The First Descendant

The First Descendant

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Fast and Efficient Resource Farming [Season 2, Episode 2]
By Jaller Obrim
Late Season 2 Episode 2 resource farming guide

A farming guide for notable resources, designed with the intent to yield the maximum amount of resource, with the minimum expenditure of time and effort.
This guide takes into account how various changes to the core game mechanics have impacted farming to create newer, more efficient ways to farm.
Current as of Season 2, Episode 2, May 2025
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The Plan
While there are many ways to farm a given item, the collection information within is purely composed of my preferred farming loops for each item. Where applicable I will also include notes on both how and where to collect each resource.

Additionally, I will try to include common or recurring uses for each resource, as applicable.


Please note, that I've made the blanket assumption that anyone looking to farm materials in any notable quantity already has access to hard mode, and as such, my suggestions are tailored with the expectation that most farming will be done in hard mode, unless there happens to be a case in which normal mode offers a faster farm.



Given the vast differences in relevance of materials with some being required in neigh uncountable quantities, and others needing only a few hundred, I've chose to structure this guide to account for that. The Repeat Offenders section contains the materials for Catalysts and Energy Activators, which will be constantly farmed as long as one plays the game, whereas the Sigma Sector, Fellow, and Limited sections will include materials that only need to be farmed as needed, and sometimes only once.
The Ctrl+F function is your friend, wherever possible I have used the exact item name for ease of searching, for materials/blueprints/locations/etc.



As with any guide, your mileage may vary

Last updated, June 5, 2025
Repeat Offenders
These are resources that you're going to have to routinely acquire due to their inclusion in staple consumable items such as Catalysts or Energy Activators.


Catalysts
You're going to need lots of these. So learning to farm the materials efficiently is a key way to save some time and make the core loop easier.

The Void Vessel drops a small amount of relevant materials as a completion bonus in both normal and hard mode. In my opinion, not a particularly efficient source of materials but a welcome bonus if you happen to be running the Vessel for another reason.

Murky Energy Residue
With no field farming location, the only choice is is one of the infiltrations in the Sterile Land. Expect drops in the ~14-24 range. My advice is to stock up on these whenever one of the relevant missions is the daily 400%.
The Forgottense also drops Artificial Biometals (~7/run) as well as the Distorted Resolve external component set, which is a nice bonus if you don't want to queue for Death Stalker to collect pieces of it.
The Unknown Lab also drops Fusion Plasma Batteries (~5/run) and the Venom Essence external component set.
As an interesting side perk to this farm, amorphous 60-63 can be used at the Rockfall/Repository Reactors where elite enemies drop ~3-5 fusion plasma batteries each.


Macromolecue Biogel
If you're already doing 400% infiltrations and the rotation favors you, Echo Swamp, The Chapel drops ~18/run. Not the most efficient time/resource ratio, but a palatable option if one is already doing infiltrations.
For every other day of the week, outposts are your friend (and only other option) here. The biogel drops from the elite enemy, so you do have to finish the outpost. Typical drops range between 11-22 per kill. Note that you are not guaranteed a drop, so dry spells are unfortunately possible.
Both outposts are in Echo Swamp, one in the Derelict Covert and the other in the Muskeg Swamp.
I recommend the outpost in the Muskeg Swamp because the sabotage targets are close enough together that most AoE descendant skills can pop all three at the same time.


Mixed Energy Residue
Nothing special about this one, Get an Enzo (or Nell as soon as season 3 drops), and start running around the Agna Desert and open up some vaults. (I'm partial to The Remnant and The Storage because these zones are smaller, so there is less running around to do)




Advanced Neural Circuits
Probably the most annoying part of the Catalyst farming circuit.
Best advice, take an AoE speed farmer to The Borderline of Truth in The Mountaintops region of White-Night Gulch. Each of the three elites that spawn during the course of the mission have a chance to drop Advanced Neural Circuits ~0-8/kill.
Alternatively, if you happen to be running infiltrations, the Mysteries End infiltration in White-Night Gulch drops 5/run for completion. Far from efficient if your only goal is Advanced Neural Circuits, but possibly usable as a secondary farm if you're doing something else.






Energy Activators
Given the one and done nature of using Energy Activators on descendants and weapons, you won't need a massive number of these. Figure ~20 for descendants and ~30 for weapons (as of season 2 episode 2).

Low-Carbon Activator
With the change to Void Reactors a while back, farming Low-Carbon Activators has never been easier. Head to The Grand Square in Kingston and start up the Void Reactor, kill both elites and collect your Low-Carbon Activators. Assuming you get a drop from each kill, you should see ~10-22 per times 2 elites. With a half decent build, this is repeatable between 3 and 4 times every minute.


