The First Descendant Thunder Cage build: Best Modules, unique trait, and more

The Thunder Cage is an Ultimate weapon in The First Descendant. This submachine gun is placed among the best AOE damage dealers in the game and is capable of causing additional damage to nearby enemies, thanks to its special ability, Overcharge.

In this article, we explain how to get the Thunder Cage in The First Descendant and look at the best build for it.

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How to get The Thunder Cage in The First Descendant

How do you find the Thunder Cage? (Image via NEXON)

If you want to craft the Thunder Cage, you can get the materials through the quest “Basic Weapon Training.” It is a side mission that will be available after completing Kingston, which is the first zone of the game.

Once you get the materials, you can craft the weapon. The locations for the materials are:

• Obtain Thunder Cage Polymer Synctium by completing tasks in the External Reactor of Sterile Land Rockfall.
• Obtain Thunder Cage Synthetic Fiber by completing tasks in Kuiper Mine's Sterile Land Repository.
• Obtain the Thunder Cage Nano Tube by completing tasks in the High-Powered Jammer Sterile Land Restricted Zone.
• Complete tasks at the Sterile Land Ironworks, Logistics Facility to obtain the Thunder Cage Blueprint.

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What is Thunder Cage mounting in The First Descendant?

Some Reactors in The First Descendant will list 'Thunder Cage mounting' as part of their Skill damage bonus Optimization requirement. This means you must have the Thunder Cage mounted on one of your three active weapon slots to gain the bonus Skill damage. It's a game by Korean developers, so some translation gaps like these are par for the course.

When you are in Albion, you technically don't have any of your weapons 'equipped', so this optimization requirement will not be met even if you equip Thunder Cage. However, when you delve into any other map or a Void Intercept Battle, you should get the bonus.

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What is the unique ability of the Thunder Cage in The First Descendant?

The Thunder Cage has a special ability called Overcharge (Image via NEXON)

The Thunder Cage has a special ability called Overcharge. When you kill an enemy using this weapon and ability, you can unleash an electric shockwave that causes additional damage to adversaries nearby. This ability can be upgraded and can be a powerful AOE attack for dealing with swarms of enemies.

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Thunder Cage build guide in The First Descendant

Best modules and build for the Thunder Cage (Image via NEXON)

Modules

• Rifling Reinforcement
• Sharpshooter
• Marksman
• Concentrate Priority
• Concentrate Support Ammo
• Weak Point Site
• Reload Concentration
• Fire Rate Up
• Concentration Stabilizer

All these modules are handpicked for the Thunder Cage, which can boost the DPS as well as significantly reduce reload speed and boost fire rate.

Bullet Type

• Swap out the bullet type depending on the boss you're fighting.
• Choose the bullet type the boss is weak against.
• This doesn't significantly affect core DPS but helps tremendously against Colossus bosses.

Special Perk - Overcharge

Upgrade this ability at least twice

Effects

• Base reload speed decrease.
• Defeating an enemy triggers an Electric Shockwave. It affects nearby enemies within 8 meters and deals 50% of firearm attack as additional damage. It has a 60% chance of triggering.

Optimization Tips

• Focus on maximizing DPS while managing capacitor usage.
• Experiment with different module combinations to find the best balance.
• Adapt your bullet type to exploit boss weaknesses.

Usage Strategy

• Take advantage of the Overcharge perk by defeating weaker enemies to trigger area damage.
• Use the high fire rate and large magazine size for sustained damage output.
• Maintain close to mid-range for optimal effectiveness.

That explains the Thunder Cage Ultimate weapon in The First Descendant.

Check out our other The First Descendant articles:

• The First Descendant tier list
• All Pre-Season Battle Pass rewards
• How to get Kuiper Shards
• How to increase Mastery Rank