Introduction

Looking for the general guide? Click here

Settling In

• Head to Kiwi and class change to your desired specialization. Beside her, you can get skill crests from Priestess of Darkness Mocha. You should also buy the two buff items from her, [Duck Buff] and [Dragon Buff]. Right click to use them.
• Use your Duckling's Starter Bag and equip or use all the items. Select the Duckling title as your Stat Title under Character Info (default key: P).
• Make sure to create a proper skill build, as Project Duck does NOT have infinite SP. Every class has SP limits. Check out our Class Guide Archive to see if we have a guide published for your desired class.

Understanding Our Custom Changes

Project Flow

Project Flow is a series of custom PvE changes to skills that overhaul gameplay for classes. This process smooths out the imperfections of Dragon Nest and are meant to provide the most satisfying gameplay experience. Here are some examples of Project Flow changes that we have made:

• Removed Camera-lock
• Reduced skill end lag/lockout
• Faster animation/cast speed
• Faster input reading
• Seamless transition between chain skills (left click after casting [Luring Slice] to use [Half Moon Slash Instant] or left click after [Divine Combo] to use [Sawblade CM3])
• CLICK HERE to see the full list of changes for every class

Augments and Party Buffs

As you may have read from the website, Project Duck takes elements from 70 cap and 95 cap gameplay and mixes them up for the perfect custom gameplay recipe. That being said we have all level 95 skills but we also have some skills reverted to be party buffs again (although at a weaker level). However, learning the passives to convert them into party buffs gives your own character a damage penalty for buffing the whole party. Here is a list of party buffs that used to be self buffs in 95 cap.

• Spirit Boost (Acrobat)
• Dance of Ecstasy (Dancer)
• Slime Shake (Physician)
• Fast Forward (Mystic)
• Blessing of Strikes, Protection Shell (Saint)
• Phantom Guard (Kali)
• Class Mastery I (Soul Eater)
• Sacrifice Crow (Shinobi)

Buffs

You can purchase buffs from Kiwi to increase your damage and stats in nests! These effects do not apply in certain instances and raids.

Class Balancing

Click here to see the almost complete change log of all our PvE balancing patches.

Gearing Up

Early Game

Before you embark on your mission to slaughter all monsters in PDN, make sure you have the two buffs from [Kiwi]:  [Duck Buff] and [Dragon Buff]. Right click to use them once they're in your inventory.

Afterwards, head to the [Skitzovania North Portal] to get started.

Garden of Solace Portal Guide

Portal 1 (Dawn of a New Beginning):

• Cerberus Nest Beginner

Portal 3 (The Abyss):

• Typhoon Krag Nest (Ardent)
• Granom Nest (Midnight)
• Guardian Nest (Midnight T2)
• Typhoon Krag Nest (Berserk)

Portal 4 (Vahrein's Descent):

• Red Dragon Nest Vahrcore (Practice)
• Red Dragon Nest 4-Man (Easy)
• Red Dragon Nest Vahrcore 4-Man

Portal 6 (Hyperbolic Time Chamber):

• Black Dragon Nest (Hardcore)
• Desert Dragon Nest (Hardcore)
• Red Dragon Nest (Hardcore)
• Ice Dragon Nest (Vahrcore)

Portal 8 (Event Nest):

• Vein of Sorrow
• Event Nests

(Optional Vein of Sorrow)

Vein of Sorrow is a equalized nest so your equipment does not matter. The most important thing you need to have equipped here is your finished skill build, and equipped skill plates from Priest of Darkness Mocha. To enter, go through Portal 8 (Event Nest)

Vein of Sorrow can be difficult for new players of Dragon Nest. If you aren't as experienced, we recommend doing [Cerberus Nest] first.

However, if you are experienced, you can do Vein of Sorrow and get a head start on materials and gold early on. Vein of Sorrow can be entered up to 5 times a week per character and drops useful early-game materials.