Conductive Metallic Foil
Nothing special about this one, Get an Enzo (or Nell as soon as season 3 drops), and start running around Vespers and open up some vaults. (I'm partial to The Ruins and Timberfall due to the general tendency of the vaults to spawn in clusters)





Heat Plasma Battery
A slightly inconvenient farm in my opinion, but the best I've been able to find so far. Load into the Old Mystery infiltration on 250%, sprint past all the enemies until you can't advance any further. You'll end up in a room with some water in the lower section and a raised circular platform right before a locked door. Kill all the enemies in this room, each elite spawn has a chance to drop Heat Plasma Batteries. After 1-2 minutes, you should have cleared all the enemies and received somewhere between ~30-60 batteries for your trouble. Abort the mission once the door unlocks and enemies stop coming. Rinse and repeat as necessary.


Polyatomic Ion Particle
There are two notable options for farming this particular material.
The Command Relay battlefield mission located in the Frozen Valley region of The Fortress, and in my opinion is the superior option for farming Polyatomic Ion Particles if and only if your sole intent is to collect them as fast as possible. To do so, set your instance to private and key the "abort mission" button to your ring menu. Start the mission, fight until you've slain two elites, one of whom spawns in the middle of the ring, the other to the east, just past the slight drop, on the flat snowy section. Once you've slain both elites, abort the mission and restart. Rinse and repeat as needed. Each elite has a drop chance of ~0-12 Polyatomic Ion Particles per kill. With a fast farming build, you should be able to cycle this about once a minute, netting somewhere between ~0-24 particles each time.

The Quarantine Zone infiltration yields notably less Polyatomic Ion Particles than the previous option (fixed at 11/run), but has the fringe benefit of generating more experience and amorphous materials that can in turn be opened for blueprints. On that note, unless one desires to fight Frost Walker to open amorphous materials, I recommend selecting amorphous 118 as your reward. 118-121 are all easily opened, but I find that the topography of the reactor for 118 makes the fights ever so slightly faster, and time is money.




Limited Quantity Needed
All of the materials in this beyond this point have (as of the time of writing) a limited number of uses and thus, a limited number that one needs to acquire. This is largely due to the fact that most players only need to create one copy of each descendant, and 5 of each legendary weapon, meaning that once this has been done, the material in question no longer needs to be farmed.

Regardless, some are easier to acquire than others and some are more utilized than others. So efficient farming is a must. Below will be a (hopefully) comprehensive list of basic materials and what I have found to be the best way to acquire them in the needed numbers.
Batteries
Balanced Plasma Battery
    Lifetime Need (251)
  • Executor Nano Tube (11x5)
  • Secret Garden Nano Tube (11x5)
  • Jayber Stabilizer (43)
  • Ultimate Ajax Enhanced Cells (98)
As an item that only drops from Infiltration missions, your options here are rather limited.
My testing seems to suggest that the amount of Balanced Plasma Batteries one can expect from a given Infiltration is about even between your two choices, Quarantine Zone and Heart of the Fortress, both on Normal and Hard. That said, Quarantine Zone is almost always faster than Heart of the Fortress. And as an additional bonus Quarantine Zone drops 11 Polyatomic Ion Particles as a completion reward, of which you will need many.


Divided Plasma Battery
    Lifetime Need (132)
  • Divine Punishment Nano Tube (6x5)
  • Piercing Light Polymer Syncytium (6x5)
  • Ultimate Lepic Enhanced Cells (50)
  • Yujin Enhanced Cells (22)
This one is a bit strange, as it doesn’t seem like there are any particularly efficient methods to acquire Divided Plasma Batteries. The best I’ve seen is to enter The Asylum infiltration on Normal and push forward until you kill the elite in the first room. Quit, rinse and repeat. Do this in private mode, with or without friends, abandoning random people in public runs is just rude after all.
[note to self, test 400% dungeons, maybe we’ll get lucky and they will be more available there] 400% The Asylum, 11 batteries. Not really faster than the previous method. There is one mitigating factor though, the Invader external component set drops, which can be nice if you're having a hard time with Death Stalker.


