The new Descendant, Nell Hathaway, has quickly established herself as one of the most versatile and rewarding Descendants in The First Descendant Season 3. With her ability to dish out devastating crit-based damage, amplify team weak point DPS, and adapt to both mobbing and boss encounters, she offers players a wide range of build options. From crit-focused rotations and Void Erosion nukes to full support setups for Wall Crasher, Nell’s toolkit rewards careful execution and smart module choices.
In this Nell Build guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know to build Nell for maximum efficiency in The First Descendant. We’ll start with her ability breakdown, including the nuances of her Ecive Scan passive, how her first ability becomes a DPS monster against marked enemies, and how her second and third abilities synergize for crowd control and sustain. We’ll also look at her fourth ability, which guarantees a 100% weak point hit rate, perfect for enabling both weapon and ability-based burst rotations.
If you are looking for more guides and content on The First Descendant, then you can read them here on KeenGamer through the links below:
- The First Descendant Season 3 Fast-Start Guide: Axion Plains, Trigger Modules, and Wall Crasher
- The First Descendant: Ultimate Bunny Build Guide | Best Modules, Weapons, and Reactors
- The First Descendant: Ultimate Freyna Build Guide | Best Modules, Weapons, and Reactors
- The First Descendant: Ultimate Sharen Build Guide | Best Modules, Weapons, and Reactors
- The First Descendant | Ranking the Ultimate Descendants from Best to Worst
1. Nell Hathaway Overview
Nell is a high-complexity Descendant that rewards players who master her rotations and damage management. Her kit combines AoE damage, debuffs, and ally buffs, making her one of the most adaptable characters in the current roster.
Key Strengths:
- Versatile builds for DPS and support roles.
- Passive marks amplify damage and scale with crits.
- The 4th ability guarantees 100% weak point hits and buffs allies with +35% weak point damage.
- Excellent at both mobbing and boss fights.
Weaknesses:
- High RNG reliance in resource generation.
- Rotation-heavy playstyle that punishes mistakes.
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Overlapping build paths may confuse new players.
Nell Hathaway is a top-tier Descendant for Season 3 thanks to her versatile builds. She can excel as a crit-focused DPS, a supportive raid buffer, or even as a gunner hybrid. Mastering her involves learning her cooldown rotations, managing custom resources, and adapting her build to the content. Whether you want to dominate Void Erosion, support allies in Wall Crasher, or push sub-30 boss clears, Nell has the tools to shine.
Nell, the Abyssal Tactician.
1.1 Nell’s Ability Breakdown
- Suspicion & Insight (Passive Skill): Using Ecive inflicts Ecive Scan on enemies in the front. Attacking enemies inflicted with Ecive Scan deals additional damage. Ecive Scan expires and then inflicts Ecive Scan on nearby enemies. Enemies under the Reticle are guaranteed to be inflicted with Ecive Scan. If the Reticle is on a Weak Point of a Colossus, Ecive Scan is applied to that Weak Point. Efficiency increases when disarming Encrypted Vaults and rewards increase when decryption is complete.
- Breach Projection (Tech): Fires a barrage of Breach Shards, dealing damage to hit enemies. If the enemy hit is inflicted with Ecive Scan, an additional effect is triggered.
- Gravitic Reversal (Fusion): Detonates an Arche Breach, causing a Gravitic Reversal. This pulls in enemies near the Arche Breach and deals Explosion Damage.
- Ring of Breach (Fusion): Creates an Arche Breach at a designated location. Inflicts a debuff on enemies near the created Arche Breach and spawns an Anti-Gravity Field on the ground. The debuff of the Arche Breach intensifies over time and further weakens Adaptive Defense. Reusing the skill retrieves the Arche Breach and grants a buff to Nell. On retrieval, the Anti-Gravity Field disappears, dealing Explosion Damage to the area around it and refunding a portion of the Cooldown.
- Gaze of the Abyss (Tech): Grants Gaze of the Abyss. All Firearm Attacks from Nell target Weak Points, increasing the Weak Point Damage of herself and nearby allies. While Gaze of the Abyss is active, hitting a target inflicted with Ecive Scan with a Breach Shard increases the duration of Gaze of the Abyss.
Recruiting Nell requires you to farm Axion Plains.
1.2 Core Transcendent Modules
- Restored Heart: Converts 2nd and 3rd abilities into shield recovery and ally buffs, offering a defensive support build.
- Shattered Heart: Adds +20% base crit rate, introduces a custom resource mechanic, and transforms the 4th ability into a devastating burst nuke.
