A complete guide on how to play as a Valby character in The First Descendant, including her class skills, role, and everything you should know.
Valby Character (Class) Overview
Valby is a water-based character with great mobility, and she’s also capable of dealing high damage prestacking Bubbles on the ground before enemies arrive. Additionally, she can use her abilities to strategically place herself anywhere on the battlefield or to increase her survivability and escape. However, her area-of-effect abilities make her weaker against single-target bosses.
Valby Character (Class) Features in The First Descendant:
- Role: AoE Dealer
- Feature: Although she may be a terrifyingly deadly rip current to her foes, she’s just a refreshing ocean wave to her teammates.
- Battle Concept: Absorbs nearby moisture to blast her enemies with water. Water at extreme pressure is more effective than any bullet.
- Pros: Very mobile, Strategic positioning
- Cons: AoE is less effective against bosses
- Passive Skill: Water Intake
- Active Skills: Bubble Bullet, Plop Plop, Clean Up
- Ultimate Ability: Laundry Bomb
- How to Unlock: Can be purchased or crafted
In The First Descendant, characters represent your classes, and each is equipped with unique skills, passives, and ultimate abilities. Initially, you must select a single starting Descendant to begin the game. However, as you advance, you can unlock additional characters through research and crafting.
The class system in The First Descendant resembles that of games such as Destiny 2 and Warframe. Each class features three standard abilities with cooldowns corresponding to their potency. Moreover, players can customize their builds by employing various guns and accessories. Moreover, each character exhibits distinct strengths, weaknesses, and optimal deployment strategies.
In this First Descendant guide, we will describe how to play the Valby character, how to unlock her, and who would enjoy this class playstyle.
Should you play Valby in The First Descendant?
Valby is an AOE damage dealer who uses her water abilities to quickly maneuver around the battlefield, deal damage, and keep out of enemy fire. Valby is a great choice if you are looking for a character who deals great damage but also has good survivability. Additionally, because of her focus on AOE abilities, she is stronger against groups of enemies than she is against bosses. To get the most out of Valby you’ll have to become familiar with the details of her abilities and apply your attack and movement strategies deliberately.
Who is Valby? – Story
Valby was an active member of the Ingris Environment Watch, and while on pollution investigation missions outside of Albion, she found herself drawn to the fragile waterways and lakes. Some had been completely burned out or destroyed by the Vulgus, while many others hung on by a thread. She was thrilled to find a beautiful lake still thriving in the Vespers Woodland and called it the ‘Last Emerald.’
While visiting this special place, Vulgus from the Order of Truth approached and Valby attempted to fight them off. As a non-Descendant, however, she had little hope. She was overpowered and thrown into the lake. As Valby sank, her life fading, she was overcome with the powerful emotion to fight back again, to become an ocean that could swallow the Vulgus up. At that moment, Valby awoke her Arche and rose to crush the Vulgus with a mighty wave.
How to Play Valby – Character Gameplay
The best way to play Valby is to stand in water to consume less mana while having the enemies inside the buddles take continuous damage over time. Valby uses her Arche connection to water to flow seamlessly across the battlefield, dealing area-of-effect damage to packs of Vulgus. Additionally, this character class has an ability that allows her to produce a knockdown on enemies, giving her an additional bit of crowd control to assist her team. Her playstyle and rotation will revolve around the use of her Bubble Bullet ability and using puddles to damage enemies, recover MP, and move around the battlefield.
Area Damage and Single-Target Damage: Valby’s toolkit comprises AOE damage abilities, so her greatest strength will be against multiple targets. Much of her single target damage will rely on the weapon she brings to battle with her. Use bubble bullets and Plop Plop to create large puddles. One skill is ranged, while the other is where she stands, so use them if at range or surrounded. This will increase damage to enemies over time and help sustain resources.
Movement and Speed: Valby is second only to Bunny’s class regarding speed and movement in The First Descendant. The skill of Laundry allows her to move through enemies, increase movement speed, and create a path of water as she goes. You can use this skill offensively and defensively.
