If you’ve spent any time digging through your character stat sheet in The First Descendant, you’ve probably stumbled across a line labeled sub attack power and wondered what it actually does. Most new players write off this stat as irrelevant filler, especially when you’re already focused on boosting your main weapon damage or skill cooldown rates. But ignoring this stat can leave a huge chunk of your potential damage on the table, especially if you run proc-focused or summon builds. We’re breaking down exactly what is sub attack power in the first descendant, how it interacts with your existing build, and whether it’s worth investing in for your main playstyle.
Core Definition: What is Sub Attack Power in The First Descendant?
To put it simply, sub attack power is a separate damage stat that applies to all secondary damage sources you generate, rather than direct hits from your main weapon or primary skill casts. The game never explicitly explains the difference between main and sub attack power, so it’s easy to assume they work the same way. I made that mistake for my first 20 hours of play, dumping all my stat boosts into main attack power for my Viessa proc build, and couldn’t figure out why my ice shard procs were ticking for barely 200 damage each.
Once I swapped 3 of my module slots to sub attack power rolls, those same ticks jumped to 700 damage each, cutting my mission clear times by almost 30%. Sub attack power acts as a separate damage multiplier for all non-primary hit sources, and it doesn’t stack with main attack power at all. That means you can have 2000 main attack power and still do almost no damage with your mod procs if your sub attack power is only 100.
Which Damage Sources Benefit From Sub Attack Power?
It can be tricky to figure out which of your attacks count for sub attack power boosts at first, but there’s a simple rule of thumb: if the damage doesn’t come directly from your weapon’s bullet or your skill’s initial cast, it almost certainly counts as a sub attack. Common eligible sources include:
- Weapon mod triggered effects, including elemental procs, area of effect splash from single-hit rounds, and on-kill damage bursts
- Companion and summon damage, from both inherent descendant summons and mod-spawned allied units
- Secondary skill effects, such as burn over time from Blaze's fireball, shield bash splash from Ajax, and shrapnel from Freyna's explosive traps
- Interactive map damage sources you activate, including mounted turrets, explosive barrels you mod to deal extra damage, and environmental trap triggers
So for example, if you run a build centered around Blaze’s burn damage over time effects, 90% of your total damage will come from sources boosted by sub attack power. You don't need to invest in sub attack power if your build relies entirely on direct main skill or weapon hits, though. If you main Gley and only use her charged sniper shots to one-shot elite enemies, you won’t see any benefit from boosting this stat at all.
How to Calculate Sub Attack Power Damage Output
The math behind sub attack power is surprisingly straightforward, even if the game never shares the formula with players. Every 100 points of sub attack power adds a 10% damage boost to all eligible sources, and these boosts stack additively with other sub damage bonuses from mods or descendant passives. That means if you have 500 sub attack power and a mod that adds 20% extra sub damage, your total multiplier for eligible sources is 70%.
To put that in perspective, if your fire burn proc has a base damage of 1000, that same proc will hit for 1700 before enemy resistances are applied. A common mistake I see a lot of newer players make is stacking main attack power for proc builds, assuming it will boost their mod effects. That’s a total waste of stat space, since main attack power only applies to direct hits from your equipped weapon or primary skill casts. Sub attack power also doesn’t ignore enemy resistances, so you still need to match elemental types to enemy weaknesses for maximum damage output.
Actionable Tips to Boost Sub Attack Power For Your Build
If you’ve decided sub attack power is a good fit for your build, there are a few easy ways to boost it without sacrificing other key stats. Prioritize sub attack power lines on accessory and module gear pieces, first and foremost. These slots don’t usually roll weapon-specific or skill-specific stat boosts, so you don’t have to give up things like magazine size or skill cooldown to get extra sub attack power. Legendary accessories can roll up to 220 sub attack power per piece, so you can get almost 700 extra points just from your three accessory slots alone.
Next, look for descendant passives and perks that add global sub attack power boosts. Viessa’s level 30 passive, for example, adds 15% extra sub attack power whenever you have three or more frost effects active on enemies, which is basically always if you’re running a standard frost proc build. You can also pick up mod sets that add 10% sub attack power when you have 4 pieces of the same set equipped, which is an easy, low-investment boost.
Never waste main weapon or armor stat rolls on sub attack power, though. Main weapon rolls are better used for things like critical hit chance, elemental damage, or reload speed, while armor rolls should focus on defense, max health, or shield capacity. I’ve seen players drop 30,000 gold rerolling a legendary sniper rifle to get a sub attack power roll, and it did literally nothing for their build, since none of the sniper’s damage came from eligible secondary sources.
At the end of the day, understanding what is sub attack power in The First Descendant can be the difference between struggling to clear tier 4 void intercept missions and blowing through them in half the time. Take five minutes after your next run to pull up your stat sheet and count how many of your regular damage sources qualify for sub attack power boosts. If you rely heavily on mods, summons, or damage over time effects, swapping a few gear pieces to add extra sub attack power will give you a far bigger damage boost than dumping more points into main attack power ever could. You don’t have to rebuild your entire loadout overnight, but even small adjustments to prioritize this underrated stat will make a noticeable difference in your overall performance.