by theygamesLuna is a multi-purpose Descendant with a kit woven with her unique rhythm mechanics. Let me explain her kit, best loadout, build, weapons, modules, and more in our The First Descendant Luna guide.
How to play Luna in The First Descendant: All Abilities explained
Luna is a specialist Descendant, so it’s essential to grasp how she works before we worry about the build and weapons. Most of Luna’s gameplay loop revolves around her Unique Weapon. As this gun is classed as an ability, your weapon choices take a back seat with the character, for better and for worse. Here’s a quick overview of her skills:
Improvisation (Passive Skill)
Luna’s Improvisation grants her an additional resource bar below her MP bar. The bar slowly fills whenever you cast an “Act” skill on the beat. Once the bar is full (after 15 successful Act casts), Luna can cast an Enhanced version of any Act skill.
Stage Presence
Equips Luna’s Unique Weapon which triggers a rhythm mini-game and is the vessel for her other skills. Luna can’t do much without Stage Presence live, as her playstyle revolves around her Unique Weapon. You can top up your ammo by casting any other skill.
Exciting Act
Exciting Act grants Exciting Buffs to Luna and her allies, increasing Skill Power. This skill is great for ramping up team damage, and Bunny mains, in particular, will love you for it. You’ll be laughing if you squad up with a team of Ultimate Bunny players, as nothing will survive for long.
Relaxing Act
Relaxing Act is a support Buff that improves MP recovery. Most Descendants rely on a healthy supply of MP, and you can enable their skills more reliably by casting this ability.
Cheerful Act
Cheerful Act is arguably Luna’s trump card, granting Cooldown Reduction to the entire team. Like the Relaxing Act, this skill enables abilities for the squad, increasing overall damage output. Keep in mind that Cheerful Act has a savage Cooldown if you use it off the beat.
If I’m being critical, Luna’s rhythm games feel pretty clunky at the time of writing, and I imagine they will be changed in a future update. As it stands, you’ll be disappointed if you expect Octavia from Warframe.
As for the Gameplay loop, Luna draws her unique weapon when you cast Stage Presence. The Unique Weapon comes with 30 shots and every time you fire on the beat, you gain a stack that boosts damage. You rapidly lose stacks if you shoot off the beat, so you must pay close attention to the rhythm.
Luna’s remaining skills offer a selection of buffs that must also be cast on the beat. Hopping between different skills grants Luna extra ammo, so do this frequently. You must be close to your squad to share the buffs, but we can address this with our build later on.
Here’s where it gets a little complicated. Once you reach 15 stacks, the next skill you cast will be “enhanced” making the effect stronger than usual. Try to execute this ability on the beat or it’s effectively wasted until you reach the stack threshold again.
As you can see, Luna is a complex Descendant and a far cry from Bunny running spam (put your pitchforks away, I use her all the time!).
Best Loadout and build for Luna in The First Descendant
We lean into Skill-focused Modules for Luna as if Stage Presence isn’t active, we may as well use a different Descendant. I also recommend maxing out Luna’s HP and Defense, so she can survive tougher content. We’ll get into that when we cover her Descendant Modules.
Reactor
You can use any Reactor you like with Luna, as we’re not building for a specific element. I’ve gone with a Tingling Phase Reactor with Thunder Cage mounting, as that’s the weapon I recommend for the build.
While you can buy Reactors from Deslin in The Albion, you will find far better ones through regular gameplay. Once you hit Hard Mode, you can target farm specific Reactors from the Difficulty Level Rewards menu on the World Map.
External Components
Shields are the weakest form of Defense in The First Descendant, so I recommend prioritizing Max Defense, and Max HP on all main and sub stats. At the time of writing, I’ve not found any Sets that feel like they are made for Luna. Still, if you want to Min Max, here’s what I recommend:
Bravery Set
2-Piece Bonus
- HP Recovery +1.8%
- Max Shield +11.9%
4-Piece Bonus
- Skill Duration increases. 35% chance to reduce a random skill’s cooldown whenever a stunned enemy is defeated.
The Bravery Set is entirely optional, but the Skill Duration increase pairs nicely with Luna’s skills. Skill Cooldown is always a welcome bonus, although it’s quite random with only a 35% chance to trigger.
Best Weapons for Luna in The First Descendant
As mentioned, weapon choices take a backseat for Luna as her Unique Weapon defines her as a Descendant. That said, I have a couple of recommendations, including one you can obtain early.
Thunder Cage
The Thundercage is a phenomenal weapon in The First Descendant. You can get this SMG early on in the story, and it’s worth farming multiple copies to improve the weapons Overcharge skill. I swear by this weapon, and here’s how I’ve built mine:
- Rifling Reinforcement
- Better Concentration
- Concentration Priority
- Focus Fire
- Action and Reaction
- Weak Point Sight
- Expand Weapon Charge
- Better Insight.
Your mods will depend massively on your Capacity, which you can increase with an Energy Activator. If you don’t want to invest, Rifling Reinforcement is still mandatory as it’s free damage and you can use it on any weapon.
I also lucked out with my stats. Critical Damage, Critical Chance, and Firearm Attack are fantastic for the Thunder Cage. My God Roll would be complete with Weak Point Damage or Rounds per Magazine, but it doesn’t add a massive amount.
Nazeistra’s Devotion
I love this chunky pistol, and it was buffed in the Luna and Ultimate Valby update. Nazeistra’s Devotion reduces enemy defense when you hit a weak point. The effect only lasts a few seconds, but it’s free damage for you and your squad. I’ve not fully invested in the weapon yet, but these are the Modules I use:
- Rifling Reinforcement
- Weak Point Sight
- Lethal Finish
- Sharpshooter
- Fatal Critical
- Edging Shot
- Fire Rate Up
I must stress that the weapons are entirely optional for Luna, as you should have Stage Presence live 100% of the time.
Descendant Modules
Other Descendants, like Freyna, deal damage much more effectively than Luna, so I recommend assuming a support role. My Module choices reflect this decision:
- Multi Maneuvering (Sub Module)
- Increased DEF
- Increased HP
- Skill Extension
- Skill Expansion
- Nimble Fingers
- Frugal Mindset
Luna Descendant Modules explained
If you’re a new player, I strongly recommend investing in fully upgraded Increased DEF and Increased HP modules. Shield modules aren’t as impactful, so feel free to leave those out. If you’ve seen any bossing build showcases, you may notice they don’t always run two defensive Modules, but they work wonders for general survivability.
I like Multi Maneuvering as it gives me an additional Grapple Hook charge for mobility. Keep in mind that Sub Modules like this grant additional Capacity when upgraded. I use Nimble Fingers on all of my builds, as the Skill Cooldown reduction makes all of my Descendants feel much snappier. Frugal Mindset is optional but pushes Luna’s Skill Range out a respectable amount.
Finally, we’re using Skill Extension and Skill Expansion to increase the Range and Duration of our buffs.
Luna is a fun Descendant but requires a busy playstyle to pop off. I would be very surprised if Luna doesn’t get buffed soon, so there’s no harm in building her now.
If you’re struggling to keep track of Luna’s rhythm game mechanics, ensure your graphics are set up correctly.