If you just booted up The First Descendant for the first time, you’ve probably stared at the character select screen, overwhelmed by the flashy portraits and unique ability previews, and wondered how many descendants are in the first descendant right off the bat. I’ve put over 120 hours into the game across PC and console, unlocked every currently available character, and tested every playstyle from solo endgame grind to 4-player co-op raids. This guide breaks down the full current roster, unlock tips, and which characters are worth prioritizing so you don’t waste hours grinding for a descendant you’ll never use.
How Many Descendants Are In The First Descendant (Current Roster Breakdown)
As of the latest game update, there are 32 total playable descendants available for all players, with 2 to 3 new characters added every 3-month seasonal update. The roster is split across four rarity tiers, with unlock requirements ranging from automatic prologue completion to hours of endgame raid grinding. If you're working toward 100% completion of the full roster, it helps to track how many descendants are in The First Descendant that you haven't unlocked yet, so you can focus your grind on specific mission types that drop their unique shards.
- Common (4 total): Unlocked automatically after you finish the 15-minute prologue mission, no extra grind or currency required. These are solid starter characters that remain viable for endgame content if built correctly.
- Uncommon (10 total): Unlocked via early main story mission drops or cheap purchases from the central hub vendor. Most players will unlock all uncommon descendants within their first 10 hours of play.
- Rare (12 total): Require specific boss fight drops, 200 to 500 character shards, and a small credit fee to unlock. Expect to put 10 to 20 hours of targeted grind in for each rare descendant you want to add to your roster.
- Legendary (6 total): Locked behind endgame Void Intercept raids, limited-time seasonal event challenges, or premium battle pass rewards. Seasonal legendary descendants are added to the general unlock pool 3 months after their season ends, so you don't have to pay to unlock them eventually.
It’s worth noting that the devs have confirmed they plan to expand the roster to over 50 descendants in the next two years, so this count will keep growing as new content drops. You don’t have to rush to unlock every single character immediately, though, as most players only main 2 to 3 descendants for 90% of their playtime.
Fastest Ways To Unlock New Descendants For New Players
New players often burn out trying to grind for legendary descendants in their first week of play, but there are far faster ways to build a strong roster without wasting hours on high-difficulty missions you aren’t ready for. The first thing you should do is work through the entire main story line first, no side detours.
Complete the main story first to unlock 14 total descendants automatically, including 3 rare tier characters that are strong enough to carry you through most early and mid-game content. You’ll also earn thousands of credits and hundreds of generic character shards along the way that you can use to unlock extra characters from the hub vendor.
If you’re comfortable playing co-op, join public Void Intercept battle lobbies for characters you want to unlock. These missions drop character-specific shards at a 3x higher rate than solo play, and you can join lobbies run by higher level players that will carry you through the fight even if you’re underleveled. Don’t waste your early credits on cosmetic skins — save up 50,000 credits to pick up 3 high-tier rare descendants from the hub vendor that will make your grind far easier than any starter character. I made the mistake of blowing my first 60,000 credits on a neon outfit for my starter character, and ended up stuck on a level 20 story boss for 3 days because I didn’t have a support character with team heals to swap to.
Which Descendants Are Worth Prioritizing For Your Playstyle?
You don’t need to unlock every single descendant to enjoy the game, so it’s smart to prioritize characters that fit your preferred playstyle first. If you mostly play solo, focus on DPS descendants with built-in self-healing and area of effect damage first. Characters like Viessa and Ajax have high damage output and passive self-heal effects that let you clear entire missions alone without needing a support team.
Solo players don’t need to prioritize support characters first — you can unlock those later when you start joining co-op raids for endgame gear. If you mostly play with a group of friends, pick up a support descendant like Bunny first. Her speed buffs and team shield abilities cut mission clear times in half, and every co-op lobby will be happy to have you join if you have a well-built support character.
If you’re the type of player that likes to collect every playable character, you can keep a running checklist of how many descendants are in The First Descendant that you have left to unlock, so you can plan your weekly grind around specific mission types. For players that want to get into endgame raid content, prioritize unlocking at least one DPS, one support, and one tank descendant. Most endgame raid lobbies require a balanced team, so having all three roles unlocked means you’ll never get locked out of a group because you only have a DPS character. You can swap between any of your unlocked descendants for free any time you’re in the central hub, so you don’t have to commit to one playstyle forever.
Common Misconceptions About The First Descendant Roster
There are a lot of wrong claims floating around social media and player forums about the descendant roster, so I wanted to bust the most common ones to save you time and frustration. The biggest myth I see is that legendary descendants are always better than lower rarity ones. That’s simply not true.
Rarity tier only reflects unlock difficulty, not overall power. Some common tier characters like Gley are still top picks for endgame raids, with higher damage output than half the legendary roster if you build them with the right mods. Another common myth is that you have to pay real money to unlock the best descendants. All non-seasonal descendants are unlockable for free via in-game grind, and seasonal premium battle pass descendants are added to the free unlock pool 3 months after their season ends, so you never have to spend money to get any character if you’re willing to wait a little bit.
The third most common myth is that you’re locked into your starter character forever. You can swap between any unlocked descendant any time you’re in the central hub, no cost or cooldown required. Don’t stress about picking the “wrong” starter character when you first make your account, you can test out all the common tier characters for free within your first hour of play to find one that fits your style.
Now that you know exactly how many descendants are in the first descendant, you can plan your grind around the characters that fit your playstyle instead of wasting time on ones you’ll never touch. Take it slow, test out free characters first before you commit to hours of shard grinding, and don’t buy into the myth that you need legendary characters to have fun. The roster will keep expanding as new seasons drop, so you’ll have plenty of new characters to try out for months to come.