2. Nell’s Materials
Before you can build Nell properly in The First Descendant, you must finish finding all her materials, which are locked behind the new Axion Plains Battlefield Missions.
Below, we have provided a complete list of the necessary materials for Nell.
| Required Research Materials | Where to Find the Materials |
|---|---|
| Enhanced Cells x1 |
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| Stabilizer x1 |
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| Spiral Catalyst x1 |
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| Nell Code x1 |
|
3. Best Nell Builds in The First Descendant
Unlike previous Descendants, Nell isn’t just another damage dealer; her kit revolves around marking enemies, amplifying weak points, and chaining abilities for devastating results. With the right setup, she can dominate mobbing scenarios, shred bosses, and even flex into hybrid support roles thanks to her unique shield recovery and ally buffs.
3.1 Shattered Heart Crit Build (Mobbing Focus)
When it comes to clearing groups of enemies quickly, Nell’s best option is a crit-heavy build using the Shattered Heart Transcendent Module. This setup leans into her natural synergy with critical hits, boosting her base crit rate by 20% and enabling devastating AoE bursts when targeting marked enemies. By combining Shattered Heart with crit-enhancing Ultimate Weapons like Blue Beetle or Peacemaker, Nell can push her crit chance to near-perfect levels.
This build thrives in mobbing scenarios because her second ability provides consistent crowd control and resource recovery, while her first ability becomes a crit-fueled nuke against priority targets, such as end-mission Bosses or Elite Vulgus Enemies. It’s also highly flexible; players can swap modules depending on whether they want more sustain, more raw DPS, or smoother cooldown cycles. If your goal is to farm Axion Plains, Sigma Sector, or other mob-dense activities, this is the build that maximizes both speed and efficiency.
Key Setup:
- Transcendent Module: Shattered Heart (20% base crit rate, custom resource bar).
- Weapons: Peacemaker (best DPS stick), optional Blue Beetle for crit uptime.
- Modules: Fusion Master, Power Increase, Front Lines, Emergency Measures.
- External Components: Slayer set (mana sustain + burst damage).
- Trigger Module: Power Beyond (mana recovery + extra Towed status procs).
- Rotation: Cast 2nd ability → retrieve → cast 2nd ability again → cast the 3rd ability → use 1st ability on marked targets → use 4th when Suspicion bar is full against tough enemies.
This crit-focused mobbing build is one of Nell’s strongest options for general content, striking an ideal balance between damage, sustain, and adaptability. While Peacemaker offers the best damage scaling in longer fights, Blue Beetle provides more consistent crit reliability for newer players.
Thanks to Shattered Heart’s synergy with crits and Nell’s natural weak point mechanics, you’ll maintain uptime on your cooldowns, stack resources effortlessly, and wipe out enemy waves with ease. Whether you’re farming daily missions or pushing harder content, this build sets the gold standard for Nell in Season 3.
Nell’s Mobbing Build should be your main focus.
3.2 Non-Crit Quality of Life Build
While Nell’s crit path delivers the highest raw numbers, not every player wants to juggle crit uptime and resource management. That’s where the non-crit quality of life build shines. Instead of chasing maximum DPS, this build focuses on survivability, shield recovery, and smoother cooldown cycles, making it ideal for newer players or those running tougher content where mistakes are costly.
By freeing up slots normally reserved for crit optimization, you can add HP modules, cost reduction, or utility picks that improve sustain. The fourth ability’s 100% weak point guarantee still ensures high damage output, especially when paired with solid weapon choices, but you’re not locked into the crit dependency. This build sacrifices about 10–15% damage potential compared to crit setups, but in return, you get greater consistency, room for defensive options, and flexibility in adapting to different mission types.
Key Setup:
- Transcendent Module: Shattered Heart (optional Restored Heart for support-focused teams).
- Weapons: Peacemaker (damage scaling), Last Dagger (close-range burst alternative).
- Modules: HP + shield sustain modules, cooldown reduction, MP Collector, or Decimator.
- Trigger Module: Power Beyond.
- Rotation: 2nd ability → retrieve for shield recovery and speed → 1st ability + 4th for weak point synergy.
The Non-Crit Build isn’t about topping damage charts; it’s about staying alive and contributing consistently. You’ll have room to stack survivability modules and shield sustain while still dishing out respectable numbers thanks to Nell’s natural weak point synergy. This makes it an excellent choice for prolonged encounters, boss fights, or squad play where dying once can cost the run. If you’re looking for a more forgiving but still powerful way to play Nell, this build delivers balance without overcomplication.
