The First Descendant: Best starter character to pick

The First Descendant has a great roster of characters but you can only pick one out of three at the start, and they’ve all got unique approaches to battle.

Although you may want to dive straight in and try every Descendant in the looter shooter, you’re limited to choosing between three fighters in the beginning. Ajax is a tank with solid defensive abilities, Lepic is a demolition expert DPS unit, and Viessa wields ice powers to debuff her enemies.

Each of them is easy to use but they have distinct playstyles and strengths. If you’re struggling to decide, these are our recommendations for the best starter character in The First Descendant.

Best starter choice in The First Descendant

It’s a close call between Lepic and Viessa, as Ajax’s more support-based style is better saved for people after they’re more familiar with the game’s mechanics.

Of the two remaining starter characters, Lepic is the better choice for a total beginner, as his Close Call ability and relatively simple explosive play style are easy to master and visually satisfying, especially when facing groups of enemies.

Those more experienced with shooters will likely enjoy choosing Viessa as a starter character. Her debuffs require a little more knowledge to use effectively, but they can be devastating and satisfying when pulled off correctly.

Ajax strengths & weaknesses

Ajax is a frontline fighter with support unit skills, thanks to his ability to utilize shields on the battlefield. He still possesses offensive capabilities, with some useful debuffs that can be inflicted on enemies, so long as you don’t mind getting up close.

Ajax has a mechanic called Void Energy, which fills up whenever the player uses a skill. Once Void Energy is full, it enhances all of Ajax’s other skills.

For defensive powers, Ajax has Orbit Barrier, which is a wall-shaped shield and Dimension, which is a dome-shaped shield. When Void Energy is full, these both reflect a portion of received damage back at the enemy.

For offensive powers, Ajax has Expulsion, which knocks enemies back, and Void Walk, which is a leaping stomp that can stun foes. Remember that both of these abilities have a short range, so you need to be wary about using them when at low health.

Ajax is the better choice for more experienced shooter fans. His skills require the player to be aware of what’s going on with their teammates and the flow of the battlefield so that they can best utilize their shields to keep people alive.

Lepic strengths & weaknesses

Lepic is a full DPS character who utilizes the fire element with his explosives. With the exception of his Passive Skill, Lepic’s playstyle is all about combining his four offensive skills into a short burst of fire that can deal a ton of damage.

Lepic’s Grenade skill throws an explosive forward at the enemy, while Overkill gives his bullets a Burn effect that deals constant damage at the point where they hit. Both of these skills can be empowered by Overclock, though this burns MP while active.

Additionally, Lepic has Traction Grenade, which uses gravity to drag enemies together to a certain point. You can easily see the combo potential here, as Traction Grenade pulls a mob together, allowing you to Grenade or Overkill them, while Overclock is in effect.

In stark contrast to his other skills, Lepic’s passive, Close Call, is essentially a second life. If you die, Close Call protects you from all damage for a short period, before restoring some of your health. However, this won’t save you forever as Close Call has a long cooldown timer, so you’ll be extremely vulnerable after it has been used.

Lepic is all about making things go boom. His skills are easy to understand and are very effective in a game where you’re facing lots of mobs of enemies. It’s all about using a handful of skills together to make them as effective as possible.

Viessa strengths & weaknesses

Viessa is a debuffer whose main gimmick involves her Ice Sphere passive. This floating sphere strikes nearby enemies and inflicts the Ice Shackles effect, which works in tandem with her other skills.

Viessa’s skills are centered around increasing the tiers of the Ice Shackles debuff, as the higher it is, the more effective their effects will be.

Frost Shards creates a damaging beam that hurts enemies and inflicts Ice Shackles, while Cold Snap is a short-range arc with the same effect. Her most damaging move is Blizzard, which has a wide range, deals a ton of damage and is even more powerful on enemies with Ice Shackles.

She also has a buff, in the form of Frost Road. Not only does this increase her movement speed and Shield, but it leaves a path of Ice Sheets wherever she runs, inflicting Ice Shackles on any enemy that comes into contact with it.

Viessa requires knowledge of how her skills work together to play effectively. It’s all about maximizing the use of Ice Shackles to make her Skills more damaging when you unleash them.

That’s everything you need to know about the starter characters in The First Descendant. For more, check out our build guides for Bunny, Freyna, Kyle, and Gley. Make sure to also stay up to date with the game’s server status.