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Anais Research vendor in The First Descendant.
Screenshot by The Escapist.

The First Descendant: All Research Materials & How to Get Them

The First Descendant is all about the grind, and you either love it or you hate it. There are many research materials to be found in the game’s many playable areas. Here’s all the reseaerch materials and how to get them in The First Descendant.

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All Research Materials & How to Get Them

This is going to be a very long list of materials, broken up by region, with one group at the end for materials that are not tied to physical locations in the game. The easiest way to use this list is to search it by using the Ctrl+F function on PC.

On Android, you can hit the More option (the three dots at the top right) and then select Find in Page. On iPhone, you can type the resource or material you want to find in the search bar, then select “On This Page.” All options will highlight any instances of the word on the page and allow you to jump directly to them.

Important note: A common term used in The First Descendant and this guide is “mission monsters”. These are rare yellow bar enemies that will spawn during the mission. If the source of a material is one of these enemies, you must run over the spot where they die to pick up the loot. As it drops from their body like a weapon or reactor, it does not automatically appear in your inventory like a mission reward.

Kingston Research Materials

MaterialHow to Obtain It
ReptonObtained by destroying Resource Boxes or opening Munitions Boxes in Kingston. Use your scanner to find them, as they will be marked by white chevrons on the screen.
Monad ShardIt is obtained by destroying Resource Boxes or opening Munitions Boxes in Kingston.
Organic BiogelGotten from yellow bar “mission monster” enemies in the following missions in Kingston:
Kingston Communication Repeater
Vulgus Field Generator
Kingston Surveillance Radar
Low-carbon ActivatorIt is gotten from the mission monster in Fallen Theater: Vulgus Strategic Outpost in Kingston
Insulated Metalic FoilIt is gotten from the mission monster in the Magister’s Lab (Fallen Theater) or the Slumber Valley (Grand Square) Special Operations in Kingston.

Sterile Land Research Materials

MaterialHow to Obtain It
SuperfluidIt is obtained by destroying Resource Boxes or opening Munitions Boxes in Sterile Lands. Use your scanner to find them, as they will be marked by white chevrons on the screen.
Metal AccelerantIt is obtained by destroying Resource Boxes or opening Munitions Boxes in Sterile Lands.
Artificial BiometalCan be obtained from mission monsters in normal Sterile Land missions such as Anticipated Ambush Point, Deception Transmitter, and External Reactor. Anticipated Ambush Point is definitely the best farm for this.
Fusion Plasma BatteryObtained from the mission monsters in the following missions:
Rockfall: Vulgus Strategic Outpost
Classified Area: Vulgus Strategic Outpost
Murky Energy ResidueFarmed from missions monsters in:
The Forgottense (Restricted Zone)
Unknown Laboratory (Classified Area)
Negative Ion ParticleIs obtained from Encrypted Vaults in the Sterile Land.

Vespers Research Materials

MaterialHow to Obtain It
Semi-permanent PlasmaIs obtained from opening Resource or Munitions boxes on Vespers. Use your scanner to find them, as they will be marked by white chevrons on the screen.
HardenerIs obtained from opening Resource or Munitions boxes on Vespers.
Data Processing Neural CircuitDrops from mission monsters in Frontline Base, Ruins Courtyard, Destroyed Temple, Captured Base, Lakeside, or Ancient Giant Tree.
Inorganic BiogelObtained from the mission monsters in the following missions:
Lumber Yard: Vulgus Strategic Outpost
Lost Supply Depot: Vulgus Strategic Outpost
Common Carbon ActivatorFarmed from missions monsters in:
Sepulcher (Lost Supply Depot)
The Shelter (Timerfall
Conductive Metallic FoilIs obtained from Encrypted Vaults in Vespers.

Echo Swamp Research Materials

MaterialHow to Obtain It
SiliconIs obtained from opening Resource or Munitions boxes on Echo Swamp. Use your scanner to find them, as they will be marked by white chevrons on the screen.
Compound Coating MaterialIs obtained from opening Resource or Munitions boxes on Echo Swamp.
Encrypted Neural CircuitGotten from mission monsters in Hazy Swamp, Environment Contamination Zone, Abandoned Zone, Arche Motion Sensor.
Macromolecule BiogelGotten from the mission monsters in the following missions:
Muskeg Swamp: Vulgus Strategic Outpost
Derelict Covert: Vulgus Strategic Outpost
Complex Carbon ActivatorFarmed from missions monsters in:
Seed Vault (Abandoned Zone)
The Chapel (Derelict Covert)
Thermal Metallic FoilIs obtained from Encrypted Vaults in Echo Swamp.

