First Footfall
First footfall is a feature that was added with ED: Odyssey. Univeral Cartographics gives credit to the first person who sets foot on a planetary body.
To be credited with First Footfall on the system map requires landing and disembarking from your ship and/or SRV on the surface of a planet or moon with 0 population. This credit is automatically recorded after disembarking by Universal Cartographics. Most planetary bodies in or near the Core Systems and Colonia have already been claimed during the over 1300 years of interstellar exploration. Thus to find unclaimed planets or moons you must travel further into deep space.
After a player makes First Footfall, you will be able to see the Commander's name on the planet details in the System Map view. First Footfall is granted even if the player does not scan any biological entities on the planet surface.
Q&A
This Q&A was made by Frontier's Community Manager Stephen Benedetti on 5 February 2021.
Q: Will I be able to disembark on every planet I can land on?
Odyssey will allow players for the first time to disembark their ships and SRVs and explore the galaxy on foot. The ability to disembark however is subject to the survivability of the environment, with temperature and gravity both playing a part in the length of time you can survive. In extreme conditions the ability to disembark will be blocked completely.[1]
Q: Is First Footfall available to be claimed for every planet?
The galaxy of Elite Dangerous isn’t new, the year is 3307 and humans have been exploring space for more than 1,300 years. Planets and moons in human occupied systems, along with particular bodies of historical significance will have First Footfall already claimed.
Q: How does Odyssey affect the number of landable planets in game?
The number of planets that will be landable for the first time in Odyssey will be in the billions but to give you a more tangible reference point, based on regions we’ve tested so far Odyssey will have around 20% more landable planets than the base game.
Q: If I join after launch will I still be able to experience First Footfall?
Elite Dangerous is a huge and expansive galaxy containing more than 400 billion star systems. To date, our players have traversed just 201 million of these systems which equates to around 0.05%. In the same way that new Commanders continue to join the world of Elite and make their own, personal discoveries, we have no doubt that commanders will have the opportunity to make their own discoveries for many years to come.
Q: How quickly will First Footfall accolades be claimed?
Your achievement will be displayed alongside the names of those who first discovered and landed on the planet, which you can find in the system map.
Q: Is there a limit to the number of places I can get feet first on in a set amount of time?
We won’t be imposing any limits here but it will be naturally limited by the speed at which you can travel between planets.
Q: Can First Footfall achievements be disputed?
In the same way we monitor ‘firsts’ in the live game today our anti-cheat team will be monitoring the system and will not hesitate to revoke First Footfall if obtained by illegitimate means.
Q: Are there new discoveries (Wrecks etc.) that I can get the First Footfall for?
First Footfall is recognised and recorded at a planetary level and not for individual points of interest.
Q: If I change my name will the First Footfall change with it?
Similarly to records of other achievements First Footfall is treated as a historical record and will be recorded with the Commander’s name at the time of exploration – this will not change with any name changes.
Q: What happens if two people land first at the same time?
In the same way that Buzz Aldrin made way for Neil Armstrong to be the first man on the moon, the control to disembark is for an individual commander and there will always be someone first down the ladder, this accolade will not be shared between commanders.