If you’ve spent any time running Void Intercept Battles or grinding for new descendants in Nexon’s looter shooter, you’ve probably spotted players followed by a fluffy four-legged companion and wondered what does the dog do in The First Descendant. This loyal pup isn’t just a cosmetic pet for bragging rights – it packs a surprising amount of utility that can turn tough boss fights from frustrating to straightforward, especially if you’re running solo or with a small team. I’ve been using this companion for three months straight on my endgame runs, so I’m breaking down every perk, unlock requirement, and mistake to avoid when using it.
What Does the Dog Do in The First Descendant? Core Combat and Utility Roles
Unlike most cosmetic pets in the game, the dog has two distinct function sets that adjust based on your current activity. It doesn’t take up a descendant skill slot, and it can’t be killed by enemy attacks, so you don’t have to waste resources keeping it alive during fights. Its core functions fall into four key categories:
- Combat support fire: The dog carries a small mounted energy rifle that deals non-elemental damage to the closest enemy within 15 meters. It prioritizes targets you’re already attacking, so it’s great for finishing off low-health mobs that try to run away mid-fight.
- Resource collection: It automatically picks up all loot, crafting materials, and currency within a 20 meter radius, so you don’t have to stop mid-boss fight to grab that rare mod drop before it despawns.
- Weak point marking: For boss fights and high-health elite enemies, the dog will highlight weak points for 3 seconds every 10 seconds, giving you and your team a 15% damage boost to those spots for the full duration of the mark.
- Revive assistance: If you or a teammate goes down within 10 meters of the dog, it will cut revive time by 30%, which can be a literal lifesaver during tough Void Battle phases where enemies are spamming AoE attacks.
The damage it deals isn’t going to outpace even a low-level descendant’s basic attack, so don’t go into runs expecting it to carry your damage output. Its real value is the quality of life perks that let you focus on big plays instead of small, tedious tasks like picking up loot or searching for boss weak points. I’ve had runs where the revive assistance cut was the only reason my team didn’t wipe on the final phase of the Hard mode Viper fight, so don’t sleep on that perk.
How to Unlock the Dog Companion in The First Descendant
A lot of players assume the dog is a paid microtransaction item, but that’s not the case at all. You can unlock it entirely for free by completing a short side quest called “A Loyal Partner” that unlocks once you reach Account Level 20 and complete the first three Void Intercept Battle missions on Normal difficulty. The quest requires you to collect 10 Pet Snack Crafting Materials from elite enemies in the Resource Collection Zone, then turn them in to the NPC Blake in the main hub.
You can also get the dog from the premium battle pass track if you don’t want to grind for the materials, but I’d recommend doing the free quest first, since it only takes around 45 minutes to complete if you’re running the Resource Collection Zone with a full team. One common mistake players make is selling the Pet Snack Materials when they first pick them up, not knowing they’re for the dog unlock. If you’ve already sold yours, you can buy 10 of them from the hub shop for 5,000 credits each, which is a pretty low cost for the utility you get in return. Once you unlock it, you can equip the dog from the companion tab in your character menu, and it will spawn with you at the start of every run unless you swap it out for another companion.
Best Build Adjustments to Pair With the Dog Companion
If you’re still unsure what does the dog do in The First Descendant to make your runs easier, these build adjustments will make its value immediately obvious. Even though the dog doesn’t require any mods or upgrades of its own, you can adjust your descendant build to get even more value out of its perks. For example, if you’re playing a damage-focused descendant like Bunny or Viper, you can drop any loot collection or weak point detection mods from your build to make room for more damage or survivability perks, since the dog already handles those functions for you.
If you’re playing a support descendant like Gley, the dog’s revive speed boost stacks with your support revive perks, so you can get revive times down to less than a second for teammates in close range. That makes a huge difference in Hard mode runs where every second you spend reviving is a second you’re not healing the team or avoiding boss attacks. Don’t make the mistake of bringing mods that overlap with the dog’s perks, though – they don’t stack, so you’re just wasting mod slots that could be used for better effects. I run a full damage build on my Viper now that I have the dog, and my clear time for Normal Void Battles dropped by almost 2 minutes per run just from not having to stop to pick up loot or hunt for weak points.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using the Dog Companion
Even with all its perks, there are a few small drawbacks to using the dog that most players don’t find out about until they’ve used it for a few runs. First, it doesn’t pick up quest-specific items, so you still have to grab those yourself during story missions or side quests. It also only marks weak points for enemies that are at least level 10, so it won’t help you with low-level mobs during early game grinding. If you’re running low-level content to level up a new descendant, you might get more value out of a damage-focused companion for those runs.
Another common mistake is assuming it will follow you through all map areas – it can’t go into indoor tight spaces like the underground research facility sections of the Resource Collection Zone, so you’ll lose access to its perks until you come back out into an open area. If you’re running a mission that’s mostly indoors, you might want to swap to a different companion temporarily, since the dog won’t be able to help you for most of the run. Oh, and don’t worry if it disappears for a few seconds during big boss fights – it will teleport back to your side once the boss finishes its big AoE attack, so you don’t have to go looking for it. You also don’t have to feed it or repair its gear, so there’s no ongoing maintenance cost to keep it active.
At the end of the day, if you’re still wondering what does the dog do in The First Descendant, the short answer is it’s one of the best free quality of life upgrades you can get for both casual and endgame runs. It doesn’t make the game too easy, but it cuts out a lot of the tedious parts of grinding so you can focus on the fun parts: testing new builds, beating tough bosses, and collecting rare loot. If you haven’t unlocked it yet, I’d recommend putting the side quest at the top of your to-do list the next time you log on – you won’t regret it.