Fusion Plasma Battery
    Lifetime Need (231)
  • Albion Cavalry Gun Nano Tube (10x5)
  • Clairvoyance Nano Tube (10x5)
  • Albion Cavalry Gun Nano Tube (10x5)
  • Viessa Enhanced Cells (40)
  • Ultimate Ajax Spiral Catalyst (91)
If you reference the Murky Energy Residue section of this guide, you'll notice that in the process of farming that material you are highly likely to encounter this one as well. That said, this guide wouldn't be complete without me pointing out that likely the fastest farm for Fusion Plasma Batteries is to hit the Void Fusion Reactor in either Rockfall or the Repository in the Sterile Land region.


Heat Plasma Battery
    Lifetime Need (infinity+256)
  • Executor Polymer Syncytium (18x5)
  • Ultimate Valby Stabilizer (166)
  • Energy Activators (55)
See the detailed farming info in the Repeat Offenders section.



Biogels
Crystal Biogel
    Lifetime Need (250)
  • Python Polymer Syncytium (11x5)
  • King’s Guard Lance Nano Tube (11x5)
  • Lepic Stabilizer (43)
  • Ultimate Lepic Stabilizer (97)
This is an easy one, the Void Fusion Reactor in the Mountaintops region of White-night Gulch spawns a pair of elites, each of whom as a chance to drop between ~5-8 Crystal Biogel.


Inorganic Biogel
    Lifetime Need (341)
  • Divine Punishment Polymer Syncytium (15x5)
  • Albion Cavalry Gun (15x5)
  • King’s Guard Lance Polymer Syncytium (15x5)
  • Kyle Enhanced Cells (58)
  • Enzo Enhanced Cells (58)
There are two notable options here, the first of which is to farm outposts for the boss drop in either the Lost Supply Depot or The Lumber Yard. Of the two, I prefer the Lost Supply Depot due to the ease of clearing based on the position of the sabotage targets.
Alternatively, you can split farm Inorganic Biogel while farming Common Carbon Activators in The Shelter infiltration.


Macromolecule Biogel
    Lifetime Need (infinity+242)
  • Ultimate Valby Spiral Catalyst (242)
  • Crystallization Catalyst (22)
See the detailed farming info in the Repeat Offenders section.




Organic Biogel
    Lifetime Need (155)
  • Smithereens Nano Tube (7x5)
  • Nazeistra’s Devotion Synthetic Fiber (7x5)
  • Ultimate Viessa Spiral Catalyst (59)
  • Esiemo Stabilizer (26)
If you’re not super concerned with getting these right away, split farming with Insulated Metallic Foil is always an option. For those that need it right now and want to be efficient about it, head to the Kingston region of Grand Square and run the Kingston Surveillance Radar mission. It should take less than a minute to push through the mission and kill the elite at the end (who has a chance to drop the Organic Biogel in question). Fringe benefit, I felt like I saw a higher than average rate of code breakers drop from this mission.

Biometals
Artificial Biometal
    Lifetime Need (204)
  • Nazeistra’s Devotion Polymer Syncytium (9x5)
  • Piercing Light Synthetic Fiber (9x5)
  • Ajax Enhanced Cells (35)
  • Ultimate Viessa Stabilizer (79)
The Anticipated Ambush Point battlefield mission in the Rockfall region of the Sterile Land has a single elite enemy at the end which has a chance to drop ~4-8 Artificial Biometal when slain. Given that the mission should take less than a minute, this is as far as I can tell, the fastest way to encounter an elite enemy in the Sterile Land.
While not a direct farm, The Forgottense infiltration in the Sterile Land region drops 7 Artificial Biometal as a completion reward. Given that this infiltration is also one of the two places to get Murky Energy Residue, it stands to reason you’re going to be getting a decent amount of these along the way.


Deformed Biometal
    Lifetime Need (437)
  • Greg’s Reversed Fate Synthetic Fiber (19x5)
  • Clairvoyance Synthetic Fiber (19x5)
  • Enduring Legacy Nano Tube (19x5)
  • Kyle Stabilizer (76)
  • Esiemo Enhanced Cells (76)
Head to the Fortress and do the Outpost in either Frozen Valley or the Convertor Facility. If you’re just after the Deformed Biometal, I find the outpost in the Convertor Facility is a bit easier just due to topography. If you’re after amorphous materials, then do whichever suits your needs.


Specialized Biometal
    Lifetime Need (304)
  • King’s Guard Lance Synthetic Fiber (11x5)
  • FrostWatcher Synthetic Fiber (11x5)
  • Luna Spiral Catalyst (46)
  • Ultimate Bunny Stabilizer (102)
  • Esiemo Spiral Catalyst (46)
Head to the Void Fusion Reactor in The Corrupted Zone region of Hagios. Two elites will spawn, each of which has a chance to drop ~3-6 Specialized Biometal per kill.


