The First Descendant's Inversion Reinforcement mechanic, explained

Inversion Reinforcement is the new seasonal growth mechanic in The First Descendant. Introduced with Season 1: Invasion, this system is functionally similar to Season Blessings in Diablo 4. Complete Invasion Dungeons now and your characters can select several buffs that will persist throughout the season.

Inversion Reinforcement can be simplified as a modular character growth stat stick that resets after each season of The First Descendant. However, there is some additional nitty-gritty to spice up an otherwise straightforward system. This guide goes over all of this.

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How to unlock Inversion Reinforcement in The First Descendant

To unlock Inversion Reinforcement in The First Descendant, you'll have to beat the 'Altered Design' quest. This is currently near the very end of the main quest line, so the system will not be accessible to beginners.

Additionally, you should also clear the How to Hide the Truth quest that pops up later, as it unlocks Invasion Dungeons, which is pivotal to making quick progress with Inversion Reinforcement. Check out our Season 1 quest walkthrough for a full breakdown.

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How does the Inversion Reinforcement system work in The First Descendant?

Inversion Reinforcement board (Image via Nexon)

Inversion Reinforcement will represent a perk tree where you can unlock various buffs for your characters in The First Descendant. There are a total of 20 perks you can directly unlock from the Inversion Reinforcement tree, categorized among five broader types:

• Hunt: Improves the Descendant's basic Stats.
• Attribute: Improves the Descendant's Attribute Resistance.
• Recovery: Improves the Descendant's Recovery.
• Survival: Receives a defense buff that activates under certain conditions.
• Season: Receives an effect that is useful for Invasion Dungeons.

You can unlock perks one after the other, but only up to three can be selected as active buffs at a time. That said, you can switch between your unlocked buffs at any time.

White perk means it's unlocked, but only a Green perk indicates that its effects are active. You can click on an active perk to deselet it anytime.

Unlocking all four perks on a horizontal line also unlocks a collective mega-buff. These big buffs are automatically active, and this does not count towards your active perk limit.

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How to get Ironheart Particles in The First Descendant

To unlock perks on the Inversion Reinforcement board, you must spend Ironheart Particles, a new type of currency exclusive to this system. These can drop from the new Hard battlefield tasks called 'Collect Ironheart Particles'. However, the primary source of Ironheart Particles is the new Invasion Dungeons, which are far more efficient farming sources.

We'll update this article with more information as we learn about perks in The First Descendant Season 1. Until then, check out our other articles on the game:

• How to defeat the Gluttony boss in The First Descendant
• The First Descendant Complete Bunny questline: All Record locations
• The First Descendant Thunder Cage build: Best Modules, unique trait, and more
• The First Descendant Bunny build: Best modules and playstyle, explained