On July 2, 2024, The First Descendant finally entered the arena of the hero looter-shooter genre of the video games industry, and many players have found the game to be their new home for the time being. As a hero looter-shooter game, The First Descendant provides the players with many opportunities to play with many characters, the Descendants, who all wield different and unique abilities perfectly tailored to each person.
However, for this guide, we will focus on the first three starting characters in The First Descendant that every player can choose one from; Ajax, Lepic, and Viessa, and see which Descendant is the best option based on many parameters of the game, ranging from their general abilities, to how well they fare against many Vulgus opponents from many Ingris locations. Let’s begin.
If you are looking to quench your thirst for The First Descendant content, then you can look for our guides on KeenGamer through the links below:
- The First Descendant: Best Viessa Build
- The First Descendant: Advanced Neural Circuit Farming
- The First Descendant: Ultimate Gley Build Guide
Ajax, The Liberated Guardian
The first Descendant that we will highlight in this starting character guide will be Ajax, The Liberated Guardian. While other Descendants have offense-focused abilities, like Bunny with her swift movements and Electric charges, or Sharen with her deadly cloaking tools to assassinate her enemies, Ajax’s abilities and strengths lie in his shield and defense capabilities.
To quickly summarize what Ajax is before tackling the more intricate details about his kits, The First Descendant describes him as “A Tanker that utilizes Void Energy. He leads the team with a Forcefield that protects allies while deflecting enemy attacks”. While this may sound unappealing, the truth on the battlefield is much more robust and powerful, giving Ajax an edge as a defense-focused Descendant.
However, you shouldn’t discount Ajax’s offensive capabilities, as he can stomp many enemies with his Void Walk and easily smash his way through the Vulgus with Expulsion, enough to stave off any enemies you might encounter during your journey in Ingris.
Ajax, The Liberated Guardian.
Ajax’s Skills
Like other Descendants within The First Descendant, Ajax has five main abilities: a Passive Skill and four Active Skills. As a Non-Attribute Descendant, Ajax is flexible and can fight against the four main elements within the game without having to suffer major setbacks against a particular element. You can see the full list of Ajax’s abilities below:
- Event Horizon (Passive): Acquires Void Energy after using skills. When the Void Energy reaches its maximum amount, it enhances skills and grants additional effects.
- Orbit Barrier (Dimension): Creates a shield in front of Ajax. Durability increases proportionally to Ajax’s HP and DEF. If enhanced, reflects damage proportional to DEF to enemies hitting the barrier.
- Void Walk (Tech): Leaps into the air and lands on the ground to strike nearby enemies, stunning them. If enhanced, Max Shield increases for a certain period of time.
- Expulsion (Tech): Strikes nearby enemies, knocking them back. If enhanced, the knockback range and Max Shield are increased.
- Hyper Cube (Dimension): Creates a dome-shaped shield. Durability increases proportionally to Ajax’s HP and DEF. If enhanced, reflects damage proportional to DEF to enemies hitting the barrier.
Among his Skills, the ones that are the strongest and dependable for any purposes against Void Intercept Bosses and Infiltration Missions are Ajax’s Orbit Barrier and Hyper Cube, his defensive mechanics that practically allow him and his allies, should they choose to enter his shield, to tank major damage from any source for a set of time, or until the shield’s HP depletes entirely.
Ajax’s Hyper Cube is the ultimate defense.
Ajax’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Ajax, being a starting character in The First Descendant, has his strong points and shortcomings, which we will highlight in the table below:
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Ajax’s Hypercube is one of the best defense mechanisms in The First Descendant, allowing him and other allies inside his dome to protect themselves from even the toughest attacks from Bosses. | Ajax generally doesn’t have the tools to deal with a singular tough entity such as Void Intercept Bosses or Elite enemies, as his abilities focus on either defense or AoE offense. |
| Void Walk and Expulsion are great tools for defeating many enemies at once. | Compared to Viessa and Lepic, who both have rather straightforward abilities, Ajax’s skill ceiling is significantly higher, meaning that you won’t master him immediately. |
| If you can perfectly time Ajax’s Event Horizon, you’ll create an impregnable fortress for a limited time, offering crucial protection when facing tough Void Intercept Bosses. | Since his abilities are more focused on defense, Ajax needs help from weapons and Modules to dish out substantial damage. |
Viessa, The Cold-Blooded Hunter
After learning about Ajax and his tools to fight the Vulgus, we now focus on the second starting character in The First Descendant, Viessa, The Cold-Blooded Hunter. She is the first Utility/Debuffer Descendant that players will encounter in the game, bringing with her some potent Chill Element abilities that can control a part of the battlefield.
