Hailey is a very strong character who can deal a lot of damage, especially against bosses.
This guide covers everything from her reactor, abilities, weapons, mods, and specific builds for different situations.
Whether you want to play alone or with others, Hailey is a top pick because she’s so versatile.
Best Reactor
The best reactor for Hailey is a Piercing Light Mounted Reactor with Chill Power and Singular Power Boost ratios. The best extra stats to look for are Damage to Colossus and Skill Crit Hit Damage.
Damage to Colossus is important because it greatly increases your damage against boss-type enemies. Skill Crit Hit Damage also boosts her overall performance, making sure her damage is as high as possible.
It might be hard to get this specific reactor every week, but some upcoming drops look promising.
Abilities and How They Work Together
First Ability
Hailey’s first ability can put a cryo debuff on enemies. This is useful when fighting many enemies at once.
Using the first ability helps you clear nearby enemies and makes them weaker to your attacks.
Fourth Ability
Hailey’s fourth ability lets her deal huge damage when active. You should use her third ability while the fourth is active to get a cryo buff, which makes your damage and crit chance much higher.
Hailey does better when she’s far from enemies (25 meters or more) while using her fourth ability, as this increases weak point damage by 50%.
Making sure enemies have the cryo debuff before attacking also boosts your damage a lot.
Weapons: Piercing Light vs. Afterglow
Piercing Light is better than Afterglow for Hailey because it has higher base damage. Tests showed that Piercing Light can do about twice as much damage as Afterglow. To get the most damage, use Piercing Light with these mods:
- Rifle Reinforcement: Increases overall damage.
- Action and Reaction: Boosts your crit damage.
- Weak Point Expansion: Increases damage to enemy weak points.
You can choose other mods based on how you like to play. Special Site is good for group play, while Weak Point Expansion is better for solo play.
Focus Fire adds more weak point and crit damage, which is great for making Hailey’s damage as high as possible.
Build Strategies
Boss Killer Build
This build focuses on doing as much damage as possible to quickly defeat bosses. The main strategy is using Hailey’s first and third abilities to make enemies weaker and yourself stronger.
Weak Point Expansion is crucial here, and Crit Damage Mods make sure critical hits do tons of damage. It’s important to stay at the right distance to get the most out of the increased weak point damage.
Group Play Build
This build focuses on being able to use abilities often and staying alive, rather than just pure damage.
Using two cooldown mods lets Hailey use her abilities more often. Maximize Conservation helps keep mana up, while Spear and Shield give extra defense.
This build makes Hailey a tough and deadly damage dealer who can also support her team.
Mob Killing Build
For fighting lots of enemies, Hailey uses Cold Fury to stack up crit rates and gun crit damage.
This makes her one of the strongest gun-using characters. Focus on reducing skill costs to keep her buffs active as much as possible while using her abilities to boost gun damage. This strategy helps clear waves of enemies quickly.
Parts for Optimization
Slayer Set (for Bosses)
The Slayer Set is great for boss fights because it gives:
- 26% more skill power: This big increase in skill power is key for doing lots of damage.
Bigger magazine size: This lets you fire an extra shot with her fourth ability, which can make a big difference in long boss fights. - Good stats for this set include MP recovery, Max MP, and MP recovery modifier to make sure Hailey has enough resources to keep dealing high damage.
Polar Knight Set (for Mobs)
The Polar Knight Set is better for fighting groups of enemies and general gameplay:
- Chill skill power: This makes her cryo abilities stronger.
- Mixed with defensive parts: This balances damage and survivability, helping Hailey handle large groups of enemies while staying alive.
Ability Rotations
Hailey has different ways to use her abilities depending on the situation:
Against Weaker Bosses:
- Use the third ability first to get the cryo buff.
- Follow with the one-shot and then the fourth ability to quickly take down the boss.
- Use the second ability for maximum burst damage.
Against Tougher Bosses:
- Use the third ability first to get the buff.
- Apply cryo stacks with the second ability.
- Use the fourth ability to chip away the remaining health efficiently.
Important Mods and What They Do
- Maximize Conservation: Reduces skill costs, important for keeping Hailey’s abilities active.
- Weak Point Expansion: Increases damage to weak points, crucial for boss fights.
- Shot Focus: Boosts gun damage, important in the mob killing build using Cold Fury.
- Spear and Shield: Gives good defense while also increasing power damage, offering both offense and defense.
Key Tips and Observations
- Skill Critical Hit Chance: Getting 100% crit chance is crucial for consistent high damage. It’s also important to know about bosses’ crit resistance to adjust your strategy.
- Cryo Stacks: Always make sure enemies have the cryo debuff before attacking. This debuff not only slows enemies but also makes them take more damage.
- Cooldown Management: Balancing cooldown reduction mods ensures Hailey’s buffs and debuffs are used as much as possible, keeping her damage output high.

Final Thoughts
Hailey is a powerful character when built and used correctly.
By focusing on improving her abilities, managing cooldowns, and using the right weapons and mods, you can maximize her damage potential in various situations, including boss fights and mob killing.
Understanding her abilities and how they work with cryo debuffs and buffs is key to getting the most out of her potential. This guide covers the critical factors you need to know to build Hailey effectively in The First Descendant.
With the right setup, Hailey becomes an unstoppable force, capable of dealing huge damage and contributing greatly to both solo and group play.
By following this guide, you can unlock Hailey’s full potential and make her a crucial part of your game. Equip her wisely, manage her abilities well, and watch as she dominates the battlefield with unmatched skill.
I hope this article meets your needs. Let me know if you want any changes or more information added!”