If you’ve been grinding The First Descendant for endgame mod combinations that turn your favorite character into an unstoppable force, you’ve probably wondered where to get action and reaction the first descendant. These two paired mods work together to boost your elemental damage output by up to 60% when triggered correctly, making them non-negotiable for Void Intercept Battles and high-difficulty missions. I’ve spent over 40 hours testing every possible drop source for these mods, and I’m breaking down every reliable method to get them without wasting days on random drops.
Exact Drop Locations for Action and Reaction in The First Descendant
Before you start grinding, it’s important to know exactly which sources actually drop these mods, because most in-game content doesn’t have them in its loot pool. I cross-referenced my own farming results with the official community drop table database to confirm the only reliable sources for both mods:
- Extreme difficulty Void Intercept Battle: Devourer boss clear reward (12% individual drop chance per run for either mod)
- Hard difficulty Void Intercept Battle: Devourer boss clear reward (8% drop chance per run for either mod)
- Weekly Operational Supply Crate reward for completing 12 high-difficulty missions (guaranteed one 5-star mod, 18% chance it’s either Action or Reaction)
- Event-exclusive mod exchange shops during limited-time community events
Don’t waste your time running normal difficulty runs for these mods, by the way. I ran 17 normal Devourer fights early on and never saw either mod drop, and the official drop tables confirm they don’t spawn in lower difficulty variants of the fight. You’ll need a minimum gear score of 1850 to queue for Hard difficulty, and 2100 for Extreme, so make sure you upgrade your main weapon and core mods before you start farming. You also can’t get these mods from regular world drops, open world chests, or standard mission rewards, so don’t waste time grinding low-stakes content for them. If you don’t have the gear score to run Hard difficulty yet, you can work toward it by farming lower tier Void Intercept Battles for lower star mods to upgrade your existing build. The 1850 gear score threshold is easy to hit if you run 3 to 4 normal difficulty Void runs, so don’t get discouraged if you can’t jump straight into the mod farm right away.
Fastest Farming Routes to Get Action and Reaction
Most players make the mistake of running full Void Intercept Battles over and over, which can take 25 to 30 minutes per run, even with a coordinated team. I’ve found a faster method that cuts that time down to 12 minutes per run on average, as long as you have a team that knows the fight mechanics. The trick is to skip all optional side objectives in the Void Intercept Battle and head straight for the Devourer boss arena as soon as you enter the map. You won’t get extra chest rewards for clearing side objectives, but you don’t need them for Action and Reaction, since those only drop from the boss clear reward itself.
If you don’t have a consistent team to farm with, try joining public Extreme difficulty runs that specifically advertise "mod farm" in the lobby title. These lobbies are usually filled with other players who are also grinding for Action and Reaction, so everyone will be on the same page about skipping side content. Make sure you run at least 4 runs per session, because the game has a bad luck protection system that increases your drop chance for rare mods by 2% for every run you complete without getting a 5-star mod. That buff resets once you get a 5-star mod drop, so it’s worth pushing through a few dry runs in a row to take advantage of that stacking buff.
I tested this farming route for three days straight, and I got both Action and Reaction within 11 runs total. I’ve also seen players in my clan get both mods in as few as 4 runs using this method, so it’s far more efficient than doing full, slow runs with side objectives. If you’re playing a support character in your farm group, make sure you bring a resurrection skill and a team damage buff, because that will make runs go even faster. Most farm groups welcome support characters, even if their gear score is slightly below the minimum, as long as they can keep the team alive during the boss’s big attack phases. You don’t need to be the main damage dealer to get the mod drop, so don’t be afraid to join lobbies even if your build isn’t fully optimized for damage.
How to Confirm You Got the Correct Mod Versions
It’s easy to get confused when you get a 5-star mod drop, because there are multiple variants of both Action and Reaction that don’t work with the paired effect. You need the elemental damage variant of both mods, not the physical damage or skill cooldown variants, to unlock the full paired bonus. The correct Action mod will say "Triggers Reaction effect on enemy hit for 3 seconds when you deal elemental damage" in its description, and the correct Reaction mod will say "Deals 60% extra elemental damage to enemies affected by the Action effect".
If you get a variant that doesn’t match that description, you can dismantle it for mod enhancement materials, since it won’t work with the pair. I made this mistake early on: I got a physical damage Action mod on my 6th run, and I thought I was done farming, until I realized it didn’t trigger the paired bonus with the Reaction mod I got a few runs later. That’s an easy mistake to make, so always check the mod description before you call your farming session done.
You can also check the mod’s tag list: the correct variants will have the "Elemental Pair" tag under their rarity star rating, so that’s a quick way to confirm you have the right version without reading the full description every time. If you accidentally equip the wrong variant, you won’t lose any mod upgrade materials when you unequip it, so feel free to test if you’re unsure about which version you have.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Farming for Action and Reaction
There are a few common mistakes that make farming for these mods take way longer than it needs to be, and I’ve made almost all of them so you don’t have to. First, don’t waste your premium currency on random mod crates from the in-game shop. I bought 7 crates early on when I was impatient, and none of them had either mod, and the drop rate for these specific mods in premium crates is less than 2%, so it’s a huge waste of money.
Also, don’t leave the boss fight early even if your team is wiping, because you still have a chance to get the mod drop as long as the boss is defeated before the mission timer runs out. I left a run halfway through once when half my team disconnected, and the remaining two players ended up beating the boss, and I missed out on a Reaction mod drop because I left too early. You get the reward as long as you’re in the mission when the boss dies, even if you’re downed, so stay in the game until the end no matter what.
Another mistake is farming alone. You can beat the Devourer on Hard difficulty solo if you have a high enough gear score, but it takes 3 to 4 times longer than running with a team, and your drop chance is the same whether you run solo or with a group. It’s always worth waiting an extra minute or two to find a full team, because you’ll get way more runs in per hour. You also don’t want to forget to claim your weekly supply crate, because it’s one of the highest chance sources for these mods, and many players miss it because they don’t track their weekly mission progress.
At the end of the day, figuring out where to get action and reaction the first descendant doesn’t have to be a confusing, week-long grind. Stick to the Extreme or Hard difficulty Devourer runs, use the fast farming route that skips side objectives, and watch for the correct elemental variants of the mods, and you’ll have both mods in your collection before you know it. Once you equip them on your main elemental damage character, you’ll notice a huge jump in your damage output that makes even the hardest endgame content feel manageable.