Synthesized Artificial Biometal
    Lifetime Need (573)
  • Blue Beetle Synthetic Fiber (25x5)
  • Perforator Nano Tube (25x5)
  • Albion Cavalry Gun Synthetic Fiber (25x5)
  • Gley Spiral Catalyst (99)
  • Viessa Spiral Catalyst (99)
Head to the Void Fusion Reactor in The Storage region of Agna Desert. Four elites will spawn, each of which has a chance to drop ~8-12 Synthesized Artificial Biometal per kill.


Carbon Activators
Common Carbon Activator
    Lifetime Need (120)
  • Nazeistra’s Devotion Nano Tube (4x5)
  • Afterglow Sword (4x5)
  • FrostWatcher Nano Tube (4x5)
  • Viessa Stabilizer (14)
  • Ultimate Gley Spiral Catalyst (32)
  • Hailey Spiral Catalyst (14)
Common Carbon Activators don’t seem to be too common, being only found in the Vespers infiltration missions The Shelter and the Sepulcher. In my experience, I tended to find more Common Carbon Activators in The Shelter than the alternative.


Complex Carbon Activator
    Lifetime Need (345)
  • Restored Relic Synthetic Fiber (15x5)
  • Executor Synthetic Fiber (15x5)
  • Piercing Light Nano Tube (15x5)
  • Gley Stabilizer (60)
  • Lepic Spiral Catalyst (60)
Head to the Seed Vault infiltration in Echo Swamp, push through the mobs as fast as you can, kill two elites and destroy the vulgus tech thingie, proceed to the next room. Kill two more elites who are carrying bombs to detonate power cores. Once you’ve detonated both structures, abort as there are no more drops past this point. Each elite seems to have a drop range of ~3-5/kill Rinse and repeat as necessary. Do this in private mode, with or without friends, abandoning random people in public runs is just rude after all.
As a time limited, alternative option. The Chapel on 400%, drops just about the same amount of Complex Carbon Activators for a couple minutes extra work, but does have the fringe benefit of netting you some Macromolecule Biogel as well (one of the materials used in catalysts)


Compound Carbon Activator
    Lifetime Need (232)
  • Greg’s Reversed Fate Polymer Syncytium (7x5)
  • Blue Beetle Nano Tube (7x5)
  • Perforator Synthetic Fiber (7x5)
  • Ajax Stabilizer (30)
  • Kyle Spiral Catalyst (30)
  • Ultimate Freyna Spiral Catalyst (67)
If you’re just after the Compound Carbon Activator, load up the Mystery’s End infiltration located in White-night Gulch and push through until you end up in the room with the big metal hand, kill the elite and restart. Rinse and repeat as necessary. Do this in private mode, with or without friends, abandoning random people in public runs is just rude after all.
Alternatively, if you’re looking to maximize your possible overall gains, even if it means extending this particular farm, I might suggest pushing through to the end for the Heavy Ion Collector and Advanced Neural Circuit completion rewards. (Additionally, you’ll get 4 extra Compound Carbon Activators as a completion bonus). If you’re feeling even spicier, you can set Mystery’s End as your base mission while doing Other Infiltration Support, which will lose you the potential elite mob drop, but get you some Support Coins instead.


Low-Carbon Activator
    Lifetime Need (infinity+72)
  • The Final Masterpiece Nano Tube (18x5)
  • Peacemaker Synthetic Fiber (18x5)
  • Energy Activators (55)
See the detailed farming info in the Repeat Offenders section.


Ion Particles
Anode Ion Particle
    Lifetime Need (194)
  • Greg’s Reversed Fate Nano Tube (7x5)
  • Blue Beetle Polymer Syncytium (7x5)
  • Peacemaker Nano Tube (7x5)
  • Yujin Spiral Catalyst (27)
  • Ultimate Ajax Stabilizer (62)
Unfortunately I have not been able to find a particular farming method for this material that stands head and shoulders above the rest. There are two viable options in my mind, and they largely seem to be equivalent in yield. I recommend trying both to see which you prefer.
The mission I tend to default to is Broadband Fleet Beacon located in the Forward Base region of Hagios. Run the mission as normal, there are three elite enemies near the end (one of whom is the last enemy of the mission) that have a chance to drop the Anode Ion Particles in question. Should take you less than 3 minutes to finish. Alternatively, the Large Supply Transport Point mission in the Fractured Monolith region can spawn elites during the kuiper destruction phase of the mission. If you just lurk in this area and kill enemies until the time runs out you should encounter ~5 elites over the course of ~6 minutes.


