The First Descendant: Hailey Build Guide | Best Modules, Weapons, and Reactors

With the recent Invasion Update, The First Descendant also introduced a new Descendant for all players, Hailey Scott. Hauling as the latest Descendant to join the corps to fight the Vulgus, Hailey equips herself with her trusty sniper rifle that can end any enemy she has set her sights on. This guide will help you to make the best build for Hailey in The First Descendant and see what fits the most for her in terms of Modules, weapons, and Reactors, while also looking out for the best sub-stats in them. Let’s begin.

Nexon released The First Descendant on July 2, 2024, on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, and recently launched the Season 1 Invasion Update on August 29, 2024.

If you are looking for more guides and content on The First Descendant, then you can read them here on KeenGamer through the links below:

• The First Descendant | Ranking the Ultimate Descendants from Best to Worst
• The First Descendant | How to Beat the Frost Walker Void Intercept Boss
• The First Descendant | How to Beat the Dead Bride Void Intercept Boss
• Everything You Need to Know About The First Descendant Season 1 ‘Invasion’
• The Best Starting Character to Pick in The First Descendant

Hailey Scott, The Sniper

Before getting to know which builds work the best with Hailey in The First Descendant, knowing her backstory and what she does now is an important step in understanding her overall skills and abilities. Based on the in-game description of her, which you can see below, Hailey was already an exceptional sniper even before becoming a Descendant.

“A Descendant from the 33rd Sniper Squad who uses Supercooling Arche abilities. She was renowned as a skilled sniper beyond her years even before she was a Descendant. A new recruit who joined the Descendant Corps recently, she is eager to learn from more experienced Descendants.” ― In-game Description of Hailey Scott

It is suffice to say that Hailey, as a Chill Attribute Descendant, will certainly help take down the Colossus that threatens Albion and humanity as a whole and push out the Vulgus who are trying to enter Ingris again with their Invasions under Commander Amon’s leadership.

Hailey, the latest Descendant to join the Corps.

Hailey’s Materials

Before you can try to build Hailey properly in The First Descendant, you must finish finding all of her materials, which are locked behind the new content, Invasion Dungeons, a new Seasonal content arriving in the game, which requires all players to face them solo, though the developers have stated that they will implement multiplayer matchmaking on October 10 Update.

Invasion Dungeons differ from the regular Hard Infiltration Missions because, in this mode, players need to finish tasks and puzzles that are unique to the three enemy factions currently available in The First Descendant: Order of Truth, Legion of Immortality, and Legion of Darkness. We have listed the complete list of the necessary materials for Hailey below:

Recent Buffs to Hailey’s Drop Rates

While it can be exhausting to farm for every Hailey’s materials, NEXON recently has increased the drop rates of her components in the Invasion Dungeons. Previously, if you managed to get Gold times on Invasion, you’d only receive 3 Hailey components. Still, with update 1.1.0b, the yield has been increased to 5 Hailey components, which speeds up the days it takes to get every Hailey’s materials from approximately 12 days to 6 days. In addition to this buff, the drop rates have also been increased for the regular Infiltration Missions, though the yield is limited to just 1 component per run.

Furthermore, since Kingston’s Magister Lab can be a part of the Invasion, you can easily farm for her Data Chip parts in less than 12 minutes for both runs, therefore you should always capitalize on this opportunity whenever Magister Lab is a part of the Invasion Dungeons’ rotation.

Hailey’s Research Materials.

Hailey Abilities

Once we get a sneak peek at how you can farm for Hailey’s materials, it’s time to move on and take a closer look at her abilities as a Chill Attribute Descendant, which we have curated below:

• Safe Strategic Retreat (Passive): Increases Hailey’s Firearm Weak Point Damage the farther she is from enemies but decreases when she gets closer.
• Cryo Rounds (Dimension): Fires a cryogenic projectile at enemies ahead, dealing damage and applying Cryo. Enemies affected by Cryo take increased damage from firearm attacks.
• Storm Snare (Singular): Shoots a glacial beam at a target, dealing significant damage and inflicting Cryo. Nearby enemies are knocked back and affected by Flash Freezing.
• Cold Fury (Dimension): Grants Hailey the Cold Fury effect, which stacks over time. As the stacks increase, her Movement Speed decreases, but her Critical Hit Rate for firearms and skills rises. While active, Hailey is immune to being knocked down.
• Zenith (Singular): Hailey equips her unique weapon, dealing additional Chill skill damage with enhanced Penetration when striking an enemy. Successfully hitting Weak Points restores MP, and the skill’s Cooldown is partially reduced based on the number of bullets fired when the effect ends.

From all of her abilities, Zenith takes the spot as the most important and damaging part of Hailey’s overall kit. This is her main source of damage, which can easily surpass millions, even above 10,000,000 damage per shot against Gluttony, Molten Fortress, and other Colossus in The First Descendant when you manage to build Hailey properly. However, the caveat is that you are unable to freely move around when using this special sniper rifle.

Zenith is Hailey’s most important skill.

Best Hailey Builds in The First Descendant

Now that we have seen what you will need before recruiting Hailey in The First Descendant, as well as her true strengths as a Descendant, it’s time to dissect her best builds in this guide’s section by discussing her best-in-slot weapon, the best Modules that complement her abilities, and what Reactors work the best with her overall kit.

