The First Descendant: Nell build guide

Nell is one of the most popular characters in The First Descendant, not only due to her abilities but also because of her design and appearance. Nell is currently the best single-target DPS character and has decent crowd control. Additionally, her addition to the roster of playable characters also opens up the possibility of more NPCs joining the ranks in future updates.

Here is the build setup that will help you clear the most challenging content in the game.

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Nell mod setup in The First Descendant

Nell's mod setup for ability-based build (Image via Nexon || YouTube @Moxsy)

Nell was available as a trial character in the Axion Plains demo, ahead of the Season 3 update. Nexon provided a pre-built setup, which at the time felt underwhelming considering you need to fight hordes of enemies.

However, she was missing her Transcendent mods at the time. As of now, Nell has two unique mods, Shattered Heart and Restored Heart. Of these two, Shattered Heart drastically improves her damage output and gameplay, especially the module.

Here’s the mod setup for Nell:

• Skill Insight
• Skill Concentration
• Front Lines
• MP Conversion
• Maximize Conservation
• Focus on Tech
• Focus on Non-Attribute
• Skill Expansion
• Increased HP
• Nimble Fingers

This Transcendent module transforms her fourth ability, ‘Gaze of Abyss,’ into an attack skill. By default, the ability grants a buff to weak point damage to herself and nearby allies. Using this mod will remove the buff and grant Boid Spikes that deal a large amount of damage to enemies.

After the conversion, you’ll need to gain a custom resource to use the fourth ability that can be built up by scanning enemies and damaging them with the first and second abilities. The increase in damage isn’t trivial either, as the numbers can reach hundreds of millions, making her the strongest Descendant in the game right now.

Nell's AoE can deal a lot of damage (Image via Nexon)

The build setup is mainly for single-target damage, but swapping Maximize Conservation with Amplification Control will allow you to have a bigger AoE for Nell’s second ability. This will allow you to deal damage across a larger area while using her third ability.

Being a Non-Attribute character with Fusion and Tech-based skills, her best in-slot Reactor is the Materalized Mixture Reactor. For external components, her best set is the Ballistic Tracker, which provides her with additional weak point damage and a little more crowd control when using a weapon.

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How to acquire Nell in The First Descendant

Battlefield Missions in Axion Plains are the only way to acquire Nell

Blueprints for crafting Nell drop from all missions within the Axion Plains. Each mission has a 20% chance to reward a Bluprint Loot cache on completion. Winning it can reward you with one of her crafting parts at random chance. However, the process may take some time as the loot cache also contains rewards for the new weapon and Hover Bikes.

A complete guide explaining her abilities can be found here. But, to sum it up, the best for farming is to track all the blueprints you need and join randoms to complete the missions. Depending on your build, each run may take around 5 to 10 minutes.

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Check out other related articles:

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• The cost for The First Descendant's eight-man raid? Last-gen console support
• The First Descendant: Storm Hanger boss guide
• Wall Crasher boss guide for The First Descendant