The First Descendant | How to Beat the Molten Fortress Void Intercept Boss

The First Descendant is an online looter-shooter game that prioritizes challenging the players by testing their knowledge about game mechanics and proper Descendant builds, which they can showcase in the game’s Void Intercept Battles, currently the hardest content available on The First Descendant. This guide will help you navigate to beating Molten Fortress, a unique Colossus that can frustrate you if you are not fully prepared against it, by analyzing its strengths and weaknesses and then formulating a great strategy to defeat it properly. 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 Part 2 on October 10, 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:

1. The First Descendant: Ultimate Freyna Build Guide | Best Modules, Weapons, and Reactors
2. The First Descendant: ETA-0 Guide | Best Items to Buy (October Rotations)
3. How to Enter The First Descendant‘s Freyna’s Encrypted Vault Shop Event
4. The First Descendant: Hailey Build Guide | Best Modules, Weapons, and Reactors
5. The First Descendant | Ranking the Ultimate Descendants from Best to Worst

What Is Molten Fortress in The First Descendant?

Before tackling the Molten Fortress in The First Descendant, let’s take a look at its background lore, and why it is one of the deadlier Colossi that the humans have fought against, which we will showcase below, courtesy of the Molten Fortress’s in-game description:

The majority of the Descendant Corps who were the first to face this Colossus in the Void returned with severe burns. They spoke of their opponent as a Colossus that was like a walking active volcano, spewing magma from its huge, fortress-like carapace. Molten Fortress has a formidable presence and constantly erupts with heat and lumps of magma, making it very difficult to approach. The magma it spews burns everything in its path a sea of fire. Research is ongoing to minimize the damage from this Colossus.

From this passage, we can infer that the Molten Fortress is a unique Colossus that most humans who have fought it received severe burns from its magma pool and fireballs. Now, the players can avenge the previous Descendants and challenge Molten Fortress once again through the Void Intercept Boss Battle system.

Molten Fortress’ Strengths and Weaknesses

Molten Fortress, although not exactly a demanding Void Intercept Boss in The First Descendant, can be tricky to analyze the correct pattern to successfully tame its Frenzied state with the help of Albion’s Frenzy Suppressor rods. In this section, we’ll explain how to understand Molten Fortress’ resistances and weak points to identify the best characters and builds for success.

Molten Fortress only appears in Hard difficulty. Chill, followed by Toxic and Non-Attribute, are the best elements to use against the Molten Fortress, and we have curated the entire Element resistances that the Molten Fortress has below:

• Fire Attribute: Very Strong
• Electric Attribute: Strong
• Non-Attribute: Normal
• Toxic Attribute: Normal
• Chill Attribute: Very Weak

As you can see, Molten Fortress is incredibly resistant to Fire Attribute, since it is its main Attribute during the battle. It is wise to stock up on some Fire Resistance before fighting Molten Fortress, though it is not mandatory. Likewise, bringing Chill Attribute Descendants like Viessa and Hailey will be highly beneficial for fighting Molten Fortress, and it is especially true for Hailey since she can potentially kill the Colossus in one phase.

Molten Fortress’ core and head are its most vulnerable spots. Focus your fire on these areas whenever possible to maximize damage and bring down the giant Colossus. Unlike previous Void Intercept Bosses, the Molten Fortress does not keep fighting you, instead, it will burrow its giant frame to the ground, creating a magma pool surrounding itself to protect against the Descendants. Luckily, Albion sends 6 Frenzy Suppressor rods that you can use to nullify Molten Fortress’ tough shells. This is your ticket to defeat the Colossus.

Molten Fortress Boss Interface.

Best Descendants Against Molten Fortress

Once you get to understand a little bit about Molten Fortress’ background lore and its strengths and weaknesses, it’s time to analyze what Descendants are the best to use when you decide to fight it in The First Descendant. Generally, we will differentiate them into two groups, Offense/DPS and Support Descendants.

Offense/DPS

The absolute best Descendant against Molten Fortress is Hailey. Since she is a Chill Attribute Descendant, she is the perfect counter against Molten Fortress, attribute-wise. Start by using Skill 3: Cold Fury to boost Firearm Damage, Critical Hit Rates, and Firearm Penetration. Then, use Skill 2: Storm Snare to trap enemies or slow them down, and finish with Skill 4: Zenith to deal massive burst damage. However, be sure to maintain some distance with Molten Fortress to ensure that Hailey can gain the maximum damage from her skills.

Gley is another powerful option, but she embodies a high-risk, high-reward playstyle. Gley specializes in dealing massive damage to bosses, making her a strong contender against Molten Fortress. Utilize Skill 3: Increased Sensory to boost Gley’s effectiveness against Molten Fortress, and follow up with Skill 4: Massacre to capitalize on staggered windows for maximum damage. Always keep an eye on your health, as Gley’s power comes with a fragility that can cost you if you aren’t careful, especially since Molten Fortress’ Frenzied state pits you against both time and magma fireballs.

Hailey can shoot down Molten Fortress’ tough carapace with her Unique Weapon.

Support

Thanks to his consistent healing abilities, Yujin plays a critical role in any boss fight. His continuous healing keeps the team alive, especially during long encounters like the Molten Fortress fight. Having Yujin on your team ensures that your group doesn’t have to rely too heavily on health drops or risk dying from Molten Fortress’ impending magma fireballs and Roly-Polys. The sense of security that comes from his Skill 4 should help speed up the process of aligning the Frenzy Suppressor rods.