Negative Ion Particle
    Lifetime Need (107)
  • Wave of Light Polymer Syncytium (12x5)
  • Hailey Stabilizer (47)
Open vaults in the Sterile Lands region, I personally prefer to farm in the Classified Area, as the vaults have a tendency to spawn in clusters along the north-northwestern edge of the zone.
If you’re short on resources, I also find that the Anticipated Ambush Point battlefield mission in the Rockfall region of the Sterile Land to regularly drop ~1-3 Negative Ion Particles when killing champion mobs. It’s undoubtedly less efficient than opening vaults, but it does have the benefit of being free.


Polyatomic Ion Particle
    Lifetime Need (infinity+432)
  • Perforator Polymer Syncytium (24x5)
  • Hailey Enhanced Cells (96)
  • Ultimate Freyna Stabilizer (216)
  • Energy Activators (72)
See the detailed farming info in the Repeat Offenders section.


Positive Ion Particle
    Lifetime Need (234)
  • Restored Relic Polymer Syncytium (10x5)
  • Python Synthetic Fiber (10x5)
  • Wave of Light Synthetic Fiber (10x5)
  • Ajax Spiral Catalyst (42)
  • Enzo Spiral Catalyst (42)
Imagine you were farming Advanced Neural Circuits, but in the Agna Desert instead, head to the Commanding Ground mission located in Miragestone. Push through the mobs killing the three elites that spawn along the way. Rinse and repeat as necessary. There is also the fixed, 7/run drop of Positive Ion Particles from The Asylum infiltration. Probably not the best resource to time ratio, but if you’re already running the infiltration a free drop doesn’t hurt. Oh and The Asylum drops the Invader external component set, so if you're having a hard time with Death Stalker, this farming the 400% isn't an awful move.


Energy Residue
Highly-Concentrated Energy Residue
    Lifetime Need (264)
  • Restored Relic Nano Tube (8x5)
  • Enduring Legacy Synthetic Fiber (8x5)
  • Secret Garden Polymer Syncytium (8x5)
  • Lepic Enhanced Cells (34)
  • Luna Stabilizer (34)
  • Ultimate Freyna Enhanced Cells (76)
If you have the code breakers, opening vaults anywhere in the Hagios region is probably the quickest option. If resources are tight, Champion mobs from any mission have a decent chance to drop what you need. I find that the Dig Deeper battlefield mission in The Corrupted Zone has a good number of champion mobs without being terribly hard.


Mixed Energy Residue
    Lifetime Need (infinity+50)
  • Peacemaker Polymer Syncytium (10x5)
  • Crystallization Catalyst (8)
See the detailed farming info in the Repeat Offenders section.




Murky Energy Residue
    Lifetime Need (infinity+40)
  • Valby Stabilizer (40)
  • Crystallization Catalyst (8)
See the detailed farming info in the Repeat Offenders section.




Pure Energy Residue
    Lifetime Need (269)
  • Afterglow Sword Synthetic Fiber (10x5)
  • FrostWatcher Polymer Syncytium (10x5)
  • Luna Enhanced Cells (40)
  • Yujin Stabilizer (40)
  • Ultimate Bunny Spiral Catalyst (89)
No special trick here, vaults in the Fortress region have what you need.
Theoretically, this material also drops from champion mobs, but I’ve yet to find a mission with enough density to make it worth the effort.


Fellow Management
Man's best Friend
The biggest thing to remember when farming for you very own Fellow is to make use of the Target Reward List feature. This will guarantee that you'll eventually get whatever part you're looking for. Note: this does not prevent you from getting other parts that are currently not targeted.
Had a random person in-game tell me this feature does not work until you get a fellow, but I could've sworn I used this feature to get my first one. note to self, make new steam account, launch game on new account and check. I had a friend start the game the other day and he has access to the Target Reward List feature at Mastery 2, so you can definitely use this feature from the very beginning.






Acquire Major Components
The mechanism for obtaining the major components of both Fellows is done by completing the Void Vessel and open the vault that appears after killing the boss. Parts for the Hagios Sheepdog come from Normal, whereas Vespers Hunting Dog parts come from Hard. Interestingly enough, I felt like my limiting factor while acquiring both of my fellows was Decryption Keys. Just go in with your fastest farming build and push though. Oh, and once you have all the major blueprint components and just need materials. Stop opening the big vault at the end, it uses up a key, which you'll need for the smaller chests.

