0 Comments 
The next update is here. Last week, the 1.1.8 Hotfix tweaked how explosive barrels work as well as allowing you to change servers even outside Albion. The devs are working hard on Season 2, scheduled for December 5, and are in constant communication with the player base via their Discord channel. They’ve been addressing a lot of issues lately, so let’s see what has changed in the latest The First Descendant Hotfix, number 1.1.9.
The First Descendant Hotfix 1.1.9 Patch Notes
Content Improvements
- The hitbox for the Death Stalker’s Weak Point has been expanded.
- The area of the “Core”, “Core Cover”, “Rear Core”, “Rear Core Cover”, and “Sensor” have been expanded by a minimum of 20% and a maximum of 50%, helping to target the Weak Point and to remove via Grappling Hook.
- The outgoing damage formula for explosives has been changed from certain percentage of HP to a certain percentage of HP and Shield.
- Special Operations have been improved to allow you to start operations through a map, similar to Infiltration Operations.
Events
Descendant’s Daily Tasks Event
- To celebrate Thanksgiving, the Descendant’s Daily Tasks Event will be held in-game, from PST 11.20.2024 (Wed), after the hotfix, until 12.04.2024 (Wed), before maintenance.
- Complete challenges to acquire rewards! For further details, refer to Descendant’s Daily Tasks Event Notice.
Bug Fixes
(1) Descendants
- Fixed an issue where the damage of the “Deadly Cuisine” skill’s “Small Fireball” was displayed incorrectly, fixed at Level 1, when Blair’s “Backdraft” Skill Module was equipped. It now displays correctly according to each level.
- Fixed an issue where the Level 2 damage of “Venom Trauma” was displayed incorrectly as the Level 4 damage, when Ultimate Freyna’s “Contagion” Skill Module was equipped. It now displays correctly.
(2) UI/UX
- Fixed an issue where no message appeared when trying to block additional players while the Block List was full.
- Fixed an issue where the quest icons were incorrectly displayed on NPCs who were not quest targets in some Descendant quests.
Explosives Changes and Death Stalker Mix-Up
Some players mixed up what the explosives changes mean, thinking it refers to Death Stalker‘s attacks. Some even asked if an HP build is viable now, as DS seemingly damages both Health and Shields now.
This is all a mix-up, as the changes are about completely different aspects of the game. But we get from where the confusion started, as the “explosives” change is located right after the DS changes. In the original post, it can be a bit hard to see the difference. And Nexon’s choice to simply say “explosives” instead of “explosive barrels” or anything along those lines only serves to confuse players even more.
In conclusion, they are separate features in the game: Death Stalker got its Weak Points areas expanded while explosive barrels (and similar features, like missile crates and anything else that explodes when shot at) now damage both your Shields and your HP.