Facing the Devourer in The First Descendant can feel like hitting a brick wall. This colossal boss, with its massive health pool and potent toxic attacks, often leaves squads struggling. However, the secret weapon against the Devourer isn’t a bigger team, but rather going it alone. Due to how boss scaling works in The First Descendant, soloing the Devourer can actually be significantly easier. This guide will walk you through the essential strategies to defeat the Devourer boss solo and claim your victory.
Why Solo the Devourer?
The primary reason to tackle the Devourer solo boils down to boss scaling. In The First Descendant, enemy health and damage increase dramatically with each additional player in your squad. For bosses like the Devourer, this scaling can become overwhelming. When you bring a team, the Devourer’s health skyrockets, and its healing abilities become even more impactful, making it a grueling damage race. Solo, the Devourer’s health is significantly lower, and anecdotal evidence suggests its healing may also be less potent, making it a much more manageable fight.
Key Strategies for Solo Devourer Domination
To effectively solo the Devourer, you need to focus on a few key strategies that leverage the boss’s weaknesses and your Descendant’s strengths.
Toxic Resistance: Your First Line of Defense
The Devourer’s attacks are heavily based on toxic damage. Before even considering your offensive strategy, prioritize your defense against this element. The game itself will advise you on the recommended toxic resistance level for this fight. Aim to achieve at least 1500+ toxic resistance.
You can achieve this by utilizing mods that boost toxic resistance. Consider replacing a less crucial mod in your current build with a toxic resistance mod. This single change can drastically improve your survivability and allow you to withstand the Devourer’s onslaught.
Exploit Weak Spots: Knees are Key
Like many colossal bosses, the Devourer has prominent weak spots. In this fight, the Devourer’s knees are massive and easily accessible weak points. Focus your fire on these knees. By strafing around the Devourer, you can consistently target these weak spots while simultaneously dodging its poison attacks and clearing any smaller enemies that spawn. Once you stagger the Devourer by damaging its weak points, this is the perfect opportunity to unleash your ultimate ability for maximum damage.
Bunny Descendant: Electric Advantage
Choosing the right Descendant can significantly simplify this fight. Bunny, the electric-type Descendant, is an excellent choice against the Devourer. The Devourer is particularly vulnerable to electric damage, making Bunny’s abilities highly effective.
Even if you don’t main Bunny, consider switching to her specifically for this fight. Her electric skills, combined with the readily available electric-based Thundercage weapon, provide a significant damage boost. If you prefer another Descendant, ensure your weapons are equipped with electric damage mods to capitalize on the Devourer’s weakness.
Handling Heal Barrels: Priority Targets
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of the Devourer fight is its healing phase. The Devourer spawns three heal barrels encased in protective bubbles. These barrels will rapidly heal the boss if left unchecked. Your priority during this phase is to destroy these barrels immediately.
Utilize your movement abilities to quickly navigate between the barrels. Many players find shotguns or high-crit weapons like the Thundercage effective for quickly destroying the barrels. Ignore everything else during this phase – adds, boss attacks – and focus solely on eliminating the heal barrels to prevent the Devourer from regaining health. You may encounter multiple healing phases, so be prepared to repeat this strategy.
Conclusion
The Devourer, while imposing, is far from insurmountable. By understanding the mechanics of boss scaling and employing the right strategies – prioritizing toxic resistance, targeting weak spots, leveraging electric damage with Bunny or electric weapons, and swiftly dealing with heal barrels – you can confidently solo this challenging boss in The First Descendant. Don’t be discouraged by initial struggles; with the right approach, victory is well within your reach.
