If you’ve spent any amount of time grinding missions in Nexon’s looter shooter, you’ve almost certainly asked yourself what are the best descendants in The First Descendant to fit your playstyle. Unlike many other games in the genre, character choice doesn’t just change your cosmetic look—it dictates your entire role in a squad, how you handle swarms of mobs, and even how fast you can farm rare endgame loot. I’ve put over 120 hours into the game across solo, 2-person, and full 4-person co-op runs, so I’ve tested every descendant in every possible scenario to break down which are worth investing your hard-earned resources into.
What Are the Best Descendants in The First Descendant for All Playstyles?
We can split the best descendants into tiers based on their performance across all game modes, not just one niche. S-tier picks are viable for every mission type, require almost no team support to pull their weight, and scale incredibly well even when you hit max level endgame content. A-tier picks work great in specific setups, but have small flaws that keep them from being universal, while lower-tier picks are only really fun for casual play with friends.
- Viessa: The undisputed top pick for crowd control and area damage. Her ice skills freeze entire waves of mobs solid, and her ultimate deals percentage-based damage that shreds even the tankiest boss health bars. She’s just as good solo as she is in a full squad, since she can both protect herself and set up easy kills for teammates.
- Bunny: The fastest descendant in the game, perfect for players who love high-mobility play. Her chain lightning attacks bounce between 12+ enemies at once, and her passive speed boost lets you outrun almost every attack in the game. She’s the best choice for speed farming low-to-mid tier missions to collect upgrade materials.
- Sharen: The ideal single-target damage dealer for boss fights. Her sniper skills deal critical damage that multiplies when you hit weak points, and her ultimate lets you ignore enemy armor for 12 full seconds. If you run a lot of endgame void intercept missions, Sharen will cut your clear time in half.
If you’re wondering why we didn’t include more popular picks like Lepic or Freeze on the S-tier list, it’s simple: they have too many hard counters. Lepic’s fire damage is completely negated by half the endgame boss types, and Freeze’s kit is just a worse version of Viessa’s, with smaller crowd control range and lower percentage damage on her ultimate. You can still have fun with them for casual play, but don’t waste your rare upgrade modules on them if you want to tackle the hardest content.
Best Descendants for Solo Play
Solo play demands a very specific set of skills from your descendant, since you don’t have teammates to cover your weaknesses or revive you if you get caught out. You need a character that can deal damage, tank hits, and heal themselves all at once, without relying on other players to set up combos. The wrong pick here can make even low-level missions feel like a slog, so it’s important to pick something that fits the self-sufficient playstyle.
The clear top pick for solo play is Viessa, as we mentioned earlier. Her ice shield blocks 80% of incoming damage, and her passive heal triggers every time she freezes an enemy, so you almost never have to stop to use health potions. I’ve cleared every single solo void intercept mission on the highest difficulty with Viessa, even with underleveled gear, because her kit is so forgiving for new players. You don’t have to have perfect aim or perfect game sense to make her work.
If you don’t like playing crowd control characters, Bunny is a great second option for solo play. Her high speed lets you dip out of dangerous situations before you take too much damage, and her chain lightning lets you clear whole waves of mobs without even aiming. One thing to note if you pick Bunny for solo play: you’ll need to get used to kiting enemies, since she can’t take as many hits as Viessa. I recommend binding her dash skill to a mouse side button if you play on PC, so you can dodge attacks quickly without taking your fingers off your movement keys.
Best Descendants for 4-Person Co-op Missions
When you’re running full 4-person co-op squads, you can pick more niche descendants that fill specific roles, since you don’t have to cover every base yourself. The best co-op teams have one of each core role: tank, support, crowd control, and single-target DPS, so you can handle any boss or mob wave the game throws at you. Picking a niche character here lets you lean into your favorite playstyle without worrying about covering gaps in your kit.
Ajax is the best tank for co-op, no contest. His shield can cover all four squad members at once, and his taunt skill draws all enemy aggro away from your damage dealers. He’s not great solo, but in a full squad he’s almost impossible to kill, and he makes every mission way smoother for the rest of your team. I’ve run dozens of co-op runs with and without an Ajax, and the runs with an Ajax are consistently 20-25% faster, with almost no team wipes.
For support, Blair is the best pick right now. Her team-wide heal and attack boost buffs stack with other damage bonuses, and her ultimate revives all downed teammates at once, which is a lifesaver during tough boss fights. You won’t see many top-tier co-op squads running without a Blair on the roster, since her buffs cut clear times by almost 30% in most endgame missions. If your squad already has a crowd control character like Viessa, you can swap in Sharen for extra single-target damage during boss fights, which will speed up your runs even more. Just make sure your tank is keeping aggro off Sharen, since she has very low base defense and can get one-shot by most boss attacks.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Picking Your Descendant
A lot of new players pick their descendant based solely on looks, or copy a tier list without thinking about their own playstyle, and that’s a surefire way to end up frustrated with the game. You don’t have to play the “meta” pick if it doesn’t feel fun for you, but there are a few common mistakes you should avoid to save yourself time and wasted resources. I’ve made almost all of these mistakes myself in my first 50 hours of play, so I know how frustrating it is to have to re-grind materials because you picked the wrong character to upgrade.
The biggest mistake I see new players make is investing all their upgrade materials into a niche descendant before they unlock the S-tier options. A lot of the starting descendants are fun to play at low levels, but they don’t scale well into endgame, so you’ll end up having to re-grind all your upgrade materials again once you hit level 30. I made this mistake myself when I first started, I poured 2 weeks of grinding into Lepic, only to realize he can’t even scratch endgame bosses without a full team supporting him.
Another mistake is ignoring synergy between your descendant and your weapon loadout. For example, Sharen’s kit is built entirely around critical hit damage, so you should always pair her with high-critical chance sniper rifles, not shotguns or SMGs. Always match your weapon upgrades to your descendant’s passive skills, otherwise you’re leaving 30-40% of your potential damage on the table. A lot of players only upgrade their active skills, but passives give you huge permanent buffs that can make a mediocre character feel incredibly strong. For example, Viessa’s passive that heals you for 5% of your max health every time you freeze an enemy is fully upgradable, and at max level it heals you for 15% per frozen enemy, which means you almost never need to use health potions at all.
At the end of the day, the right character for you will depend on what you enjoy doing most in the game, but this guide gives you a clear starting point to figure out what are the best descendants in The First Descendant for your needs. Don’t be afraid to test out different characters for a few missions before you commit to upgrading one, even if they’re not at the top of the tier list. The meta shifts every few updates as the devs adjust character balance, but the picks we’ve covered here have been consistent top performers for months, and they’re worth investing in no matter what changes come down the line.