The First Descendant vs. Destiny 2: Biggest similarities and differences

Bunny and Cayde-6 (Image via Bungie and Nexon) — Bunny and Cayde-6 (Image via Bungie || Nexon)

The First Descendant and Destiny 2 are closer to each other than most players think. While Nexon's new looter-shooter takes heavy inspiration from Digital Extreme's Warframe, the developers did confirm they're avid followers of Destiny 2. Hence, finding similarities between them isn't so tough, both being looter-shooters at their core.

However, there's a lot to unpack when it comes to the sheer difference between Bungie's looter-shooter and Nexon's new title. This article lists a few similarities between The First Descendant and Destiny 2, alongside a few differences, seeing how the community loves comparing games cut from a similar cloth.

Similarities between The First Descendant and Destiny 2

1) Patrol-like missions in an open world

Missions for the campaign in the open world (Image via Nexon)

The First Descendant starting quest nodes resemble that of open-world Patrols in Destiny 2. Inside Nexon's looter-shooter, players will find different missions lying around in the open world, with random players having the option to join in the vicinity. This is similar to the way Patrols work in Destiny 2 planets.

In The First Descendant, each mission node is scattered through a region, marked with a pink color and a unique icon. This is similar to Patrols in Destiny 2 as well, where each Patrol in an open world can be found scattered with grey color and a unique icon.

2) Item infusion

The process of infusing a weapon in The First Descendant is similar to that of Destiny 2. The latter follows a mechanic where players can take a weapon they want to use and "Infuse" it with another weapon with a higher power level. This allows the former to become updated with any higher power activity, allowing it to deal increased damage.

Infusing a weapon in Destiny 2 (Image via Bungie)

While Destiny 2 doesn't require much for Infusion other than two weapons and a common material, The First Descendant requires one extra material that requires a crafting process that takes three minutes to complete. The only major difference here is that The First Descendant doesn't have any weapon-type restrictions for Infusion.

Infusion screen in The First Descendant (Image via Nexon)

Destiny 2 requires a weapon to be of the same type as the higher-level weapon. This means a Kinetic weapon can be infused with only another Kinetic weapon.

Differences between The First Descendant and Destiny 2

1) Modules vs. Exotic armor

Each build in The First Descendant is defined by the modules that can be equipped in each character, boosting damage, defense, and health. Unique modules can apply a different outcome for a character's skill, such as changing a skill's action and damage numbers. Hence, modules are essential to a character's build in The First Descendant.

In Destiny 2, a build is defined by Exotic armor pieces in most cases, followed by stat mods, and weapons. An Exotic armor piece for a specific class has intrinsic perks that let players engage in combat differently. Different armor pieces can force different classes to play as support, DPS, or a hybrid of all roles.

By all means, Exotic armor pieces are one of many aspects in a class that determines a build. Elemental subclass, Exotic weapons, stat mods, subclass Fragments, and a lot more goes into perfecting Destiny 2 builds. Hence, it is vastly different from the module system in The First Descendant.

Speaker's Sight Exotic armor (Image via Bungie)

In The First Descendant, it is best for a supporting character to only support their ally and a DPS character to focus on damage.

2) Objective-based campaign vs. Narrative campaign

Objectives to progress the campaign (Image via Nexon)

The First Descendant follows an objective-heavy campaign, where each location that unlocks after progressing the story presents similar objectives before a campaign mission. Some examples include a payload-like mission, a defense mission, capturing the points, and collecting resources. The loop continues until the end of the campaign.

Narrative campaign in Destiny 2 (Image via Bungie)

Destiny 2, on the other hand, follows a very narrative-heavy experience when it comes to story missions. Many open-world locations and endgame modes are usually locked behind the completion of the main campaign, allowing players to fully experience the story of an expansion.

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Edited by Angad Sharma