A game’s physics system being directly tied to the FPS is not a new thing. However, it’s a rare occurrence in the world of live-service titles, and The First Descendant is the latest example where your FPS can help improve your damage output.
First spotted by PC Guide, The First Descendant‘s servers might be wired in a particular way that allows individual machines to report to them faster than others, based on how well the game performs. Having higher FPS means your bullets will register faster on the server side, thus increasing your overall firerate and damage per second. YouTuber Rychews Games tested this theory on July 18 and found that weapon firerates are directly tied to the FPS with proportional calculations that show massive differences between low and high FPS.
He calculated that at 40 FPS, your gun will shoot an average of 25 percent fewer bullets than if the game were to run at 120 FPS. The same difference is applied to the effect of firerate modules on weapons, meaning that a module granting a certain firerate boost to your gun will be 25 percent weaker on 40 FPS than 120. The more FPS you have, the bigger the difference becomes, spawning the idea that the game should be kept at minimum settings to improve your overall output.
Lowering graphical settings to improve performance and output is nothing new. Counter-Strike players have been doing it for over a decade now since high FPS also lowers input lag and gives you a stronger peeker’s advantage. However, it’s not that common that high FPS would actually give you more damage, and it’s likely this isn’t intentional design. Whether or not Nexon will hop in to stop this is unclear, though the company’s previous approach to players taking advantage of the game’s design for gain implies they won’t.
