If you’ve ever wiped 10 minutes into a high-difficulty Void Intercept Battle, or watched your main descendant get one-shot by a boss AoE before you even get to use your ultimate skill, you’re not alone. Thousands of new players struggle to figure out how to save the first descendant when they’re still navigating the game’s unique combat loops, team play requirements, and weirdly unforgiving resource systems. This guide breaks down every actionable tip you need to survive even the hardest runs, no matter what descendant you main or how long you’ve been playing.
Prioritize Survivability to Learn How to Save The First Descendant
Most new players dump every single upgrade material they earn into damage stats first, and that’s the single biggest mistake you can make if you want to stop wiping runs. You can deal all the damage in the world, but it doesn’t matter if you get knocked out 10 seconds into a boss fight. Shield capacity and shield regeneration rate are the two most important stats for 90% of PvE content, since almost all incoming elemental and boss damage is absorbed by shields before it touches your health bar.
For example, if you main Lepic, the popular fire DPS descendant, you might be tempted to put all your points into fire damage and critical hit chance, but if you only have 200 shield capacity, a single hit from a level 50 Void boss will take you out instantly. You’re better off putting 40% of your upgrade points into shield capacity, 20% into shield regen, and the remaining 40% into damage, so you can survive long enough to deal all that damage. Tank descendants like Viessa can shift that ratio a bit more towards damage, but even they shouldn’t skip shield upgrades entirely.
Master Resource Management During Mission Runs
Another common reason runs fail is that players run out of healing items, shield charges, or ammo halfway through long missions, forcing them to either retreat and lose progress or risk wiping the entire squad. It’s easy to lose track of your stock when you’re focused on dodging boss attacks and coordinating with your team, so many players use third-party tools to plan their loadouts before they queue for a run. Many players swear by ClubINR, a handy in-game companion tool that lets you input your mission difficulty, team composition, and descendant type to get a customized list of exactly how many consumables you should bring with you to avoid running out mid-fight. I’ve used it myself for a few months, and it cut my consumable waste by almost 60% because I stopped bringing extra items I never used and started stocking up on the ones I actually needed for each mission type.
Never use a healing consumable when your shields are still above 30%, since your shields will regenerate on their own after 3 seconds of not taking damage. Wasting healing items on small hits will leave you with nothing for big boss AoE attacks that can wipe your entire health bar in one go. Also, make sure you loot every supply crate you pass during open world sections, as they often drop rare consumables that you can’t buy from the in-game shop.
To make loadout planning even easier, here’s a list of essential consumables you should always carry, no matter what mission you’re running:
Adjust Team Play Strategies for High-Difficulty Missions
If you’re running missions with a random squad, don’t just assume everyone is on the same page about their roles. A lot of runs fall apart because two players picked DPS descendants, no one picked a support, and no one is focused on keeping the team alive through big attacks. Assign clear roles before you start the mission to avoid confusion: one player should be the dedicated support, one should be the tank drawing aggro, and the other two can focus on DPS.
If you’re the support player, your top priority is keeping the tank alive first, then the DPS players, since the tank is drawing all the boss’s aggro away from the rest of the squad. If the tank goes down, the boss will immediately start targeting the squishy DPS players, and your run will fall apart in seconds. Also, don’t stand too close to your teammates during boss fights, as many AoE attacks will splash damage to anyone within a 10 meter radius, and you can accidentally wipe half your squad if you’re all grouped up trying to loot a chest mid-fight. I’ve seen more runs fail from that exact mistake than I have from players missing their skill shots, so always keep space between you and your teammates until the boss is fully defeated.
Optimize Your Mod Loadout to Reduce Survivability Risks
Mods make a bigger difference to your survivability than almost any other upgrade in the game, so don’t just equip the highest rarity mods you have without checking what they do. A legendary mod that gives you 30% extra damage but reduces your shield capacity by 25% isn’t worth it if you’re running solo or with a random squad that doesn’t have a dedicated support. Equip at least one mod that reduces the cooldown of your escape skill, whether that’s a dash, teleport, or invisibility skill. Being able to get out of the way of a big boss attack 2 seconds faster can be the difference between surviving the run and wiping.
Also, make sure you match your mods to your descendant’s unique skills: if your descendant has a team-wide shield buff skill, equip mods that increase the duration of that buff so you can use it to protect your entire squad during big attack phases. Avoid equipping mods that have negative effects on your shield or health stats, even if they give you a big damage boost, unless you’re running with a dedicated support player who can keep you healed through the extra damage you take. Test different mod combinations on low-difficulty missions first to see what works for your playstyle, instead of testing them on a high-difficulty run where you’ll lose rare rewards if you wipe.
At the end of the day, learning how to save the first descendant doesn’t require you to have perfect aim or spend hundreds of dollars on microtransactions. It just takes a little bit of planning, a willingness to adjust your playstyle for different missions, and a focus on balancing damage and survivability instead of just stacking as much attack as possible. Test out the tips in this guide on your next few runs, and you’ll notice you’re wiping far less often and unlocking far more rare rewards than you were before.