How to complete the Hailey Rescue Operation in The First Descendant

Season 1 starts with a bang and throws a surprisingly difficult quest in your way. If you want Hailey, you’ve got to work for her, so here’s everything you need to know about the Hailey Rescue Operation in The First Descendant and how to complete it.

How to beat the Hailey Rescue Operation quest in The First Descendant

Season 1 has a mandatory questline before you can play with the new content. Most of the tasks are simple and can be completed with a group.

The Hailey Rescue Operation is different, as it can only be played solo. There are a few tricky puzzles, and the fights will be a shock for any player who’s not rocking a decent Descendant.

Here’s how to tackle every part of the quest, starting with your Descendant choice.

The Best Descendant for the Hailey Rescue Operation

There are a ton of mobs to deal with during the quest and several areas where they constantly spawn. With this in mind, Bunny is an obvious choice.

The only issue with Bunny is there are several sections of the quest where you must stand still. Bunny is useless if she’s not moving, and while it’s not a huge problem, you may have a better time with someone like Viessa or Gley. Ultimate Descendants aren’t essential, but they have better base stats.

Viessa offers unrivaled crowd control, and Gley has unlimited ammo. On that note, a strong weapon like a tricked-out Thundercage is essential.

I completed the quest with Bunny, and mine has 25,000 Defense and 11,000 HP. I felt sufficiently tanky, so try to get as close to those numbers as possible.

How to complete the first puzzle in the Hailey Rescue Operation

There’s an energy door with symbols at the back of the room, halting your progress. You’ll also notice several blank circles scattered across the floor. Each circle has a symbol, and you must stand on the ones matching the door.

The catch is the symbols aren’t visible from ground level. Grapple to the platform in the air and stand on it. While you’re up here, all the circles on the ground will show their symbols.

Once you’ve memorized their locations, stand on each circle for a moment to activate them. This is easier said than done, as there are a lot of enemies to deal with, but you have plenty of time to complete the task.

How to beat the Operation Zone puzzle in the Hailey Rescue Operation

The second room is easily the most annoying part of the quest. The mechanics are the same as before, with the sealed door, symbols, and floating platform.

The issue is enemies with markers above them periodically appear in the center of the room. If you let them walk to a circle, they can turn it off.

With this in mind, you must make defeating them your top priority whenever they spawn. This is easier said than done, as the mob density is pretty heavy. If you’re using Bunny, you can’t rely on your Electric Emission as it won’t go off when standing still on the plates.

Use your gun to remove the marked enemies, and hop up to the airborne platform if you get disoriented.

How to eliminate the Enemy Commander in the Hailey Rescue Operation

The battle is obnoxious as it doesn’t explain how to remove the boss’s shield. Fortunately, it’s easier than it seems. The circles on the ground all have their symbols pre-lit. Stand on the one matching the color of the boss’s shield. While you’re here, you can break the barrier and deal damage.

The fight has no mechanics, although you should keep your distance as the boss has a shotgun.

Stand in the white circle whenever the boss regains his shield and burn him down from a distance. If you die, you have to start the encounter from the beginning, so take it slowly and focus on mobs if you’re running low on health.

You can start grinding for Hailey parts after the quest; just keep in mind that there’s an unusual way to obtain the new Descendant.