If you’ve sunk dozens of hours into grinding for rare void reactors, perfect mod rolls, and exclusive cosmetic skins in The First Descendant, you’ve probably wondered will the first descendant have trading at some point. Looter shooter fans have long relied on player trading systems to swap duplicate drops, fill gaps in their loadouts, and get more value out of every run, so it’s no surprise this is one of the most requested features for Nexon’s free-to-play looter. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve gotten a perfect S-tier mod for a character I don’t even play, and wished I could pass it along to my friend who mains that descendant. I’ve been following official dev streams and community forums closely for the past year, so I’ve pulled together every confirmed detail, leak, and developer comment about potential trading features for the game below.
What We Know So Far About Will The First Descendant Have Trading Plans
First, let’s get the most important detail out of the way: The development team has not officially confirmed a trading release date as of now. That doesn’t mean it’s never coming, though. Back in a 2023 community Q&A, Nexon devs noted that trading was one of the top 5 most requested features from players, and they had started internal discussions about how to implement it fairly. They followed up on that in a 2024 dev stream, where they shared that their biggest hold up is balancing trading to avoid breaking the game’s free-to-play economy.
They did test a limited gifting system during the game’s open beta, where players could send premium cosmetic purchases to friends on their friend list for 24 hours after buying. That test didn’t allow trading for earned gear or in-game currency, but it did give the team data on how to prevent fraud and real money trading (RMT) in any future trade system. The devs have also explicitly stated that they will never add a feature that lets paying players get a gameplay advantage over free players, so any trading system will be built with that rule in mind.
Potential Trading Features The First Descendant Could Launch
Based on the dev’s comments and how similar free-to-play looter shooters handle trading, we can make pretty accurate guesses about what a The First Descendant trading system would look like. The team has already hinted at several core features they’re considering, including:
- Bound vs unbound item restrictions: Most items you earn from regular missions would stay account-bound, while rare drops from endgame raids and void battles would be marked as tradeable a limited number of times, to stop players from reselling items endlessly.
- Trade cooldowns and limits: Players would only be allowed to complete 3 to 5 trades per week, to stop RMT farmers from creating hundreds of bot accounts to flood the market with rare items.
- Player marketplaces with in-game currency only: Trading would be restricted to using regular in-game credits, not premium paid currency, to reduce pay-to-win risks for players who don’t spend real money on the game.
- Cosmetic-only trading as a first step: The dev team has hinted they may test trading for non-gameplay affecting items first, like skins, profile banners, and weapon charms, before adding trade for gear that impacts combat performance.
That aligns with what other popular free-to-play looter shooters like Warframe have implemented, so it’s a safe bet that Nexon would follow a similar model to avoid upsetting the game’s balance. You won’t be able to trade every item you own, but even limited trading would make grinding duplicate endgame drops feel far less frustrating. The devs have also mentioned they may add a trade tax that takes a small percentage of credits from every trade, to control inflation in the in-game economy.
Pros and Cons of Adding Trading to The First Descendant
It’s easy to get excited about the idea of trading, but there are valid reasons the dev team is taking their time to roll it out. The biggest benefit of trading would be a more active and connected player community, since players would have more reason to interact outside of mission runs. You could help out newer players by gifting them low-level rare gear, swap duplicates with your friend group, and stop wasting inventory space on items you’ll never use. It would also make the endgame grind feel more rewarding, because even if you get a drop you don’t need, it still has value to someone else.
That said, there are very real downsides to trading that the devs are working to mitigate. Trading could reduce the sense of achievement from grinding for rare drops, since players could just buy the gear they want instead of earning it through hours of difficult raid runs. The biggest risk, though, is real money trading: if players can trade rare endgame gear, bad actors will start selling those items for real cash outside of the game, which gives paying players an unfair advantage and ruins the experience for free players. Bot accounts would also start farming rare drops nonstop, which would crash the in-game market and make rare items feel worthless for players who actually earn them through gameplay.
The devs have also mentioned that adding trading would require a lot of ongoing moderation to catch RMT sellers and bot accounts, which pulls resources away from developing new characters, missions, and story content. That’s why they’re prioritizing getting the system right the first time, instead of rushing it out to meet player demand.
How to Stay Updated on Trading Feature Announcements
If you’re eagerly waiting for trading to launch, there are a few easy ways to get news as soon as it’s released. First, follow the official The First Descendant X (Twitter) account, they post dev updates every two weeks and often tease upcoming features before they’re officially announced. Join the official Discord server too, the devs host monthly Q&A sessions where they answer common feature requests like trading, and they often share behind-the-scenes details about systems they’re working on.
You should also keep an eye on the in-game notice board, any planned test for trading features will be posted there at least two weeks before it launches, and you might even get a chance to sign up for a closed beta of the system if you’re an active player. If you want to share your own feedback about what you want from a trading system, you can submit it through the in-game support tab. The dev team has said they read all community feedback when planning future updates, so your input could actually shape how the final trading system works.
At the end of the day, there’s no solid answer yet for will the first descendant have trading, but all signs point to the dev team actively working on a balanced system that works for both free and paying players. You don’t need to hold onto every duplicate drop you get waiting for trading to launch, but it’s okay to get excited about the possibility of swapping gear with your friends down the line. If trading does launch, it will likely be rolled out in small, tested phases starting with cosmetics first, so you’ll have plenty of time to learn how it works before the full system goes live.