3.3 Void Erosion Tech Build
For players tackling the toughest content, Nell’s Void Erosion Tech Build pushes her damage ceiling by leaning heavily into her first ability and passive synergy. Unlike her mobbing setups, this build is designed for elite and boss encounters, where precision and burst matter more than area coverage. The idea is simple: mark enemies, then melt them with tech-boosted projectiles that scale absurdly well against weak points.
Since Void Erosion Purge favors single-target pressure and rewards skillful rotations, this build sacrifices some mobbing versatility in exchange for incredible burst potential. By shifting her focus from fusion to tech modules, Nell maximizes every hit of her first ability while still benefiting from her passive’s bonus damage. Add in Slayer set synergy for resource sustain, and you’ll have a kit that thrives in high-stakes missions where killing elites quickly makes the difference between success and failure.
Key Setup:
- Transcendent Module: Shattered Heart (critical base + custom resource).
- Weapons: Last Dagger (burst DPS), Malevolent (passive bullet synergy).
- Modules: Tech Master, Power Increase, and Stim Accelerant.
- Trigger Module: Power Beyond (mana & resource loop).
- Rotation: Use 2nd ability for cooldown buff → apply mark → spam 1st ability on weak points → finish with 4th for burst wipes.
This build truly shines in Void Erosion Purge and other boss-centric modes where mobbing AoEs aren’t needed. By investing in tech scaling, Nell’s first ability becomes a single-target wrecking ball, deleting elites and bosses in seconds while her weapon damage supplements downtime. It’s a more specialized path compared to crit or QoL builds, but for high-end players who want to push Nell into endgame DPS territory, the Void Erosion Tech Build is her most lethal setup.
Nell’s Void Erosion Purge Build.
3.4 Pure Gunner Weak Point Build
If you want to play into Nell’s inherent strength in attacking Weak Points thanks to her 4th ability, then you can do so by building around gunplay. The Gunner Build strips away much of the skill dependency and transforms Nell into a weak point damage monster, amplifying her weapon DPS to terrifying levels.
The strategy revolves around debuffing enemies with her second ability, triggering crowd control or retrieval for sustain, and then activating her fourth ability to guarantee every bullet counts as a weak point hit. With the right modules and weapon synergies, this turns fast-firing weapons into boss-shredding tools, as every shot benefits from massive weak point multipliers. The build is flexible across content, performing especially well against Colossus and elite-heavy encounters, where consistent weak point damage gives a clear advantage over crit- or ability-based playstyles.
Key Setup:
- Transcendent Module: Shattered Heart (crit and custom resource boost).
- Weapons: Malevolent, Last Dagger (high DPS at close range), or Exterminator for flexibility.
- Modules: Shot Focus, Maximize Duration, and Stim Accelerant.
- External Components: 2-piece Ascending Armory + 2-piece Shell Crusher (vs Colossus), Ballistic Tracker (AoE weak point synergy).
- Trigger Module: Kuiper Hollow Points for scaling weak point damage.
- Rotation: Debuff with 2nd ability → activate 4th ability → unload full magazine for max weak point stacks and HP sustain.
The Gunner Build is only as strong as the weapons you bring, but in the right hands, it’s one of Nell’s deadliest setups. By pairing guaranteed weak point hits with high fire-rate weapons, you melt bosses and elites without needing perfect crit chains or complicated rotations. This makes it particularly valuable in long fights where consistency outweighs raw burst. While it doesn’t leverage her ability to damage as much, it gives Nell a unique niche in team comps as a weapon DPS powerhouse.
Nell’s Pure Gunner Build.
4. Conclusion: Is Nell Worth Building in The First Descendant?
Nell’s arrival in The First Descendant Season 3 has added one of the most intricate and rewarding playstyles to date. Unlike many Descendants who fall neatly into “damage” or “support” archetypes, Nell thrives on adaptability. Her marking mechanic, weak point synergy, and ability-to-weapon integration let her shift roles seamlessly depending on build choice. From farming Axiom Plains with a crit-heavy setup to deleting elites in Void Erosion Purge or melting Colossus with weapon DPS, Nell proves herself as a powerhouse in nearly every scenario.
Her complexity does mean she demands more investment and practice than other Descendants—understanding cooldown timings, resource management, and module synergies is key to unlocking her potential. But for players willing to put in the effort, Nell is not just strong—she’s one of the most versatile characters in the entire roster.
Whether you prefer the high-risk, high-reward nature of crit builds, the comfort of QoL survivability, or the surgical precision of tech and gunner playstyles, Nell has a path for you. Build her wisely, learn her nuances, and you’ll find a Season 3 mainstay capable of carrying content both solo and in squads.
Nell Showcase in Axion Plains content.
And that’s everything you need to know to build Nell in The First Descendant.
