If you’ve spent any time grinding post-campaign content in The First Descendant, you’ve probably stumbled across glowing purple Void Fragments sitting in your inventory with zero clear explanation of how to use them. A lot of new players write these items off as irrelevant junk, not realizing they’re the key to unlocking some of the strongest gear, character upgrades, and exclusive content in the entire game. We’ve spent over 40 hours testing every activation method, reward tier, and common mistake to put together this no-fluff guide on how to activate Void Fragments in The First Descendant, so you don’t waste any of these rare resources on low-value rewards.
What You Need Before You Activate Void Fragments in The First Descendant
You can’t just activate Void Fragments as soon as you pick them up, and skipping the prerequisites will leave you staring at a locked terminal with no clue why it won’t work. First, you need to complete the main story campaign up to the “Void Unlocked” quest, which unlocks once your active descendant hits level 30. This quest will walk you through the basics of Void Intercept Battles, the special missions you unlock when you activate fragments.
Next, you’ll need to make sure you have enough fragments of the same rarity to start a run. Common Void Fragments require 3 per activation, rare require 5, and legendary require 10. You can’t combine fragments of different rarities for a single activation, so sort your inventory by rarity first to avoid mixing up your stock. If you’re playing with a squad, only the party leader can spend fragments to start the mission, so make sure everyone agrees on the tier you’re running before you spend any resources.
We also recommend making sure you have at least one build with strong crowd control or support abilities unlocked before you activate higher tier fragments. Void Intercept Battles get exponentially harder as the rarity goes up, and you won’t be able to beat legendary runs with a basic early-game build.
Step-by-Step Void Fragment Activation Process
The activation process is surprisingly straightforward once you know where to find the right terminal, but a lot of new players waste hours searching the hub for the right interface. Follow these exact steps every time to avoid mistakes and get straight to your mission:
- Head to the central Albion hub, and walk to the back right corner next to the weekly mission board to find the Void Activation Terminal. The interface glows bright purple, and it will only be interactive if you’ve already completed the “Void Unlocked” story quest.
- Interact with the terminal and select the tier of Void Intercept Battle you want to run. The terminal will automatically show you which tiers you have enough fragments for, so you don’t have to count your stock manually. Always pick the highest available tier you can comfortably clear to get the best possible rewards.
- Confirm your selection to spend the required number of Void Fragments, then choose whether you want to run the mission solo or matchmake with a 4-player squad. Squad runs give a 20% higher chance of dropping legendary descendant shards, so we always recommend grouping up if you have a stable internet connection.
Once you confirm your selection, the mission will load in 10 seconds, so use that small window to double check your weapon mods and descendant ability setup. If you back out of the mission before it fully loads, you won’t lose your fragments, so don’t panic if you realize you forgot to swap a low-level mod last minute.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using Void Fragments
Even seasoned endgame players make these mistakes that waste dozens of Void Fragments every month, so it’s worth noting them to save your hard-earned resources. The most common mistake we see is players activating common tier fragments once they hit max level. Common tier missions only drop gear up to level 35, which is completely useless once you hit the level 40 cap, so you’re better off selling common fragments for extra gold instead of wasting time running them.
Save all your rare and legendary Void Fragments for when you hit max level, so all the gear that drops will match your 40 power level and can be used for endgame builds. We made this mistake ourselves early on, wasting 10 legendary fragments on a run when we were level 32, and all the gear we got became obsolete 2 hours later when we hit the cap.
Another big mistake is activating a legendary tier mission solo without testing your build first. Legendary Void Intercept Battles have a 15-minute time limit and three separate boss phases, each with unique mechanics that can wipe your run if you’re not prepared. If your build can’t deal at least 50,000 damage per second, you’ll almost certainly run out of time before you beat the final boss, and you’ll lose your 10 legendary fragments with no rewards. We recommend running a test rare tier mission first to check your damage output before you spend higher tier fragments.
Best Rewards You Can Get From Activated Void Fragments
The entire point of going through the activation process is the exclusive rewards you can’t get anywhere else in The First Descendant, so it’s worth knowing what you’re working toward. The most sought-after reward is exclusive legendary weapon blueprints for meta weapons like the Void Repeater sniper rifle, which deals 3x damage to boss weak points and has a 50% chance to ignore enemy shields. These blueprints only drop from legendary tier Void Intercept Battles, so you can’t buy them from the in-game shop or earn them from regular missions.
You’ll also earn descendant-specific shards that let you unlock unique passive abilities for your favorite characters, like extra shield regen for Viessa or 30% increased skill damage for Bunny. These shards are account-bound, so you can save them for new descendants you unlock later, even if you switch mains halfway through your playthrough.
For players who care about cosmetic items, you also have a 10% chance per run to earn exclusive Void-themed skins for your characters and weapons, with glowing purple effects that don’t appear on any other skins in the game. These skins are completely free, no microtransactions required, so they’re a great bonus for players who run Void Intercept Battles regularly. You’ll also get a steady stream of mod enhancement materials, which let you level up your best mods to their maximum power level for endgame content.
Void Fragments are one of the most underused valuable resources in The First Descendant, and knowing how to activate Void Fragments in The First Descendant will let you unlock some of the best gear and upgrades in the game without extra grind. Take the time to save your higher tier fragments for max level runs, group up with other players for better drop rates, and avoid the common mistakes we listed to get the most value out of every fragment you collect. If you’re still struggling to beat higher tier Void Intercept Battles after activation, try swapping your descendant to a support build to help your squad stay alive through the harder boss phases, and you’ll be swimming in legendary rewards in no time.