10 Best Weapons in The First Descendant, Ranked

Shiny new characters are the allure of The First Descendant, but they are only half the battle. Unless you’re Bunny, your gun is an essential part of your kit. Firearms vary massively in quality, and Ultimate Weapons range from meta-defining to almost completely useless.

As every weapon takes resources to put together, here are 10 of the best to ensure you don’t waste your time.

10 King’s Guard Lance

You May Call Me Jayber

The King’s Guard Lance was a meme weapon during Season Zero with a fun, if underwhelming, unique Perk. Thanks to massive buffs in Season 1, this unusual gun is a viable choice for most characters and nearly makes one particular Descendant obsolete.

This weapon is exceptional thanks to its respectable damage output and Guardian ability. The King’s Guard Lance can spawn turrets, which rapidly chew away at enemy health bars.

Activities that require you to lock down an area are limited in The First Descendant, hence the low placement. That said, if you know where enemies spawn, you can set up your turrets to destroy them the moment they appear.

You will notice the theme of season 1 buffs in this list as the developers have been reciprocal to feedback since launch.

9 Secret Garden

The Underrated Choice

The Secret Garden is a dangerous Tactical Rifle with abilities that function differently depending on your Descendant.

Pest Control is the ability we care about, which is activated when we use Tech skills. This ability grants boosted Firearm ATK and Skill Power and stacks if you quickly spam your skills.

The Tech part of Pest Control synergizes particularly well with Freyna’s kit. Freyna has a pair of spammable Toxin abilities, and with her Ultimate version on the horizon, the Secret Garden could be a worthwhile addition to your arsenal.

8 Nazeistra’s Devotion

A Punchy Hand Cannon

Hand Cannons are in an odd spot in The First Descendant, but Nazeistra’s Devotion is easily the best. Nazeistra’s Devotion sports a respectable fire rate, controllable recoil, and punchy damage.

The best part about the weapon is its unique ability, Fanatacism, which inflicts the Devotion Mark on targets. This powerful debuff reduces enemy defense values, which your entire team will benefit from.

The Nazeistra’s Devotion is also pretty decent at range and a superb choice to deal with snipers and small weak points.

7 Piercing Light

Big Value Debuffs

Sniper Rifles are incredible in The First Descendant but require specific characters and a ton of investment. Hailey is all the rage in Season 1, and the Piercing Light is absolutely devastating in her hands.

This Sniper Rifle inflicts Dispel when you hit a Weak Point, which removes buffs and is particularly efficient against bosses.

Combine this power with arguably the best boss killer in the game, and you’ll wonder how Collosi battles ever caused you problems.

6 Afterglow Sword

One Shot, One Kill

The Afterglow Sword is a phenomenal Sniper Rifle and just beats the Piercing Light as it’s more forgiving while still dishing out those satisfying damage numbers.

The Afterglow Sword has the unique ability, Nightmare Reaper, which increases Critical Hit rate and Weak Point damage. These stats are perfect for a weapon specializing in methodical, decisive hits.

Nightmare Reaper’s effect also stacks, which is excellent for follow-up shots. Sharen is the ideal Descendant to use with the Afterglow Sword, thanks to her buffs while invisible, but this is a rifle anyone can enjoy.

5 Python

An Unrivaled Rate Of Fire

The Python requires heavy investment to shine, but it’s a marvel with the right build and Descendant. As the Python is an SMG, it boasts a ridiculous rate of fire, even eclipsing the Thundercage.

This time around, we have Python Instinct as a unique ability, which lowers enemy resistance to Toxin and Non-attribute damage. The debuff is excellent for the user, and there’s a decent chance squad members will also reap the benefits.

Expect ammo economy issues unless you’re using Gley, but if filling opponents with lead is your main concern, you can’t do much better than this deadly weapon.

4 Executor

A No-Effort Crit Machine

The Executor was awful until it saw massive buffs in Season 1. This punchy shotgun deals respectable damage, but its unique ability earns it a place on the list.

Impending Judgement grants a shopping list of buffs for accurate shots, including Critical Hit rate and damage. You can reach a 100% Crit Hit rate with The Executor, and it’s effortless with Gley.

It’s no secret that Gley makes every weapon better. The Executor is a monster in her hands, but every Descendant can enjoy this close-range powerhouse.

3 Greg’s Reversed Fate

Blind Your Enemies (And Your Teammates)

While we’re on the topic of buffs from The Executor, Greg’s Reversed Fate is now better than ever. Greg’s Reversed Fate is a burst-fire rifle that periodically rains fiery barrages on your target.

The barrage is tied to a percentage trigger rate, so it doesn’t always appear when you want it. That said, the damage is incredible when it works, and it’s a showstopper against bosses and tanky opponents.

Greg’s Reversed Fate can be built to shred Collosi. Just spare a thought for your squad, as the barrages are a retina-burning bright orange.

2 Enduring Legacy

Fire Forever

The Enduring Legacy is yet another weapon that enjoys massive buffs with Season 1. It has a chunky magazine, a superb fire rate, and deadly unique ability.

The Enduring Legacy has the Craftsmanship perk, increasing Status trigger effects. You deal more damage to burning opponents, so it’s worth rocking mods like Fire Priority.

Lepic is the obvious choice for the weapon, but any Descendant can wield this flaming monstrosity.

As Enduring Legacy is a machine gun, it dramatically reduces your movement speed. If you don’t mind the mobility hit, this weapon kicks out damage most can’t even dream of.

The developers approach to buffs with The First Descendant is refreshing and, considering they believe the game is the next generation of looter shooters, it sets a great precedence for the future.

1 Thundercage

Like Bread And Butter

The Thundercage is a ridiculously powerful all-rounder and the most accessible Ultimate Weapon in the game. All players can earn this deadly SMG during the early part of the campaign, and it’s so strong that it’s viable deep into the endgame.

The Thundercage has everything you could want. Great damage, low recoil, decent magazine size, and a rapid-fire rate.

This SMG has the Overcharge ability, which shocks nearby opponents. The Electricity synergizes well with Bunny, but you can rock this weapon with any Descendant to lethal effect.

The Thundercage is “best in slot” for so many situations; it’s worth an Energy Reactor and as many Catalysts as you want.

We’ve seen a shopping list of buffs and almost zero nerfs since The First Descendant launched. While it’s true that powercreep exists, we only need to look at Helldivers 2 to see that nerfs to fan favorites can be unpopular and damaging in the long run.