Best Hailey Modules

Unfortunately, unlike previous Descendants, Hailey still has no access to her unique Transcendent Modules, though Nexon aims to release them on October 10, together with a major update that will bring Ultimate Freyna to The First Descendant. Therefore, the Modules that I will mention in this guide will be without a Transcendent Module, though once we manage to find the optimal choice for her, we will update this Hailey build guide accordingly.

Bearing that in mind, here are three Modules that are crucial for Hailey, and should be present in any type of build you want for her:

1. Dangerous Ambush (Xantic/Descendant): When landing a Skill Attack while the enemy is not targeting you, Skill Power up to +24.9%. On Skill Attack against an immobilized enemy, Skill Power up to +49.8%. A major reason why this Module works with Hailey is because of how she plays; she needs to be far far away from an enemy, especially against a Colossus, and Dangerous Ambush plays on that strength by giving her additional Skill Power for Zenith.
2. Glacial Syncytium (Almandine/Descendant): Critical Hit Resistance up to +15.1%, Chill Skill Power up to +10.2%. This Module gives an ample Chill Skill Power bonus for Hailey, who needs that to boost her damage, not to mention the 15.1% Critical Hit Resistance that can penetrate even the toughest Colossus in the game.
3. Chill Specialist (Cerulean/Descendant): Chill Skill Power up to +81.2%. This is the single best source of Chill Skill Power in The First Descendant., making it a great baseline increase to Hailey’s abilities, particularly Zenith.

We have gathered the full Modules that Hailey wants in an image below courtesy of user Fransisco Costa from The First Descendant United Facebook group. 

All Hailey Modules. Image courtesy of user Francisco Costa from The First Descendant United Facebook Group. 

Piercing Light, Best Weapon for Hailey

When talking about Hailey’s build in The First Descendant, it won’t be complete without talking about the best weapon that she can use to dismantle her enemies’ defenses. As she is a sniper Chill Attribute Descendant, the most optimal choice for her is none other than Piercing Light, an Ultimate Weapon that has a unique ability, Purification Light, that can Dispel any enemies who got shot in their Weak Points, therefore are susceptible to burst damage sources, like Hailey’s Zenith.

For Piercing Light’s sub-stats, there are four attributes that you must get to fully maximize its damage output per shot, as failing to get even one of them can hinder the overall damage substantially. We have curated all the necessary sub-stats below:

• Bonus Firearm ATK Colossus (vs. Colossus)
• Firearm Critical Hit Damage
• Firearm ATK / Round per Magazine
• Weak Point Damage

Since Piercing Light will be Hailey’s main weapon, for her secondary and tertiary options, bringing Thunder Cage and Enduring Legacy will be your go-to loadout here, thanks to their Critical Hit Damage potentials with the help of Hailey’s Cold Fury, especially for Enduring Legacy.

Piercing Light is Hailey’s best weapon.

Weapon Modules

For Piercing Light’s Modules, you want to maximize the weapon’s Firearm ATK, Rounds per Magazine, and Weak Point Damage.  Let’s take a look at the major Modules you want to have in Piercing Light, and the reasoning behind them:

1. Weak Point Expansion (Malachite): Major source of bonus Weak Point Damage, which is crucial when you are fighting all of the Void Intercept Bosses in the game. 
2. Action and Reaction (Malachite): Firearm ATK up to +61%, Recoil up to +20%. This Module provides a massive Firearm ATK bonus and the additional Recoil does not affect Piercing Light as heavily as a full-auto weapon.
3. Concentration Priority (Almandine): Firearm Critical Hit Damage up to +33.9 %, Reload Time Modifier up to -30%.

For the full details on which Modules you need to use on Piercing Light, we have curated them in an image below, and once again courtesy of user Fransisco Costa from The First Descendant United Facebook group. 

Piercing Light’s Modules. Image courtesy of user Francisco Costa from The First Descendant United Facebook Group. 

Best Reactor and External Components

To complete the Hailey build in The First Descendant, it is also important to select the correct Reactor and External Components to further enhance her ability to kill enemies in less than five shots. 

Starting with her best Reactor, you should try finding a Frozen Singularity Reactor, which boosts both Chill Attribute and Singular Skill Power. A major reason why this Reactor is the best for Hailey is thanks to its synergy with Hailey’s Storm Snare and Zenith, which both are Singular Skills. Moreover, to further increase the Reactor’s strength, the optimal sub-stats for it are Additional Skill ATK When Attacking Colossus and Skill Critical Hit Damage. Lastly, for the Gold Frozen Singularity Reactor, finding one with Piercing Light mounting will be optimal, as Hailey will use that weapon as her main avenue of damaging the enemies.

For External Components, you should find and equip the Slayer Set for Hailey, because Slayer’s 4 Set Effects grant many things for her, notably a Skill Power bonus to increase her Skill 4: Zenith’s output, as well as giving her a chance to reduce Cold Fury’s MP consumption while also slightly increasing her Thunder Cage and Enduring Legacy’s magazine size. In terms of sub-stats, you should try and find Max MP, Max HP, and MP Recovery sub-stats to help negate Cold Fury’s high MP consumption.

Frozen Singularity Reactor for Hailey. Image courtesy of user Francisco Costa from The First Descendant United Facebook Group. 

And that’s everything you need to know about Hailey builds in The First Descendant.