If you’ve spent hours grinding missions in The First Descendant only to hit a wall when you try to unlock new characters or high-tier mod slots, you’re not alone. A lot of new players overlook how critical account-wide mastery progression is for accessing the game’s best content, and most have no idea how to cut down the grind by half with small, intentional changes to their playstyle. This guide breaks down exactly how to level up mastery in the first descendant without burning out on repetitive missions, using tactics I’ve tested over 120 hours of play across three different account profiles.
Prioritize These Activities to Level Up Mastery in The First Descendant Fast
Most new players assume that spamming the hardest possible endgame missions is the fastest way to raise mastery, but that’s the exact opposite of how the system works. Mastery XP is awarded primarily for unlocking and leveling new content, not for completing high-difficulty runs with gear you already maxed out. If you’re just starting out learning how to level up mastery in The First Descendant, this activity priority list should be the first thing you reference every time you log on.
I tested this myself earlier this year: grinding hard void intercepts with my fully maxed main for 3 hours gave me just 800 total mastery XP. When I swapped to cycling two new low-level Descendants through easy story missions for the same 3 hour window, I earned 3200 XP, four times the amount for half the effort. New, unleveled gear and characters give far more mastery XP per hour than endgame grinding with fully upgraded gear, so always prioritize unmaxed content first.
Optimize Your Loadout to Cut Grinding Time in Half
You don’t have to struggle through missions with underpowered low-level characters just to earn mastery XP. The game counts XP for all items you have equipped, even if you’re not actively using them to deal damage, so you can build a hybrid loadout that lets you clear missions fast while still earning XP for unleveled gear. This small loadout tweak is one of the easiest ways to speed up how fast you level up mastery in The First Descendant, and most new players never think to do it.
Equipping a fully maxed AoE weapon on your active slot while leveling a new character lets you clear waves in seconds without relying on the low-level character’s skills. You still get full XP for the low-level Descendant just for having them equipped, even if you never use their abilities once during the mission. You can also equip unleveled secondary weapons and modules on your loadout to earn XP for them at the same time, with zero extra effort.
Don’t sleep on free XP boosts either. You get 1-2 hour XP boosts from weekly login rewards and daily challenge completions all the time, so save them for when you plan to do a 2+ hour farming session. The 15-20% extra XP adds up fast, and you never have to spend premium currency on them if you claim your free rewards consistently.
Use Co-Op Lobbies to Farm Mastery XP Without Extra Effort
Solo grinding gets boring fast, and it’s way slower than running missions with other players. Public co-op lobbies are one of the most underrated tools for fast mastery progression, because you don’t have to do all the work to earn full XP rewards for your gear. If you’re short on time and want to level up mastery in The First Descendant without putting in extra work, co-op lobbies are your best bet.
Joining public void intercept or resource farming lobbies lets you level your unmaxed gear passively while other players handle most of the mission objectives. I do this all the time when I’m farming XP for multiple new Descendants: I bring my low-level character and a maxed support weapon, contribute heals or shield buffs to the team, and get the exact same XP as the players carrying the run. Co-op runs also finish 30-40% faster than solo runs on average, so you’re completing more missions per hour and earning more XP as a result.
That said, don’t join lobbies just to AFK. Most active lobbies will kick you if you don’t contribute at least a little, and you won’t get any rewards if you stay completely idle for the whole mission. Even just picking up resources or using support skills every few minutes is enough to count for full rewards, so be a decent teammate and you’ll get all the benefits with barely any effort.
Avoid These Common Mistakes That Slow Down Mastery Progression
A lot of players slow their own mastery progression down without even realizing it, by making small mistakes that waste hours of their time. These are the three most common mistakes I see new players make all the time, and fixing them will instantly speed up your XP gains.
First, never sell or delete unmaxed gear or characters. A lot of players sell low-rarity weapons they don’t like immediately after unlocking them, but you’re throwing away hundreds of free mastery XP by doing that. Never delete or sell an unleveled Descendant, even if you don’t plan to main them, because each one gives thousands of free mastery XP when maxed. You can sell them after you level them to 40 if you don’t want to keep them, but don’t get rid of them early.
Second, don’t waste all your resources upgrading a single character or weapon to max before touching other content. It’s much faster to level 3-4 characters to level 20 first for quick, small mastery XP payouts, then go back to max your main character later. You’ll unlock more mod slots and character slots faster by spreading your resources out, which makes all future grinding easier anyway.
Third, stop replaying old story missions with maxed gear for no reason. A lot of players go back to easy story missions to farm resources, but those missions give almost no XP for maxed content. Don’t waste time replaying story missions you’ve already completed with maxed gear, because they give almost no mastery XP compared to leveling new content. Save story runs for when you have unleveled gear equipped, so you’re earning resources and XP at the same time.
Mastery progression doesn’t have to be a boring, endless grind if you play smart instead of playing hard. By focusing on leveling new content first, using co-op lobbies to speed up runs, and avoiding common mistakes that waste your time, you’ll be able to unlock all the endgame perks, characters, and slots you want far faster than most players. The best part is these tactics don’t require you to spend any extra money or play 10 hours a day, just small tweaks to how you approach each play session. If you follow these steps, you’ll figure out how to level up mastery in the first descendant at a pace that fits your schedule, without burning out on repetitive missions.