Cerberus Nest

When you first start out, you’ll only have access to basic weapons so don’t panic! The first nest you’ll want to clear is Cerberus Nest, which is an equalized nest meaning that equipment and stats don’t matter. You can go in naked (as you probably are right now) and deal the same amount of damage as someone in the strongest equipment possible. Go to Portal 1 (Dawn of a New Beginning) and enter Cerberus Nest Beginner. You’ll need to do enough runs of Cerberus Nest to purchase the following:

• Ardent Dawn Armor Set
• Ardent Dawn Mainhand
• Ardent Dawn Offhand
• Beginner Crest Box
• Beginner Talisman Pouch
• Beginner Dragon Gem Box (whichever main stat your class uses)
• Beginner Accessory Box

Clearing Cerberus Nest yields [Cerberus Paw]. You can exchange these for Ardent Dawn equipment at Overlord Zeke's Revamp Exchange Shop in Skitzovania next to Belin the Blacksmith. If you get the wrong kind of mainhand weapon, don't worry; just purchase the [Weapon Tuner - Unique] from Overlord Zeke.

Whenever you have enough gold, head over to GM X and purchase a stat title. The options are "Vessel of the Goddess" and "Teardrop". They both give different stats, and you can see which one is better by comparing your "Effective Damage" under the Miscellaneous stats tab and using the title that gives you the highest number.

If you do not know how to use dragon gems, Click this link to find out!

Typhoon Krag Nest and RDN

After fully completing your Ardent Dawn set and equipping all of your crest, talisman, and dragon gems, you'll want to check the party list and try to find a Red Dragon Nest 4-Man Easy party. You can make your own and try to invite people to it as well. Or, you can grind your gear in TKN solo/duo. Red Dragon Nest 4-Man Easy may be a little difficult to solo in your current gear, and is rather grueling for players new to Dragon Nest. Clearing RDN will save you a lot of time compared to solo grinding TKN for all of your gear, but that's only if you can actually clear it. You receive FIRST TIME CLEAR REWARDS upon clearing RDN EZ for the first time, which include hammers that let you skip to +20 Ardent Dawn gear immediately. Red Dragon Nest Vahrcore 4-Man is available for those up to the challenge. This version of RDN was the first custom raid for the server, and every boss has new mechanics. The drops in RDN Vahrcore are even better than the normal RDN drops, but this nest will require skilled players or a strong carry to clear. You will also receive FIRST TIME CLEAR REWARDS upon clearing RDN VC for the first time.

If you prefer the solo/duo route, head to the Garden of Solace and walk up to portal 3 - The Abyss. Typhoon Krag Nest (Ardent) is solo/duo content available so you can hard-grind your gear by yourself if you want to. It is balanced around +20 Ardent gear, so the more you upgrade your gear, the faster your clears will get. Use the rewards from TKN Ardent at the NPC Mei, to the right of the North Gate portal, past the costume mirror. Purchase whatever mixture of enhancement materials you need in order to upgrade your gear the most. You should upgrade your mainhand weapon first, then your offhand, and then your armor. Ardent Dawn gear enhances all the way to +20 with no fail chance, so keep clicking as long as you have materials and gold.

Note: Typhoon Krag Nest (Berserk) is a special challenge mode with customized boss attacks where getting hit once means instant death. Upgrade your gear to Midnight Frost +17 before you try attempting any Berserk content. The rewards for clearing berserk content are found at NPC Mei.

Bonus Tips

• If you're ever confused about what you need to upgrade your gear, here are a few ways to check: read the item description, try enhancing or crafting the item at Belin to see what materials you're lacking, or check the game reference on Minerva.
• Joining an active guild is a great way to find parties for content. It is worth the effort to make friends and find people to play with.
• If you're confused about something that is vague or left out of this guide, feel free to ask in the discord.

