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The First Descendant is a looter shooter game, which means that the game revolves around gathering better and better equipment through gameplay. The drop rates for more valuable items are usually very small and you need to do the same missions over and over again until you get lucky and get the item you wanted. If you don’t want to bother, all of this can be circumvented by paying with real money.
On the other hand, Gacha games are a type of games that use the so-called “gacha” system, pretty similar to Loot Boxes, where you spend in-game currency to receive a random item, in hopes that you will get what you want. The bad part is that you can also spend real money for extra “pulls”, that in no way guarantee you will get the item you’re hoping for, and it becomes like a video-game version of gambling, spending money in hopes that you will get that jackpot. Unfortunately, just like with gambling, people can get addicted to gachas.
The First Descendant Gets a Lot of Flak For Steep Prices
TFD uses Caliber as its premium currency, which you can use to bypass almost anything. Have a character that you’d like and don’t want to grind for days? Pay for them with Caliber instead. Started research on something that is going to take 36 hours and don’t want to wait? Spend Caliber. A new awesome Skin has just arrived? You guessed it: Caliber.
Unfortunately, a lot of important items do cost a bit of money. Ultimate Descendants cost somewhere around 60$ (with their Bundles going up to $100), rushing research is usually somewhere between $5 and $10 (depending on the remaining research time), and the best skins are around $15. All of this has caused a bit of outrage among the players, saying that the prices are way too high, leading to the age-old discussion about F2P games and revenue.
Still Way Better Than Gacha
While the prices in TFD are a bit steep, they at least guarantee that you will get what you want. Compare that to gachas, where you pay money for a random item. There is no guarantee that you will get what you are aiming for, even after 100 “pulls”.
One player went so far in saying that TFD solved their gacha addiction. “Ever since TFD came out I lost interest in all of those [gacha] games when it comes to spending. People bashing TFD for its [fanservice] while its out here saving me from spending everything I have on gacha games. At least I can say TFD helped me get over gacha games eventually. I really enjoy the grind.”
Others agree, saying that the gacha games use FOMO tactics to entice players to spend even more. “I think the important distinction is that TFD lets you grind for those Gachas, costing you time. Where most of the others do the same but the gachas are time gated after a certain point unless you open your wallet to buy more.. in which case you gotta grind money IRL to do that. “ said hiddencamela. Sure, some skins and bundles are time-limited, but you always have the option to get new Descendants. They are not going anywhere.
In conclusion, yes, buying stuff in TFD is not cheap, but at least you are guaranteed to get what you want. Personally, we prefer that method to spending money just for a chance to get what we want. Sure, there is a certain thrill to it, but if we are spending our hard-earned money we at least want to get what we’re paying for.