If you’ve spent hours grinding Void Chasers and boss runs in The First Descendant, you’ve probably wondered how far you can push your favorite shotgun or sniper to melt high-tier enemies faster. A super common question new and returning players ask is what is max weapon level in the first descendant, and whether hitting that cap is worth the time investment when you could be unlocking new Descendants or farming rare mods instead. I’ve put over 120 hours into the game across three accounts, so I’ve tested every part of the weapon upgrade system, from early-game common drops to endgame transcended gear, to break down exactly how the level cap works, what you get for hitting it, and how to speed up the process without wasting resources.
What is the Exact Max Weapon Level in The First Descendant?
Right now, the base max weapon level for all non-transcended gear in The First Descendant is 100. This applies to every weapon rarity, from common white drops all the way up to legendary orange weapons you get from endgame Void Intercept Battles. If you’re only playing through the main story and casual side content, hitting level 100 on your main weapons is more than enough to clear every PvE mission without struggling.
But that’s not the actual hard cap for endgame players. Once you transcend a weapon (unlocked once you reach account level 50 and clear the final story mission), you can push its level even higher, up to a hard cap of 150. Transcending a weapon requires duplicate copies of the same weapon or universal transcendence materials, so it’s a pretty big resource investment, but the stat boosts you get are worth it for endgame content like the 8-player Void Rift raids.
A lot of new players make the mistake of wasting transcendence materials on low-rarity weapons, so I’d only recommend doing this for legendary or unique event weapons you plan to use long-term. It's worth noting that the level cap might get raised in future content updates, but as of the latest balance patch, 150 is the absolute highest you can get any weapon.
Perks of Hitting the Max Weapon Level Cap
Hitting max level on a weapon doesn’t just give you a small damage bump, it unlocks a ton of hidden perks that make even average weapons feel overpowered if you build them right. I noticed a huge difference in my clear speed for Void Intercept runs once I hit level 150 on my legendary plasma rifle, even before I added top-tier mods to it. The biggest benefits you’ll get include:
- 30% base damage boost compared to a level 1 version of the same weapon, plus scaling stat increases for critical hit chance, reload speed, and ammo capacity depending on the weapon type.
- Access to the final mod slot, which lets you equip an exclusive max-level mod that can’t be used on lower-level weapons. These mods usually give game-changing perks like 100% critical hit chance against weak points or infinite ammo for 5 seconds after a reload.
- Account-wide progress tracking for the weapon mastery system, which gives you permanent stat boosts for all Descendants every time you max out 10 weapons of the same type.
That last perk is the most underrated one, in my opinion. I’ve maxed out 12 assault rifles so far, and the permanent 10% assault rifle damage boost I got applies to every new AR I pick up, even if it’s only level 1. If you’re a long-term player, working your way through maxing different weapon types is one of the best ways to make your entire account stronger over time.
Fastest Ways to Level Up Weapons to Max Level
If you’re trying to grind a new weapon up to max level as fast as possible, you don’t have to spend 20 hours running the same low-level mission over and over. I’ve tested all the popular leveling methods, and these are the ones that cut my grind time by almost 70% compared to playing through regular missions.
First, always equip the weapon you want to level as your primary, even if it’s too weak to use for high-tier content. You get 100% of the experience for kills with any weapon as long as it’s equipped, so you can swap to your max level secondary to kill enemies and still get full exp for the low-level primary you’re grinding. You don’t have to land a single hit with the weapon you’re leveling to get all the experience for it, which is a huge hack most new players don’t know about.
Second, run the Supply Run: Void Edge mission on hard difficulty. This mission has endless waves of low-health enemies that spawn every 10 seconds, and you can clear 10 waves in under 10 minutes for over 20,000 weapon experience per run. I leveled a new sniper from level 1 to 100 in less than 2 hours using this method, even with no exp boost items active. Third, use weapon experience boosts whenever you’re planning a long grinding session. You can get these boosts from daily login rewards, event shops, and the premium battle pass, and they stack with the account-wide exp boost you get for being in a party with other players. Just don’t waste boosts on weapons you don’t plan to keep or transcend, because you won’t get the boost materials back if you scrap the weapon later.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Leveling Weapons
I’ve made almost every weapon leveling mistake possible when I first started playing, so I can save you a lot of wasted resources and time with a few quick tips. First, don’t upgrade every weapon you pick up. A lot of new players dump upgrade materials into every common or rare weapon they get early on, but you’ll get way better weapons as you progress through the story, so those materials will go to waste. Only invest in weapons you know you’ll use for at least 10 to 20 hours of content, preferably legendary or unique variants.
Second, don’t transcend a weapon before you hit level 100 on it first. You get way bigger stat boosts from transcending a max level base weapon than you do from transcending a low-level one, and you’ll have to spend fewer materials to push it to the 150 hard cap if you level it first. I made this mistake with my first legendary shotgun, and I wasted almost 500 transcendence shards that I could have used on a different weapon instead.
Third, don’t ignore mod synergy when you’re leveling a weapon. Even a level 150 weapon will perform worse than a level 80 one if you have random mismatched mods equipped. Take 2 minutes to set up a mod build that matches the weapon’s strengths, like increasing critical hit damage for a sniper or area of effect size for a rocket launcher, and you’ll have a way easier time clearing content while you grind. I used to skip mod setup until I hit max level, but I found that I finished leveling weapons 30% faster when I had a decent basic mod build on them from the start.
At the end of the day, whether you choose to grind all the way to the 150 hard cap or stop at the 100 base cap depends entirely on what kind of content you want to play. Casual players who only run story missions and casual side content will be totally fine with level 100 weapons, while players who want to tackle the hardest endgame raids and compete on leaderboards will need to hit the max weapon level in The First Descendant to keep up. Take it slow, don’t waste materials on weapons you don’t love, and you’ll have a loadout of max level weapons that fit your playstyle in no time. If you have other questions about the weapon upgrade system, drop them in the comments below and I’ll help you out.