To summarize how dangerous Viessa is against her enemies, particularly the Vulgus, The First Descendant describes her as “A debuffer who uses Chill at will. She uses Chill to freeze enemies in place, unleashing Cold Snap-like attacks as she weaves her way between them”.
Viessa’s specialty comes from her natural way of controlling ice and hurling it on the battlefield to lock down an area, encasing her enemies in a field of ice, unable to escape from her grasp, by either launching Frost Shards, Cold Snap, or her Ultimate Skill, Blizzard. In addition to her ability to utilize ice for offensive purposes, Viessa prepares a way to make sure that she isn’t bogged down by the Vulgus, in the form of Frost Road, a tool where she creates Ice Sheets that enhances her speed and shield, thus making her a fluid and mobile walking blizzard.
Viessa, The Cold-Blooded Hunter.
Viessa’s Skills
Being a Descendant means that Viessa also has five tools at her disposal: a Passive Skill and four Active Skills. As a Chill Element Descendant, Viessa is incredibly strong against Fire Element enemies, including Void Intercept Bosses such as Pyromaniac. However, you should exercise caution against Bosses such as Dead Bride. To understand what Skills Viessa has, we have gathered them on the list below:
- Ice Sphere (Passive): Creates an Ice Sphere floating around her body when inflicting enemies with the Ice Shackle effect, proportional to the effect stage. The Ice Sphere will automatically fly towards nearby enemies and deal damage to the target and its surroundings.
- Frost Shards (Fusion): Fires an exploding Ice Beam, inflicting damage and Ice Shackle around the area it hits.
- Frost Road (Fusion): Increases Running Speed and Shield, and creates Ice Sheets on the ground where Viessa stands. When enemies come into contact with these Ice Sheets, they are inflicted with Ice Shackles.
- Cold Snap (Fusion): Releases an arc of cold air in front, inflicting damage and Ice Shackle.
- Blizzard (Tech): Creates a snowstorm that explodes over time, inflicting damage and Ice Shackle on enemies caught within.
Viessa’s Blizzard is currently the strongest Chill Element AoE debuff mechanic in The First Descendant since most small enemies can be caught within the snowstorm and freeze momentarily, giving you and your allies ample time to reform your battle strategies and whittle down their defenses to 0. Moreover, Cold Snap is also useful as an ‘escape’ option for Viessa when she enters an unfavorable position during a battle by blowing out most enemies in front of her, thus creating a secure path for her to reposition herself.
Viessa’s Blizzard is enough to entrap some unfortunate enemies.
Viessa’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Viessa, being a starting character in The First Descendant, has her strong points and shortcomings, which we will highlight in the table below:
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Frost Road is a great traversal tool that can also act as an offensive ability against the enemies that dare to enter Viessa’s steps. | Viessa is one of the most fragile Descendants in the game, therefore requiring you to be proactive in positioning yourself during any major battle. |
| Viessa can synergize with Thunder Cage since the weapon is light and has the chance to kill multiple enemies at once thanks to its Unique Ability, Overcharge. | Being a Chill Element Descendant means that Viessa’s capabilities against Void Intercept Bosses with the same Element as her are diminished. |
| For team synergies, Viessa pairs well with any Descendant, as long as they can follow up from Viessa’s debuff effects. | Viessa needs tons of Modules to reduce her Skill Cooldowns among many other Modules, meaning that if you choose Viessa as one of your main Descendants for the game, you need to heavily invest in her attributes. |
Lepic, The Final Grenadier
The last possible starting character that The First Descendant will give you is Lepic, The Final Grenadier. He will be the main DPS starting character in The First Descendant, giving you a chance to taste what it feels like to play as a Fire Element Descendant that wields grenades to mow down his enemies.
