The First Descendant gives players a choice of picking one starting character before the intro mission begins. You can see an overview of what each character does, but to help you decide which one to pick, we have this guide for you. This informative article explains all starting characters and their active and passive skills and tries to hint which playstyle will suit you so that you can make an informed decision in picking the best starting character in The First Descendant.
All Starting Characters
The First Descendant features the following three starting characters for you to pick up:
- Viessa
- Ajax
- Lepic
You will get locked out of picking any other character except for the starting one. You can start to buy or unlock more characters after completing the intro mission but that will take a long time. Therefore, it is important to select the best-starting character that suits your playstyle or approach toward the main and side missions in The First Descendant.
Why Pick Viessa?
Viessa uses the Chill attribute and freezes enemies at will. She plays as a Debuffer in a team and can control the crowd using her ice-based attack projectiles and zone-control attacks.
If you like to attract too much attention yourself, dividing and conquering the crowd, you should pick Viessa, as her icy powers not only look cool but deal a lot of damage, too.
All Skills
| Active Skills | Description |
|---|---|
| Frost Shards | Sends an Ice Beam that explodes on impact, dealing physical damage and Ice Shackle in a small AoE. |
| Frost Road | Viessa gets an increased running speed and shield. Wherever she stands or runs, she creates an ice trail that freezes or slows down enemies if they come in contact. |
| Cold Snap | An arc of cold air is sent in front of Vissa that deals physical damage and Ice Shackle. |
| Blizzard | Viessa creates a snowstorm that will explode over time and deal damage to nearby enemies caught by the blast. |
| Passive Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Ice Sphere | Ice projectiles spawn around Viessa whenever she inflicts Ice Shackle effect on enemies. The projectiles fire to the nearby foes automatically. |
Should You Pick Ajax?
Ajax is the tank that uses Void Energy to soak the most damage in a squad. Using his various active skills, he can provide various types of shields/barriers to protect himself and his squadmates.
If you want to play as a support tank character in The First Descent, then Ajax is the best starting character for you.
All Skills
| Active Skills | Description |
|---|---|
| Orbit Barrier | Ajax creates a shield in front of himself. The shield’s durability increases based on his HP and DEF. |
| Void Walk | Ajax leaps into the air and lands with a powerful strike, stunning nearby enemies. |
| Expulsion | Ajax delivers a powerful blow, knocking back nearby enemies. |
| Hypercube | Ajax creates a dome-shaped shield, with its durability increasing based on his HP and DEF. |
| Passive Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Event Horizon | Ajax gains Void Energy each time he uses a skill. When the Void Energy meter is full, his skills become enhanced and gain additional effects. |
Should You Choose Lepic?
Lepic is the DPS character who uses the Fire attribute. He is the one-man army that can potentially destroy mobs and melt tanky foes easily.
Most of Lepic’s skills involve buffing his damage and skill ATK. If this playstyle interests you, then you should definitely pick Lepic in the game.
All Skills
| Active Skills | Description |
|---|---|
| Grenade | Lepic throws a grenade forward at the enemy, causing an explosive blast upon impact. This skill deals significant damage to enemies caught in the explosion radius. |
| Overclock | Lepic enhances all his skill attacks, temporarily increasing their damage. Additionally, this skill adds a burn effect to his Grenade and Overkill abilities, dealing extra fire damage over time. |
| Traction Grenade | Lepic throws a Traction Grenade that pulls enemies within its range toward the explosion point. This skill is great for gathering enemies into a single area, making them easier to target with other attacks. |
| Overkill | Lepic fires a powerful shell at an enemy, which remains at the impact point for a duration, continuously dealing damage over time. This skill is effective for controlling areas and wearing down enemies over extended engagements. |
| Passive Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Close Call | Lepic’s Close Call skill gives him a chance to survive otherwise fatal damage during battle. |
These were all the best starting characters in the First Descendant. If you’re keen on learning about the other characters, check out our full guide on all the characters and their skills in The First Descendant. We’ve also got a tier list ranking all the characters of the game that you can check out.
If you’re encountering the out of video memory error in The First Descendant, we’ve also got an error-fix guide on that too.
