If you’ve ever queued for a public mission only to get stuck with teammates who rush objectives or ignore loot collection, you’ve probably asked can you play The First Descendant alone. I’ve sunk over 120 hours into the game both with a regular squad and completely solo, so I’ve got first-hand experience with what works, what doesn’t, and whether playing by yourself is even worth the effort. This guide breaks down every part of solo play, from character picks to endgame content viability, so you can decide if going it alone fits your playstyle.
Can You Play The First Descendant Alone: Full Content Viability Breakdown
The short answer is yes, nearly all content in the game is fully playable without a team. The entire story campaign is designed with solo players in mind, and you won’t hit any mandatory roadblocks that force you to team up to progress. I beat the full story on hard difficulty during my first playthrough without ever joining a public squad, and I never felt like the difficulty was unfairly balanced for solo play.
Side missions, resource farming runs, and low to mid-tier Void Intercepts are all very manageable for solo players with even slightly optimized builds. Higher tier content, including Tier 4 Void Intercepts and most Void Battles, are possible to beat solo but require more careful build planning and knowledge of boss mechanics. The only content that is extremely difficult to clear alone is the highest tier 8-player raids, though there are already documented clears from skilled solo players with min-maxed builds.
You won’t hit any story content that requires a squad to progress, which is a huge win for players who prefer to play at their own pace. You don’t have to worry about missing out on lore or story beats just because you don’t want to play with random teammates.
Best Character Picks for Solo Play in The First Descendant
Not all characters are built equally for solo play. Support-focused characters that rely on team buffs or healing other players will feel clunky and underpowered when you don’t have a squad to back you up. The best solo characters have a mix of crowd control, self-sustain, and high damage output to handle swarms of enemies and tough boss fights on their own. After testing every playable character for at least 10 hours of solo play, these three are the clear top picks:
- Viessa: Her ice-based crowd control freezes entire waves of enemies, and her passive health regen on frozen kills means you rarely need to use healing items mid-fight. She’s ideal for new solo players because she has a very low skill floor and forgiving playstyle, even with unoptimized gear.
- Blair: Her fire damage DoT effects melt even high-health elite enemies, and her shield boost passive gives you extra protection when you’re swarmed. She’s perfect for players who prefer aggressive, high-damage play without giving up survivability, and she scales very well into endgame content.
- Jayber: His turret deployables draw aggro away from you, making it easy to focus on high-priority targets or heal when you’re low on health. He’s the best pick for endgame solo content, as his turrets can deal consistent damage even when you’re hiding behind cover to avoid heavy boss attacks.
If you’re used to playing support characters in squad play, don’t be afraid to switch to one of these picks when you go solo. I main Gley when I play with my squad, but I swap to Viessa every time I play alone, and it makes a massive difference in how easy missions feel.
Essential Tips to Make Solo Play Easier
Even with the right character pick, there are small adjustments you can make to your playstyle and build to make solo runs far smoother. Prioritize health regen and shield strength over pure damage for solo play. When you don’t have a healer on your team, being able to stay alive through swarms of enemies is far more important than dealing a tiny bit of extra damage. I learned this the hard way when I tried to run a full damage build on Blair and kept getting one-shot by elite enemies during Void Intercept runs.
Always stock up on healing items before starting high-tier missions, even if your character has passive healing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost cleared a Tier 3 Void Intercept only to get taken out by an unexpected elite attack because I forgot to restock potions before starting the mission. It’s a small step that saves a lot of frustration.
You also don’t have to stick to the same playstyle you use with a squad. When you play alone, you can take as much time as you want to explore side rooms, collect loot, and learn boss mechanics without feeling pressured to rush objectives. If you usually rush through missions with your squad, take the time to slow down when you play alone, especially when you’re learning a new character or mission type.
Mod your primary and secondary weapons for AoE damage whenever possible. When you play alone, you’ll often be fighting 10+ enemies at once, and single-target weapons will leave you overwhelmed very quickly. A shotgun or assault rifle with splash damage mod will cut through waves of mobs far faster than a sniper rifle, even if the sniper has higher individual damage.
Pros and Cons of Playing The First Descendant Alone
Solo play isn’t for everyone, and it has clear benefits and drawbacks compared to squad play. The biggest benefit is that you set your own schedule and pace. You don’t have to wait for teammates to log on, you don’t have to sit through loading screens for players who keep disconnecting, and you don’t have to rush through cutscenes if you want to pay attention to the story. You also get 100% of the loot from every mission, no rolling for drops or losing rare items to teammates who don’t even need them.
Solo play also lets you learn every character’s ability kit at your own speed, without feeling pressured to perform for a team. If you want to test a weird off-meta build, you can do it without letting anyone down, which is a great way to find new playstyles you might enjoy.
The biggest downside to solo play is that some endgame content takes twice as long to complete alone, even with a perfectly optimized build. You also won’t get access to squad-exclusive buffs that can make high-tier raids much easier, and if you run into a boss that hard counters your character build, you won’t have a teammate to pick you up if you go down. There’s also no one to revive you if you get caught off guard by a swarm of enemies, so one mistake can end a 20-minute mission right before you get the final reward.
I usually switch between solo and squad play depending on my mood. If I want to farm for specific weapon mods without dealing with randoms, I play alone. If I want to clear a new raid fast, I team up with my regular squad. There’s no right or wrong way to play, it all comes down to what you enjoy most.
At the end of the day, the answer to can you play The First Descendant alone is a resounding yes, for almost all content in the game. Whether you’re a new player who wants to learn the game without pressure, or a veteran who prefers to farm loot on your own schedule, solo play is a fully viable, enjoyable way to experience the game. Try out the character picks and tips we covered here, and you’ll be clearing high-tier missions alone in no time.