The First Descendant Season 3 Demo: How to play and what to expect

Ahead of The First Descendant Season 3, Nexon has added a Demo for the new open-world section of the game, called Axion Plains. This short, standalone experience lets everyone play as the new Descendant Nell and explore a small section of the new wasteland. You can try out her abilities, ride the hoverbike, and fight new enemies, including the Wall Crasher.

The Demo is accessible through the main screen of the game, here’s a complete breakdown of what to expect.

What’s included in The First Descendant Season 3 Demo

Characters and weapons

The First Descendant demo character selection screen (Image via Nexon)

Selecting the Season 3 Demo will land you in Axion and let you choose from the three playable Descendants: Ultimate Bunny, Ultimate Freyna, and Nell. All characters are fully catalyzed across all mod slots, and while there’s already a present, you can make changes with a limited amount of mod selection.

Both Ultimate Bunny and Ultimate Freyna come with a Transcendent mod, but Nexon is keeping the ones for Nell behind the curtain for now. However, she was already dealing good damage without the mod and had a crowd-control ability with a short cooldown. Her weapon damage was also boosted with the Ballistic Tracker set.

Nell with new weapons in The First Descendant (Image via Nexon)

The weapon loadout includes two new weapons, which are also fully catalyzed and equipped with maxed-out mods and augmentations. Once you select the Descendant, a short mission will begin, which feels like one of the new patrols for Axion, featuring a new enemy faction called Legion of Breach.

Also Read: The First Descendant: Everything we know about Nell, the next character

New Descendant Nell

Nell feels like a hybrid Descendant (Image via Nexon)

Nell is going to be very popular as a new Descendant. Her kit feels like a hybrid between ability and weapon use, so you’ll need to focus on both. We won’t go too deep into how things work right now, but she can group up small enemies for an easy nuke if you like playing abilities.

However, if you like shooting, Nell can also make the damage you deal as Weak Point damage. This effect will be shared across the entire team, so other weapon-based Descendants like Serena and Gley will see a huge improvement in DPS.

Hoverbike and Wall Crasher encounter

Wall Crasher stands as the new challenge (Image via Nexon)

The Hoverbike is only accessible after completing the mission and will be used to travel to a new location where you’ll face the open-world colossus, Wall Crasher. Summon the Hoverbike by pressing B while on the ground or in the air and control it with WASD keys.

This section is short, as the vehicle will get you to the Axion Arena quickly, where you’ll encounter the colossus. The fight will also be brief, as the weapons you have won’t be able to deal much damage. It is likely to showcase that you will need more players to take down this enemy.

After the Wall Crasher does a few of its attacks, a cutscene will begin showcasing its arrival, likely related to the story expansion. Participating and completing the Demo will also grant you some free rewards, including Crystallization Catalysts, Spoils Box, in-game resources, and resource boosters.

The First Descendant Season 3 Demo participation rewards

Reward list for participation:

1 Axion Spearhead Box containing Axion Plains and Spearhead title
3 Vehicle paints - Matte Light Black, Matte Pale Gold, and Matte Elastic Blue
1 Crystallization Catalyst
3,000,000 Gold
300,000 Kuiper Shards

Reward list for completing the Demo:

1 Crystallization Catalyst
1 Spoils Box
30% Boost (1-Hour) - Gold, Kuiper Shard, Weapon Proficiency, and Descendant EXP.

Additionally, taking the Demo survey will also grant you a Crystallization Catalyst. The participation and survey rewards will be available on August 13, 2025, while completion rewards will be available the next time you log in.

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About the author

Mayank Singh Rathour is an MMO writer at Sportskeeda. He graduated from college with a degree in Business Administration and has over two years of experience as an esports journalist.

Mayank was introduced to gaming at an early age and played Contra, Double Dragon, Castlevania, etc., on his Nintendo DS. When he was a little older, Counter-Strike — a title that majorly helped develop his passion for gaming — became his favorite pastime. Though he's played a bunch of games since then, his love of CS has remained strong. Shroud, a former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro, is an inspiration to him. He's also a fan of series' esports scene, following teams like Vitality, NAVI, and The Mongols closely.

When Mayank has some free time, he plays basketball and helps people build PCs.

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Edited by Angad Sharma