Acquire Material Components
At this stage, I think the most important thing is to be smart with your Decryption Key usage. Only open the chests that contain the specific material you need until such time as you have an abundance of keys. Keep in mind, that as you are looking to craft your Fellow, you are looking for Experimental Materials Storage boxes, they're wide with a blue light. Given the drop rate for materials, I figure you'll have to open something like ~75 of these guys for each Fellow you want.

Acquire Leveling Components
If you have the keys, it is quite nice to get all the major and minor parts while also gathering materials to level up your new doggo. That said, if Decryption Keys are your limiting factor, you can always level them up later, focus on collecting the parts you need to make them first. That said, its worth noting here, the maximum level for a Fellow is 30. This will cost you 50,000 exp.
Consider the following table, in which I break down the maximum number of items one would need to fully level a Fellow. Obviously, if your luck is better and you have more Ultimate Protein then you'll need less Fortified Supplements.
Item
Yield
Maximum Needed
Drop Chance
Fortified Supplement
1,000 exp
50
45%
Special Synthetic Calcium
2,500 exp
20
5%
Ultimate Protein Compound
10,000 exp
5
0.5%

In all likelihood you're going to need a lot of these materials, which come from these nice boxes with the blue light. (The small ones) The drop rate is marginally better in Hard, so if you can do it, I would.
    Dog Food, per Fellow
  • Lectin Acceptor (12x5-50)
  • Adaptive Protein (36x5-50)
  • Ionized Metal (120x5-50)
interestingly enough, I found that Lectin Acceptor was the rate limiting factor, despite the fact that all three materials come from the same chests.

While there aren't any real tricks to getting and leveling up your Fellow, I'm hoping this section provides enough background on the process so that each of you can make an informed decision on what to use your very limited supply of Decryption Keys on.


My advice, in short is to prioritize boss vaults first for major components, followed by Experimental Materials Storage Boxes for minor components, and if you have keys left over, spread them out between Special Materials and Genetic Information boxes for leveling items.

Metallic Foils
Conductive Metallic Foil
    Lifetime Need (infinity+115)
  • Python Nano Tube (8x5)
  • Ultimate Valby Enhanced Cells (75)
  • Energy Activators (25)
See the detailed farming info in the Repeat Offenders section.




Cooling Metallic Foil
    Lifetime Need (213)
  • Wave of Light Nano Tube (9x5)
  • Afterglow Sword Nano Tube (9x5)
  • Gley Enhanced Cells (38)
  • Ultimate Gley Stabilizer (85)
Nothing special, no trick here. Just get on Enzo (or Nell when season 3 drops) and go open some vaults. Technically, you can also get Cooling Metallic Foil from champion mob kills anywhere in White-night Gulch but I’ve yet to find a place that offers a sufficient yield to make it worth the effort. Odds are good that you’ll have a few on hand before you start opening vaults though, so it might save you a couple of code breakers.


Insulated Metallic Foil
    Lifetime Need (190)
  • Smithereens Polymer Syncytium (8x5)
  • The Final Masterpiece Synthetic Fiber (8x5)
  • Jayber Enhanced Cells (34)
  • Ultimate Viessa Enhanced Cells (76)
The Kingston infiltrations Slumber Valley and Magister Lab at either 250% or 400% should take between 5 and 6 minutes with a decent public team and net you ~20-26 Insulated Metallic Foil per run, regardless of whether you run the 250% or the 400%. As a fringe benefit, you’ll net some experience, amorphous materials, and either Low-Carbon Activators or Organic Biogel as completion rewards. If you don’t need a specific Amorphous Material then I’d advise running Slumber Valley, the lifetime need for Organic Biogel is rather low, and you’ll always need more Low-Carbon, so even at only 20 a run as a completion reward, at least you’ll use them.


Thermal Metallic Foil
    Lifetime Need (144)
  • The Final Masterpiece Polymer Syncytium (6x5)
  • Enduring Legacy Polymer Syncytium (6x5)
  • Jayber Spiral Catalyst (26)
  • Ultimate Gley Enhanced Cells (58)
Echo Swamp vaults contain what you seek.
As a free alternative, Thermal Metallic Foil has a chance to drop from champion mobs anywhere in Echo Swamp. See the entry for Encrypted Neural Circuits, as that mission has a high frequency of champion mobs and is easily farmable. I typically saw ~1-3 per run.

