If you’ve spent dozens of hours running Void Intercepts, testing new descendant builds, and hoarding rare crafting materials, you’ve probably wondered what is the highest mastery rank in The First Descendant, and if it’s even worth grinding to reach it. Mastery rank isn’t just a vanity number on your profile — it unlocks quality of life perks, exclusive gear, and endgame content you can’t access at lower levels. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes grinding for ranks early on, like wasting resources on low-tier gear that barely moves the XP bar, so I’m breaking down everything you need to know about the cap, how to hit it fast, and what you earn along the way.
What Is the Highest Mastery Rank in The First Descendant Right Now?
As of the latest game update, the maximum mastery rank cap sits at 50. That’s a big jump from the initial launch cap of 30, so returning players who hit max rank a few months ago have 20 new tiers to work toward now. Each rank from 1 to 50 requires a set amount of mastery XP, which you earn from leveling up descendants, weapons, reactors, and external components, plus completing first-time mission clears and endgame challenges. All mastery progress is permanent on your account, so you don’t lose XP if you scrap gear or reset a descendant’s build later on.
Mastery rank is account-wide, so any progress you make on one character applies to your entire profile, even if you swap to a brand-new descendant you just unlocked. You don’t have to main a single character to climb ranks fast, which is great if you like testing out different playstyles. The XP requirements stay the same no matter what content you play, so you can grind on your own terms instead of being forced into meta missions you don’t enjoy.
Key Rewards You Unlock as You Climb Mastery Ranks
Most players don’t grind for mastery rank just for bragging rights. Every 2 to 3 ranks, you unlock exclusive perks that make the rest of your playthrough way smoother. I remember hitting rank 30 for the first time and being shocked at how much easier my daily runs got after I unlocked extra storage slots. The best rewards are locked behind the higher ranks, so it’s worth pushing past the mid-game slump if you plan to play long-term.
- Rank 10: Unlocks the ability to run 2 simultaneous Void Battles, cutting down your weekly grind time for rare crafting materials by almost half
- Rank 30: Grants 50 extra general storage slots and 20 additional descendant slots, so you don’t have to scrap rare gear you’re saving for future builds
- Rank 45: Unlocks the exclusive Mastery Supply Cache, which drops 1 legendary crafting material and 3 premium module enhancers every week for free
- Rank 50 (max): Gives you the permanent "Prime Descendant" title, 1000 premium currency, and a 10% permanent XP boost for all future character and weapon leveling
Don’t sleep on the smaller rewards you get for every rank up, either. Each tier gives you at least 10,000 credits and a handful of module enhancers, which add up to hundreds of thousands of credits worth of resources by the time you hit max rank. I’ve used these free enhancers to upgrade my endgame legendary modules without spending a single credit on crafting them, so it’s a huge help for free-to-play players especially.
Fastest Ways to Grind Mastery XP Without Wasting Resources
A lot of new players waste weeks grinding the wrong content when they’re trying to level up their mastery rank, so I’ve tested every method to find the most efficient ones that don’t burn you out. First, level every common and uncommon descendant to level 20 at minimum before you focus on upgrading legendary ones. Low-rarity descendants take way less XP to level up, and each one you get to 20 gives you almost a full rank of mastery XP up until rank 30. You don’t even have to use them in missions, just feed them excess XP boosts you get from daily rewards.
Second, don’t sleep on leveling low-tier weapons. Even a common pistol you get from a basic mission will give you 500 mastery XP when you max it out, and you can scrap it after for a partial refund of the XP materials you used. That means you can cycle through dozens of low-tier weapons a week for fast, low-effort XP. Third, run the weekly "Mastery Challenge" missions every reset. These missions give 3x mastery XP for all clears, and they only take 10 to 15 minutes each to complete with a full squad. I usually run 4 of these a week with my friends, and that alone gives me 2 full ranks of XP when I’m in the 30 to 40 rank range.
Avoid replaying the same story missions over and over for XP, they give almost no mastery XP compared to the other methods, and you’ll burn out way faster. If you’re playing casually, even 30 minutes a day of leveling low-rarity characters and weapons will get you to rank 30 in less than a month, no grind required.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Chasing Max Mastery Rank
I made almost all of these mistakes when I first started grinding for max rank, so you don’t have to. First, don’t spend all your premium XP boosters on low-rarity characters. Save the 2x and 3x XP boosters for legendary descendants and weapons, since they give way more mastery XP per level when maxed out. I wasted 3 2x boosters on common characters early on, and I regretted it when I unlocked my first legendary descendant a week later.
Second, don’t ignore your reactor and component upgrades. A lot of players only level their descendants and weapons, but maxing out a legendary reactor gives you 3x more mastery XP than maxing out a common weapon, so it’s worth prioritizing those upgrades when you have extra resources. You only need one maxed reactor per descendant, so you don’t have to grind multiple copies to get the XP benefit.
Third, don’t try to grind all the way to rank 50 in one week. The XP requirements jump by almost 40% once you hit rank 40, so it’s better to spread out your grind over 2 to 3 weeks so you don’t get bored of the game. I tried to grind 10 ranks in one weekend once, and I didn’t touch the game for 2 weeks after because I was so burnt out. Even if you only play 1 hour a day, you can hit max rank in 2 to 3 months as a casual player, so there’s no rush.
At the end of the day, knowing what is the highest mastery rank in The First Descendant is only the first step. The grind to rank 50 is long, but the rewards you get along the way make it more than worth it if you’re a fan of the game’s endgame content. You don’t have to follow every meta grind strategy to get there, either — play the content you enjoy, and you’ll hit the cap before you know it. If you’re just starting out, focus on unlocking as many descendants as you can first, and the mastery XP will pile up naturally as you test out different builds and playstyles.