Introduction

This guide was written by one of our QA's, CoolCat#9492! He's worked on a lot of flow changes that have occurred on Project Duck and has been one of the first people to get Lab 17 clears on NA.

If you're interested in learning about other classes, we have a Class Guide Archive! - Vino

Class

Adept is the DPS branch of Alchemist that uses both Fire and Ice skills. They are known for spamming fire punches, blowing up the ground, and blocking your screen with two huge ice hands. Adepts are a short to mid-range DPS class that build bubbles in order to use her huge AoE skills that blow up the boss. The class plays around using 3-4 burst skills while throwing out filler skills to keep bubble generation up.

Bubble System

Using basic Alchemist skills will give you bubbles – this stacks up to 20.

• [Elemental Enthusiast] and [Chemical Cavorter] – elemental skills that don't consume bubbles now grant additional bubbles.
• Using certain skills will consume your bubbles and make your skills deal more damage.
• Managing your bubbles system is a very important part of this class. You should always be casting skills with the maximum bubble effect to make sure you don't lose out on any damage.

Skills

Tinkerer

[Napalm (CM3)]: CM3 increases [Napalm]'s damage, which makes it a very good filler skill. Be sure to use this skill before every [Ground Zero] to enhance the skill. You should be able to get two casts every [Ground Zero]. This is also a very good pushing skill.

[Force Bump]: Only used for pushing, shouldn't be leveled any higher than lvl 1.

[Bubble Trouble]: Below average CC skill that I don't find myself using that often, as [Ice Beam] and [Slip and Slide] just do a way better job of CC-ing. This also gives a SA shield to your teammates.

[Slip and Slide]: Strongly recommend maxing this since the CD decreases and the move speed increases per level. Some classes don't like playing around the movement speed during a fight, so be careful when you use it.

Alchemist

[Volcano Punch]: This is your main bubble skill – use this off CD for free bubbles. When running a CD plate on this skill, it pairs up nicely with [Frosty Fist] for even more bubbles. This skill is a 20% elemental debuff so be sure to keep this debuff on the boss at all times.

• Casting [Volcano Punch] while holding W will form 3 fists in a straight line that get larger in size. This lets you hit up to 3 times, and depending on how many crits you get, it should deal more damage than regular [Volcano Punch]. I usually always use this variant of [Volcano Punch].
• Casting [Volcano Punch] while holding S will summon 4 smaller hands in a V shape in front of you.

[Frosty Fist]: Very good bubble skill that gives you 3 bubbles per use. Also an iframe skill – only for the first punch – and the 2nd punch is only good for extra pushing or if you are out of skills (I don't always cast the 2nd punch). Not necessary to max this skill if you have other preferences.

[Magma Monument]: Extremely powerful skill if you can land it right. You want to use your best judgement to get the most hits out of it. You will use normal [Magma Monument] for the most part. Also be ready to hear that you are trapping/blocking your teammates. Be sure to use 5 bubbles when you cast this.

• Casting [Magma Monument] while holding W will summon monuments in front of you.
• Casting [Magma Monument] while holding S will summon the monuments in a V shape in front of you.

[Ground Zero]: Very strong burst skill that leaves a trail of fire that explodes. Be sure to [Napalm] every time before using [Ground Zero] to make use of your CM3. Be sure to use 5 bubbles when you cast this.

[Coolant]: Good filler skill – be sure to pair this with [Super Slop Cocktail] for the explosion damage. Also reduces the action speed of small mobs.

[Arctic Squish]: Be sure to max this! The awakening passive increases its duration and summons an additional ice hand that follows you, giving this skill little to no downtime.

[Frost Fangs]: This is Adept's Ultimate. It has high SA and does decent damage; most of the damage comes from the last hit so you might have to tank a hit or two to deal the most damage.

Adept

[Ice Beam]: Shoots two beams of ice. You can left click right before it ends to shoot a ball of ice, as a long range and AoE explosion when it hits.

• After casting [Frosty Fist], it will make your [Ice Beam] instant and forces the damage to the ground when used. Can cancel out of [Magma Monument] using the instant after pillars appear. Very high damage skill! You will want to +1 this.

[Super Slop Cocktail]: Pair this with [Coolant] for the explosion damage.

[Volcano Jump]: A defensive utility skill that allows you to jump in a direction using the WASD keys, leaving a trail of fire that damages the enemies. I play around this skill a lot since it lets me play super aggressive, as it's an instant iframe that can be used at any time (by pressing the skill or spacebar after using a skill) to make DPSing safe in any situation. Stores up to 2 charges.

[Elemental Flair]: Creates a ball of Fire/Ice that will linger on the ground dealing huge amounts of damage. Has a 20% chance to reset CD. The roll out is also an iframe and you can also cancel the roll by pressing left click. It costs 7 bubbles to use this skill.

Skill Build

Skill Crests

[Ice Beam CDR] / [Arctic Squish CDR] / [Napalm CDR] / [Ground Zero DMG or CDR] / [Volcano Punch CDR] / [Frost Fangs DMG]

Other options:

• [Frosty Fist CDR] Lets you generate more bubbles at a noticeably faster rate.
• [Roto-whirl CDR] Lets you tumble more often – kinda useless plate since we have [Volcano Jump].
• [Wrench Womp MP Recovery] Fastest way to gain MP outside of [Yum-a-tron].

+1 [Ice Beam] or [Yum-a-tron]

Gameplay

I always use the same opener when I start a fight, but this class has no true DPS cycle beyond that. You have to try and fit your DPS skills within your ice stacking period – just make sure to use [Arctic Squish] off cooldown and spam [Volcano Punch] and [Frosty Fist] to keep your bubble generation up. Additionally, always try to build up bubbles before you enter any raid or nest, as this really helps a lot. Don't forget to never share your [Yum-a-tron] food with anyone...

For my opener, I use [Arctic Squish] --> [Elemental Flair] --> [Volcano Punch] --> [Frosty Fist] --> [Magma Monument], cancel the end lag with [Ice Beam EXi] > [Napalm] > [Ground Zero] > can choose to [Frost Fangs] or continue on with the fillers.