Battle pass weapons in The First Descendant are often underwhelming. Season 2, Episode 2 changed this with the introduction of Malevolent — an Impact Rounds hand cannon that focuses on dealing AoE damage with its Unique Ability.
The First Descendant: Best Ultimate Weapons, Ranked
There are some great wepaons available to players in The First Descendant, including a range of ultimate tier weapons.
This guide covers everything you need to know about how Malevolent works, its stats, and how to build it in The First Descendant.
What is Malevolent in The First Descendant?
Malevolent is the Ultimate hand cannon from the Season 2, Episode 2 battle pass, and it's a much stronger weapon compared to previous battle pass offerings. The weapon comes with the Malicious Pain Unique Ability — on hitting an enemy, it creates a Bladed Cog that bounces between multiple enemies to deal damage. Hitting weak points creates additional Bladed Cogs.
Here are the base level 100 stats of the Malevolent:
|
Stat |
Value |
|---|---|
|
Firearm ATK |
46,349 |
|
Toxic ATK |
19,467 |
|
Fire Rate |
176 |
|
Rounds per Magazine |
9 |
|
Reload Time |
1.65s |
|
Crit Rate |
1% |
|
Crit Damage |
1x |
|
Attribute Status Effect Trigger Rate |
12.5% |
|
Weak Point Damage |
2.5x |
|
Multi-Hit Damage |
0.2x |
Upgrading the Unique Ability increases the number of Bladed Cogs the weapon creates, their damage, and the maximum number of bouncers, so prioritize leveling up the battle pass and getting all the copies. It's a powerful hand cannon for mobbing, especially when you pair it with a gun-focused Descendant like Serena.
Best Malevolent Build in The First Descendant
Malevolent has almost no Firearm Critical Hit Rate (only 1%) and minimum Firearm Critical Hit Damage. This means that, unlike Crit-focused weapons like Thunder Cage, you should focus on other damage stats, including Weak Point Damage and elemental damage, when building this weapon.
Best Modules For Malevolent In The First Descendant
Here are the best Modules for Malevolent in The First Descendant:
|
Module |
Effect |
|---|---|
|
Rifling Reinforcement |
Increases Firearm ATK |
|
Action and Reaction |
Increases Firearm ATK and Recoil |
|
Charge Amplification |
Increases Firearm ATK but reduces Firearm Critical Hit Damage |
|
Weak Point Sight |
Increases Weak Point Damage |
|
Expand Weapon Charge |
Increases Rounds per Magazine |
|
Fire Rate UP |
Increases Fire Rate |
|
Toxic Enhancement |
Increases Toxic ATK based on Firearm ATK |
|
Poison Priority |
Increases Toxic ATK but reduces Reload Time Modifier |
|
Toxic Conductor |
When attacking enemies afflicted with Poison, increases Firearm ATK |
Rifling Reinforcement and Action and Reaction are staple Modules to increase the weapon's base damage, but because Malevolent doesn't need Firearm Critical Hit, you can also take advantage of the Charge Amplification for more Firearm ATK.
Another way to increase Malevolent's damage is through elemental damage. It already has a base of 19,467 Toxic ATK, which is why this build focuses on increasing Toxic ATK. Toxic Enhancement increases Toxic ATK based on Firearm ATK, which is perfect when paired with the first three Modules. Poison Priority further increases Toxic ATK. With a 12.5% Attribute Status Effect Trigger Rate, initial shots and Bladed Cogs often apply Poison. You can take advantage of that with the Toxic Conductor, which further increases Firearm ATK when defeating an enemy affected by Poison. You can also build Malevolent into a different element, depending on the activity you're playing. Building into Toxic ATK results in slightly higher damage, but activity's modifiers take priority.
Prioritize Weakpoint Damage
One last thing to focus on is the Weak Point Damage, as the Unique Ability incentivizes hitting weak points. Keep in mind that Weak Point Damage only increases the damage of the initial shot, not the damage of Bladed Cogs or Poison damage. Add Modules, like Weak Point Sight, to increase Weak Point Damage, and ensure your aim is on point to consistently hit weak points.
The First Descendant: Arche Tuning Guide
Arche Tuning is yet another way to make Descendants stronger. Here's how to gain access to this new system and how to quickly level it up.
Best Malevolent Stats in The First Descendant
As you get Malevolent to level 100, you want to readjust its stats to fit the build. The logic behind the stats is the same as with Modules — you don't need Firearm Critical Hit Rate and Firearm Critical Hit Damage. Instead, focus on getting Firearm ATK for higher base damage, Attribute Status Effect Trigger Rate (especially if using a Conductor Module), elemental ATK depending on the attribute you're building for, and Rounds per Magazine.
Here are the stats to look for on the Malevolent:
- Firearm ATK
- Attribute Status Effect Trigger Rate
- Rounds per Magazine
- Toxic ATK (or an attribute you're building for)
- Weak Point Damage
Best Malevolent Synergies in The First Descendant
As mentioned before, Malevolent synergizes well with Serena. Her Redemption ability allows weapons to deal AoE damage and triggers with Bladed Cogs. The AoE from Redemption also scales with Serena's Max HP, creating more avenues to increase Malevolent's damage. Gley can also work with her infinite ammo build, but you'll have to adjust the build accordingly, as ammo stats aren't necessary in this case.
When using Malevolent in Season 2, Episode 2, unlock and equip the Evolutionary Cutting Mechanism perk in Inversion Reinforcement's Season section to create additional Bladed Cogs.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 56 /100 Critics Rec: 26%
- Released
- July 2, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Violence, Blood, Suggestive Themes, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Nexon Games
- Publisher(s)
- Nexon
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Third-Person Shooter
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Weak
- How Long To Beat
- 36 Hours
