The First Descendant’s season 2 is finally out and players are already excited to get into the new content. We have new weapons, Descendants, fellows and a new farming mechanic in the form of the Void Vessels.
You might be wondering what Void Vessels are and how they work so that you can make the most of the loot you get. In this guide, we’ll go over everything you need to know related to the Void Vessels. Without further delay, let’s get into it!
ULTIMATE Void Vessels Guide
The Void Vessels in The First Descendant have got quite a lot of depth to them. So, we’ll be going over everything which includes how to unlock them, how the rewards work and what kind of dangers you can expect to face.
Void Vessels Overview
Void Vessels are the new highest farm mechanic for Season 2. They work similarly to invasions from Season 1, which you can still do for gold.
However, the main reason to do Void Vessels is because you can get the new Fellow, Sheep Dog, loot that you can use to craft the companion. Additionally, you’re also going to get the pieces you need to craft the new Descendant Keelan.
On top of that, you’ll also be getting the materials that you need for crafting for the new Fellow and Keelan.
So, you can expect the gameplay loop to involve going through the Void Vessel, defeating the final boss, getting Encryption Keys and loot from the final box. After that, you can then use the keys to open loot chests in your next Void Vessels run you can get materials.
Quest Unlock
To unlock Void Vessels, you’ll need to head into the HQ and complete the purple quests. You will not be able to farm Void Vessels until you’ve completed the questline.
Once you do complete it, you’ll be able to access the Void Vessels console there, where you can run on Normal or Hard Difficulty.
Record Collection
Before you can dive into Void Vessels, you’ll need to complete the questline mentioned above. The questline consists of three solo only quests that you cannot complete in a party. As part of this quest, you’ll dive into the Void Vessels.
However, the quests are really tedious as you’ll need to collect records three times. That means at minimum you’ll need to complete the level 3 times solo.
The records are also reportedly bugged for some people as they can be invisible or just not show up. So, we recommend just following the green markers as accurately as you can to get them.
If you do miss records, you might have to do the mission again which makes it really tedious.
Once you do complete the solo quests, you’ll now be able to access public matchmaking or play with friends in Void Vessels.
Reward Boxes
When you interact with the Void Vessels console, you can choose Normal or Hard Difficulty. If you can manage it, we recommend always choosing Hard as it gives you more resources, crafting materials and Decryption Keys.
You can check the Reward Info just before the Mission Details to see what materials you can get.
There are two different types of Container Rewards that you can get at the end. The ones that are listed vertically on the left with the Descendant icon are for Keelan while the ones with the paw icon are for Fellow.
Both of them contain Blueprints and Crafting Materials that you need for them. Note that at the end of the Void Vessel you’ll get only one of them and this is random.
There are four different tiers for each of the chests that you can get. The difference between these tiers is the distribution of the drop chances.
The lower chests have a higher drop chance for the lower end loot while the higher chests provide better higher end loot chances such as for Blueprints. So, in general, the top tiers are always going to be best for blueprints.
Once you’ve already obtained the new characters, then the lower tiers might be better.
Each of these tiers has a time linked to them. This time refers to how much time will be left after you defeat the final boss of the Void Vessels. This is because the final boss is a time attack boss that you have to defeat in the given time limit.
Depending on how fast you defeat the boss, you can get better loot. Of course, if you do not defeat the boss in the time limit then you will lose the Void Vessel run.
Comms Beacon
Void Vessels consist of the same base map with the same sequence of the main rooms. However, there are different doors, paths and side rooms that can have chests and beacons. Sometimes the doors to them will be open other times they’ll be closed.
So, in this way, you can have a lot of variety in the levels.
While playing the Void Vessels, you’ll see a counter on the right that keeps track of Vulgus Comm Beacons alongside a time bonus. The more comm beacons you unlock, the higher the time bonus will be.
This additional time bonus will increase the amount of time you will have against the final boss. So, you’ll have a better chance of getting the higher tier Container Rewards.
