The First Descendant names and shames thousands of players in its first "crackdown on abusive users"

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Don't use dodgy programs unless you want to find yourself on a Nexon watchlist

The First Descendent
(Image credit: Nexon)

The First Descendant developer and publisher Nexon has delivered permanent bans to thousands of players in what the company calls its first-ever "crackdown on abusive users."

As part of the crackdown, in its online notice, Nexon announced that more than 1,300 players have been perma-banned for creating, distributing, and using "unauthorized programs." In other live services, those programs would normally include aim bots that give players a competitive upper hand, but The First Descendant is a purely PvE shooter, so your guess at what "programs" might be at play is as good as mine. 

A further 428 players who exploited "processes related to the Open Store" were also banned to avoid "unfair gains by exploitation on store payment processes." Or, in other words, Nexon wants people to pay up for its fake in-game currency and shiny loot, so it's banning people who somehow bypass the store to get it free.

Whether anyone was banned or suspended for online toxicity—you know, slurs, bullying, bigotry, and other weird stuff—is unclear, but Nexon simply says it's "inspecting abusive gaming behavior" and encourages people to use the in-game reporting feature. Nexon basically includes an Excel spreadsheet listing the names of all the players who were banned for dodgy programs, which is kind of wild, but no such list exists for people who may or may not have been banned for "abusive" behavior. 

Nexon's been pretty on top of updating its newest looter shooter slot machine, as it recently changed The First Descendant icons that almost exactly matched designs found in Destiny 2. In the middle of some hefty patch notes, the company also confirmed that it's not actually messing with your drop rates; you've probably just got shoddy luck.

You won’t need any abusive programs with our Kuiper Shard farming method guide, or find out the best weapons in The First Descendant.

Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.