Mid Game

Your next main field will be [Frozen Foothills], located on the [Northwest Portal]

Frozen Foothills Portal Guide

Portal 1 (Legacy of Ice):

• Legacy Ice Dragon Nest (4-Man)
• Legacy Ice Dragon Nest (8-Man Practice)

Portal 2 (The Frozen Wasteland):

• Ice Dragon Nest Vahrcore (4-Man)
• Ice Dragon Nest Vahrcore (4-Man Practice)

Portal 3 (Primordial Fissure):

• Tyrant’s Valediction
• Reclaimed Peak
• Goddess Lament
• Professor K Nest
• Kaeron Trial Nest

Portal 4 (Hall of G):

• Guardian Nest
• Granom Nest
• Green Dragon Nest Time Attack

Ice Dragon Nest 4-Man

At this point in the game, you will want to try to find parties to run IDN 4-Man to upgrade your gear. IDN 4-Man is found in the Frozen Foothills, which is the portal to the left of Belin in town. You will run IDN 4-Man all the way from Ardent +20 until Midnight Frost +17. Convert your weapons and armor from Ardent Dawn +20 to Midnight Frost +0 by making Frostbursts and begin enhancing them with the same priority: weapons first, then armors. Upgrade your accessories whenever you can. You will receive FIRST TIME CLEAR REWARDS of a bundle of bonus rewards upon clearing IDN 4-man for the first time.

Granom Nest (Midnight)

If you are having trouble finding IDN 4-Man parties, then Granom Nest (Midnight) is available for solo/duo. This version of the nest is available in the same portal as Typhoon Krag Nest (Ardent). It gives you materials to trade at Mei for you to enhance your gear from Ardent Dawn +20 to Midnight Frost +5. Likewise, it is balanced around having Midnight +5 gear, so your clears will get faster the more you upgrade. Clearing IDN is much more efficient than soloing, so remember look for IDN parties every once in a while.

Guardian Nest (Midnight T2)

Once you have your gear at Midnight Frost +5, and if you are still unable to find IDN 4-Man parties, then Guardian Nest (Midnight T2) is available for further solo/duo progression. This nest gives you materials to trade at Mei for you to enhance your gear from Midnight Frost +5 to Midnight Frost +17. Likewise, it is balanced around having Midnight Frost +17 gear, so your clears will get faster the more you upgrade. After reaching Midnight Frost +17 and Evolving Radiance Tier 5, solo progression stops and you will need to find parties for IDN Vahrcore 4-Man.

Granom Nest and Guardian Nest (Hall of G)

Granom Nest and Guardian Nest are also available in their normal 4-man form in the Hall of G located in Frozen Foothills. Granom Nest drops Frost Talisman, and Guardian Nest drops Midnight Crest. If you don't like the rolls on your crest or talisman, you can extract them and exchange the extracted materials at NPC Kaye for a new chance to roll your main stat. Running these nests is a great way to farm Midnight Crest and Frost Talisman while getting to play the game with a group.

Ice Dragon Nest Vahrcore 4-Man

Last expansion's end game content has been scaled back to a 4-man nest. This nest has reworked versions of all of the bosses from IDN with many brand new mechanics, plus a new 3rd boss that replaces Phase 1 Dragon. This nest will be grueling for newer Dragon Nest players. You can check out the IDN Vahrcore Guide (note: this guide was made for the full 8-man raid, and some of the position mechanics are simpler for 4-man) as well as search up gameplay videos on YouTube. You will need to find groups for this nest to upgrade your equipment from Midnight Frost +17 to Midnight Frost +20, and your Evolving Radiance upgrade to Tier 6 is also locked behind clearing IDN Vahrcore. This is the biggest hurdle you've met so far, but is very achievable for improving players. You will receive FIRST TIME CLEAR REWARDS upon clearing IDN VC for the first time, which will help accelerate your gearing.

Green Dragon Nest Time Attack

Located in the Hall of G in Frozen Foothills, Green Dragon Nest is a returning 8-man raid balanced around having +20 Midnight Frost gear. Without it, you will probably fail the time attack and be forced to leave the raid early. There is an automatic revive after each boss. Don't forget to pick up the mask on the ground after every stage, or you will run into trouble at Phase 1 Dragon. This raid is optional for progression, but drops useful Omega Crest and Dragon Gem materials.

