You’re mid-Void Abyss raid, 30 seconds away from beating the final boss and grabbing that legendary precision mod you’ve been grinding for three weeks, when your screen cuts to a disconnected error. Frustrating, right? If you’re searching how long are The First Descendant servers down, you’re far from the only player stuck waiting to get back in. I once lost a hard-earned Voltaic Infiltrator character drop because I logged on 10 minutes before a scheduled maintenance I didn’t know about, so I know exactly how infuriating unplanned downtime can be. This guide breaks down every type of server outage, how long each usually lasts, and what you can do to avoid losing progress to downtime.
How Long Are The First Descendant Servers Down For Scheduled Maintenance?
Scheduled maintenance is the most common reason you’ll run into unavailable servers, and it’s also the easiest to plan around. Nexon typically runs regular maintenance every Wednesday, usually between 12 AM and 4 AM UTC, to deploy bug fixes, balance updates, and small content drops. For these standard weekly maintenance windows, servers are almost always down for 2 to 4 hours total. Scheduled maintenance almost never runs longer than 5 hours unless there’s a major content drop, like a new playable character, map expansion, or limited-time event launch.
You’ll almost always get a 24 to 48 hour advance warning for scheduled maintenance, posted to the official The First Descendant X (Twitter) account, Discord server, and in-game notice board. These notices will also tell you exactly what time servers are expected to come back online, and if there are any expected delays. For example, when the Shadow Walker character update dropped earlier this year, maintenance ran an extra 90 minutes to fix last-minute bugs with the character’s ability kit, so the team updated players every 30 minutes until servers were back up. If you play in a region outside of UTC, take 30 seconds to convert the announced maintenance window to your local time, so you don’t sit down to play right as servers go offline.
How Long Do Unscheduled First Descendant Server Outages Last?
Unscheduled outages are far more frustrating, because they happen without warning, usually right when you’re in the middle of something important. These outages can be caused by anything from unexpected critical bugs, DDoS attacks, sudden spikes in player count, or backend server hardware issues. The length of these outages varies a lot depending on how severe the problem is, and how many regions are affected. Small, regional outages that only impact 10-20% of players usually get fixed in 15 to 30 minutes, while global outages that knock all regions offline can take 1 to 3 hours to fully resolve. If you see a global outage announcement, expect at least 1 hour of downtime before servers are back online, as the team needs time to test fixes before rolling them out to all players.
During the first week of the latest Void Rift limited-time event, for example, servers crashed for 2 and a half hours because 3x more players logged on to take advantage of double drop rates than the development team expected. In rare cases, if the outage was caused by a critical exploit that let players get unfair rewards, the team may roll back server progress by 30 to 60 minutes to remove illegitimate items, so you may lose progress from right before the outage hit. If you’re not sure if you’re dealing with a scheduled maintenance or unscheduled outage, look for these common signs:
- No advance warning posted on official The First Descendant social media channels
- You get disconnected mid-session without a pre-shown maintenance countdown
- Other players on your friend list are reporting the same connection error at the same time
- The official server status page shows multiple regions marked as "unavailable"
Never download third-party "server fix" tools when you hit an outage, these are almost always malware designed to steal your game account credentials or personal information. The only place you’ll get real updates on outages is from official The First Descendant channels.
How To Check If First Descendant Servers Are Down For Everyone Or Just You
Sometimes, what looks like a server outage is actually just a problem with your own internet connection or device, so it’s worth ruling that out before you assume servers are down for everyone. First, check the official The First Descendant server status page, which updates in real time to show availability for all regions and platforms. If all regions are marked as online, the problem is likely on your end. Next, check if other online games or apps work on your device, to rule out a wider internet outage. I once spent 20 minutes troubleshooting my router before I realized PSN was down for my region, not The First Descendant servers, so it’s always worth checking your platform’s network status too if you play on console.
If the official pages say servers are online but you still can’t connect, try restarting your game first, then your router if that doesn’t work. For PC players, verifying your game files through Steam or the Nexon Launcher can fix corrupted files that are causing connection errors. If only you are having connection issues, try switching to a wired ethernet connection before contacting support, as Wi-Fi drops and signal interference are the most common cause of individual connection errors. If you still can’t connect after trying all these steps, you can submit a support ticket through the official The First Descendant website, and the team will help you troubleshoot your specific issue.
Tips To Minimize Disruption From Server Downtime
You can’t avoid server downtime entirely, but there are a few easy steps you can take to cut down on the frustration and lost progress that comes with it. First, follow the official The First Descendant X account or join the official Discord server, and turn on post notifications for maintenance announcements. I now set a phone alert for any scheduled maintenance that falls during my usual play time, so I never get caught mid-raid again. Second, avoid starting long, high-stakes missions like Void Abyss raids or 40-minute story missions right before a scheduled maintenance window, or during peak event hours when outages are more common.
Third, manually save your progress after big wins by exiting to the main menu, even though the game has auto-save functionality. Auto-save only triggers at specific checkpoints, so if you get a rare drop right before an outage, the auto-save may not have caught it yet. If you do lose progress because of an unexpected outage, take screenshots of any error messages or progress you made before the crash, and submit them to support. In most cases, they will reimburse you any lost items or currency within 72 hours. Never leave a mission running idle if you step away from your device for more than 10 minutes, you might come back to a disconnection and lose all your progress from that run.
At the end of the day, server downtime is an unavoidable part of playing live service games like The First Descendant. Knowing how long are The First Descendant servers down for different types of outages helps you plan your play time better, and avoid the frustration of losing progress you worked hard for. You don’t have to let downtime ruin your play sessions, either – with a little advance planning and the simple tips we shared, you can cut down on most of the headaches that come with server issues, and spend more time grinding for the mods and characters you want.