To find comm beacons, you will need to explore the map. When you are near a comms beacon, an icon will appear like the one shown below. Go to this icon and you’ll find a comm beacon.
Now there are two types of comm beacons. There are inactive ones that you can do nothing about with the top closed off. The active comm beacons will have a red light coming out from the top and you can interact with them to block them.
Doing so will increase your time at the end.
Encrypted Chests
While doing the Void Vessels, you’ll come across different kinds of chests. The different types that you’ll come across are:
- Experimental Chests
- Consist of loot for the Sheep Dog fellow
- Genetic Chests
- Consists of loot for Keelan
- Special Chests
- Contains a mix of both.
Some of these chests will already be broken meaning that they are already open. So, you can get the loot from them directly.
However, the other chests will need to be opened using Encryption Keys. You obtain these keys from the final boss of the Void Vessels. After that, you can open the chests that will give you the loot you need depending on if you need it for Fellow, Keelan or both.
So, if you do not have keys, you will not be able to open them. However, after defeating the final boss, you can rerun the Void Vessel so that you can come and get the materials you need for Keelan or Fellow.
Void Shields
The next thing you need to know about in Void Vessels are Void Shields. There are two types of void shields that enemies will have:
- Yellow Shields
- Can only be damaged by Weapons
- Blue Shields
- Can only be damaged by skills
To be able to permanently destroy yellow shields, there will typically be an enemy that is sourcing the shield. If you shoot that enemy and break their shield, it will break the shield for all nearby enemies too.
The second type of shields are blue shields that can only be damaged by skills. The only exception is the Voltia that can deal both skill and firearm damage.
If you’re looking for a good build for this weapon, our best voltia builds for void vessels guide has you covered!
There are also blue void shields that will be blocking certain rooms. You can destroy them with skills and then get access to chest rooms where you can use your keys.
Final Boss
The final boss that you’ll be facing in the Void Vessels is the Dread Armor Commando. This boss has a mix of a lot of AoE and special mechanics that you’ll need to be aware of.
You’ll also need to deal a lot of skill damage because the boss uses a lot of blue void shields.
The Dread Armor Commando has a total of 3 main phases.
The first phase will start off with a lot of minions spawning everywhere. They’ll have void shields so be aware of that.
After that, the Dread Armor Commando will spawn in with a giant shield in front of him. There are a bunch of strategies that you can use. You can use skill damage behind his shield to deal damage to him.
You can also shoot with your weapon at his feet or head to do direct damage. Damaging his shield is also an option but it’s very slow and time-consuming, so it’s better you avoid it.
One trick you can use to open him up is getting close to him so that he does a shield slam. After that dodge the slam and do damage to him while he is in the slam animation. Either method can be used to damage him so that he enters his second phase.
In the second phase, the boss will expand his shield with a weak point in the middle. So, you can switch to firearm damage to burn the middle piece of the shield.
Once the shield is destroyed, he’ll get a skill shield around him and the room will start blowing up. The boss will then approach the generators and activate one causing it to have a skill shield too. The generators will start pulsing blue shock rings that will damage you.
The only way to remove these rings is by destroying the skill shields around them. He’ll also do these jump leaps that cause a lot of AoE damage. The strategy here is to just stay alive and damage him as much as possible.
In the third phase, mobs with skill shields will spawn in and you’ll need to kill them. Once they die, the room will go dark and the boss will enter its final form. He’ll bring out his artillery and guns, alongside spawning generators and skill shields.
There are two new attacks you’ll need to be aware of here. One is a mortar he’ll launch in the air and the other is a canon he’ll fire by kneeling down. The strategy here is to either get rid of the generator shields or to stay far away from the AoE damage.
Once you kill him in the third phase, the Void Vessels will end and you’ll get your Container Reward and Encryption Keys at the end.
That’s everything you need to know for this Void Vessels guide for the First Descendant. Be sure to use the Voltia in these runs as they’ll make your life much easier. Hopefully, you’ll be able to craft Keelan and Fellow soon!
