If you’ve spent hours grinding for rare gear in The First Descendant only to feel like your character doesn’t quite match your personal style, you’re not alone. Most players don’t realize just how deep the game’s customization suite goes, beyond just weapon skins and armor cosmetics. One of the most frequently requested customization tweaks is how to change skin color in the first descendant, and it’s far easier to access than many hidden gameplay features. I remember spending my first 10 hours in the game assuming I was stuck with the default skin tone I picked during character creation, until I stumbled on the customization menu by accident while trying to change my character’s hairstyle. I’ve spent over 120 hours testing every customization menu in the game, and I’m breaking down every step, hidden unlock, and common pitfall you need to know to get exactly the look you want.
Step-by-Step: How to Change Skin Color in The First Descendant
You don’t have to restart your entire save file to adjust your character’s skin color, which is a common misconception I see shared in community Discord servers all the time. The entire process takes less than two minutes if you know where to look, and you can adjust it as many times as you want for free, no in-game currency required. I’ve seen players spend real money on third-party customization hacks that don’t even work, when the entire feature is built right into the game for free. You never have to pay to adjust your skin color, even if you’re using a free-to-play account with no battle pass purchases. Follow these exact steps to access the menu:
- Open your main menu from the Albion base or any pre-mission lobby, then select the Descendant tab from the left-hand navigation bar.
- Choose the descendant you want to customize from your unlocked roster, then click the Appearance Edit button located under their character portrait.
- Scroll down the left-hand customization menu until you see the Skin Tone option, which is grouped under the Facial Features category.
- Use the color picker slider, hex code input, or pre-set tone swatches to adjust your skin color to your exact preference, then hit save to apply the changes immediately.
That’s all there is to it. You can make adjustments mid-session too, as long as you’re not actively in a combat mission. The only time you won’t be able to access this menu is if you’re in a matchmaking queue for a raid, so make sure to wrap up your edits before you queue up with friends. If you’re still having trouble figuring out how to change skin color in The First Descendant, you can access a short tutorial video from the help menu in the appearance tab that walks you through every step.
Unlockable Rare Skin Tones: What You Need to Earn First
While the base game gives you access to 24 standard skin tones right from the start, there are 12 rare, limited-edition tones you can unlock through gameplay or seasonal events. These aren’t just basic color variations either; many include subtle effects like warm golden undertones, cool iridescent sheens, or matte, deep shades that aren’t available in the base selection. These rare tones are some of the most popular customization items for players who are learning how to change skin color in The First Descendant, since they let you create a look that’s far more unique than the default options.
I’ve unlocked all 12 rare tones so far, and most of them are far easier to earn than you might think. Seasonal event rewards are the most common source of rare skin tones, and you usually only need to complete 60% of the event’s challenge track to unlock the exclusive tone for that season. You can also get rare tones from level 50 descendant mastery rewards, so if you main a specific character, grinding their mastery level to 50 will give you a custom tone exclusive to that descendant. There are also two very rare secret skin tones that you can unlock by finding hidden collectibles in the Void Rift map. I won’t spoil the exact locations, but if you explore every hidden corner of the map during your Void Rift runs, you’ll find the two collectibles that unlock the matte black and pearlescent white skin tones within 5 or 6 runs.
One thing to note: these rare tones are account-bound, so you can’t trade them or share them between different accounts. If you unlock a rare tone for one descendant, you can use it for any other descendant on your account, though, which is a nice touch that most players don’t know about.
Common Skin Customization Mistakes to Avoid
I’ve helped dozens of friends fix their custom skin issues over the past few months, and there are a handful of mistakes that pop up over and over again. Avoiding these will save you a lot of frustration, especially if you’re trying to get a very specific look for your main character. When you’re learning how to change skin color in The First Descendant, it’s easy to get caught up in getting the exact shade right and forget to test it in different lighting.
First, don’t forget to check how your skin tone looks in different lighting conditions. The customization menu is lit with neutral, soft light, but most mission maps have harsh, neon, or warm yellow lighting that can completely change how your skin tone appears. I always recommend testing your new skin tone in the training range before you save it permanently, so you can see how it looks in bright sun, dark shadow, and neon lit areas.
Another common mistake is ignoring the undertone slider. Most players only adjust the main color slider, but the undertone slider lets you add warm, cool, or neutral hints that make your skin tone look far more natural. If your custom skin looks washed out or too artificial, adjusting the undertone slider by 10 to 15 points will usually fix the issue immediately. You also don’t want to use a hex code from an external image without testing it first. The game’s color system has a slight saturation boost built in, so hex codes from photos will look far more vibrant in-game than they do on your phone or computer screen. Always adjust the saturation down by 5 to 10 points if you’re importing a hex code to get a match that’s as close as possible to your reference image.
Another mistake a lot of new players make is thinking that skin color affects gameplay stats. I’ve seen rumors floating around that darker skin tones make you harder to spot in dark maps, but that’s completely false. All customization options are purely cosmetic, and they don’t give you any gameplay advantage or disadvantage at all, so you can pick whatever tone you like best without worrying about meta effects.
How to Save and Switch Between Custom Skin Presets
If you like switching up your character’s look for different events or game modes, you don’t have to redo your entire customization every single time. The game lets you save up to 10 custom appearance presets per descendant, including your skin color, facial features, hair, and armor cosmetics. Saving presets is a huge time saver when you’re experimenting with how to change skin color in The First Descendant, since you don’t have to redo all your adjustments every time you want to try a new shade.
Saving a preset is simple: once you’ve adjusted your skin color and other appearance settings to your liking, hit the save preset button in the top right corner of the appearance menu, and name it something you’ll remember, like “Summer Event Look” or “Raid Main Setup.” You can load any saved preset in 2 clicks, which is perfect if you want to switch between a casual look for casual missions and a more thematic look for seasonal events.
One useful trick I’ve found is to save a base preset with your preferred skin tone first, before you add other cosmetics. That way, if you want to try out new hair or armor later, you don’t have to re-adjust your skin color from scratch every time. I have a base preset saved for every descendant I main, and it cuts my customization time down by 75% every time I want to change up my look. Just keep in mind that presets are tied to individual descendants, so you can’t load a preset you made for Viessa on to Freyna, for example. You can still use the same skin tone for both, you just have to save a separate preset for each character.
Customizing your character to match your personal style makes grinding missions and raids far more fun, and small tweaks like adjusting your skin tone can make your descendant feel truly yours. Now that you know how to change skin color in the first descendant, you can experiment with different tones, unlock rare variants, and save your favorite looks to switch between whenever you want. Don’t be afraid to play around with the sliders and test different combinations — half the fun of customization is finding a look that no one else in your lobby has. Next time you’re waiting for your raid team to queue up, take a minute to mess around with the customization menu, you might be surprised at what you can create.