If you’ve sunk hours into grinding missions and opening supply crates in The First Descendant, you’ve probably racked up a decent pile of gold without even thinking too hard about how to spend it. A lot of new players blow their first batches of gold on random cosmetic skins or low-tier weapon upgrades that become obsolete in just a couple of hours, which can leave you stuck when you hit higher difficulty content that requires serious gear and character investment. Learning how to use gold in The First Descendant strategically will cut down your grind time significantly and help you clear even the hardest Void Chaser missions without hitting a frustrating resource wall.
How to Use Gold in The First Descendant for Maximum Long-Term Progress
Not all gold purchases are created equal, and prioritizing permanent, account-wide or main character upgrades first will give you the biggest return on your investment for every piece of gold you spend. A lot of new players get tempted by flashy limited-time shop offers, but these almost never deliver as much value as upgrades that stick with you for your entire playthrough. Your priority list should look like this for your first 100,000 gold:
- Character passive and active skill upgrades: Maxing out your main Descendant’s core skills first gives you an immediate 30-40% performance boost that applies to every mission you run, no matter what weapon you’re using.
- Weapon module slot unlocks: Most low-tier weapons only have 2 module slots by default, and spending gold to unlock the 3rd and 4th slots lets you equip damage and utility mods that can double your weapon’s output for endgame content.
- Void Intercept mission entry passes: These passes give you access to exclusive loot drops that include rare Descendant shards and legendary weapon blueprints you can’t get anywhere else, making them a far better investment than random shop crates.
Stick to this order for your first few weeks of play, and you’ll notice you clear missions far faster than players who spend their gold on random cosmetic or temporary items first. You can always go back and buy skins later once your core build is fully set up.
Gold Purchases You Should Avoid at All Costs
There are a lot of gold sinks in The First Descendant designed to drain your resources so you feel pressured to grind more, and knowing what to skip will save you tens of thousands of gold over the course of your playthrough. First, skip any common or uncommon weapon skins that don’t come with stat bonuses. You can earn dozens of free cosmetic skins just by completing event missions and battle pass tiers, so there’s no reason to waste gold on them. You should also never buy low-tier upgrade materials like common weapon parts or basic skill cores from the in-game shop. These items drop in every single early-game mission, and you’ll have hundreds of them sitting in your inventory after just a few hours of grinding. I made this mistake when I first started playing, dropping 12,000 gold on a stack of common upgrade parts that I ended up earning for free two missions later, and I regretted it for days when I couldn’t afford to unlock a new skill slot for my main Descendant.
You should also skip temporary mission buffs that only last for one run. Their effect is negligible for most content, and you’re far better off saving that gold for permanent upgrades that will help you clear every mission you run in the future.
How to Balance Gold Spending Between Main and Alt Descendants
A lot of players struggle with splitting their gold between their main character and the alts they unlock as they progress through the story. It’s easy to get tempted to spread your resources thin to try out every new Descendant you get, but this will leave all of them underpowered for harder content, and you’ll end up stuck when you try to run endgame Void missions that require a fully built character. If you want to take a short break from figuring out your resource allocation to reset your focus, you can pop into a quick casual game like Rummy Grand for 10 minutes between mission runs to clear your head before you make any big spending decisions.
Once you’re back, stick to the 80/20 rule: spend 80% of your gold on your main Descendant and their primary weapon loadout, and the remaining 20% on unlocking basic skill upgrades for alts you plan to use for co-op missions. Never spend more than 20% of your total gold reserve on alts until your main is fully maxed out. That way you don’t end up with a roster of half-upgraded characters that can’t hold their own in endgame content, and you still get to experiment with different playstyles without wasting resources. If you find an alt you love more than your original main, you can always shift your spending priority later once you’re sure you’ll use them regularly.
How to Farm Extra Gold Fast If You Run Low
Even with the best spending plan, you’ll probably hit a point where you need a quick influx of gold to afford a big upgrade like a legendary module slot unlock or a high-tier Void Intercept pass. You don’t have to spend real money to get the gold you need, and there are a few fast farming routes that will net you 10,000+ gold per hour with very little effort. First, repeat low-difficulty supply run missions that take 5-7 minutes each. These give 1500-2000 gold per run plus extra loot you can sell for even more gold, and you can run them on auto-pilot if you need to take a break from focused gameplay. You can also clear daily and weekly challenge missions, which give gold bonuses that add up to over 50,000 gold per week if you finish all of them. These challenges are usually simple tasks like killing 100 enemies with a specific weapon type or running 3 co-op missions, so you can complete them while you’re grinding other content anyway.
One easy trick most new players miss is selling unused items from their inventory. Always sell duplicate Descendant shards you don’t need for upgrades, they sell for a surprisingly high amount and you can only use one copy of each shard per character anyway. You can also sell common and uncommon modules you don’t plan to use, most players have hundreds of these taking up space in their inventory that they’ll never touch, and selling them gives you a quick gold boost with zero downside.
You don’t have to be a min-max expert to get the most out of your in-game currency, and small, intentional spending choices will make a far bigger difference to your progress than grinding extra hours for more gold. Taking the time to plan out your purchases, avoid low-value wastes, and balance your spending between characters will help you get through even the hardest endgame content without hitting a resource wall. Mastering how to use gold in The First Descendant is one of the easiest ways to cut down your grind time and make every hour you spend in the game feel more rewarding.