If you just downloaded The First Descendant and are staring at the bright, busy main menu with no clue where to start, you’re not alone. This third-person looter shooter has a ton of overlapping systems, from character unlocks to mod crafting, that can feel overwhelming for first-time users. This guide breaks down exactly what to do in The First Descendant during your first 10 hours of play to set yourself up for long-term success, no unnecessary grind required. I’ve put 70+ hours into the game since its full launch, so I’ve made all the silly mistakes you can easily skip with these tips.
What to Do in The First Descendant First: Nail the Core Tutorial Without Skipping
A lot of new players rush through the tutorial to get to the action as fast as possible, but you’ll miss critical basic mechanics that you can’t learn anywhere else if you skip sections. The tutorial teaches you how to use the grappling hook, which is non-negotiable for fast movement and dodging boss attacks, how to activate Void Bonds for team-wide buffs, and how to dismantle junk loot right away to save inventory space. This is the most important step when figuring out what to do in The First Descendant as a new player, because the small quality of life rewards you get here pay off for your entire playthrough.
Never skip the optional tutorial side quests that pop up in your first hour – they give you free permanent inventory slots and a rare mod that cuts gear upgrade costs by 15% for your first 20 levels. So many players I’ve run co-op with missed these, and ended up grinding for extra storage space 10 hours in, which is a total waste of time. Also, take 2 minutes to adjust your control settings right after the tutorial: turn off aim acceleration if you’re on controller, and map the grappling hook to a shoulder button so you don’t fumble it during tight fights.
Prioritize Unlocking These 3 Low-Effort Characters First
Character unlocks are one of the biggest draws of The First Descendant, but you don’t need to grind for the hyped S-tier endgame characters first. The three starter-adjacent characters are more than enough to carry you through all early and mid-game content, and they’re way easier to unlock than the rare endgame options. You don’t have to spend 10 hours running the same mission over and over to get a character you can’t even fully upgrade until you hit level 30 anyway.
- Gley: She’s a fire-based damage dealer that only requires 10 common Void Shards and a completion of the first story boss to unlock. Her area-of-effect burn attacks clear hordes of trash mobs in seconds, which makes farming loot 2x faster than using the default starter character.
- Ajax: This tank character is free if you complete the first three co-op Void missions. He can absorb up to 80% of incoming damage for your whole team, so you’ll never get kicked from public lobbies if you have him leveled up, even if your gear is slightly underleveled.
- Viessa: Her ice crowd control abilities make even the hardest early story bosses trivial. You can unlock her by trading 50 unused common mods to the quartermaster in the main hub, which most players have lying around after their first 3 hours of play.
Optimize Your Loot Grind to Avoid Wasting Hours on Useless Gear
Loot is the core loop of The First Descendant, but 90% of the gear you pick up in your first 10 hours is not worth keeping. I used to run every Void mission I could find for the first 10 hours of my playthrough, and I ended up with a bunch of useless sniper loot I couldn’t use on my main shotgun build, so trust me on this one. Set a rule to dismantle every piece of gear that is 5 levels lower than your current level, or doesn’t have at least two mod slots matching your main character’s element. This will save you tons of inventory space, and you’ll get more crafting materials from dismantling than you would from selling gear for credits.
Also, only run Void missions that drop gear for your main character’s weapon type. If you main a shotgun user, don’t waste 20 minutes on a Void mission that only drops sniper rifle loot, no matter how good the credit reward seems. Another tip: Join public co-op lobbies for farming runs, even if you prefer playing solo. Loot is instanced, so you don’t have to fight other players for drops, and you’ll clear missions 3x faster with a full team. Make sure to open every hidden loot chest in mission maps – they have a 20% higher chance of dropping rare mods than regular enemy drops, and most players run past them to finish missions faster.
Don’t Ignore the Main Story Until You Hit Level 20
A lot of new players jump straight into co-op farming runs as soon as they unlock them, but the main story gives you some of the best early-game rewards you can get. For every story chapter you complete, you get free skill points for your main character, permanent stat boosts for all your characters, and access to higher difficulty mission tiers that drop better loot. You’ll hit level 20 way faster playing through the story than you will grinding low-tier co-op missions over and over.
You can’t unlock endgame Void Raids until you finish the first 6 story chapters, so pushing through the story early will save you from being locked out of the best content later. If you’re struggling with a story boss, switch to Ajax for extra tankiness, or ask a friend to join your session – story missions support 2-player co-op with no penalty to rewards. You don’t have to 100% every side quest that pops up while you’re playing through the story, but if a side quest gives you mod upgrade materials as a reward, it’s worth taking 5 minutes to complete it. Mod upgrade materials are always in short supply early on, and you’ll need them to power up your gear for harder content later.
At the end of the day, the best way to enjoy The First Descendant is to take it slow and don’t rush to endgame content before you’re ready. Now that you know what to do in The First Descendant during your first few hours, you can skip all the frustrating mistakes most new players make and focus on the parts of the game you enjoy most. If you hit a wall at any point, don’t be afraid to switch up your character build or join a public lobby for help – the community is way more welcoming than most other looter shooter communities I’ve been part of. Don’t forget to experiment with different weapons and abilities too, you might find a playstyle you love that you never would have tried if you just followed generic meta guides.