If you’ve ever grinded a Void Intercept Battle in The First Descendant and wondered why your exact same weapon deals way less damage than a teammate’s, even with identical mod rolls, chances are the difference comes down to weapon proficiency. If you’re asking what does weapon proficiency do in The First Descendant, you’re not alone. Most new players skip over this mechanic entirely when they first start, since it’s barely mentioned in the in-game introductory tutorials. I missed it for the first 10 hours of play, and once I started prioritizing it, my boss clear times dropped by almost 30%. That’s how big of an impact it has on your overall performance, even if you don’t invest in perfect mod rolls or premium cosmetics.
What Does Weapon Proficiency Do in The First Descendant: Core Benefits
At its core, weapon proficiency is a progression system tied to every individual weapon you equip, with levels ranging from 1 to 10. Each level you unlock adds permanent, non-removable bonuses to that specific weapon, with bigger payouts at higher levels. The most obvious benefit is flat base damage increases, which cap out at 20% extra total damage when you hit max level. That might not sound like much on paper, but when you’re dealing millions of damage per hit in endgame content, that extra 20% can be the difference between barely beating a boss enrage timer and finishing the run with two minutes to spare.
You’ll also unlock recoil and handling improvements as you level up proficiency, which make a huge difference for high-fire-rate weapons like auto rifles and shotguns. At max level, most weapons get 15% faster aim down sights speed, 20% reduced recoil, and 10% faster reload speeds. I noticed this most with my go-to sniper, the Widowmaker: once I hit max proficiency, I could land follow-up shots on moving boss weak points almost twice as fast as I could before, which made carrying random team runs way easier. The biggest hidden benefit, though, is extra mod slots. Most weapons unlock a fourth general mod slot at level 5, and a fifth exclusive mod slot at level 10 that only works with weapon-specific unique mods. That alone is worth grinding for, since extra mod slots let you stack damage bonuses or utility effects you couldn’t fit otherwise.
How to Level Up Weapon Proficiency Fast
Weapon proficiency XP is earned every time you get a kill with the weapon equipped, even if you swap to another weapon mid-fight as long as it stays in your active loadout. XP gains scale with the difficulty of the mission and the rarity of the enemy you kill, so not all grind methods are created equal. If you want to max out a weapon’s proficiency in a couple of hours instead of a couple of days, follow these simple tips:
- Run Void Chasm missions on difficulty 3 or higher with the weapon you want to level in your active loadout at all times. Even if you only use it for a few kills, you’ll get full XP for every enemy your team takes down during the run.
- Stack proficiency XP boost consumables before you start your grind session: these stack with event boosts and premium pass bonuses for up to 100% extra XP per kill, cutting your grind time in half.
- Prioritize killing elite enemies and bosses, as they give 10x more weapon proficiency XP than standard mobs, even if they take a little longer to take down. Avoid farming low-difficulty open world mobs, as their XP payout is barely worth the time.
A common mistake new players make is swapping between 4 or 5 different weapons every mission, which means none of them get to a high proficiency level fast. I recommend sticking to one primary and one secondary weapon per character build until you hit max proficiency for both, before you start experimenting with other options. It’s also worth noting that weapon proficiency is tied to the specific weapon, not the weapon type. So if you max out proficiency for a common grade AR, that doesn’t carry over to a legendary grade AR of the same model, you’ll have to grind it from scratch.
How Weapon Proficiency Interacts With Character Builds
A lot of players assume that weapon proficiency only affects the weapon itself, but it actually pairs with many character passives and mod effects to give even bigger bonuses. For example, if you’re playing as Freyna, her passive gives extra damage for every level of proficiency you have on your equipped weapon, up to an extra 15% damage at max proficiency. That stacks with the base 20% from proficiency, so you’re looking at a 35% total damage boost before you even add mods to your build.
Elemental damage builds get even more value out of high proficiency, since the percentage damage boost applies to both base physical damage and any elemental damage you have stacked on the weapon. If you’re running a cryo build for crowd control, higher proficiency also increases the chance your shots apply the freeze status effect by up to 10% at max level, which is a huge help for team runs where you’re responsible for keeping mobs off your damage dealers. But there is a catch: if you’re using a weapon that’s 10 or more levels below your current character level, the proficiency bonuses are reduced by 50% until you upgrade the weapon’s level to match your character. That’s why it’s not worth grinding proficiency for low-level weapons you’re going to replace in a few hours, wait until you get a legendary or unique weapon you plan to use long term before you invest time into leveling its proficiency.
Common Weapon Proficiency Mistakes to Avoid
I’ve seen a lot of players waste hours grinding proficiency the wrong way, so I want to call out the most common mistakes so you don’t have to make them yourself. First, don’t forget to keep your weapon in your active loadout even if you’re not using it. If you stow it in your inventory mid-mission, it won’t get any XP from kills, even if you used it for the first half of the run. Don’t waste boost consumables on low rarity weapons you’re going to discard in a day or two. Save those boosts for the endgame legendary or unique weapons that you’re going to use for months of content runs.
Another mistake is ignoring proficiency for support weapons. A lot of players only grind proficiency for their main damage weapon, but support weapons like heal turrets or shield generators also get huge bonuses from high proficiency, like increased healing output, longer shield duration, and faster cooldown times. If you’re playing a support role in team runs, maxing out your support weapon’s proficiency will make you way more valuable to your team than stacking extra defense mods on your character. It’s also a mistake to assume that max proficiency is the end of the line. Once you hit level 10, you can earn extra mastery points for that weapon that give small, permanent account-wide bonuses, like a 1% increase to all weapon damage for that weapon type. Those bonuses are tiny on their own, but if you max out proficiency for every weapon type, you can get up to a 10% permanent account-wide damage boost, which is nothing to sneeze at for the hardest endgame content.
At the end of the day, taking the time to understand what does weapon proficiency do in The First Descendant is one of the easiest ways to boost your performance without having to grind for rare mods or perfect gear rolls. Even if you only have a few hours a week to play, prioritizing proficiency for your main weapons will make every mission feel smoother, and you’ll be able to hold your own in endgame team runs even if your gear isn’t fully optimized. I recommend spending one 30 minute session a week grinding proficiency for whatever weapon you’re currently using, and you’ll notice the difference almost immediately. If you have any other tricks for leveling proficiency fast, feel free to drop them in the comments below.