If you’ve been grinding through The First Descendant’s chaotic co-op missions and boss fights, you’ve probably seen clips of Hellion’s devastating fire-based abilities tearing through waves of enemies and melting high-health bosses in seconds. A lot of new players reach out to me asking where to get Hellion in The First Descendant, because unlike starter characters, this flame-wielding powerhouse requires a bit of targeted farming and specific steps to unlock. I’ve unlocked Hellion on three different accounts across both PC and console, so I’ve tested every possible farming route to cut down the grind as much as possible. This guide will walk you through every step, from the exact location you need to visit to the rare materials you’ll need to collect before you can add Hellion to your roster.
Where to Get Hellion in The First Descendant: Exact Boss Location
Hellion’s unlock blueprint only drops from the final boss of one specific mission, so you don’t have to waste time running random content hoping for a drop. First, you’ll need to reach player rank 25 to unlock the Volcanic Caldera region’s hard difficulty missions, which are the only place you can get the blueprint. The specific mission you need to run is called “Caldera Core Breach”, a 4-player co-op mission that ends with a fight against the Fire Devourer world boss.
You can queue for this mission solo if you want, but it’s designed for a full team, so you’ll spend far less time clearing runs if you group up with other players. Only the Hard difficulty version of this mission drops the Hellion blueprint, so double check your difficulty setting before you queue. The base drop rate for the blueprint is around 12% per successful clear, so most players get it between 6 and 12 runs. I got mine on my 7th run, but some players I know got it on their first try, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t see it right away.
You don’t have to deal a certain amount of damage to the boss to be eligible for the drop, as long as you stay in the mission until the final chest spawns. Even if you get knocked out and have to be revived, you’ll still qualify for the drop as long as you’re in the mission when the boss dies.
Required Materials to Craft Hellion After Unlocking the Blueprint
Getting the blueprint is only half the battle. You’ll need to collect a set of rare materials to craft Hellion before you can play as her. The good news is you can collect almost all of these materials while you’re farming for the blueprint, so you won’t have to do extra runs after you get the drop. Here’s the full list of required items:
- 300 Fire Core Shards: Dropped by regular fire-type enemies in all Volcanic Caldera missions, not just the Caldera Core Breach run
- 15 Molten Alloy: Rare drop from mid-bosses in Hard difficulty Caldera missions, with an average drop rate of 2 per run
- 5 Boss Core Fragments (Fire Devourer): Guaranteed drop per Fire Devourer kill, so you’ll collect these automatically as you farm for the blueprint
- 120,000 Gold: Standard crafting cost for all S-tier characters in The First Descendant, which you’ll earn from mission rewards as you farm
A common mistake I see players make is waiting to track these materials until after they get the Hellion blueprint. If you check your material counts every few runs, you’ll probably hit the required numbers right around the time you get the blueprint, so you can craft Hellion immediately. I also recommend using a resource booster if you have one, as it doubles the amount of Fire Core Shards and Molten Alloy you get per run, cutting your required farming time almost in half.
Tips to Boost Your Hellion Blueprint Drop Rate
While the base drop rate is fixed at 12%, there are a few easy things you can do to increase your chances of getting the blueprint faster, and avoid wasting time on runs that don’t count. Complete all bonus mission objectives for every run, as each completed bonus objective adds a 3% boost to your rare reward drop rate for the final chest. Most teams skip these objectives to finish runs faster, but that actually slows down your grind long term, because you’re missing out on a potential 9% drop rate boost per run.
Don’t leave the boss fight early, even if your team is wiping right before the boss dies. If you get kicked out or leave the mission before the final chest spawns, you won’t be eligible for the blueprint drop, even if you dealt 90% of the boss’s health. I made this mistake on my 3rd run, and my teammate told me later that the blueprint dropped that run, so I missed out on it entirely. It’s worth waiting an extra 30 seconds for the chest to spawn even if you’re the last player alive.
Run the mission with a full pre-made team instead of random queues if you can. Random teams often leave halfway through the mission, ignore bonus objectives, or die repeatedly to the boss, which extends your run time or causes you to fail entirely. If you don’t have friends to play with, you can join official The First Descendant community groups to find other players who are specifically farming for Hellion, so everyone is on the same page about completing objectives and sticking around until the end. Note that there’s no way to buy the Hellion blueprint with real money, so don’t fall for scams that claim you can pay to unlock her early.
What to Do First After You Unlock Hellion
Once you craft Hellion, don’t jump straight into high difficulty missions right away. She has a high-risk, high-reward playstyle that takes a bit of getting used to, and you’ll have a much better experience if you take 10 minutes to set her up correctly first. Prioritize upgrading her core passive ability “Flame Overload” first, because it increases all her fire damage by 2% for every enemy she burns, which stacks up to a 40% total damage boost when she’s fighting large groups of enemies. This passive is what makes her one of the strongest damage dealers in the game, so maxing it first will make all her other abilities way more effective.
Next, pair her with weapons that have fire elemental damage to get an extra 15% damage boost from her passive synergy. I recommend using the Incinerator LMG or the Ember Shot shotgun, both of which drop from the same Volcanic Caldera missions you ran to unlock her, so you might already have one in your inventory. Avoid using ice or electric elemental weapons with her, because they cancel out her burn effects and erase her passive damage boost.
Test her abilities in the training room first to get used to her playstyle. Her signature AoE attack deals a small amount of self-damage if you use it too close to your body, so you need to learn the right distance to stay from enemies to avoid taking unnecessary damage. If you’re playing in co-op, pair her with a support character who can heal you through the small self-damage, so you can spam her abilities as much as possible without worrying about dying.
Unlocking Hellion doesn’t have to be a weeks-long grind if you follow the steps we covered, from farming the right mission to collecting materials as you go. Now that you know where to get Hellion in The First Descendant, you can start your runs with a clear plan instead of wasting time on missions that don’t progress your unlock. If you follow the drop rate tips, you’ll probably get the blueprint way faster than you expect, and you’ll be melting bosses with her fire abilities before you know it. If you have any questions about specific parts of the grind, drop a comment below and I’ll help you out.