The First Descendant preload guide: release time, file size, and preorder

By Jesse Lennox June 28, 2024

Key art for The First Descendant. — Nexon

While Destiny and Warframe are the two big names in the free-to-play looter-shooter space, The First Descendant looks like it might be able to carve out an audience for itself when it hits. Coming to most platforms on July 2, this third-person shooter using Unreal Engine 5 certainly has the looks to draw people in, but only time will tell if it has the addictive gameplay and enough content to satisfy gamers. It’s not often you get to be there on day one for a live-service game like this, so plenty of people are hoping to get in as early as possible to be the first to hopefully get some overpowered gear and guns. Here are all the preload details you need if you want to be ready to roll the second the game drops.

Contents

The First Descendant release time
The First Descendant file size
The First Descendant preload options
The First Descendant preorder details

The First Descendant release time

A map with preload times for The First Descendant. — Nexon

The First Descendant will release at midnight PT on July 2. You can check the handy map above to convert that to your local time.

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The First Descendant file size

We don’t have any console file sizes yet, but according to the official site’s PC requirements, you will need 50GB of storage space for The First Descendant. You should estimate around that much space will be needed on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S as well.

The First Descendant preload options

A playable character hold a mysterious orb in The First Descendant's gamescom trailer. — Nexon

Being free-to-play, anyone is able to preload The First Descendant 48 hours prior to launch starting at midnight PT on June 30 or your regional equivalent.

The First Descendant preorder details

The First Descendant is completely free with no paid versions available to preorder. Just preload or download the game and you’re good to go!

Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over four years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…

Gaming

The First Descendant dev addresses those Destiny 2 similarities

A man with a gun fights a robot in The First Descendant.

Nexon has released a statement concerning reports that its new looter shooter The First Descendant copied art from Destiny 2.

The initial claims were published by Paul Tassi at Forbes, who noted how some of the icon art and weapons look similar between the two games. Some just look like references while others look like straight-up copies. You can see some examples in his post on X (formerly Twitter) below.

Gaming

Best ways to level up your Mastery Rank and more in The First Descendant

A Descendant in a robot suit fires a gun in The First Descendant.

You will eventually get access to multiple Descendants you can level up in The First Descendant, but your overall level is known as your Mastery Rank. Each Descendant has different purposes and unlocks, but thankfully you can work on them both Decsendants and Mastery Rank at the same time. However, Mastery is far more important and is a bit more involved to get the benefits from compared to your Descendant level, which automatically rewards you as you level up. This free-to-play game throws a lot at you in the early hours without fully explaining everything as well as it should. Let's make sure you're not wasting your grinding efforts and go over the best ways to level up your Mastery Rank and Descendants in The First Descendant.
What's the difference between Mastery Rank and Descendant levels?
These are the two ways you can level up in The First Descendant, and each one is unique in how it works.

Descendant levels are the most straightforward. As you play with a specific Descendant (which are just your different classes you can unlock and swap between), you will gain XP and level that specific Descendant up. Each Descendant level gives a minor stat boost and eventually unlocks new abilities for that class.

Gaming

What is the max level in The First Descendant?

A squad of Descendants shoots in The First Descendant.

Live-service games are all about the grind. In The First Descendant, you will be grinding for weapons, armor, materials, and XP to level up either solo or with a squad. Once you start taking on missions, you will quickly realize that there isn't just one, but two different things you will be leveling up. The first is your Descendant level, and the second is your Mastery Rank, and each one gives different rewards. If you're gunning to be the most powerful Descendant in Albion, you have plenty of grinding to do if you want to hit the level cap in both categories.
What are the max levels in The First Descendant?
As mentioned, there are two different ways to level up in The First Descendant, but both are done through the same method of beating missions.

The max Descendant level is 40, but this is a little misleading since each individual Descendant has its own Descendant level that is not shared between the others. That means you could grind all 14 currently available Descendants to 40, which could take you quite a long time to do.