How to beat Hanged Man in The First Descendant

Hanging around.

Bunny character running in front of explosion in The First Descendant.
Image via Nexon Games

The First Descendant’s list of bosses is daunting for any player, but few provide as much of a challenge as Hanged Man due to some unique mechanics. If you want to know how to beat Hanged Man, read on.

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Hanged Man unlocks in The First Descendant upon completion of the main story and serves as an introduction to the endgame content, as beating Hanged Man unlocks the first Intercept Battle on hard difficulty.

Unlike other Intercept Battles, however, you stand no chance if you don’t understand what’s happening. But we’ve got all the details you need to be victorious.

How to defeat Hanged Man in The First Descendant

A screen showing Hanged Man Destructible Parts in The First Descendant.
Fight of your life. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Hanged Man provides a different challenge to all the other Intercept Battle bosses in The First Descendant with some unique mechanics, and if you don’t know what’s going on, it will be impossible to beat this boss.

One member of the team must pick up the cube beneath Hanged Man and run around with it to prevent the red gauge below him from filling up, which will unleash an instant-kill attack if you fail.

While one team member focuses on running around with the cube and dodging attacks, the remainder of the squad must focus their fire on Hanged Man to deal as much damage as possible until he reaches the invincibility stage. The weak points and destructible parts to focus on are:

  • Core Cover (Head)
  • Rear Cover (Back)
  • Sensor (Sides)
  • Core (Head)
  • Shoulder
  • Charger (When Frenzied)

Return the cube to its original place to cancel Hanged Man’s invincibility. Once you’ve done this, Hanged Man will take damage again. Repeat this process as many times as required.

While fighting Hanged Man, KingFishers will spawn periodically, and you should defeat them as soon as possible as these will attack you constantly if ignored—and they’re the best way to obtain recovery items and ammunition.

Best loadout to fight Hanged Man in The First Descendant

Mid-to-long-range weapons are advised against Hanged Man because they’re easier to aim at weak spots from a distance and take longer to evade attacks. Assault rifles, launchers, scout rifles, and sniper rifles are best, but SMGs and shotguns can still be useful if used carefully.

Hanged Man is weak to the Poison attribute, making Freyna an excellent choice for Descendant to use, but Ice attributes are neutral against Hanged Man, meaning Viessa is an option, but Hanged Man is strong against Fire and very strong against Electric.

Despite this, Bunny is a good Descendant choice if you are the team’s runner due to her high speed and maneuverability, but the focus should be on the job at hand and not on dishing out damage.

All Hanged Man boss rewards in The First Descendant

Upon defeat, Hanged Man will provide a wealth of drops, including Reactors, Auxiliary Power, weapons, and more. However, the biggest rewards come from interacting with the green orb and using Amorphous Materials linked to the hanged man. The ones required are:

  • Amorphous Material Pattern: 050
  • Amorphous Material Pattern: 051
  • Amorphous Material Pattern: 052
  • Amorphous Material Pattern: 053

Available rewards from the linked Amorphous Materials include Energy Activator Blueprint, Ultimate Bunny Code, and other materials required for crafting Ultimate Descendants and Ultimate Weapons.

Author
Image of Josh Challies
Josh Challies
Staff Writer. Professional writer since 2014. Pokemon, Marvel, Star Wars and overall geek. Previously wrote for Yahoo Sport, Stats Perform and online news publications.