If you’ve been grinding The First Descendant for a few weeks, you’ve probably seen mentions of high-difficulty endgame runs that drop rare mod upgrades and exclusive character cosmetics. If you’re wondering what are invasion operations in the first descendant, you’re not alone—many new players skip these runs entirely because they assume they’re only for max-level players with fully upgraded gear, but that’s not actually the case. I’ve run over 40 invasion operations across all difficulty tiers over the past two months, and I’ve picked up enough tricks to help even mid-level players clear them consistently for great rewards.
Core Basics: What Are Invasion Operations in The First Descendant?
Invasion operations are rotating, limited-time endgame PvE modes that spawn every 6 hours on different regions of the Inertia map. Each invasion is tied to a specific boss variant that has modified attack patterns, higher health pools, and unique mechanics you won’t find on standard world bosses or story mission bosses. Unlike regular story missions that you can run solo with minimal risk, these operations are designed for co-op play, supporting teams of up to 4 players total. You only get 3 respawns per team for the entire run, so small mistakes can add up fast if you’re not paying attention.
You can unlock access to invasion operations once you hit player rank 20 and complete the short "Colony Defense" side mission from the command center NPC in the main hub. Most players who are new to invasion operations assume you need top tier gear to participate, but that’s a myth. There are 3 difficulty tiers for every run, each with different gear score requirements to match your current progress. Normal difficulty only requires a 1200 gear score, so you can start running these as soon as you unlock access, even if you haven’t fully upgraded your first character.
Each run takes between 10 and 20 minutes to complete, depending on your team’s gear and skill level. Rotating invasions are tied to different boss types each week, so you can target specific boss drops if you’re hunting for a particular weapon or mod.
Key Rewards You Can Earn From Invasion Operations
The biggest draw of these runs is the exclusive loot you can’t get anywhere else in the game. Every clear, no matter the difficulty, gives you a guaranteed number of Invasion Coins, which you can exchange at the special invasion shop in the main hub. These coins let you buy rare cosmetic skins, unique weapon mods, and character level-up materials that cut down grinding time by 30% on average compared to farming story missions.
Higher difficulty runs come with even better rewards. Hard and Extreme difficulty clears have a chance to drop boss-exclusive weapons that have special passive effects you can’t get from random loot drops. For example, the Void Reaper sniper that drops from the Extreme difficulty Vultur invasion deals 20% extra damage to shielded enemies, making it one of the best weapons for all endgame content. Extreme difficulty runs have a 15% chance to drop legendary tier character awakenings that permanently boost your character’s core stats, so they’re well worth the extra effort if you’re trying to min-max your main.
Invasion operations also give you far more experience per minute than regular story missions, so they’re a great way to level up new characters fast. On top of that, the weekly invasion challenge gives you bonus premium currency if you clear 5 runs of a specified difficulty per week, which is a great way to get extra battle pass levels without spending real money. I’ve gotten two legendary awakenings from my Extreme runs so far, and both made a huge difference in how my main character, Viessa, performs in all endgame content.
Pro Tips to Clear Invasion Operations Consistently
Even if you’re running with a random team, following a few simple rules will make your runs way smoother and cut down on failed attempts. I’ve tested these tips across dozens of runs, and they’ve cut my failure rate from 60% to less than 10% even on Extreme difficulty.
- Always bring at least one support character with shield or healing abilities: You only get 3 team respawns per run, so extra sustain prevents you from burning through respawns early on during boss add waves.
- Prioritize destroying the boss’s shield generators first during the first phase: Most invasion bosses have 3 small shield generators around the arena that make them immune to damage until they’re destroyed, so split your team up to take them down as fast as possible.
- Save your ultimate abilities for the boss’s final 30% health bar: Most bosses trigger an enrage phase at 30% health that deals 2x more damage, so popping all your ultimates at once lets you burn through the rest of their health before they can wipe your team.
If you’re playing with randoms, make sure to mark the shield generators at the start of the run so everyone knows what to target first. A lot of new players waste time attacking the boss directly during the first phase, which does zero damage and just drags the run out longer. Don’t worry if you don’t have a full team of max level players either— I’ve cleared many Hard difficulty runs with a mix of level 20 and level 30 players just by following these rules.
Another quick tip is to always bring at least one AoE weapon in your loadout to deal with the small add waves that spawn every 2 minutes during the run. Never leave the designated arena area during the run, as doing so will instantly kill your character and use up one of your team’s respawns, which is one of the most common mistakes new players make.
Common Mistakes to Avoid During Invasion Runs
A lot of new players waste hours of time and effort on invasion operations just because they make simple avoidable mistakes. The most common one I see is players bringing single-target only weapons to runs that have lots of add waves—you’ll get swarmed by small enemies before you even get a chance to attack the boss if you don’t have at least one AoE weapon to clear groups fast.
Another mistake is ignoring the weekly challenge requirements before you queue up. The weekly invasion challenge usually requires you to run a specific difficulty tier to get the premium currency reward, so if you run 5 Normal difficulty runs instead of the required Hard runs, you won’t get the bonus. It only takes 2 seconds to check the challenge tab in the main menu before you queue, so it’s worth taking the time to avoid wasting your effort.
Don’t waste your Invasion Coins on common mod upgrades that you can get from regular story missions. The only items worth spending coins on are the exclusive character skins, legendary awakenings, and boss-exclusive mod blueprints that aren’t available anywhere else. I made this mistake when I first started running invasions, and I wasted almost 2,000 coins on mods I could have gotten for free from 30 minutes of story mission grinding.
Finally, don’t queue for Extreme difficulty unless your gear score is at least 1800, even if the game lets you join. You’ll get one-shot by every boss attack and drag your whole team down, and most experienced players will kick undergeared players from Extreme lobbies immediately. I’ve had to kick multiple undergeared players from Extreme runs before, and it’s not fun for anyone, so stick to the difficulty tiers that match your current gear level until you can upgrade enough to move up.
At the end of the day, figuring out what are invasion operations in the first descendant is just the first step to unlocking some of the game’s best rewards and most fun co-op content. You don’t need to be a top tier player to get value out of these runs, even Normal difficulty clears give you enough coins to get useful upgrades that make the rest of your grind way easier. If you haven’t tried one yet, queue up for a Normal run with a few friends this week, you’ll probably be surprised at how accessible they are once you know the basic rules.