Misfit Materials
Heavy Ion Collector
    Lifetime Need (294)
  • Hammer and Anvil Polymer Syncytium (7x5)
  • Hammer and Anvil Synthetic Fiber (7x5)
  • Hammer and Anvil Nano Tube (7x5)
  • Ultimate Sharen Enhanced Cells (63)
  • Ultimate Sharen Stabilizer (63)
  • Ultimate Sharen Spiral Catalyst (63)
  • ()
Due to the unfortunate aspect of this item only dropping from infiltrations in White-night Gluch, there is no trick to acquiring the needed number other than running 42 missions (at 7 a drop) to get what you need. That said, I advise making extensive use of the Other Infiltration Support button. If you select the infiltration and check the box for Other, you’ll also get 210 Support Coins along the way assuming you do the infiltrations on hard mode.


Neuromorphic Chip
    Lifetime Need (60 for Ines, 75 per Season weapon)
  • Sigvore’s Proof Polymer Syncytium (5x5)
  • Sigvore’s Proof Synthetic Fiber (5x5)
  • Sigvore’s Proof Nano Tube (5x5)
  • EXCAVA Polymer Syncytium (5x5)
  • EXCAVA Synthetic Fiber (5x5)
  • EXCAVA Nano Tube (5x5)
  • Ines Enhanced Cells (20)
  • Ines Stabilizer (20)
  • Ines Spiral Catalyst (20)
Unfortunately there's no particular trick to this one. Head into the Void Vessel on Hard mode and open broken boxes (the ones with red lights). If you're newer to the Void Vessel, follow your teammates to the chest clusters or spam your Ecive while you move through. Don't forget to look up and down as some of the chest clusters are tucked away.


Refined Void Essence
    Lifetime Need (135)
  • Keelan Enhanced Cells (45)
  • Keelan Stabilizer (45)
  • Keelan Spiral Catalyst (45)
Unfortunately there's no particular trick to this one. Head into the Void Vessel on Normal mode and open broken boxes (the ones with red lights). If you're newer to the Void Vessel, follow your teammates to the chest clusters or spam your Ecive while you move through. Don't forget to look up and down as some of the chest clusters are tucked away.


Support Coins
    Lifetime Need (your mileage will vary)
  • Any past Season weapon part (30)
  • Any past Season weapon (complete) (30x5)
There are two options to acquire this particular item, both stemming from use of the Other Infiltration Support button, 2 per run on Normal, and 5 per run on Hard. Given the wildly variable need for these depending on when a person started playing the game, you may or may not ever need to farm this item. That said, everyone can expect to easily obtain 210 Support Coins while farming for Heavy Ion Collectors.
Also worth noting, Macromolecule Biogel drops as a completion reward for The Chapel infiltration in Echo Swamp, so if you’re trying to collect Support Coins, this makes a decent option as your selection while doing Other Infiltration Support.


Neural Circuits
Advanced Neural Circuit
    Lifetime Need (infinity+90)
  • Enzo Stabilizer (90)
  • Crystallization Catalyst (18)
See the detailed farming info in the Repeat Offenders section.






Data Processing Neural Circuit
    Lifetime Need (275)
  • Smithereens Synthetic Fiber (12x5)
  • Secret Garden Synthetic Fiber (12x5)
  • Ultimate Lepic Spiral Catalyst (107)
  • Valby Enhanced Cells (48)
Head to The Ruins region of Vespers and do the battlefield mission Destroyed Temple. Move to the waypoint and kill all the mobs, the last enemy is an elite that has a chance to drop ~8-12 Data Processing Neural Circuits. The mission should take you less than a minute given the enemies have a tendency to spawn grouped together. AoE skills with lasting effects are particularly useful here.


Encrypted Neural Circuit
    Lifetime Need (185)
  • Clairvoyance Polymer Syncytium (8x5)
  • Divine Punishment Synthetic Fiber (8x5)
  • Valby Spiral Catalyst (32)
  • Ultimate Bunny Enhanced Cells (73)
Head to the Abandoned Zone in Echo Swamp and do the Environmental Contamination Zone mission. The two elites that spawn at the end of the mission have a chance to drop Encrypted Neural Circuits ~4-8 per kill. Additionally, the champion mobs that spawn during this mission have a chance to drop Thermal Metallic Foil. As a fringe benefit, this mission was previously thought to be one of the best gold and reactor farms in the game.

Sigma Sector Materials
Material that essentially only come from combat drops but are also only required in limited numbers.

As depressing as it is, there isn't actually an efficient way to farm these materials other than getting on your fastest mob-clearing build and going to town. That said, with the recent addition of mutation cells, there are more reasons than ever to farm Sigma Sector, so it's likely that you'll end up with all the materials you need without having to go too far out of the way.

