Best Tamer build and how to get it in The First Descendant

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✓ At a glance:
  • Get the Tamer from the Abandoned Reconstruction Site in the Agna Desert.
  • Pair it with characters like Lepic, Viessa, or Enzo.
  • Consider modules like Bullet Rain, Commando Marksmanship, and Rifling Reinforcement.

The Tamer is a rare machine gun in The First Descendant and its high DPS make it a must-have against some notorious bosses. You’ll chip health bars down easily if you enter a lobby with this lethal weapon. Since it can be hard to track down, here’s where you can get the gun in the game. We’ve also tested it out with multiple loadouts to determine the best build you can achieve with it.

Where to find the Tamer Machine Gun

You can find the Tamer in the Abandoned Reconstruction Site in the Agna Desert. It can also be found in these locations:

  • Order’s Occupied Facility in the Observatory area of the White-night Gulch region.
  • Void Fusion Reactor in the Mountaintops of White-Night Gulch.
  • Void Fragment mission in the Miragestone region of Agna Desert.

All these missions have a 50% chance of dropping the weapon so you’ll definitely get it if you try them a couple of times. We recommend the first option since this region is easier to access as you don’t have to beat the Devourer for it. You still have to beat the level 40 Dead Bride in the campaign to access the Agna Desert. But if you want a high-level variant, consider the Order’s Occupied Facility.

The Abandoned Reconstruction Site is a fairly simple mission. It involves beating waves of enemies to get bombs that can be used to disable three Vulgus Generators. Once this is done, one final wave of enemies will fight you before an Elite boss arrives with a yellow health bar. Defeat them to clear the mission. Thanks to the high drop rate, you can farm this mission to get the Tamer with the right stats for any situation.

Best Tamer build

While the base weapon is powerful on its own, you can double down on its strengths by picking the right Descendant and modules to accompany it. Here’s our best Tamer build for Void Intercept bosses and other missions:

  • Descendant: Viessa, Lepic, or Enzo
  • Upgraded modules: Bullet Rain, Commando Marksmanship, Expand Weapon Charge, Rifling Reinforcement, Fire Enhancement

Best Descendant to use with Tamer

While all Descendants can take advantage of this lethal SMG, consider characters like Viessa and Lepic who have slows or trap abilities. That’s because you’ll have an easier time aiming the weapon at foes to inflict massive damage. Lepic’s Traction Grenade is particularly great here since it pulls foes to a common location and stuns them. Viessa’s Blizzard is a good option too. Thanks to its lengthy reload time, it’s better to keep enemies stationary or risk wasting bullets. Enzo is another good option since his supply drone gives you free ammo.

A player checks the modules for the Tamer in The First Descendant.
Pick the right mods for the job. Image captured by VideoGamer.

Best modules for Tamer

Modules can make a big impact on how a weapon functions. We recommend direct damage, critical damage, or elemental boosts based on which enemies you want to focus on. For instance, Toxic Enhancement raises Poison damage while Chill Priority improves Cold damage. This build also lowers reload times to deal more sustained damage. Here are the mods we recommend for the weapon:

ModuleDescription
Bullet RainFire Rate +8%, Firearm ATK +1%
Commando MarksmanshipFirearm Critical Hit Damage +X%, Firearm ATK +X%
Expand Weapon ChargeWeapon Magazine size +12%
Rifling ReinforcementFirearm ATK +12%
Fire EnhancementFire ATK +8%

Tamer stats

Level up your weapons at a workbench to enhance their stats. Here are the stats that a level 1 Tamer has:

StatValue or Type
TypeMachine Gun
Round TypeGeneral
Fire Rate625
Effective Range35-65
Rounds per Mag100
Reload Time2.6 seconds
DPS303
Firearm ATK38

And here are the stats you should focus on rerolling if you reset it at level 100:

  • Firearm Critical Hit Rate
  • Firearm Critical Hit Damage
  • Bonus Firearm ATK (vs. Colossus)
  • Weak Point Damage
A player uses the Tamer against enemies in The First Descendant.
Take down threats fast with the Tamer. Image captured by VideoGamer.

Tips for using the Tamer effectively

Here are some tips to enhance your ability with this weapon:

  • Remember to collect ammo: This gun uses General rounds so always be on the lookout for white ammo packs. While each magazine holds a hundred bullets, these can run out quickly when you face bosses or repeated waves of threats.
  • Use weapons with different ammo types: If you’re using this gun, pick other weapons that use Special, High-Power, or Impact Rounds. We recommend using an Impact hand cannon and a High-Power shotgun along with your LMG.
  • Reload only when the coast is clear: While you can cancel reload animations, it’s still better not to be caught while reloading. So try to do so only when your magazine is almost empty or when you’re not in danger. Unlike the Thunder Cage SMG or an assault rifle, don’t reload every few seconds.
  • Be careful of weapon drop-off values: While targeting enemies and boss weak points from a higher elevation is a good way to minimise risk, all weapons deal less damage after a certain range. As the Tamer is an LMG, try not to target enemies that are over 65m away from you.

About the Author

Antony Terence

Antony Terence is a Guides Writer for VideoGamer. While he is particularly fond of city-builders, shooters, and strategy titles, he won’t turn down a good JRPG or a turn-based roguelike.

The First Descendant

  • Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
  • Genre(s): Action, Adventure, RPG
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