Riley Entertainment

The First Descendant - New Player Guide

This guide aims to provide players new to The First Descendant with all of the information they need to understand the game systems and character progression. While the game does provide plenty of guidance during your first playthrough, there can be an overwhelming amount of information being thrown your way. The in-game Descendant Instructor, found in Albion, tends to be a little... awkward.

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Character Progression

Each descendant starts at character level 1, and can progress through to level 40. Gaining levels increases your base defensive attributes:

  • Hit Points (HP) can be recovered by picking up red health orbs.
  • Shields offer an extra layer of protection, and will slowly regenerate so long as you aren't being hit by enemies.
  • Defense (DEF) helps reduce incoming damage from weapons.
  • Mana (MP) is consumed when activating skills, and will slowly recover over time. MP can also be recovered by picking up blue mana orbs.
  • Module Capacity can be further increased by using special items called Energy Activators (once per descendant) and Crystallization Catalysts (more on these later).
  • Several descendants have unique attributes, referred to in-game as custom resources.

Descendant Module Progression

Descendants can be further enhanced by installing a variety of modules. Modules can increase your defensive attributes, enhance your skill powers, or provide a variety of buffs. Each descendant starts with a module capacity that is based on your current mastery rank, peaking at 50 by rank 20. Descendants start with 8 regular module slots, increasing to 10 by mastery rank 8. There are 2 additional special sockets that will become useful as you progress further in the game.

Modules can be enhanced by talking to Silion in Albion. Players can enhance modules by up to 10 levels, restricted by their current mastery rank.

The Module Additional Settings button provides options to increase module capacity:

  • Energy Activators can be used once per descendant, and increase module capacity by 20.
  • A free Energy Activator is available via the Journal once a player's first descendant reaches level 40. Players can research additional Energy Activators by talking to Anais in Albion.
  • Crystallization Catalysts assign a specific module socket to one of 5 socket types: Cerulean, Almandine, Malachite, Xantic, or Rutile. Each descendant has two module sockets automatically assigned to a socket type at level 1.
  • Using a Crystallization Catalyst resets the descendant back to level 1, so this feature is typically not used until after a player has completed the main campaign on normal difficulty.
  • Installing a module into a matching socket type uses half of its capacity.

The two special module sockets provide additional features:

  • The special Sub Module socket increases module capacity. This socket is reserved for a variety of melee attack modules, or grappling hook modules.
  • The special Skill Module socket is reserved for Transcendent modules, which significantly change one or more descendant skills.

Equipment

Equipment in The First Descendant includes Weapons, Reactors, and External Components. A player's inventory and storage is shared across their account, accessible to all descendants.

  • When equipment is acquired, its level is based on the level of the Vulgus that dropped it.
  • Equipment acquired in Hard difficulty map zones are always at the maximum level of 100.
  • Weapons use one of four types of ammunition: General, Special, Impact, or High-Power.
  • Reactors determine the descendant's base Skill Power.
  • External Components provide buffs to the descendant's defensive attributes.

Weapons can be improved in a number of ways:

  • Weapon Proficiency is gained by running missions with a weapon equipped, and progresses from level 1 to level 40.
  • Modules can be installed to enhance attack, fire rate, or other attributes.
  • Module Capacity can be improved by applying Energy Activators (once per weapon) and Crystallization Catalysts (upon reaching proficiency level 40).
  • Weapon Level Transmission can be applied at a Workbench using Phase Exchangers, which increases the weapon's level to be the same level as the target weapon.
  • Weapon Readjustment can be applied at a Workbench using Adjustment Control Axes, which randomly applies four buffs per attempt.
  • Unique Ability Enhancement can be applied at a Workbench using a duplicate weapon, which improves an Ultimate Weapon's special ability.
  • Weapon Cores can be installed by talking to Deslin in Albion, and are only available from Void Erosion Purge missions.

Reactors can be improved in several ways:

  • Enhance Reactor can be applied at a Workbench using Ion Accelerators, which increases its base Skill Power.
  • Implant Reactor can be applied to Ultimate Reactors at a Workbench using a large number of Ion Accelerators, which adds an extra weapon mount from the target reactor.

Mastery Ranks

Completing missions also makes progress towards additional mastery ranks. Players can increase their mastery rank using the Prime Hands in Albion. Mastery ranks provide extra module capacity and slots, additional inventory and storage slots, and unlock specific game features. Mastery is bound to a player's account, not individual descendants.

  • Mastery Rank 3 - Unlocks weapon level transmission at the Workbench, using Phase Exchangers.
  • Mastery Rank 4 - Unlocks weapon readjustment at the Workbench, using Adjustment Control Axes.
  • Mastery Rank 5 - Unlocks weapon unique ability enhancement at the Workbench. This can only be applied to Ultimate weapons, and requires a second weapon of the same type.
  • Mastery Rank 6 - Unlocks reactor enhancement at the Workbench, using Ion Accelerators.
  • Mastery Rank 7 - Unlocks assign module socket type on the descendant modules screen, using Crystallization Catalysts.
  • Mastery Rank 8 - Unlocks access to the Laboratory, by talking to Siena in Albion.
  • Mastery Rank 9 - Unlocks the ability to combine modules, by talking to Silion in Albion. This is useful for acquiring ultimate or trancendent modules that you have not yet found through gameplay.
  • Mastery Rank 10 - Unlocks the ability to sell blueprints to the ETA-0 robot in Albion, in exchange for vouchers that can be used to buy progression items or cosmetics.
  • Mastery Rank 15 - Unlocks access to a handful of additional Ultimate Weapons.
  • Mastery Rank 18 - Unlocks access to Void Erosion Purge missions, where weapon core items drop from Vulgus NPCs.

Amorphous Materials

Amorphous Materials are acquired by completing missions marked as Duty of the Descendant, or by successfully infiltrating Strategic Outposts. They can later be shaped into blueprints for Descendants, Ultimate Weapons, Energy Activators, or Crystallization Catalysts. This is done by using the Reconstruction Device that appears when defeating a Colossus, or the bosses that spawn from Void Fusion Reactors.

Shape Stabilizers can be used when converting an Amorphous Material, to give a better chance of acquiring the more rare blueprints.

Void Fusion Reactors can be only be activated once a player acquires the matching Void Fragments. Void Fragments drop as rewards from Void Fragment Shards, which are found in many map zones, and must be attacked by the matching skill type. Void Fragments also drop in smaller amounts from Special Operation missions in Normal difficulty map zones.

Strategic Outposts can be found in many map zones, and can be quite challenging for new players due to the large number of Vulgus NPCs that appear:

  • Interacting with the Surveillance Towers found scattered around the map increases the amount of time available to complete a Strategic Outpost.
  • Upon entering a Strategic Outpost, the Power Units must first be disabled or destroyed, before the final boss appears.
  • Interacting with a Power Unit will disable it, which provides a small chance of acquiring a second Amorphous Material or Shape Stabilizer.
  • It is only possible to disable the Power Units when no Vulgus can see you, which is much easier to achieve with Sharen's Active Camouflage ability.