Furinite
    Lifetime Need (300)
  • Truly Deadly Arson Polymer Syncytium (20x5)
  • Truly Deadly Arson Synthetic Fiber (20x5)
  • Truly Deadly Arson Nano Tube (20x5)
Acquired from both Normal Sigma Sector operations as a combat drop from slain elites.
Best advice, speed farming build, blitz through, make sure you and your Fellow don't miss any drops. Odds are decent you'll have just about enough by the time you grab all the blueprint fragments you need.


Veildust
    Lifetime Need (258)
  • Serena Enhanced Cells (26)
  • Serena Stabilizer (26)
  • Serena Spiral Catalyst (26)
  • Ultimate Blair Enhanced Cells (60)
  • Ultimate Blair Stabilizer (60)
  • Ultimate Blair Spiral Catalyst (60)
Drops from all Sigma Sector Operations as a combat drop from slain elites. Odds are good that you'll have all you need before you acquire all the blueprints, so not likely to be a bottleneck.


Phaion Particles
    Lifetime Need (240+48)
  • A-TAMS Polymer Syncytium (16x5)
  • A-TAMS Synthetic Fiber (16x5)
  • A-TAMS Nano Tube (16x5)
This material only drops from the Hard Isolated Desert Sigma Sector Operation as a combat drop from slain elites. I would also note, that given the current dominance of the A-TAMS as a single shot damage tool, its not unreasonable for people to have multiple copies in different elements. Fortunately a recent update has greatly simplified the process of producing duplicate weapons, requiring only a single additional copy after the first is maxed out.


Void Charge Stone
    Lifetime Need (150)
  • Ancient Knight Polymer Syncytium (10x5)
  • Ancient Knight Synthetic Fiber (10x5)
  • Ancient Knight Nano Tube (10x5)
This material only drops from the Hard Broken Boundary Sigma Sector Operation as a combat drop from slain elites. In my case, I acquired all the blueprints shortly before hitting the 150 I needed, requiring a couple of extra runs, but I expect some will experience the opposite.

Miscellaneous Information
Awards
Specifically in regards to the Descendant Module Badge II
  • "Standard" slots (10), in which normal modules can be equipped, each of which can take 5 runes (Cerulean, Almandine, Malachite, Xantic, Rutile) in addition to a blank space (for a total of 60 slots).
  • Skill Module Slot, same as above, 5 runes and a blank space
  • Sub Module Slot, same as above, 5 runes and a blank space

This is interesting as a requirement because depending on how one counts such things, there are a possible 72 catalysts spendable on a given descendant.

When I started working on this particular medal, I made the assumptionnote, don't make assumptions, they're almost always wrong that the 60 assigned module slots referred to 60 named slots. Which would mean that one would have to spend 5 catalysts each on the Skill Module and Sub Module slots. This was incorrect which I unfortunately did not discover until the very end.

Observe the images I captured as I was attempting to identify why I had not yet hit the completion requirement for my first of twenty counts on the medal. Below on the left, you can see that I have fully catalyzed every single slot with the exception of a single blank that is missing. Which means at that point I had spent 67 catalysts by this point (remember that ultimate descendants come with 4 slots pre-catalyzed). Far beyond the 60 that should be required to make progress on this medal. I ultimately did not make progress on the medal until I catalyzed the last [blank] slot (the cell selected in green).

The moral of this story, in order to make progress on the Descendant Module Badge II, one must catalyze all 6 possible slots on each of the 10 Normal Modules for a total of 60. With the Sub and Skill module slots not seeming to count towards this medal.

I also realize that this is likely to be a non-issue for 99% of the player base, because why spend an extra 60 catalysts on a descendant when ~12 will get you a completed build. But I have no where else to include this, and its probably relevant to someone, somewhere.

Changelog and To-Do List
To-Do
  • finish the section on Fellows
  • make an entirely new steam account, to test if new TFD accounts have access to the Target Reward List before crafting your first Fellow

Changelog
    5/30/25
  • update Complex Carbon Activator info to reflect drop rates and 400% infiltrations
    5/31/25
  • update missing info in the Murky Energy Residue entry in the Repeat Offenders section
    6/1/25
  • added a Miscellaneous Info section with an Awards subsection to demonstrate the easiest way to waste a dozen catalysts by not understanding a tooltip.
    6/2/25
  • "finished" the section on Fellow acquisition and leveling
  • update formatting for Changelog to be less lame
    6/5/25
  • confirmed that new players do, in fact, have access to the Target Reward Item feature
    1 Comments
    Da blade Wappla 1 Jun @ 3:03am 
    You've saved me so much time with this guide, i cant thank you enough!
    I'll make sure to share this as much as possible <3