The First Descendant: How to defeat the Hanged Man Boss

The Hanged Man is a boss in The First Descendant that can be quite difficult to beat if have no idea about its shenanigans. The Hanged Man is a raid boss, which means you will need to team up with others to bring it down. Below, we have discussed the best strategies, setups, and classes in The First Descendant for beating the Hanged Man.

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How to beat the Hanged man in The Fist Descendant?

Steal the cube, run, shoot, repeat (Image via NEXON)

Basic flow

To defeat the Hanged Man, you must first know about its loop or flow. If you look closely, you can see a statue with three tubes in the middle of the arena where the boss arrives. Once the tube is full, it launches a team wipe attack. Thus, to defeat it, one player (Runner) has to steal the cube periodically and others (DPS) will focus on melting its HP bar.

Once the cube is stolen, the Hanged Man enters the enraged mode and becomes invincible. During this, players must stagger it by DPS-ing (dealing constant damage) the giant canon it prepares to fire at a player. Once done, the Runner must return the cube, which will return the boss to its normal mode and contribute to damaging the HP bar until they must repeat the process.

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Prerequisites for the Hanged Man in The First Descendant

Team Composition

• Form a team of four players
• Assign one player as the designated "Runner"
• The other three players will focus on DPS (damage per second)

Runner Setup

• Choose a Descendant with a speed boost ability (e.g., Bunny, Freina, or Viessa)
• Build for maximum ability duration and cast cost reduction
• Equip mods for health, defense, and shields
• Use electric resist mods to reduce damage from lightning attacks

DPS Player Setup

• Equip weapons effective at medium range (avoid shotguns)
• Mod weapons for toxin damage (Hanged Man's weakness)
• Level up weapon mods significantly (aim for about 70% of max)
• Build for health and defense scaling to survive attacks

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Main fight against the Hanged Man in The First Descendant

Squad up and get ready for the fight (Image via NEXON)

Phase 1 - Non-Enraged

• All players focus on dealing damage to the boss
• Aim for weak spots, particularly the face plate, for maximum damage
• Be aware that the boss can quickly change targets
• Kill fodder enemies for potential mana box drops

Keep an eye on the Center Statue

• Watch the tubes filling at the center statue
• These will continue to fill gradually, causing a party wipe once full
• The Runner must grab the cube before the 8-minute mark on the clock or it’s over
• Be cautious of the statue's AOE attack when approaching it

Transition to Enraged Phase

• Once the cube is secured, the boss enters the enraged phase
• The Runner must keep the cube safe at all cost

Phase 2 - Enraged

• Boss becomes invincible
• Every 15 seconds, the boss targets a non-Runner player
• Boss charges a "melt cannon" with a yellow health bar

DPS Check

• All DPS players focus fire on the melt cannon
• Destroy it before it fires to stagger the boss
• Failure results in a devastating laser attack that can one-shot anyone no matter the build

Fluid Drain

• Successfully staggering the boss drains 40% of the fluid in the center tubes
• Aim to complete two DPS checks per enraged cycle (80% fluid drain)

Return to Non-Enraged

• After two successful DPS checks, the Runner returns the football to the altar
• This reverts the boss to the non-enraged state

Repeat Cycle

• Continue alternating between non-enraged and enraged phases
• The Runner grabs the football whenever the fluid nears full

Survival Tips

• DPS players should stay together during the enraged phase for easier aiming
• Runner should prioritize survival and reviving downed teammates
• If the Runner goes down during the enraged phase, prioritize reviving them

Time Management

• Aim to defeat the boss within 10 minutes
• Balance DPS during non-enraged phases with managing the enraged phases

Advanced Strategy

• For Bunny players: Cast ability before grabbing the football to maintain speed boost
• Consider intentional deaths to reset mana if running low after multiple cycles

That’s all for the Hanged Man in The First Descendant. Follow this strategy and eventually, you will make it fall.

Check out our other guides on The First Descendant:

• The First Descendant tier list: Best characters to play
• All Ultimate Descendants and how to get them
• The First Descendant Complete Bunny questline: All Record locations
• The First Descendant Thunder Cage build: Best Modules, unique trait, and more