The in-game description of Lepic does him justice, as they mention Lepic as “A dealer who uses grenades to attack. Clears the battlefield with his Tactical Prosthetic Arm and grenades which boast a powerful performance”. This is showcased through Lepic’s skills, notably Traction Grenade and Overkill.
Lepic, The Final Grenadier.
Lepic’s Skills
Being a Descendant means that Lepic also has five tools at his disposal: a Passive Skill and four Active Skills. As a Fire Element Descendant, Lepic is incredibly strong against most enemies, except for several Void Intercept Bosses that are resistant to Fire, though that doesn’t entirely stop him from trying to take them down. To understand what Skills Lepic has, we have gathered them on the list below:
- Close Call (Passive): There is a chance of surviving fatal damage during battle.
- Grenade (Tech): Throws a grenade forward at the enemy. Extra Burns when Overclock is active.
- Overclock (Singular): Increases all Skill ATK and adds a Burn effect to Grenade and Overkill for a set duration.
- Traction Grenade (Singular): Throws a Traction Grenade forward to pull the enemies within range.
- Overkill (Tech): Fires a powerful shell at the enemy. The shell is maintained at the landing point for a set time, inflicting constant damage. Extra Burns when Overclock is active.
Overkill and Traction Grenade are absolutely the best parts of Lepic’s kit. Traction Grenade gives Lepic the ability to control a space for a moment, and he can finish the enemies trapped inside Traction Grenade’s field with Overkill. Even the toughest Intercept Void Bosses can’t handle this combination as long as you build your Lepic properly.
Lepic’s Close Call can save you during the toughest times.
Lepic’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Lepic, although strong, has his strong points and shortcomings, just like Ajax, Viessa, and other Descendants, which we will highlight in the table below:
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Lepic is the first DPS Descendant that you will encounter in the game, and out of the three, he’s the best damage dealer. | Lepic, although the most all-rounder Descendant among the starting characters, means that his capability regarding defense and debuff effects can’t compare to Ajax or Viessa, respectively. |
| Lepic can clear most of the game’s content solo without any backup from other Descendants, since his stats are high on every department, notably his ATK stat, giving him an edge against the tougher Vulgus enemies. | The Final Grenadier needs heavy investments once you reach Hard Mode in The First Descendant. This includes giving him Energy Activators and Crystallizations for both his Modules and weapons of choice, making his needs snowball if you neglect building him from early on. |
| Close Call acts as a lifesaver during tough encounters, giving you the second wind in a battle to reposition yourself. However, keep in mind that the skill’s cooldown is 600 seconds/10 minutes. |
Starting Character Recommendation
Now that we have highlighted the three starting characters of The First Descendant, it is time to talk about which Descendant is the best to pick to make your journey in Ingris easier. Truthfully, while Ajax and Viessa are strong in their own way, they both have an underlying drawback: They take more skills and time to master, while Lepic is more straightforward both in terms of technical skills and raw power output.
Therefore, for our recommendation, it is wise to choose Lepic as your starting character in The First Descendant for multiple reasons, which we will provide below:
- Lepic’s Close Call allows him to return to combat immediately and gain 50% of his HP back after 5 seconds. This ability is unique and other Descendants do not have an ability such as Close Call. This makes Lepic inherently unique in terms of Passive Skill.
- Overkill is a powerful tool to burst down the enemies, including the Void Intercept Bosses. Make sure that you properly upgrade his Skill Power to increase Overkill’s maximum damage.
- Grenade and Overclock’s synergies are wonderful, as the latter Skill provides Grenade a damage boost and Fire imbuement, giving Lepic an edge to mow down his enemies, especially in tight areas.
- Lepic, when compared to Ajax and Viessa, is more easy to use, as all of his Skills’ effects and requirements are fairly straightforward.
Who is the best option for you?
And that’s everything you need to know about The First Descendant‘s starting characters, and what to pick as the optimal Descendant to help you breeze through the game’s content.
