Even though The First Descendant is still evolving, Season 1 has already introduced a diverse set of characters, each filling different roles within a team. With so many choices, it can be overwhelming deciding who to invest your time and resources in, especially since unlocking a single Descendant takes a considerable amount of effort. To help with that, here’s an updated tier list that covers the potential of each character based on their abilities, community feedback, and performance in Season 1.
NOTE: While this tier list is based on the current Season 1, it’s important to keep in mind that future updates may shift character rankings as the game gets patched.
Best Characters Tier List (Updated)
This tier list summarizes the kit of each Descendant, briefly covering their skills and general role that they fill within a team. There are currently 16 standard characters in the Season 1 of The First Descendant, and each of them have the potential to be the best with the right build. Some may be a bit more niche than others, hence the tier list.
S-Tier
Freyna
Freyna is the queen of damage over time, as her entire kit revolves around poisoning enemies in both single and multiple target scenarios. Even her defensive ability, Defense Mechanism, can inflict poison on anyone that attacks her.
Her passive ability, Unauthorized Bullet, allows her guns to deal even more damage to any enemies affected by her poison-inflicting skills.
Freyna stands alone at the top, outpacing all other characters by a significant margin. She’s the only character that excels in both mobbing and bossing, making her an incredibly versatile pick.
While her bossing prowess isn’t the absolute best, her power and adaptability make her the top choice in the game. A huge buff (18x damage increase) has solidified her place as a powerhouse—what an incredible rise for a character that was once in C-tier!
A-Tier
Gley
Gley is a high-risk high-reward type of DPS character whose Frenzied skill puts her into a berserk state that consumes some of her maximum health in order to temporarily boost the power of her firearms.
Skilled players can take advantage of her abilities to melt both mobs and bosses while still maintaining a reasonable amount of HP and not running out of ammo.
Her survivability is further enhanced by her non-Frenzied state¸ which makes her tougher and empowers her other skills to heal rather than deal damage.
Gley excels in bossing with devastating damage, but her performance in mobbing is lackluster. A high-risk, high-reward character who can melt bosses but needs careful management in mobbing situations.
Bunny
As a speedster, Bunny sprints across the battlefield to deal electric damage to large mobs of enemies. She’s a bit of a glass cannon, but she makes up for it by being able to nuke entire crowds within seconds.
She’s unique in that her abilities are tied to how much she moves around, so she’s a great pick for players who find satisfaction in clearing the room as fast as possible, unless you’re facing a boss.
Best-in-slot for mobbing due to her speed and electric damage, Bunny excels at clearing crowds quickly. However, she doesn’t compare to Freyna for bossing damage, making her more specialized in mobbing scenarios.
Lepic
Although he has a fairly basic kit, Lepic is a pretty good DPS character who can throw grenades on a short cooldown, dealing tons of area of effect damage in a small radius.
His abilities are great for clearing out mobs, and he does a decent amount of damage, though he does tend to get outclassed by other DPS options in certain situations.
Valby
With her water-themed kit, Valby splashes around the battlefield, afflicting all of her enemies with Laundry, which reduces the affected targets’ fire and electric resistance. Because of this, she synergizes well with Descendants that make use of these elements.
She excels in dealing area of effect damage, though some of her skills require her to put herself at risk by jumping right on top of enemies.
Haley
Haley offers decent DPS and utility, making her a solid pick for most scenarios. While she shines in boss fights, she doesn’t quite match the power of other top-tier characters like Freyna.
Blair
Blair is an arsonist whose entire kit revolves around spewing fire all around him. He’s great for quick and sustained damage, though his abilities all have a somewhat long cooldown.
His passive ability, Pitmaster, increases the critical damage of his skills and guns whenever he attacks enemies affected by burn. Blair’s critical hit rate also goes up depending on how many Flame Zones he has on the field.
Kyle
Kyle is currently one of the few tanks in the game, and his magnetic abilities provide him with a lot of damage and utility.
He has a Magnetic Bulwark that can block enemy projectiles, and this empowers his Magnetic Force, which can be spent on enhancing his Superconductivity Thrusters or Magnetic Spurt for extra area of effect damage.
While he struggles in mobbing, his powerful magnetic abilities and area-of-effect damage make him invaluable in certain boss fights.
Asimo
Much like Kyle, Asimo is more suited for bossing, offering strong utility and damage. While he’s versatile, his lack of mobility and power in mobbing scenarios holds him back slightly.
B-Tier
Ajax
As one of the few tanks in the game, Ajax is a fine addition to any team composition as he can stun, knock back crowds, and put up defensive barriers for his squad.
In addition to having the ability to protect his teammates, Ajax has a mechanic wherein his skills are improved based on how much Void Energy he has.
At maximum Void Energy, his Hypercube barrier also buffs the damage of any allies’ guns as long as they’re standing inside the dome.
A solid all-around character, Ajax excels in tanking, crowd control, and support. He’s great for survivability and buffing allies with his Hypercube barrier, though he doesn’t excel in damage output for boss fights.
Viessa
Viessa is a powerhouse when it comes to crowd control, as all of her abilities can slow and eventually freeze enemies in place. Although she does her job well, she lags behind a bit in terms of having damage-dealing skills.
With that said, she is able to slow down large groups of enemies by simply running around with Frost Road and throwing down her Blizzard and Cold Snap around the battlefield.
Viessa can slow and freeze enemies, making her a valuable asset in mobbing. However, her damage output is lacking compared to other characters in this tier.
Eugen
Eugen is a capable all-rounder with strong support and utility. While he doesn’t excel in any one area, his well-rounded kit allows him to hold his own in both mobbing and bossing.
Luna
Luna brings utility and support, offering helpful buffs to her team. However, her damage output is fairly average, making her more suited for players who prioritize team support over high DPS.
C-Tier
Enzo
Enzo is an exceptional bossing character, but his terrible mobbing performance pulls him down in this tier list. Despite being a powerhouse in boss fights, his lack of effectiveness in mobbing severely limits his versatility.
Sharen
On paper, Sharen is a deadly assassin who can run around undetected and deal tons of damage from the shadows. Her effectiveness is very reliant on how you build her, however, and other characters may be able to deal more consistent damage.
Since her only damage-dealing ability that isn’t on a long cooldown is Cutoff Beam, her kit may feel a bit underwhelming, though she’s pretty good at one-shotting regular mobs.
D-Tier
Jayber
Essentially a jack-of-all-trades, Jayber specializes in summoning both healing and damage-dealing turrets, making him a decent addition to any team. His Multi-Purpose Gun can repair and enhance his turrets, which adds additional utility to his otherwise mundane summons.
Enhanced Assault Turrets form a damage zone that continuously damages nearby foes, while enhancing Medical Turrets makes them taunt enemies within range and recover allies’ MP.
Jayber is the weakest character in the game, ranking lowest in both mobbing and bossing. His overall performance leaves much to be desired, and he struggles to keep up with the more specialized and versatile characters.
Final Thoughts
This tier list reflects community feedback, with an emphasis on versatility across both mobbing and bossing. As The First Descendant moves closer to full release and Season 2, major balance changes are expected. Characters like Kyle, Asimo, and Freyna have received significant buffs, and the upcoming patch could further impact this list.
This list will get updated for sure, but for now, Freyna reigns supreme as the undisputed top pick. Whether you’re new to the game or a veteran looking to optimize your team, this list should help you make an informed decision on which Descendant to prioritize. Up next, you may also want to check this guide on who to pick between first 3 characters in the game!
