If you’ve logged into The First Descendant’s 2026 spring update lately, you’ve probably noticed just how much more fun the game is with a squad. Crossplay support now works seamlessly across PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and the new mobile port, so you can team up with friends no matter what device they’re playing on. But if you’re stuck trying to figure out how to add friends in the first descendant, you’re not alone. I’ve spent the last three weeks testing every invite method across all platforms for my squad, and I’ve sorted out all the glitches, hidden settings, and common mistakes that most players run into. This guide has no outdated steps, no broken tricks, just exactly what you need to get your squad together and start running missions.
How to Add Friends in The First Descendant: Cross-Platform Steps for 2026
The 2026 update simplified the friend add process a lot, but it still relies on Nexon IDs instead of platform display names for cross-platform connections, which trips up a lot of new players. If you’re adding someone who plays on a different device than you, follow these exact steps to avoid errors. I’ve tested these steps across every supported platform, so they work for everyone regardless of what you’re playing on.
If you’re adding someone who plays on the same platform as you, you don’t have to mess with Nexon IDs at all. Just click the "Import Platform Friends" button at the top right of the social menu, and you’ll see a full list of your Steam, PSN, Xbox, or mobile friends who already play the game. You can send one-click requests to anyone on that list, and they’ll show up in your friend list as soon as they accept. That’s the fastest method if you’re just playing with people you already know on your same platform.
One quick note: if you don’t know your own Nexon ID to share with friends, you can find it in the top left corner of the social menu, right under your display name. You can tap or click it to copy it directly to your clipboard, so you don’t have to type it out manually and risk typos. Typos in the ID or tag are the number one reason friend requests fail, so always copy and paste when you can.
Fixing Common 2026 Friend Invite Errors in The First Descendant
Even if you follow the steps exactly, you might run into a few common errors that popped up with the 2026 crossplay update. I’ve run into all of these myself, so I know exactly how to fix them without wasting time contacting support or reinstalling the game. Most of these fixes take less than a minute to complete.
The most common error is the "friend not found" pop-up. 9 times out of 10, this happens because one of you hasn’t enabled crossplay in your account settings. To fix it, go to Settings > Account > Crossplay, and make sure the toggle is switched to On. You’ll also need to make sure your Nexon account visibility is set to Public, not Private, so other players can search for your ID. If you have your account set to Private, no one will be able to send you requests even if they have your exact ID.
2026 mobile players run into a unique error pretty often: they can’t receive any friend requests at all, even if they have crossplay enabled. This almost always happens because they created a guest account when they first launched the game, instead of linking a permanent Nexon ID. Guest accounts don’t support crossplay or friend features at all, so you’ll need to link a Nexon, Google, or Apple account to your profile to fix this. You can do that in the Account section of the settings menu, and it only takes a minute. Just make sure you do it before you progress too far, or you might lose your save data if you log out by accident.
Another common error is the "request already sent" notification, even if you know you never sent a request to that person before. This usually happens if they sent you a request that you haven’t accepted or declined yet, or if you sent them a request that expired within the last 30 days. Just have one of you check your pending requests tab, and either accept the existing request or delete the expired one to send a new one. It’s a small bug that Nexon says they’re patching in the 2026 summer update, but this workaround works perfectly for now.
Tips for Managing Your Friend List and Co-op Sessions in 2026
Once you’ve added all your friends, there are a few hidden features in the 2026 update that make managing your list and running squads way easier. Most players don’t know these exist, since they’re tucked away in submenus, but they save a ton of time if you run regular squads with the same group of people.
First, favorite your regular squad mates so they show up at the top of your friend list. You can do this by clicking the star icon next to their name in the social menu. This saves you from scrolling through dozens of names every time you want to invite people to a mission, especially if you add a lot of random players from public lobbies. You can also create custom groups for different types of content, like a raid group or a casual farming group, to make invites even faster.
You can also set your status to "Looking for Group" if you want to add new players who are running the same missions as you. This is a new 2026 feature that lets other players who are queued for the same mission send you friend requests or squad invites automatically. It’s perfect if you’re trying to find people to run endgame raids with, or if you just want to meet other players who main the same characters as you. You can toggle this status on and off right from the top of the social menu, so you don’t get random requests when you’re trying to play solo.
If your friend list gets too cluttered, you can mass delete inactive players right from the social menu now, instead of having to go to the Nexon website like you did before the 2026 update. Just click the "Manage Friends" button, select all the players you haven’t played with in over 6 months, and delete them all at once. I do this every couple of months to keep my list organized, and it takes less than a minute now.
What to Do After Adding Friends in The First Descendant in 2026
Once your squad is all added to your friend list, there’s a ton of co-op exclusive content you can check out in the 2026 update that you can’t access when playing solo. A lot of this content gives better rewards than solo missions, so it’s worth teaming up even if you usually prefer playing alone.
First, all main story and side missions now support up to 4-player squads, and you get a 15% XP and gold bonus for playing with friends. That’s a new 2026 buff that makes leveling up new characters way faster than grinding solo. I leveled up the new Void Warden character from 1 to 50 in half the time it usually takes, just by running story missions with my squad. You also get exclusive co-op only loot drops, like rare weapon skins and character cosmetics, that you can’t get anywhere else.
The new 2026 Void Tyrant raid also requires a full 8-player squad to complete, so you’ll need a solid friend list to beat it and get the exclusive legendary weapons and armor sets it drops. This raid is way harder than any previous endgame content, so you’ll want to play with people you know and communicate well with, instead of random players from public lobbies who might leave mid-run. Cross-platform voice chat works natively now too, so you don’t need third-party apps like Discord to talk to your friends on different platforms, which is a huge quality of life upgrade.
You can also create private custom lobbies for friendly PvP matches or farm runs, so you don’t have to deal with random players who leave mid-mission or don’t follow squad strategies. Custom lobbies let you adjust mission difficulty, enemy types, and even turn off friendly fire, so you can tailor the experience to exactly what your squad wants to do. I host weekly custom PvP tournaments with my friend group, and it’s become one of our favorite things to do in the game now.
At the end of the day, adding friends to your The First Descendant list doesn’t have to be a frustrating process, even with crossplay enabled. All you need to remember is to use your friend’s full Nexon ID with the 4-digit tag, double check that crossplay is enabled in your settings, and make sure both of you are on the latest 2026 build of the game. Now that you know how to add friends in the first descendant, you can start tackling the new Void Tyrant raid, level up characters faster with the co-op XP buff, or just mess around in private custom lobbies with people you enjoy playing with. If you run into any weird glitches that aren’t covered here, drop a comment below and I’ll help you sort it out.