Facebook
Reddit
Email
Having the right combination of stats on your external component pieces can make or break your defense in The First Descendant.
External components in The First Descendant come with a random stat and two random traits, which can make it difficult to know if you’ve gotten a good drop. You’ll be picking up a lot of these pieces as you play through the game and will want to learn how to quickly evaluate whether or not you’ve got something worth keeping. In the following guide, we’ll explain external components and the stats they come with, what traits can drop on each piece, and list the best external component stats and traits combination for each type in The First Descendant!
External Components in The First Descendant
The four different types of External Components in The First Descendant are:
- Auxiliary Power
- Sensor
- Memory
- Processor
Each of these four pieces will come with one stat and two random traits. The stat on all four types of external components will increase either your HP, DEF, or Shield.
Additionally, each type of external component piece has a different pool of traits that it pulls from. Two of these traits will appear on each external component piece. Furthermore, these traits also come in different levels of rarity. Blue is standard or common, Purple is rare, and Gold is ultimate.
Related:
The rarity level of the traits will not automatically match the rarity level of the component piece. Consequently, you can have a Level 100 gold HP Sensor, but the traits could be one blue and one purple. Additionally, remember that you cannot re-roll the stats on your components. If you want something better, the only way to get it is by farming for better RNG on the traits.
As you are leveling your first character in the game, don’t fret too much about getting the ‘perfect’ external component. You’ll constantly be picking up better pieces and the item level will continue to increase all the way up to 100. Once you reach 100, then you can start to look for specific drops and stat/trait combinations.
Next, we’ll take a closer look at the best Stat and Trait combinations in our The First Descendant: Best External Component Stats guide!
Best Stat and Traits for Auxiliary Power External Components
The best stat and trait combination on your Auxiliary Power piece will be the HP stat, along with the Max HP and Fire Resistance traits. Doubling up on your HP gains with the HP stat combined with the Max HP trait will give you a significant boost to your character’s health. Fire Resistance is the second trait you want to prioritize, as you’ll want the elemental defense against both Colossi and operation bosses.
| Auxiliary Power – Combat | Auxiliary Power – Farming | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Stat | HP | HP |
| Best Trait 1 | Max HP | Kuiper Drop Rate |
| Best Trait 2 | Fire Resistance | Module Drop Rate |
Furthermore, DEF is a good alternative stat for an Auxiliary Power component. If you’re going into combat, then MP Recovery out of Combat and the Incapacitated Timer are okay alternatives. However, you’ll really want at least the Max HP trait on some level of rarity before heading into any end-game Colossi fights.
All possible traits on Auxiliary Power pieces:
- Max HP
- Kuiper Drop Rate
- Module Drop Rate
- Incapacitated Timer
- MP Recovery out of Combat
- Fire Resistance
Best Stat and Traits for Sensor External Components
The best stat and trait combination on your Sensor piece will be the HP stat, along with the Max MP and Chill Resistance traits. HP is again the best stat for the Sensor external component, but a DEF trait could be a good alternative. Max MP will give you additional resources for activating your skills. Finally, Chill Resistance will be another type of elemental resistance you’ll want on hand for single-target boss fights.
| Sensor – Combat | Sensor – Farming | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Stat | HP | HP |
| Best Trait 1 | Max MP | Consumable Drop Rate |
| Best Trait 2 | Chill Resistance | Character XP Gain |
If you can’t get sensors with these traits to drop then MP Recovery in Combat is a viable alternative that when combined with Max MP will improve how often you can trigger your abilities. HP Recovery Modifier or Shield Recovery out of Combat would be okay secondary alternatives.
