If you’ve spent even a few hours grinding Void Intercepts or supply runs in The First Descendant, you’ve probably run into the same annoying problem I did my first week playing: a completely full inventory of modules that you can’t sort through fast enough when a legendary drop pops up mid-boss fight. I used to hoard every single module I picked up, convinced I might need a random grey rarity health boost module for a future build, until I missed out on a legendary crit damage drop because I had no space left. That’s when I finally took the time to learn how to dismantle modules in The First Descendant, and it completely transformed how I manage my resources and build out my descendant roster. This guide will walk you through the entire process, what to keep and what to trash, hidden perks of regular dismantling, and mistakes to avoid so you don’t lose a rare module by accident.
How to Dismantle Modules in The First Descendant: Full Walkthrough
The dismantle process is actually pretty straightforward once you know where to look, but the game doesn’t do a great job of explaining it to new players. First, access your inventory either from the main hub terminal or the pause menu during missions. Navigate to the Modules tab, which is the third icon from the left on the top menu bar. You’ll see all your stored modules sorted by rarity by default, but you can use the filter options at the top of the screen to sort by module type, stat, or compatible descendant class to make sorting faster.
Next, select the modules you want to dismantle. You can click individual modules to mark them, or use the bulk select option to mark entire stacks of the same rarity or type at once. Pay attention to the small number in the corner of each module card, that tells you how many duplicates you have of that exact module. Once you’ve selected all the modules you want to get rid of, hold the dismantle prompt for 2 full seconds to confirm your choice. The game adds this mandatory cooldown to stop you from accidentally deleting a rare module you meant to keep, so don’t skip past it too fast.
If you’re playing on controller, the dismantle prompt is the square button on PlayStation or X button on Xbox, and on keyboard it’s the X key by default. You can change this binding in the settings menu if you want to avoid accidental presses. Keep in mind that once you dismantle a module, it’s gone forever—there’s no trash folder or recovery option, so double check your selections before you confirm. I learned this the hard way when I deleted a legendary skill cooldown module during my first month playing, and I had to grind for 12 hours to get another one with the same stat roll.
What Modules You Should (and Shouldn’t) Dismantle
The biggest mistake new players make is either dismantling everything they don’t use immediately, or hoarding every single module they find until their inventory is permanently full. The sweet spot is somewhere in the middle, and it depends on your player level and what builds you’re currently running or planning to run in the future. Never dismantle legendary modules with unique set bonuses, even if you don’t have a descendant that can use them right now. New descendants drop every few months, and that random legendary set module you were gonna trash might be the core of a new meta build down the line.
To make sorting easier, I follow this simple list of modules I always dismantle first when my inventory gets full:
- Common (grey) and uncommon (green) modules with no secondary stat bonuses, since they’re almost always worse than even low-roll rare modules once you hit level 20
- Duplicate rare (blue) modules that don’t fit any of your current or planned descendant builds, especially if their main stat roll is 20% or lower than the maximum possible for that rarity
- Modules with stat rolls that are 30% lower than the maximum possible value for their rarity, even if they’re epic or legendary—you’re better off dismantling them for materials to upgrade a higher roll version
- Event-exclusive modules from past limited-time events that have no use for current endgame content, since they can’t be upgraded or used in any current mission types
If you’re a new player under level 30, you can hold onto a few high-roll common and uncommon modules until you get better rare replacements. They’re way cheaper to upgrade early on, and they’ll help you clear lower difficulty missions faster so you can grind for better gear. I kept a +12 common damage boost module on my main until I hit level 25, because it was still stronger than any rare module I’d found up to that point. There’s no point in dismantling useful low-rarity gear just because it’s not legendary yet.
Hidden Benefits of Regularly Dismantling Unused Modules
Most players only dismantle modules when their inventory is full, but making it a regular part of your post-mission cleanup routine has a ton of hidden benefits you might not know about. The most obvious one is more inventory space—if you keep your module inventory under 70% full at all times, you’ll never have to pause mid-boss fight to delete modules to make space for a rare drop. I used to do this all the time during Void Intercept runs, and I’d often miss out on dealing damage or supporting my team while I sorted through my inventory.
Dismantling gives you exclusive crafting materials you can’t get anywhere else, including Module Fragments, High-Grade Module Parts, and Legendary Module Cores. These materials are required to upgrade modules, reroll bad stat rolls, and craft legendary modules at the Forge in the main hub. I used to struggle to get enough Module Fragments to upgrade my main build’s core modules, until I started dismantling all my unused modules after every mission. Now I have a stack of 10,000+ fragments that I can use to upgrade any new module I find immediately.
There’s also a little-known hidden mechanic where dismantling 100 modules of the same rarity gives you a free reward crate. Common and uncommon crates usually have extra crafting materials, but rare and epic crates have a chance to drop a random high-roll module of that same rarity. I got my first epic crit damage module from a rare crate I earned after dismantling 100 unused rare modules, and it’s still part of my main DPS build 3 months later. You can also complete seasonal pass challenges passively by dismantling modules regularly—many season passes have challenges that require you to dismantle 50 or 100 modules, so you’ll knock those out without even trying if you clean up your inventory after every run.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Dismantling Modules
Even if you follow the step-by-step guide perfectly, there are a few common mistakes that can cost you rare modules or valuable resources. The biggest one is mass dismantling without checking secondary stats first. I once mass deleted a stack of 20 uncommon modules without looking at them, and one of them had a 15% cooldown reduction secondary stat that would have been perfect for my support build. I had to grind low-difficulty supply runs for 3 hours to find another one with the same roll, and it was totally avoidable.
Don’t dismantle modules that are part of a set you’re actively farming, even if their stat rolls are bad. You can use low-roll versions of set modules as fusion fodder to upgrade the high-roll version you find later, which saves you a ton of crafting materials. I made this mistake when I was farming for the Freeze Core set for Viessa, I dismantled all the low-roll set modules I found, and I had to spend 5 extra hours running missions to get enough fusion fodder to upgrade the good set I eventually found.
Another mistake a lot of new players make is dismantling all low-rarity modules immediately when they hit level 30. Even if you don’t use them for your main build, low-rarity modules are great fusion fodder for upgrading higher rarity modules. They cost way less to use as fusion material than rare or epic modules, so keeping a small stack of them saves you a ton of gold and crafting materials when you’re upgrading new legendary gear. Also, don’t forget to use the module lock feature! You can lock any module by pressing the L3 button on controller or right clicking on keyboard, and locked modules can’t be dismantled by accident. I lock all my legendary and high-roll epic modules as soon as I get them, so I never have to worry about deleting them by mistake during a bulk cleanup.
Once you get the hang of how to dismantle modules in The First Descendant, it becomes a quick 2-minute task after every mission that saves you hours of frustration later. You don’t have to get it perfect right away—if you accidentally dismantle a good module once, it’s not the end of the world, and you’ll be more careful next time. Try out the sorting tips and dismantle priority list we covered the next time you log in, and you’ll have more inventory space and more crafting materials than you know what to do with in no time. Happy grinding!