If you've been running The First Descendant missions looking for a solid support that can buff your whole squad while dishing out decent AoE damage, you've probably heard players rave about Kyle. A lot of new players get stuck figuring out how to get Kyle in the First Descendant because the unlock requirements aren't clearly spelled out in the in-game quest log, and you can easily miss a critical step if you're rushing through content. I've unlocked him on three different accounts for myself and friends, so I've broken down every step you need to follow, plus common mistakes to skip so you don't waste hours redoing missions.
What Makes Kyle Worth Unlocking for New and Veteran Players?
Kyle is one of the most well-rounded support characters in The First Descendant, and he works just as well for solo players as he does for full squads. His core ability, Overcharge Barrier, creates a large shield that blocks all incoming enemy fire while boosting the attack power of anyone standing inside it by 35%. That's a game changer for tough boss fights, especially if you're running content with random players who don't have coordinated builds. Even if you're still learning how to get Kyle in The First Descendant and haven't unlocked any other characters yet, he's a far better pick for almost all content than the default starter characters.
For solo players, his passive Energy Regen Boost cuts your skill cooldown times by 20% as long as your health is above 70%, so you can spam your damage abilities far more often than you can with starter characters like Lepic. He's also far easier to unlock than other top-tier supports like Viessa, so you can get him within 5 to 7 hours of starting the game if you follow the right path. His base stats are also high enough that you don't need to spend weeks grinding for rare upgrade materials to make him viable for endgame content.
How to Get Kyle in The First Descendant: Full Step-by-Step Quest Walkthrough
First, you have to make sure you've completed the main prologue missions and reached Player Rank 6, which I'll cover more common pitfalls around later. Once you hit that threshold, you'll get a side quest called "The Forgotten Engineer" pop up in your quest log, and you can accept it from the NPC Jin in the main hub of Albion. Then follow these exact steps, I've tested them multiple times to confirm they work for both solo and squad play:
The whole process takes around 90 minutes if you don't run into bad luck with the circuit part drops, and you can cut that time down even more if you bring a squad to farm the public events faster. You don't need any special gear to complete these steps, either, as long as you've upgraded your starter weapon to at least level 10. If you're playing with higher level friends, they can even carry you through the boss fight if your gear is underleveled.
Critical Tips to Beat the Kyle Unlock Boss Fight Without Wasting Revives
The Security Droid MK-9 boss fight isn't super hard, but it has a few one-shot mechanics that can wipe your whole squad if you don't know what to look for. I died to this boss three times the first time I tried unlocking Kyle, so I know exactly what to watch out for. First, always keep an eye on the red warning circles on the ground that pop up 3 seconds before the boss fires its rocket barrage. If you stand in one of these circles, you'll get one-shot even if you have a full shield bar, so move out of the way as soon as you see them.
Second, the boss has a weak point on the top of its head that takes 2x damage, so focus all your fire there to end the fight faster. If you're playing solo, use cover between attack cycles to regen your shield, and don't waste your grenades on the small minions that spawn halfway through the fight. They die in one hit from your primary weapon, so save your grenades for the boss's weak point. If you do get downed, don't use your revive immediately unless you're the only player left; if you have squad mates, they can revive you for free so you don't lose your limited revive tokens.
The boss only has two health phases, so once you get through the first 50% of its health bar, it stops spawning minions and only uses its laser and rocket attack. That's the best time to pop all your damage abilities and burn through the rest of its health as fast as possible.
Common Mistakes That Delay Your Kyle Unlock (and How to Fix Them)
A lot of players waste hours trying to unlock Kyle because they miss small, unstated requirements that the game doesn't tell you about. I've helped dozens of players in the official Discord fix these issues, so these are the most common ones you'll run into. First, a lot of players accept the "The Forgotten Engineer" quest before they hit Player Rank 6, and the public events they complete don't count towards the quest progress. If that happens to you, just grind a few quick story missions until you hit Rank 6, and any public events you do after that will count normally.
Second, some players try to farm the Broken Circuit Parts from enemies in other regions, but they only drop from the robotic units in Stormcaller Valley. You won't get any drops from the organic enemy types in the desert or forest regions, so don't waste your time there. Third, don't leave the bunker immediately after you beat the boss - you have to interact with the data terminal inside to get the blueprint, and if you leave before you do that, you'll have to redo the whole boss fight. That's a super common mistake, so make sure you grab the blueprint before you fast travel back to Albion.
Another less common issue is that some players accidentally abandon the quest halfway through, and it doesn't pop back up in their quest log automatically. If that happens to you, just go talk to Jin in Albion again, and she'll give you the quest back with all your existing progress saved, so you don't have to start over from scratch.
At the end of the day, unlocking Kyle is one of the best early-game choices you can make in The First Descendant, and the process is far simpler than most players make it out to be. Now that you know how to get Kyle in The First Descendant, you can skip all the frustrating trial and error and add this versatile support to your roster in just a couple of hours. Once you have him, spend a few minutes testing his abilities in low-level public events to get a feel for his playstyle, and you'll be shredding through tough boss fights in no time.