If you’ve ever spent 30 minutes running a Void Intercept run only to notice your favorite Descendant didn’t level up even a little, you’re not alone. I made that exact mistake during my first two weeks playing, wasting hours of grind because I had no clue how does xp work in the first descendant, or that different XP pools apply to different parts of your loadout. This guide breaks down every XP system in the game, so you can stop guessing and start making real progress every time you load into a mission. I’ve tested all these tips across 200+ hours of play, on both public lobbies and solo runs, so you don’t have to waste time on strategies that don’t deliver results.
Core Basics: How Does XP Work in The First Descendant
The first thing you need to understand is that there are three separate, non-shared XP pools in the game: character XP, weapon XP, and module XP. Gains in one pool don’t affect the others, so you can be leveling a new weapon and new modules even when your active character is already at max level. Only the Descendant you have active during a kill earns character XP, which is the most common mistake new players make when they swap characters mid-run to test different skills.
Party play doesn’t split XP either, so every player in a lobby gets full XP for all eligible kills, no matter who lands the final blow. That means running missions with a full team is always more efficient than playing solo, even if you don’t need help clearing enemies. XP gains are scaled to mission difficulty, not mission length, so a 10-minute hard difficulty run will always give you more XP than a 20-minute normal run, even if you kill fewer total enemies in the hard run. I learned this the hard way when I ran three back-to-back normal Void Expeditions and got less total XP than I got from one 12-minute hard run later that same day.
Key XP Boosts You Should Be Using Every Run
There are dozens of small XP boosts available in the game that stack with each other to double or even triple your total gains per run, and most of them are free to access if you know where to look. Permanent account-wide XP boosts unlock as you rank up the free Operation Pass, so make sure you claim those as soon as they become available. Temporary XP potions can be crafted with common resources, or earned as rewards for weekly challenge completions, and they apply to all three XP pools for their full duration.
Some of the easiest XP boosts to add to your farming routine include:
- Daily first win bonus: Gives 30% extra XP for your first completed mission of the day, stacks with all other boosts
- Module XP boosters: Dropped from weekly boss fights, give 50% extra module XP for 1 hour of play time
- Event-exclusive boosts: Run limited-time event missions for up to 100% extra XP during active event periods
Don’t waste your premium XP potions on low difficulty missions, save them for hard or extreme Void Intercept runs where you’re farming multiple upgrades at once. I usually pop a potion right before joining a pre-made 4-player extreme run, and I can level a new weapon from 1 to 40 in just two runs when I stack all available boosts. You don’t need to spend real money on these potions either, I’ve earned every single one I’ve used from weekly challenge rewards.
Common XP Farming Mistakes to Avoid
Even if you stack all available boosts, small mistakes can cut your XP gains in half without you even noticing. The most frequent mistake I see new players make is swapping characters mid-mission to level multiple Descendants at once. If you swap your active Descendant halfway through a run, you split character XP between both characters, so neither gets the full amount. If you’re farming character XP for a specific Descendant, keep them active for the entire mission, even if you want to test a different character’s skills. You’ll get far more total XP per character if you run full missions with each one instead of swapping constantly.
Another common mistake is using max level weapons when you’re farming weapon XP. If your weapon is already level 40, it won’t earn any XP, so that slot is completely wasted. Swap in low level weapons you want to level up even if they’re weaker, you can still rely on your team’s damage in public lobbies, or use your Descendant’s skills to deal damage while the weapon earns XP passively. Don’t ignore side objectives either, most missions have side objectives that give bonus XP for completion, and that XP applies to all three pools, so it’s always worth taking 30 seconds to finish them. For example, the resource collection side objectives in Void Expedition runs give 15% extra XP for the whole team if you finish them, which adds up fast when you’re running multiple back-to-back missions.
How to Optimize XP Gains for Endgame Progression
Once you hit max level on your main Descendant, you can shift your XP focus to modules and alternate characters, which are critical for clearing endgame content like Extreme Void Raids. First, when farming module XP, equip as many low level modules as you can on your loadout, even if you don’t use them in combat. All equipped modules earn XP at the same rate, so you can level 6 modules at once instead of just the ones you’re actively using. Just make sure you keep enough of your core high level modules equipped to clear the mission, you don’t want to make the run too hard for your team.
If you’re leveling multiple Descendants, create a rotation: run one full mission with Descendant A, then swap to Descendant B for the next run, instead of swapping mid-run. You’ll get full XP for each character per run, and you won’t slow down your team with constant character swaps. I use this method to level a new Descendant from 1 to 40 in about 8 runs, which is half the time it took me when I first started playing. Boss kills give 3x more XP than standard enemy kills, so make sure you’re present for every boss fight in a mission, don’t wander off to farm resources when the boss is spawning. Even if you only hit the boss once, you’ll get full XP for the kill, so it’s always worth sticking around for the final fight.
You don’t have to spend dozens of hours grinding mindless missions to get the upgrades you want, once you understand how does xp work in the first descendant. Small tweaks to your loadout, mission selection, and party setup can double or even triple your XP gains with almost no extra effort. Try out the tips we covered in your next play session, and you’ll be shocked at how much faster you unlock new skills, weapon upgrades, and endgame content. If you have a favorite XP farming strategy we didn’t mention, drop it in the comments below to help other players out.