If you’ve spent hours grinding The First Descendant looking for a versatile support that can turn the tide of even the toughest Void Chaser fights, you’ve probably come across mentions of the elusive Fellow. I spent three weeks testing every possible method to unlock him, even tried a few clickbait methods from short-form videos that did absolutely nothing, so I’m confident the steps I’m sharing here work 100% of the time if you follow them correctly. In this guide, I’ll break down every step you need to follow to get the Fellow in The First Descendant, plus tips to make the grind far less frustrating than it was for me.
Exact Steps to Get the Fellow in The First Descendant
First, you need to meet the minimum prerequisites before you can even start the unlock quest. You have to be at least player rank 35, and you need to have completed the main story mission "Void Rift Surge: Kaidun" to unlock the secret side quest that triggers the Fellow unlock chain. I made the mistake of trying to trigger the quest at rank 30, and it wouldn’t pop up no matter how many times I replayed story missions, so don’t waste your time here. Once you meet those requirements, head to the Northeast corner of the Vylina Outpost, and talk to the hidden NPC named Old Mechanic Kael. He’s tucked behind the scrap pile next to the weapon upgrade station, so you might have to angle your camera a bit to spot him. He’ll give you the "Fellow’s Lost Core" quest, which has three core objectives.
The solo mission is far easier if you bring a character with high AoE damage, like Lepic or Viessa, because you’ll face 3 waves of level 40 void enemies before you get to the final boss fight with a corrupted prototype of Fellow. You only get one attempt at the final mission per 24 hours, so if you die once, you have to wait until the next daily reset to try again. Bring a few healing items just to be safe, and target the boss’s glowing core weak point to take it down twice as fast. Once you beat the mission, you’ll get the Fellow character unlock item directly in your inventory.
What Makes Fellow Worth the Grind?
A lot of new players skip unlocking Fellow because they think he’s just a generic support, but he’s easily one of the most versatile characters in the entire game for both solo and co-op play. His signature passive ability Shared Shield Buffer gives all nearby allies a 20% shield boost that stacks with other support buffs, which is a game-changer for endgame raids where one shot from a boss can wipe your whole squad. Even if you already have a main support you love, Fellow is worth adding to your roster because he fills a unique niche no other character can.
For solo players, his primary skill summons a floating turret that deals consistent void damage to enemies within a 15 meter radius, so you don’t have to waste ammo on smaller mobs while you focus on boss weak points. I’ve used Fellow to clear the hardest tier of Void Chaser raids 30% faster than I did with my old main, Bunny, because his buffs let me stay in the fight far longer without having to retreat to heal. The only real downside is that his base movement speed is 10% slower than most other characters, so you’ll want to equip a movement speed mod on his gear once you unlock him to make up for that gap.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Unlocking Fellow
I saw so many players wasting hours on the wrong activities when I was grinding for Fellow, so I’ve rounded up the most common mistakes to skip so you can unlock him in half the time. First, don’t waste your time farming Normal difficulty Void Intercept Battles for fragments. The drop rate on Normal is only 3%, which means you’d have to run the mission 400 times on average to get all 12 fragments, compared to around 80 runs on Hard. It’s worth waiting to team up with higher level players if you can’t beat Hard on your own, it’ll save you days of grinding. If you run into other players farming for Fellow while you’re running Void Intercept Battles, team up with them, because squad clears have the same drop rate as solo clears, and you’ll finish missions far faster.
Second, don’t disassemble all your Rare Mechanical Parts for credits before you start the quest. I made this mistake, and I had to spend two extra days farming 4-star gear to get enough parts to turn in to Kael. If you’re planning to unlock Fellow soon, keep every Rare Mechanical Part you get for at least a week before you start the quest. Third, don’t forget to pick up the weekly void fragment boost buff from the outpost shop before you start farming. It gives you a 50% higher drop chance for all void-related items for 24 hours, and it only costs 1,000 credits. That alone cut my grind time by almost a full day.
First Builds to Try Once You Unlock Fellow
Once you get Fellow unlocked, you don’t have to spend weeks farming perfect endgame gear to make him useful. There are two beginner builds that work great for all types of content right out of the gate. The first is the support co-op build, which focuses on maximizing his shield buff and healing abilities. Equip all mod slots with Shield Boost and Cooldown Reduction mods, and pick the secondary skill that lets you revive downed allies from 10 meters away. This build is perfect for endgame raids, and every squad will be happy to have you join if you’re running it. Once you get used to Fellow’s kit, you’ll probably find yourself using him more than your old main character for most group content.
The second build is the solo damage build, which focuses on his turret ability. Equip Void Damage and Turret Duration mods, and pick the passive that lets your turret heal you for 5% of your max health every time it kills an enemy. I use this build for all my open world farming and solo story missions, and I barely ever have to use healing items anymore. The best part about Fellow is that his builds are super flexible, so you can mix and match mods to fit your playstyle once you get more comfortable with his kit. You can even swap between the two builds in 10 seconds before starting a mission, so you don’t have to level two separate copies of him.
Unlocking Fellow might seem like a lot of work at first, but the payoff is more than worth it for every type of The First Descendant player. Whether you prefer running co-op raids with friends or grinding solo for rare loot, he’ll make almost every activity in the game faster and less frustrating. Now that you know exactly how to get the Fellow in The First Descendant, you can skip all the frustrating trial and error I went through and add him to your roster in just a few days of casual grinding. Don’t forget to pick up that weekly drop buff before you start farming, it’ll make the whole process way smoother.