If you’ve spent any time running missions in The First Descendant, you’ve probably hit a wall where you can’t unlock new characters, higher difficulty tiers, or powerful gear just because your mastery rank is too low. Knowing how to increase mastery rank in The First Descendant isn’t just a nice-to-have skill—it’s the key to accessing 90% of the game’s most exciting endgame content, from raid bosses to exclusive cosmetic skins. I’ve spent over 120 hours grinding ranks across three different account profiles, so I’ve tested every possible method to cut out unnecessary grind and get the most XP per hour spent. Most new players waste dozens of hours doing low-reward missions that barely move their rank bar, so this guide will walk you through exactly what works and what you can skip entirely.
Prioritize These High-XP Activities to Increase Mastery Rank Fast
Not all missions give the same amount of mastery XP, and picking the right ones can cut your grind time in half immediately. The best activities are short, have clear objectives, and give consistent XP rewards even if you’re playing with random teammates. Void Intercept missions on Hard difficulty are the best option for groups, as they have multiple wave clear objectives, bonus completion rewards for no party deaths, and take only 12-15 minutes per run. If you prefer playing solo, Supply Run missions on Very Hard are the top pick, as they have simple fetch objectives, no complicated mechanics, and take 8-10 minutes to complete start to finish.
If you’re not sure which activities are worth your time, follow this ranked list of highest mastery XP per hour:
Don’t waste your time on open world collectible runs for mastery XP, they give less than 5,000 XP per hour even if you know all spawn locations. That’s a common mistake new players make when they see collectibles give small XP drops, but the time investment isn’t worth it unless you’re also hunting for cosmetic rewards. These stacked boosts make any farming session far more efficient if you’re focused on how to increase mastery rank in The First Descendant.
Stack XP Boosts Before Starting Any Farming Run
Most players don’t realize that multiple XP boosts stack multiplicatively, not additively, so you can double or even triple your XP per run with just a little prep. Always claim your daily login XP boost first thing when you log in. The 20% boost lasts 2 hours, and it applies to all mastery XP gains, not just character XP. If you’re planning a 2+ hour farming session, use a premium XP boost from the in-game shop—they only cost 500 free Void Crystals, which you can earn from weekly challenges, so you don’t have to spend real money to get them.
If you’re playing with friends, you get an extra 10% XP boost per party member, so a full 4-person stack gives you 30% extra XP on top of all other boosts. Don’t activate boosts right before you log off for the night, or if you’re going to spend 30 minutes sorting your inventory first. I made that mistake once and wasted a 2-hour premium boost on nothing but menu navigation, so learn from my error.
Complete Weekly and Daily Mastery Challenges First Each Reset
Every 24 hours for dailies, 7 days for weeklies, you get a set of challenges that give massive one-time mastery XP rewards, no extra grind required. A lot of players ignore these because they’re busy running missions, but weekly mastery challenges give enough XP to jump a full rank from levels 1-15, and half a rank even at levels 20+. For example, a common weekly challenge is to clear 3 Void Intercept missions, which you’d be running for farm anyway, so you get the extra XP on top of the mission rewards.
Dailies are even faster: Most take 5 minutes or less to complete, like opening 10 supply crates or reviving 2 party members. You should knock out all your dailies first before you start any regular farming runs, because they give a higher XP per minute return than any mission in the game. If you only have 30 minutes to play one day, stick to dailies and weeklies instead of trying to fit in a full mission run, you’ll get more rank progress that way. If you’re trying to figure out how to increase mastery rank in The First Descendant as fast as possible, these challenges are non-negotiable.
Avoid These Common Mistakes That Slow Down Mastery Rank Progress
I’ve seen a lot of new players make the same mistakes that add dozens of hours to their rank grind, so avoiding these will save you a ton of frustration. First, don’t waste time grinding missions that are below your current recommended level. Missions that are 2+ levels below you give 70% less mastery XP, so even if they’re easier to clear, you’re better off running a slightly harder mission that matches your current level.
Running a mission with underleveled gear adds 5-10 minutes per run because you die more often and clear waves slower, which cuts into your hourly XP gains. You don’t need perfect legendary gear, just make sure your weapons and modules are upgraded to within 5 levels of your current rank. Third, don’t leave missions early even if your party wipes once. Most missions give 80% of their mastery XP only for full completion, so leaving 2 minutes before the end wastes all the time you spent on the run. Even if you have to restart a wave, it’s worth sticking around to get the full completion reward.
You don’t have to sink 100 hours of mindless grind to get the rank you want, as long as you focus on high-reward activities, stack your boosts, and avoid common pitfalls. Learning how to increase mastery rank in The First Descendant is all about working smarter, not harder, and the strategies we’ve covered here will help you unlock all the endgame content you want in half the time it takes most players. If you try these methods on your next play session, you’ll likely see at least a 50% jump in your hourly XP gains right away, no premium purchases required.