The First Descendant Dev Asks Players to Stop AFK Farming, Please

ign.com:

Ever since The First Descendant launched at the end of June it’s had an away from keyboard (AFK) problem. Now, developer Nexon has asked its player base to please stop going AFK and please refrain from AFK farming.

Nexon’s free-to-play co-op focused looter shooter has enjoyed enormous popularity, with over 10 million players in just 10 days. But out on the battlefield there’s an increasingly troublesome issue that’s driving some players up the wall: AFK farming.

AFK farming isn't a problem unique to The First Descendant, but in this game it’s particularly bad. The idea is players join a mission with others and simply twiddle their thumbs while everyone else does the hard work, then reap the rewards such as experience at the end.

I’ve seen AFK farmers first-hand while playing The First Descendant — they’ll sometimes be spinning around in a circle, clearly in a bid to avoid any AFK detection Nexon may have in place. As players progress through the mission the AFK farmer will be forcibly teleported to catch-up, even to the boss fight, where they’ll continue to run around in circles.

Nexon issued a statement in response on social media that covered AFK farming, as well as going AFK during co-op play generally. “If you need to step away, please do so in Albion only!” Nexon said, pointing to the game’s main town. But the statement also covers cheating, which is an increasing issue for The First Descendant.

Here’s the statement in full:

This statement, which essentially amounts to a “play nice” warning, will only do so much, so players are calling on Nexon to add proper anti-cheat measures and anti-AFK farming mechanics. Some, however, are defending AFK farming because, they insist, they’re so sick of The First Descendant’s crushing grind that they’ve lost the will to play properly.

The First Descendant is a massive hit already, but Nexon will be mindful of growing its player count as the game evolves, and we've seen how difficult this has become for so many publishers and