Agna Desert Research Materials

MaterialHow to Obtain It
NanopolymersIs obtained from opening Resource or Munitions boxes on Agna Desert. Use your scanner to find them, as they will be marked by white chevrons on the screen.
Monomolecular ExtractorIs obtained from opening Resource or Munitions boxes on Agna Desert.
Positive Ion ParticleGotten be gotten from mission monsters in Rock Cave Base, Previous Construct Team Quarters, Commanding Ground.
Synthesized Artificial BiometalGotten from the mission monsters in the following missions:
Void Fusion Reactor – The Storage in Agna Desert
Miragestone: Vulgus Strategic Outpost
Vermillion Waste: Vulgus Strategic Outpost
Divided Plasma BatteryFarmed from mission monsters in:
The Asylum (Vermillion Waste)
Caligo Ossuary (The Mining Site)
Mixed Energy ResidueIs obtained from Encrypted Vaults in Agna Desert.

White-night Gulch Research Materials

MaterialHow to Obtain It
Ceramic CompositeIs obtained from opening Resource or Munitions boxes on White-night Gulch. Use your scanner to find them, as they will be marked by white chevrons on the screen.
FlectoriteIs obtained from opening Resource or Munitions boxes on White-night Gulch.
Advanced Neural CircuitThe mission to grind is the Border Line of Truth in the Mountaintops region.
Crystal BiogelGotten from the mission monsters in the following missions:
Void Fusion Reactor ā€“ Mountaintops area
Shipment Base: Vulgus Strategic Outpost
Hatchery: Vulgus Strategic Outpost
Compound Carbon ActivatorFarmed from mission monsters in:
Mystery’s End (Moongrave Basin)
Bio-Lab (Hatchery)
Cooling Metallic FoilIs obtained from Encrypted Vaults in White-night Gulch.

Hagios Research Materials

MaterialHow to Obtain It
Carbon CrystalIs obtained from opening Resource or Munitions boxes on Hagios. Use your scanner to find them, as they will be marked by white chevrons on the screen.
Shape Memory AlloyIs obtained from opening Resource or Munitions boxes on Hagios.
Anode Ion ParticleGotten from mission monsters in Vulgus Blockade, Deep Digger, Broadband Fleet Beacon, and Ruins Guard Facility.
Specialized BiometalGotten from the mission monsters in the following missions:
Dune Base: Vulgus Strategic Outpost
Forward Base: Vulgus Strategic Outpost
Heat Plasma BatteryFarmed from mission monsters in:
The Haven (The Corrupted Zone)
Old Mystery (Starfall Road)
Highly-concentrated Energy ResidueIs obtained from Encrypted Vaults in Hagios.

Fortress Research Materials

MaterialHow to Obtain It
HellionIs obtained from opening Resource or Munitions boxes on Fortress. Use your scanner to find them, as they will be marked by white chevrons on the screen.
Reverse Charging CoilIs obtained from opening Resource or Munitions boxes on Fortress.
Polyatomic Ion ParticleGotten from mission monsters in Munitions Loading Dock, Frozen Shipyard, Giant Hangar, Destroyed Base.
Deformed BiometalGotten from the mission monsters in the following missions:
Frozen Valley: Vulgus Strategic Outpost
Convertor Facility: Vulgus Strategic Outpost
Balanced Plasma BatteryFarmed from mission monsters in:
Heart of the Fortress
Quarantine Zone
Pure Energy ResidueIs obtained from Encrypted Vaults in Fortress.

Non-geographic Research Materials

MaterialHow to Obtain It
SuperalloyObtained from dismantling rare and standard weapons. Common drop.
Liquid MetalObtained from dismantling rare and standard weapons. Common drop.
Multi-Composite ReceiversObtained from dismantling standard, rare, and Ultimate weapons. Is quite a rare drop.
High Precision Exchange ComponentsObtained from dismantling standard, rare, and Ultimate weapons. Is an extremely rare drop.
Superconductor CoreObtained from dismantling standard, rare, and ultimate reactors. Common drop.
Nano CompoundObtained from dismantling standard, rare, and ultimate reactors. Rare drop.
Void OrganismObtained by dismantling all tiers of Sensors, Memory, Processors, and Auxiliary Power units. Common drop.
SolenoidThese are drops from Void Fragments and Void Fusion Reactor completions at Normal difficult.
Quantum CrystalThese are drops from Void Fragments and Void Fusion Reactor completions at Hard difficult.

And there you go, every material in The First Descendant and how to get it. I’ll be returning to this list a lot over the coming months, adding any new materials and refining details around specific farms that I discovered that have very high yields for specific resources.

The First Descendant is available to play now on PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox X|S, and Steam.


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Author
Image of Aidan O'Brien
Aidan O'Brien
Aidan has been into movies, games, tv, and tabletop since the 80s. Rather than get bogged down in pointless nostalgia, he remains excited for all the amazing art that has yet to come. When not scribbling articles for sites like Escapist, Destructoid, or Dot Esports, he is making Youtube videos about interesting lore, or how to paint little plastic models.