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Apart from Enhancement Materials, another way to make your Descendant more powerful in The First Descendant is through External Components. They’re similar to Artifacts in Genshin Impact, and some also have 2 to 4-set bonuses. Not all of them will make your character stronger, however. We’ll cover which External Components to look out for in The First Descendant and where to farm them.
Best External Component Stats in The First Descendant
Using External Components is simple enough. You loot them, then you equip them in the Inventory menu. However, you need to be more picky about the stats you choose. I recommend these stats in order of importance (most important to least):
- HP
- DEF
- EXP gain (character/weapon)
- Gold drop rate increase
- Kuiper drop rate increase
- Module drop rate increase
- MP
Everything else, like Ecive display boost, Recovery, Resistances, or Shields, is safe to ignore and discard. At the moment, HP is the most important defensive stat, followed by DEF (but it’s quite close between the two). Others are more situational, but the EXP gain rate boost is handy when re-leveling after a Crystallization Catalyst.
In fact, if you get an External Component with double DEF or double HP (main stat + secondary stat) or a mix of both, then that’s a certified keeper. At the moment, only the following External Components can have double DEF or double HP:
- Auxiliary Power
- Memory
Some External Components (like those that drop from Hard Colossi, have set bonuses. Regardless, the stats depend on RNG and your luck. So you want to be farming many of these at a time to maximize your drops.
Where to Farm External Components in The First Descendant
Each External Component drops from a different place, but you can always check where certain External Components with specific stat specializations drop in the Access Info menu.
- Open the Map.
- Select the Access Info tab above.
- Select the External Components section.
- In the Search tab, you can type specific stats like HP, DEF, or elements like Electric, Fire, etc., and the menu will show you where to acquire those specific External Components.
Keep in mind that Ultimate External Components with set bonuses can only drop from Colossus bosses (Void Intercept – Hard). Some of these set bonuses can also be build-enabling or have significant impacts on certain Descendants:
External Component Set | Ideal Descendant | Colossus / Boss |
---|---|---|
Supernova (Ultimate) | Bunny | Executioner (Hard) |
Polar Night (Ultimate) | Viessa | Dead Bride (Hard) |
Annihilation (Ultimate) | Gley / Ajax / Kyle | Devourer (Hard) |
Slayer (Ultimate) | Lepic | Pyromaniac (Hard) |
Venom Essence (Ultimate) | Freyna | Swamp Walker (Hard) |
Bravery Set (Ultimate) | Ajax / Yujin | Obstructer (Hard) |
Frozen Heart (Ultimate) | Yujin / Enzo | Frost Walker (Hard) |
Volcanic Set (Ultimate) | Blair | Molten Fortress (Hard) |