With the right Module setup, Ultimate Bunny can be an indispensable asset to stave off Roly-Polys and Molten Fortress’ magma fireballs. Ultimate Bunny’s agility allows her to quickly run through all 6 Frenzy Suppressor rods and help out wherever she can, either by helping her teammates to shoot the rods themselves or to counter the magma fireballs with her Lightning Emission.

Yujin can save the entire team from Molten Fortress’ magma fireballs.

Best Build for Molten Fortress

Fighting a Colossus like Molten Fortress in The First Descendant can be extremely tough and long since you need to be pinpoint during its Frenzied state and correctly align the rods to ensure that the Molten Fortress is weakened and must go out of its carapace to face us once again. With that in mind, we have curated some tips on the best Modules and weapons that you can use against it to ensure your survivability and victory. 

Descendant Modules

Modules in The First Descendant have two categories, one for the Descendants and the other for the weapons, depending on their Round Type. To prepare against Molten Fortress, here are some pointers that you should always keep in mind regarding Descendant Modules:

• Always have both Increased HP and Increased DEF Modules. These are the quintessential Modules that should never leave your Descendant builds, no matter who you are using, both against the Molten Fortress or other Colossus. This is because their percentage increase to your stats is so massive and convenient that it outweighs practically most of the other Modules you currently have.
• Try to stock up on some Fire Attribute Resistance. Fire Resistance is crucial to survive against Molten Fortress’ onslaughts, and you can get this from External Components. While the game states that you need 8,400 Fire Resistance for Hard difficulty, there is no urgent need to meet this requirement as long as you have enough HP and DEF stats.
• More specifically, you need to have at least 20,000 DEF and 8,000 HP to comfortably fight the Molten Fortress since you will need to maximize the time you have to engage it in a battle and survive the battle of attrition during its Frenzied state.

For more specifics on how to build your Descendant before tackling the Molten Fortress, we have curated an option for you by using Hailey and her Modules, courtesy of user Fransisco Costa from The First Descendant United Facebook group. 

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

Best Weapon Against Molten Fortress

Enduring Legacy or Piercing Light (intended for Hailey) are optimal weapon choices for taking on Molten Fortress. To maximize their effectiveness, focus on equipping them with the following Modules:

• Weak Point Sight: This Module allows you to break Molten Fortress’ weak points more easily, thus reducing its combat capacity and prolonging the time you can damage it comfortably without having to worry that its Frenzy Meter will rise.
• Fire Rate UP: Increasing your weapon’s firing rate allows you to deliver more attacks more quickly, thus maximizing your damage output.
• Rifling Reinforcement: Boosting your overall attack power is essential for ensuring each shot packs a punch, further reducing the time needed to bring down the boss.

If you still don’t have Enduring Legacy or Piercing Light, then bringing Thunder Cage or Python as backup options is very much feasible against Molten Fortress, since they are also reliable at dishing out damage consistently thanks to their insane Fire Rate and Weak Point Damage capabilities. The image below is an option for Piercing Light (you must use Hailey to properly capitalize on this weapon’s strength), 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. 

Molten Fortress Strategy

Lastly, for this Molten Fortress guide, we will explain what to do when you fight it in the Void Intercept Boss Battle. Generally, fighting this boss at the start is relatively easy, as you only need to whittle down its Shield. However, once Molten Fortress begins to burrow itself into the ground, the battle of attrition will begin. This is where the game will test whether you and your team can manage to align the rods together and use impeccable teamwork to prevent the rods from ever overcharging.

Focus your initial attacks on Molten Fortress’ massive Core weak point atop its head, since if your team successfully peels off this armor, you can then aim for its Core, increasing the damage you deal against it substantially. Throughout the fight, Molten Fortress will summon Roly-Polys, especially during its Frenzied state. It’s best to deal with these small enemies quickly to avoid distractions, and they also drop recovery items and ammunition to help you keep up the fight.

Molten Fortress’ Core Weak Point.

Molten Fortress’ Frenzied State

As you whittle down Molten Fortress’ health, its Frenzy Meter will fill and it will move to the center of the arena and go into Frenzied state. At this point, 6 Frenzy Suppressor rods from Albion will spawn around the area and your job is to connect them to break its shield. To connect the rods, you need to shoot the terminals on each rod until all the arrows point to the right. You’ll know you’ve connected two rods when a line of electricity appears between them.

While you’re trying to align the terminals, Molten Fortress will shoot fireballs at the rods. If a rod gets hit, it will overcharge which is shown by the bars below each terminal. If a rod is overcharged, its terminal will reset and the arrow will go back to its original position, so you must try your best to either outpace Molten Fortress’ fireballs or use skills like Ultimate Bunny’s High Voltage-powered Lightning Emission to destroy the fireballs. In addition to that, Molten Fortress will also summon flame pillars that will pop up from the ground. These can do a lot of damage but are easy to dodge by just moving and staying out of the way.

If your team consists of two or three Hailey, each equipped with Piercing Light and proper Modules, then theoretically, it is possible to burst Molten Fortress down before it can even trigger its first Frenzied state, as each shot from them can pierce Molten Fortress’ major weak points on its head and mouth, stunning the Colossus momentarily before your team finishes it off. However, this situation is not guaranteed in the Public Matchmaking setting, so you should form a party with your in-game friends for this kind of speedrun.

And that’s everything you need to know to successfully defeat Molten Fortress in The First Descendant.