Gold is the backbone of almost every progression system in The First Descendant. You need it to upgrade weapons, unlock mod slots, craft rare gear, buy limited-time cosmetics, and even reset skill points for your favorite characters. A lot of new players hit a frustrating wall around level 25, where they can’t afford the upgrades they need to clear harder Void Rift or interception missions. Figuring out how to get gold in The First Descendant is the first step to making that grind feel far less punishing, and I’ve spent 40+ hours testing different methods to find the ones that actually work without burning you out.
How to Get Gold in The First Descendant: Daily and Weekly Challenges You Should Never Skip
If you’re just starting out and figuring out how to get gold in The First Descendant, prioritizing these daily and weekly challenges is the fastest way to build your initial bankroll without grinding for hours. Most players only focus on story missions, but these repeatable challenges give guaranteed gold payouts that don’t rely on random loot drops. Daily resource run challenges give 3x more gold than regular open-world runs when you complete them within the listed time limit, and they only take 5 to 10 minutes each to finish.
Weekly challenges offer even bigger payouts, with hard-mode Void Rift clears giving 50k+ gold per completion, plus bonus mod boxes you can sell for extra cash if you already have the mod in your collection. Even casual guilds offer weekly missions that give 20k gold for completing 3 simple tasks, like clearing 2 side missions or looting 10 chests. You don’t have to be in a top-tier raiding guild to claim that reward, so don’t sleep on joining a casual public guild if you haven’t already.
Open-World Gold Farming Routes for Solo Players
If you prefer playing alone and don’t want to deal with random multiplayer lobbies, there are optimized open-world routes that give consistent gold payouts with very little effort. The Frost Wastes region is the best spot for solo farming, thanks to its high enemy density, frequent chest spawns, and short travel times between camps. The best solo farming loop takes 12 minutes per run and nets 8k to 12k gold each time if you pick up all sellable items along the way.
To run the loop, spawn at the southern Frost Wastes waypoint, clear the 3 enemy camps along the frozen river, loot all chests and resource crates, then turn in the small side quest you pick up at the waypoint before resetting the instance. If you use an AOE damage character like Viessa, you can cut the run time down to 8 minutes, which makes the per-hour gold payout even higher. Make sure to sell all common and uncommon mod duplicates you collect during runs, since they have no use once you have the max-level version of the mod, and they add up to 2k+ extra gold per run.
Multiplayer Gold Farming Methods for Faster Payouts
Multiplayer runs have built-in loot and gold scaling, so you’ll earn far more per hour running content with a team than you will playing alone, even if you have the most optimized solo route. Hard-mode Void Rift runs are the most popular multiplayer gold farm for a good reason: Each full hard Void Rift clear with a full 4-person team gives 25k to 35k gold per player, plus rare crafting materials you can sell for extra cash. The key to making these runs fast is to join lobbies marked “gold farm” where all players are following the same optimized route, so you won’t waste time debating which objectives to complete first.
If Void Rifts feel too long for your schedule, boss rush co-op mode is another great option. Clearing boss rush on medium difficulty in under 15 minutes gives a 50% gold bonus, netting you 18k gold per run in just 10 to 12 minutes. To maximize your payout on all multiplayer gold runs, bring these three items with you every time:
Missable Gold Sources Most Players Overlook
Even if you’re already running daily challenges and farming routes, there are a handful of hidden gold sources most players never find, that can add up to hundreds of thousands of extra gold over time. First, optional story side quests: a lot of players skip these because they think they only give lore rewards, but many of them have hidden 10k+ gold payouts once you complete them, plus exclusive cosmetics you can’t get anywhere else. You can filter your quest log to show uncompleted side quests to make sure you don’t miss any of these payouts.
Another underused source is the weekly vendor rotation at the main hub has a "junk trade-in" option where you can turn in 100 common crafting materials for 5k gold. This is perfect if you have a ton of extra iron, cloth, or basic chemical components lying around that you don’t need for crafting. You also get a one-time 20k gold reward every time you level a character to max level, so if you have a bunch of low-level characters you haven’t touched, leveling them up to 30 gives you a nice chunk of extra gold without too much extra work. Even the daily login reward system gives 50k gold on the 7th day of the cycle, so logging in for 10 seconds a day to claim rewards is always worth your time, even if you don’t plan to play that day.
You don’t have to grind 8 hours a day to stack enough gold for the upgrades or cosmetics you want. The best methods for how to get gold in The First Descendant are the ones that fit your playstyle, whether you prefer solo open-world runs, fast co-op boss clears, or just knocking out quick daily challenges when you have 10 minutes to spare. Don’t waste your time on low-payout activities that feel like a chore, and you’ll be surprised how quickly your gold balance adds up. If you try any of these methods, drop a comment below to let me know how much gold you earned in your first run.