Easy Guide: How to Link Accounts in The First Descendant for Cross-Progression

Easy Guide: How to Link Accounts in The First Descendant for Cross-Progression

If you’ve ever switched from playing The First Descendant on your PC to your console and realized all your unlocked Void characters and weapon skins are gone, you know how frustrating that is. That’s exactly why learning how to link accounts the first descendant is one of the first things you should do after downloading the game, even if you only play on one platform right now. It only takes a few minutes, and it saves you from so many headaches down the line, from lost progress to being locked out of playing with friends on other systems. This guide walks you through every step of the process, plus fixes for the most common issues people run into when trying to link their accounts.

How to Link Accounts in The First Descendant: Step-by-Step Walkthrough

The linking process is straightforward, but it’s easy to skip a small step and run into errors if you rush through it. First, make sure you have login credentials for all platforms you want to link, whether that’s Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, or your main Nexon account. You’ll also need a phone or computer to access the Nexon account portal during the process.

Start by launching the game on your primary play platform, the one where you have the most existing progress. Open the main menu, navigate to the Settings tab, then select the Account section. You’ll see a bright “Link Account” button near the top of the page. Click that, and you’ll get a unique 8-digit alphanumeric code, plus the address for the official Nexon account linking page. The code expires after 15 minutes, so don’t leave this screen hanging while you do other tasks.

Open the linking page on your secondary device, log into your existing Nexon account, or create a new one if you don’t have one already. Enter the 8-digit code exactly as it appears on your game screen, then confirm that you want to link your platform account to this Nexon profile. You’ll get a pop-up confirmation in-game within a few seconds if the link is successful. Repeat this process for any other platforms you play on, making sure you log into the same Nexon account every time.

Never share your unique linking code with anyone else, even if they claim to be from Nexon support. The code gives full access to link your game account to an external profile, and scammers often use fake support requests to steal accounts this way. Nexon will never ask you for your linking code directly.

Key Benefits of Linking Your The First Descendant Accounts

Many players skip linking accounts because they think it’s only useful for people who play on multiple devices, but that’s not the case. Even if you only ever play on your PlayStation 5, linking your account gives you access to perks you can’t get otherwise. Here are the biggest advantages of taking the time to link your accounts:

  • Full cross-progression support: All your character levels, weapon upgrades, collected cosmetics, and mission progress carry over across every linked platform, so you can pick up right where you left off no matter what device you're using. You don’t have to re-grind for your favorite Void hunter or rare weapon skin if you decide to switch platforms later.
  • Cross-play access: Linking accounts lets you team up with friends who play on different systems, whether they're on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or even last-gen consoles. You can join the same squads, take on Void raids together, and share mission rewards no matter what platform each person uses.
  • Exclusive cross-platform rewards: Nexon regularly drops free rewards for players who link multiple accounts, including rare weapon skins, Void energy bundles, and limited-time profile badges that you can’t get any other way. These rewards are usually only available for a few weeks, so linking early makes sure you don’t miss out.
  • Progress backup: If your primary device breaks or you lose access to your platform account for any reason, you can still recover all your game progress by logging into your linked Nexon account on a new device. I’ve had friends lose hundreds of hours of progress when their Steam accounts got hacked, and they had to start over completely because they never linked their account to a Nexon profile.
  • You don’t have to link every platform you own right away, either. You can add new platform links to your Nexon account at any time, so if you buy a new console six months from now, you can link it then and carry all your existing progress over immediately.

    Common Account Linking Issues and How to Fix Them

    Most people will get through the linking process without any problems, but there are a few common errors that pop up regularly. The good news is almost all of them are easy to fix in a few minutes.

    The most common error is the “invalid linking code” message. This almost always happens because the code expired before you entered it, or you made a typo when typing it in. Just go back to the in-game Account tab and generate a new code, then double-check that you’re entering every character correctly, with no extra spaces or capitalization mistakes. If you keep getting this error, try restarting your game first to make sure there’s no temporary glitch with the code generator.

    Another common issue is the “account already linked” error. This means one of your platform accounts is already connected to a different Nexon account, maybe an old one you made for a different Nexon game years ago. You can fix this by logging into the old Nexon account on the official website, going to your Connected Accounts settings, and unlinking the platform account from that old profile. You will lose all progress associated with that old Nexon account if you don’t transfer it first, so make sure you’re okay with abandoning any progress on that old account before you unlink it.

    If your progress doesn’t sync across platforms after you’ve successfully linked your accounts, that’s usually a temporary server issue. Just restart the game on all your linked devices, and give it 10 to 15 minutes for the servers to update your progress across all platforms. If it still doesn’t sync after 24 hours, contact Nexon support with your linked account IDs, and they can manually push the sync for you.

    Important Rules to Follow When Linking Your Accounts

    There are a few simple rules you should follow to avoid mistakes that could cost you progress or get your account banned. These are easy to miss if you’re rushing through the linking process, so take a minute to read them before you start.

    First, always pick the account with the most progress as your primary account when you first link. All progress from secondary accounts will be merged into your primary account, and you can’t reverse that merge later. If you have a level 30 character on Steam and a level 10 character on Xbox, make the Steam account your primary so you don’t lose your high-level character and all the upgrades you’ve earned for them.

    Don't link accounts that you don't own, even if a friend offers to share their premium skins or high-level characters with you. Nexon’s terms of service strictly prohibit shared accounts, and if they detect that multiple people are using the same linked account, they can permanently ban all connected profiles, including yours. It’s not worth losing your own progress just to access a friend’s rare skins.

    You should also use a valid, active email address for your main Nexon account. That’s the only way you can recover access to your linked accounts if you forget your password, or if someone tries to hack your account. You should also enable two-factor authentication on your Nexon account to add an extra layer of security, so no one can access your linked accounts even if they get your password.

    Finally, remember that you can only link one account per platform to a single Nexon profile. You can’t link two separate Steam accounts to the same Nexon account, for example, so if you have multiple Steam accounts with The First Descendant progress, you’ll need to pick which one you want to keep and link that one.

    Linking your accounts doesn’t take long, but it’s one of the most impactful first steps you can take to get the most out of your time playing The First Descendant. Now that you know how to link accounts the first descendant, you can jump between platforms whenever you want, play with friends no matter what system they use, and rest easy knowing your hard-earned progress is safe even if something happens to your main device. If you run into any issues that aren’t covered in this guide, the official Nexon support page has a dedicated section for The First Descendant account issues that’s updated regularly with new troubleshooting tips.