All possible traits on Sensor pieces:
- Max MP
- Character XP Gain
- Consumable Drop Rate
- HP Recovery Modifier
- MP Recovery in Combat
- Shield Recovery out of Combat
- Chill Resistance
Best Stat and Traits for Memory External Components
The best stat and trait combination on your Memory piece will be the DEF stat, along with the DEF and Electric Resistance traits. Doubling up on your DEF with the DEF stat combined with the DEF trait will give you a significant boost to your character’s armor. DEF has been shown to have diminishing returns the more you stack it, but the Memory external component is the best and most effective piece to prioritize it. Additionally, as before, you want to look for the Electric Resistance traits to help out against electric-based Colossi and bosses.
| Sensor – Combat | Sensor – Farming | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Stat | DEF | DEF |
| Best Trait 1 | DEF | Gold Drop Rate |
| Best Trait 2 | Electric Resistance | Firearm Proficiency Gain |
Shield is a better alternative stat for the Memory piece if you can’t find a good one with DEF. This is because the Memory components actually have lower HP stats than the other pieces. Moreover, Shield Recovery in Combat is a good alternative as a trait, but you really should be prioritizing the double DEF stat and trait combo over anything else.
All possible traits on Memory pieces:
- DEF
- Ecive Radius
- Gold Drop Rate
- Firearm Proficiency Gain
- MP Recovery Modifier
- Shield Recovery in Combat
- Electric Resistance
Best Stat and Traits for Processor External Components
The best stat and trait combination on your Processor piece will be the HP stat, along with the Item Acquisition Distance and Toxin Resistance traits. Once again you want to prioritize the HP stat, however, another component piece with DEF would be fine. Item Acquisition Distance is really handy for helping you pick up dropped loot. Finally, you’ll want to get the Toxin Resistance as the second trait for usefulness in boss fights.
| Sensor – Combat | Sensor – Farming | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Stat | HP | HP |
| Best Trait 1 | Item Acquisition Distance | Item Acquisition Distance |
| Best Trait 2 | Toxin Resistance | Equipment Drop Rate |
Max Shield is generally not a recommended alternative for most Descendants. However, if you are playing characters like Enzo or Kyle they can greatly benefit from shield builds. Then, you might even want to farm a Shield stat and Max Shield trait to double up on Shields.
Overall, Toxin Resistance is a must for traits, but on Processors the other trait can be a bit of a flex spot. If there is something else that you like better, or if you have an otherwise perfect Processor except for that one trait, then there is no need to keep farming.
All possible traits on Processor pieces:
- Max Shield
- Ecive Display Time
- Equipment Drop Rate
- Item Acquisition Distance
- Shield Recovery Modifier
- Toxin Resistance
How to Find External Components in The First Descendant
In the First Descendant, all external component pieces are available on a weekly reset and therefore, there is no constant stable location to farm them and the stats combinations you want. Additionally, you cannot find all four pieces every week. Currently, there are typically two pieces available for target farming each week.
To find out which external components are currently available, open up the world map. At the bottom of the page, find the button you can press to pull up the ‘Difficulty Level Rewards’ page. From this new screen, you can use the filters at the top to search for external components, reactors, and more. For external components, use the drop-down box on the far right.
Remember that only two different component pieces drop each week. Therefore, two of the pieces will not have any results when you search them. Additionally, if you want to know which two pieces are available, you can click on the ‘All Rewards’ option at the bottom of the page to go to a new screen that lists everything by zone.
Find the Specific Farm Region for External Components
In the example image above, on the right you can see what the All Rewards page looks like, and that on this particular week, the Sensor is available in Echo Swamp. However, it does not tell you want region of the Echo Swamp zone you can farm for it. For that, you will need to go back to the Difficulty Level Rewards page.
Next, select ‘Sensor’ from the filter drop-down menu. The result will show you the Sensor icon, at the top of the box will be the name of the region you can find the piece in. Additionally, if you click on the box it will pull up a map so you can see exactly what region of the zone you need to search in.
Finally, any mission within that specific zone can drop the Sensor piece. One mission may be better for farming than another, but since this will constantly change week to week it’s hard to know ahead of time. Experiment with different missions to find out which is the fastest and most effective farming spot.
Looking For More?
Thank you for reading The First Descendant: Best External Component Stats guide. We also provide the latest news and create guides for Baldur’s Gate 3, Fallout 4, Destiny 2, and more. Additionally, watch me play games on Twitch or visit my YouTube channel!
- The First Descendant: Best Builds – All Characters
- The First Descendant Guides
- The First Descendants Best Characters (Classes): Tier List
- The First Descendant: Bunny Character and How to Play the Class Guide
- You can support our Website by Linking Account (affiliate): deltia#9684
