If you’ve spent any time running endgame Void missions in The First Descendant, you’ve almost certainly run into a player using Caliber to melt boss health bars in seconds. He’s easily one of the most powerful offensive descendants in the current roster, so it’s no surprise the first question on most new players’ minds is can you get caliber for free the first descendant. I’ve spent the past six weeks grinding endgame content with a regular squad, and I’ve tested every possible unlock path for Caliber to cut through the misinformation floating around online. This guide only covers legitimate, no-exploit methods that won’t get your account banned, so you can follow every step worry-free.
Can You Get Caliber for Free in The First Descendant? The Short Answer
Yes, you absolutely can unlock Caliber completely for free, no hidden paywalls or limited-time requirements stopping you. Nexon built The First Descendant to be fully playable without spending real money, so every descendant, including Caliber, is accessible to free-to-play players with enough targeted grinding. You will never have to purchase Caliber with real money to add him to your roster, and he performs exactly the same as paid unlocks.
Now that we’ve confirmed you can get Caliber for free the first descendant, let’s break down exactly what you need to do to add him to your roster. The process is straightforward, but there are a few small hoops you have to jump through before you can start farming his parts, so we’ll cover those first to save you time.
Legitimate Methods to Unlock Caliber for Free
Unlocking Caliber for free follows the same basic structure as unlocking most mid to high-tier descendants in the game, with a few specific requirements. The full process has three core steps you can complete in any order, but we recommend tackling them at the same time to cut down on total grind time:
- Complete the 5-part "Caliber's Assignment" side mission chain unlocked at player level 25
- Farm Void Intercept Battle: Hard difficulty for Caliber's four unique component drops
- Exchange 1200 Void Trace credits at the Inheritor Workshop for Caliber's final unlock blueprint
First, you’ll need to finish the main story mission “Broken Filter” to unlock Caliber’s assignment chain, even if you hit level 25 before that point. You can’t access the final unlock blueprint until you finish all five assignment quests, so knock these out first while you queue for Void runs. The assignments only require you to kill 100 heavy Vulgus units, collect 50 Vulgus core fragments, and clear three different story missions on hard difficulty, so you can finish most of them passively while farming for parts.
For the Void Intercept runs, each hard difficulty run has an 18% drop chance for each of Caliber’s four required components: Core Chassis, Arm Actuator, Leg Stabilizer, and Power Core. Most players get all four components in 4 to 8 runs, but drop rates get a 50% boost during weekly Void bonus events, so time your grind around those if you want to cut your total playtime in half. You’ll earn Void Trace passively from these runs too, from dismantling duplicate components and clearing end-of-run rewards, so you’ll likely hit the 1200 Void Trace requirement right as you get your last component.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Grinding for Caliber
Most players end up wasting 5+ extra hours grinding for Caliber because they make small, avoidable mistakes that slow down their progress. The first mistake I see all the time is running normal difficulty Void Intercept missions instead of hard. Normal difficulty only drops components for lower-tier descendants like Viessa and Lepic, so you’ll never get Caliber parts no matter how many runs you do. Double check your difficulty setting before you queue for a squad, because a lot of public lobbies default to normal for new players.
Another big mistake is grinding for Caliber solo. Running with a full four-player squad gives you a 30% global drop rate boost for all rare components, and you’ll clear runs twice as fast as you would playing alone. Joining a public Caliber farm squad is the fastest way to get all his components without extra effort, and most squads are happy to take new players as long as you follow basic mission rules.
Finally, don’t forget to lock Caliber’s components in your inventory as soon as you get them. It’s way too easy to accidentally dismantle rare parts when you’re clearing out inventory space after a long grind session, and there’s no way to recover dismantled components. I made this mistake with my first Caliber Power Core, and it added three extra hours of grinding to my total playtime, so do yourself a favor and lock every rare component immediately.
Is It Worth Grinding for Caliber for Free, Or Should You Pay?
If you don’t have a lot of spare time to grind, you do have the option to unlock Caliber instantly for 1900 Premium Crystals, which costs roughly $19.99. But for most players, grinding for Caliber for free is the far better option, especially since the total grind time only adds up to 8 to 12 hours of casual play, which you can easily spread out over a week of 1 to 2 hour sessions. There is no pay-to-win advantage to buying Caliber, as his base stats and abilities are identical whether you grind for him or pay for him.
You should only pay for Caliber if you need him immediately for a scheduled endgame raid with your friends, or if you have extra disposable income and don’t want to spend time grinding. For everyone else, the free grind is well worth the effort, because you’ll earn tons of extra resources, experience points, and other rare components while you farm for Caliber. I walked away from my Caliber grind with enough extra Void Trace to unlock a second high-tier descendant, plus enough upgrade materials to level Caliber to max level right away.
At the end of the day, if you were wondering can you get caliber for free the first descendant, the answer is a resounding yes, with clear, legitimate paths that don’t require you to spend a cent. The grind is fair, not overly grindy, and you’ll get a ton of extra useful loot along the way that makes the time feel well spent. If you time your grind around a weekly Void bonus event, you can even unlock him in as little as 4 hours, so check the in-game event calendar before you start your runs to save yourself even more time.