The First Descendant: Meet Hailey, the Newest Character with Unique Abilities

Mark your calendars for August 29, 2024, as Season 1 of The First Descendant launches with an exciting addition: Hailey, the latest Descendant. Players have speculated about her abilities since her first teaser, but now Nexon has revealed the full details of her powers.

Drawing comparisons to Viessa's chill-focused build, Hailey's abilities are also centered around cold damage. However, Hailey's skills emphasize gunplay, reflecting her expertise as a sniper. Her abilities mirror those of some other Descendants, which could make mastering her playstyle easier for experienced players.

Cryo Round: A New Rival for Sharen

Hailey's Cryo Round skill fires small, ice-covered bullets at enemies automatically. Reminiscent of Iron Man’s automated defense system, this skill uses shoulder-mounted targeting to quickly and efficiently hit foes. It's somewhat akin to Sharen's Flash Shortsword, but with quicker activation.

Beyond direct damage, Cryo Round inflicts a unique Cryo status effect, causing lingering damage based on Hailey's firearm attack stats. This further enhances her role as a gun-centric character, much like Lepic.

Storm Snare: A Fusion of Ajax and Viessa's Powers

Hailey's second ability, Storm Snare, transforms her anti-materiel rifle into a cannon configuration, unleashing a powerful beam attack. This beam fires in a straight line, similar to Viessa's Cold Snap but with greater range. Like Cryo Round, Storm Snare also inflicts the Cryo effect on targets.

The visual spectacle of the cannon blast is complemented by an area-of-effect (AOE) feature that pushes enemies away from Hailey before the main shot, similar to Ajax’s Expulsion ability. This knockback effect also applies the Cryo status, ensuring that even enemies behind Hailey feel the impact.

Cold Fury: The Counterpoint to Viessa's Frost Road

While Viessa’s Frost Road increases her movement speed and leaves an icy trail, Hailey’s Cold Fury works in reverse. It slows her down, but significantly boosts her firearms' critical hit rate and penetration.

Cold Fury also enhances the critical hit chances for Hailey’s abilities, making it an excellent setup for maximizing the damage of Cryo Round and Storm Snare. If her Cryo effect can land critical hits, it could lead to even more devastating lingering damage.

Zenith: The Ultimate Colossus Slayer

Zenith, Hailey’s final ability, turns her massive anti-materiel rifle into a high-powered sniper, dealing enormous damage. Besides its impressive firepower, Zenith has a unique advantage: hitting Weak Points with this rifle restores Hailey’s MP, providing an alternative to relying on weaker enemies for MP recovery.

With its combined boost to firearm attack and penetration, Zenith is ideal for taking down Colossi, even if it doesn’t one-shot their Weak Points. This ability will be especially useful when the new Colossus, Death Stalker, enters The First Descendant on October 10, 2024, ensuring Hailey remains a formidable force on the battlefield.

Hailey's blend of chill effects, strategic gunplay, and high-impact abilities make her a versatile and deadly addition to The First Descendant. Whether you’re a seasoned player or new to the game, her unique skill set promises a fresh and exciting experience.