I don’t care how good or bad it is, I will find a way to make it good“ said Equinox259. Some would love to see a hammer for Ajax (just like in the trailer), or a sword for Bunny.
Others, however, are aware that there is hardly a place for melee weapons in TFD, at this point. Everything is geared towards Skills and blasting as many enemies as possible using guns. “Guns and abilities are too good, melee won’t be able to keep up. Bunny and Freyna can just press 1 button and everyone dies. “ said one player, while a user named SinOfOne stated the fact that that would require a lot of reworks. “I would love melee weapons to be added, but not sure if an entire combat system rework is in the cards with the game not even being a year old yet. I do want to mention though that one of the Dev discord Q&A’s mentioning that they’re considering melee (or a melee focused descendant so it’d probably be more like a unique weapon) so who knows.“
Our own take is that the original plan, the one from the trailer, was probably scrapped due to copyright, as Ajax (a character in grey/metallic armor that uses shields) wielding a hammer is a bit too similar to Reinhardt from Blizzard’s Overwatch. It is still a wonder how they managed to pull off Luna’s unique gun (almost a carbon copy of Lucio’s gun, also from OW).
But, regardless of copyright issues, TFD is a fast-paced (looter) shooter, and while cool, there is no place for melee weapons at this point in the game. Currently, everything is geared towards AoE damage and the whole “power fantasy” vibe, where you obliterate masses with just one button. However, we’d like to be wrong and see that melee-focussed Descendant (hope it will be No. 17) join the team.