Bosses and Ultimates: For boss encounters, maintain puddles on top of the enemy at all times. Be aware of your cooldowns, and rotate to maintain high uptime on damage over time from puddles. Use Laundry Bomb to suck in enemies if mobs start to appear during encounters.
Defenses and Survival Tips: Valby’s Clean Up ability is all about survivability and defense and even offers a little damage over time on the side. Using it will make you entirely untouchable and also increase your speed. You won’t be able to use any other skills in that state, but it’s perfect for getting out of a tight spot.
How to Unlock Valby in The First Descendant?
To unlock and play Valby in The First Descendant, you must either purchase her from the store or research her. Moreover, if you choose to purchase Valby she will cost 600 Caliber, which is the premium currency. Otherwise, to craft Valby, you will need:
- Valby Enhanced Cells
- Repton x422
- Superfluid x571
- Data Processing Neural Circuit x38f
- Valby Enhanced Cell Blueprint
- 200,000 Gold
- Valby Stabilizer
- Monad Shard x246
- Compound Coating Material x239
- Negative Ion Particle x4
- Valby Stabilizer Blueprint x1
- 200,000 Gold
- Valby Spiral Catalyst
- Metal Accelerant x519
- Hardener x386
- Encrypted Neural Circuit x31
- Valby Spiral Catalyst Blueprint x1
- Valby Code
Finally, in order to craft Valby you must speak to Anais in the Albion Mountains area. She will grant you access to the Research Institute, where you can choose to craft several additional descendant characters.
Valby Passive and Active Skills
In the First Descendant, all characters have one passive skill, along with three active skills and an ultimate to choose from. When you play as the Valby character in the First Descendant, it is important to understand the basics of his class and available skills.
- Passive skills: Passive buffs and bonuses are automatically applied or under certain conditions.
- Active and Ultimate skills: These are activated by a player (effects on demand) and vary by character. Each character has unique skills to match their role and playstyle.
Passive Skill
Water Intake – When using skills while standing on water, MP cost decreases. Puddles created by Valby’s skill are also considered to be water.
- Usage – a passive bonus incentivizing you to stand in water at all times to help with resource sustain.
Active Skills
Bubble Bullet – Fires a Bubble Bullet forward, creating Small Puddles where she stands and where the Bubble Bullet hits. The enemy standing in the Small Puddle receives continuous damage and becomes inflicted with Laundry. When the Bubble Bullet pops, nearby enemies receive AOE damage. AOE damage of Bubble Bullet increases based on the number of bounces.
- Usage— In the First Descendant, it’s a Valby single-target powerful ability that causes a debuff and constant damage over time to one character.
Plop Plop – Valby forms a Big Puddle where she stands and jumps into it. She then jumps out from another Big Puddle formed at a designated spot, inflicting Knockdown on nearby enemies. Enemies standing in the Big Puddle receive continuous damage and become inflicted with Laundry. The skill’s cooldown decreases proportionally to the number of enemies inflicted with Knockdown.
- Usage – a big puddle formed on top of you, useful to activate when playing in close range.
Clean Up – Enters Liquefied state. While Liquefied, Valby cannot take her feet off the ground and cannot use her skills, but she does not collide with enemies. Her movement speed increases while her damage decreases. Moving while in a Liquefied state creates a Waterway along the ground. Enemies standing on the Waterway receive continuous damage and become inflicted with Laundry.
- Usage – your mobility tool that can be used to do AOE damage or run away.
Ultimate Skill
Laundry Bomb – Switches the equipped weapon to Laundry Bomb Launcher. The original weapon returns when all Laundry Bomb Launder bullets have been used or its duration ends. Creates Laundry Bomb at the spot where the Laundry Bomb Launcher projectile hits, which tows a nearby enemy inflicted with Laundry and deals continuous damage. This continuous damage increases with the number of enemies inflicted with Laundry.
- Usage – massive damage ability that pulls in enemies and is useful or mob clear.
Looking For More?
Thank you for reading The First Descendant: Valby Character and How to Play the Class Guide. We provide the latest news and create guides for Baldur’s Gate 3, Starfield, ARK Survival Ascended, and more. Also, watch me play games on Twitch or visit my YouTube channel!
