The First Descendant has a growing roster of playable characters, and if you want to take any of them out on missions, you're going to have to spend a fair bit of time and effort playing. There's a ton of different resources and menus in the game, and it's very easy to get lost in all of them. Thankfully, getting new Descendants becomes rather simple once you get the hang of it.

Once you find someone you fancy in The First Descendant's list of characters, you're probably left wondering how, where, and when you can get them. This guide answers all those questions while also giving tips on how to make the grind a little bit easier.

How To Unlock Characters In The First Descendant

Much like in Warframe, new characters in this game are unlocked by collecting parts that are built using materials players can collect either via exploration or by completing quests in areas like Kingston and Vespers. Once you collect the required materials, you need to build the required Descendant parts before starting research on the Descendant themselves. All of these are done via Anais, the NPC responsible for researching weapons and Descendants in Albion.

There's a plethora of materials to worry about, but thankfully, there's an option in Anais' vendor windows to view exactly where you need to go to get materials. To do this, select any Descendant (or any of the parts needed to research them), then hover your cursor over one of the Research Materials on the right side. A small window with the "Acquisition Info" prompt should appear. Press the button that appears on your screen, and you'll see all the places where the selected Research Material can be obtained.

Crafting Valby in The First Descendant
The First Descendant Valby crafting requirements

For example, if you want to unlock Valby in The First Descendant, you'll need the following materials:

The First Descendant - Valby Research Materials

Descendant Part

Materials Required

Valby Enhanced Cells
  • 422 Repton
  • 571 Superfluid
  • 48 Data Processing Neural Circuit
  • Valby Enhanced Cells Blueprint

Valby Stabilizer
  • 246 Monad Shard
  • 239 Compound Coating Material
  • 40 Murky Energy Residue
  • Valby Stabilizer Blueprint

Valby Spiral Catalyst
  • 519 Metal Accelerant
  • 386 Hardener
  • Encrypted Neural Circuit
  • Valby Spiral Catalyst Blueprint

All Descendants require a Stabilizer, Enchanced Cells, Spiral Catalyst, and Code. Codes themselves do not need to be built, and they drop randomly from sources that differ per Descendant.

Since many materials drop from locked regions, you'll likely be stuck with Bunny as well as the first character you pick in The First Descendant. As such, we strongly suggest focusing on finishing the main questline first before grinding for new characters.

You can preview what rewards you can get from a mission by highlighting them on your map. Once you're done with a mission, open up the Mission Results screen and check the bottom side of the UI. There's an option there that will let you repeat the mission you just finished without having to run back to the starting point. Use that to farm until you have the items you need.

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The First Descendant Tag Page Cover Art
The First Descendant
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Released
July 2, 2024
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
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Developer(s)
Nexon Games
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Genre(s)
Action RPG, Third-Person Shooter