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Movement and positioning are somewhat crucial in almost every shooter. It is way easier to survive everything the game throws at you if you move out of the way. This has become incredibly popular with the rise of Souls-like games, where dodging and rolling are basically essential for survival. As for The First Descendant, there is an option to dodge, to roll out of the way, but you’d be surprised by the number of players who simply ignore the fact that it exists. Some players say it is quite handy, others say it is useless.
Players Claim Rolling Is Next-to-Useless in The First Descendant
Yes, you can do a combat roll (Ctrl on the keyboard, B on Xbox, and Circle on PS controllers), it is even offered in the tutorial. However, the usefulness of that movement mechanic is somewhat questionable, as discussed in a Reddit thread started by Unhappy_Parking1672. The main issue with rolling is the fact that enemies in TFD have the almost-perfect aim, ie, you can’t roll out of the way to dodge incoming fire, it will hit you anyway.
You’d expect that if you time it right, you can roll out of the way and dodge projectiles. Especially when facing those irritating Farseers (the beam-shooting flying drones). But no, dodging is so ineffective in TFD that the majority of players simply do not bother. As KrazyKryminal puts it: “Because every projectile/beam has your name on it. There is no escaping the AIs 100% accuracy.” Some players, especially those coming from Souls-like game backgrounds are irritated that rolling does not give you any invulnerability frames. User Pieface0896 stated: “…but I understand why people say it’s useless. There should be i-frames incorporated with them“ and coltRG agrees, saying: “Really wish there was a tiny amount of i-frames on the dodge.”
Rolling Does Have Its Uses
Alternatively, there may be some point to rolling. First off, it is faster than regular running so it is extremely useful for moving out of the way. For example, when a boss is about to perform an AoE attack. “I’ve dodged lasers, chains, ice blocks etc.” says redii2klutch.
But, one of the best uses for rolling is to help you reload. That’s right, rolling can quicken your reloads: if you time the roll just right (usually somewhere at the halfway point) it will cancel the reload animation and you’ll end the roll with a fully loaded weapon. “Rolling can be used for some attacks but I also use it for reloading if you time it just over a bit of half your bar its a faster way to reload“ said collitta. And remember that some Modules work only when you roll, like Accelerated Driveshaft or Descendant Roll.
As it stands, rolling in The First Descendant does have its uses, but they are far from what you’d expect. It is used to exploit the reload mechanics (and maybe proc some Modules), instead of dodging enemy attacks. The issue is that the majority of enemy fire is guaranteed to hit you, so dodging is pretty ineffective. We can only hope that the devs will do something about the AI accuracy and therefore make rolling a bit better at dodging enemy fire.