GDN is the first 8 man raid you'll run into on Project Duck. Raids DO NOT have automatic rebuffs for buffs your party is missing. Be sure to rebuff whenever somebody needs it. Not rebuffing with your team asks for it is one of the easiest ways to make enemies in Dragon Nest. Each class gives two buffs instead of one, and you'll want your raid party to have every buff covered to ensure you're all dealing the most damage you can. This table shows which classes give which buffs:

Kaeron Trial Nest

KTN is a 6 man nest with the Trial nest mechanics that cause a random effect at the start of every boss. The nest is balanced around having +20 Midnight Frost gear, and this nest will be very difficult without it. It gives necessary materials such as Flawless Dragon Souls for enhancing your Omega Dragon Gems to +5, and farming them will save you a lot of gold over buying them off the marketplace.

End Game

Your next field will be [The Void], located at the [Southwest Portal]

Checklist for Post Midnight Frost Progression:

By this point in the game, you will want to have the following gear:

• Midnight Frost +20 Weapons and Armor
• Evolving Radiance Tier 6 Accessories
• Midnight Plates with 3rd stat of your class
• Frost Talisman with 2nd stat of your class
• Omega Crest with good rolls for your stat
• Omega Dragon Gems enhanced to +5 with good rolls for your stat

Void Portal Guide

Portal 1 (Mellow Past):

• Blazing Caldera
• Golden Grasslands
• Intricate Valley
• Illusory Domain

Portal 2 (Manic Rift):

• Storm Manticore Nest
• Storm Apocalypse Nest
• Volcano Nest
• Snowdrift Citadel

Portal 3 (Gateway to Extinction):

• Rune Dragon Nest 8-Man Normal
• Rune Dragon Nest 4-Man Normal
• Rune Dragon Nest 8-Man Hardcore

Portal 4 (Perilous Return):

• Black Dragon Nest Time Attack
• Solace of Oblivion

Intricate Valley, Blazing Caldera, and Golden Grasslands

After you have completed the checklist above (congratulations for clearing one of the biggest roadblocks in the game!), you’re now ready to tackle end game content. The dungeons drop materials to enhance your dragon gems from +5 to +7. Each dungeon favors one of the three materials needed to craft your enhancement material, so it's recommended to alternate through all three of them evenly. If you're farming Zephyr, run Intrictae Valley and save all the villagers. Check out Belin's crafting menu for all of the new material uses and requirements. These dungeons have dynamic balancing, which means the difficulty scales with party size and class. You can solo these dungeons, even as a healer, or run them with friends in varying party sizes.

Storm Manticore and Storm Apocalypse Nests

Manticore Nest and Apocalypse Nest return with a few twists unique to Project Duck. These nests also drop Astral Crest and Talisman, as well as crafting materials for them. They also drop crafting materials for enhancing your dragon gems from +8 to +10. Each nest favors a set of the crafting materials, so you'll want to alternate between them to maximize how many materials you can craft. You'll want to make parties to run these nests, and you should expect a few hiccups while you learn the new mechanics and attacks. A full set of Astral crests and talisman are recommended before attempting Rune Dragon Nets 8-Man Normal.

Rune Dragon Nest 8-Man Normal

After you have your Astral Crest, Talisman, +10 Gems (yes, even life-giving), and enough players to make a raid party, it's time for Rune Dragon Nest 8-Man. This is the end game raid for the first part of EXP4. You'll want to make full parties and grind this raid to enhance your gear to +10 Extinction. You'll want to convert and enhance your weapons, then your accessories, followed by armor. Aside from bug fixes, this content is unedited from live servers, so it shouldn't be too challenging for experienced players, and should be relatively easy to learn for newer players who have managed to reach this point in gear.

Rune Dragon Nest 4-Man Normal

Alternatively, you have the option to find 4-man parties to farm your new gear. The 4-man version is fairly easier with some mechanics removed and simplified. As a result, you get less clear rewards compared to the full 8-man raid, so if you have enough people then running the full raid is more efficient. But if you're struggling with finding full raid parties, then you'll be spending a lot of time here.

