If you're currently playing The First Descendant and sinking your time into farming EXP from different missions, the rising epidemic of players utilizing AFK farming is likely a source of frustration for you. While you're working hard to gather materials so that you can unlock more Descendants, the last thing you want to see is someone standing there after taking a single shot.
In The First Descendant, there are plenty of open battlefield missions that players can walk into and become a part of. They don't have to use the join option via the mission beacons if they don't want to, they just have to be in the mission area and take a single shot.
As soon as that shot hits an enemy, they are added to the mission, and become eligible for the same rewards as the other players involved.
It can be pretty obvious to spot someone farming EXP like that because they don't move much at all. They're just staying put to reap the rewards of other players' hard work.
Another way to EXP farm that seems to have become popular - and a problem - in The First Descendant is to join the dungeon-style missions, become a member of the party taking on those bigger missions and bosses, and then... Do nothing.
These are much more of an inconvenience to party members partaking in the action because when a mission like this occurs, it's because the players joined the public channel for the mission and left it open for other Descendants to join them. Missions like this occur in teams of four; and, depending on the difficulty, being down a player could mean the failure of the mission.
Although The First Descendant is a free-to-play looter shooter, it's an extremely cooperative game. Players are impressed with the devs for the support they are giving players in-game, but they don't seem to be gearing up to fix this issue.
With so many players complaining on Reddit about AFK farming, it's no wonder there's an outcry for a kick/vote-to-kick feature. But, as Relative_Brain415 rightfully comments in their own post, vote-to-kick features can be "very toxic for any game."
Instead, they suggested that an AFK check would be a better alternative. AFK checks usually appear as a pop-up on a player's screen, and the game will automatically log them off if they don't respond.
A commenter on Relative_Brain415's post suggested that a combination of an AFK check and a vote-to-kick feature would be the best combination. I'm inclined to agree with this. If I'm going to go AFK for any reason, I use the map to teleport to a safe point. I can't say I've ever left my Descendant standing around in a live mission area to rack up points.
Players witnessing others using AFK farming should feed their concerns back to Nexon. The devs are obviously listening and willing to adapt their game based on feedback.
In the meantime, why not read more about The First Descendant at Pro Game Guides? Read about how The First Descendant is proving addictive, with some players clocking in 100+ hours in first week alone or check out Which Descendant should you start with in The First Descendant and why?