Ice Dragon Vahrcore 8-Man

The original 8 man version of IDN Vahrcore is located Garden near all the early game progression.

This version of IDN VC is equalized, so your equipment doesn't matter; however your skill crests and elemental conversion do matter.

There is also a clear reward of 7,500 free DNP up to a limit of 15,000 free DNP per account every week. Weekly reset happens at 9:00 AM server time (PST). The raid also drops some progression materials as a nice bonus.

Black Dragon Nest Time Attack

Once you've hit +10 Extinction equipment and finished your accessories, its time to run BDNTA. BDNTA gives you a new tier of accessories (Sinister Calamity) as well as a Sinister Dragon Gem. The Sinister Dragon Gem is only slottable in your Extinction helmet and can be enhanced up to +10. Please note that the +10 enhancing attempt can result in the gem breaking, so it is advised to have backup +9 gems before attempting to +10.

Additionally, if you earn the Unrivaled Destruction achievement by clearing the raid within 24 minutes, you get a new title (Unrivaled Destruction) which is the current best-in-slot title.

Volcano Nest

Farming Volcano Nest will give you materials to upgrade your damage dragon gems (the ones you used Vermillion Souls on) from +10 to +15. This is a big damage boost and you'll want to do it before going into Rune Dragon Hardcore. The materials here will also help you upgrade your weapons and armor after clearing Rune HC. You'll run this upwards of 100 times if you don't utilize power hour or buy materials off market.

Rune Dragon Nest 8-Man Hardcore

This is the new end game raid released in the 2nd part of EXP4. Finding good friends to run with will make your experience a lot easier. Be willing and ready to learn the raid, and enhance your gear from +10 to +20 Astral Extinction. If you haven't gotten the Unrivaled Destruction title yet, you should focus on clearing BDNTA within 24 minutes before attempting Rune HC.

Snowdrift Citadel

Section is work in progress.

Snowdrift Citadel is a custom nest built to challenge players that have finished their Rune Hardcore stage to continue getting stronger.

Illusory Domain

Section is work in progress.

Illusory Domain is a scaling "endless" solo grind dungeon. You face off against waves of mobs, along with rare events. After a few waves, you'll fight a boss, which will give you rewards. The difficulty increases with each boss you defeat, as do the rewards you get for clearing each round.

Solace of Oblivion

Section is work in progress.

Solace of Oblivion is Project Duck's take on Fission Maze and Roguelike games. You and your duo partner will randomly fight bosses, obtain powerful (and sometimes double-edged) artifacts, culminating in a dragon fight.

Congratulations, you made it! All that's left is to have fun playing with friends, trying new classes, and helping new players until the third part of EXP4 (TBA).

If you have any extra questions, people can answer your questions in our Discord server.

TL;DR Summary of Gearing

1. Use/equip items from Duckling's Starter Bag

2. Purchase and equip Skill Plates from Priestess of Darkness Mocha

3. (OPTIONAL) Run Vein of Sorrow

   • More upgrade materials for early-game. Limited entry count per week per character.

4. Cerberus Nest

   • Get Cerberus Paws and trade them for Ardent Dawn gear, gems, crest, and talisman at Overlord Zeke

5. Red Dragon Nest 4-Man Easy (RDN)

   • Get upgrade materials for Ardent Dawn
   • Acquire Tier 3 Evolving Radiance Accessories

6. Typhoon Krag Nest Ardent (TKN)

   • Solo/Duo content to help farm Ardent Dawn materials
   • Helpful for when you can't find a party to run RDN
   • Trade drops at Mei for rewards and enhancement materials through Ardent Dawn +20

7. Ice Dragon Nest 4-Man (IDN)

   • Upgrade Ardent Dawn to Midnight Frost and enhance to +17
   • Upgrade Evolving Radiance Tier 3 accessories to Tier 4 and Tier 5
   • Get Midnight Crest and Frost Talisman

8. Granom Nest (Midnight)

   • Solo/Duo content to help you farm Midnight Frost materials
   • Helpful for when you can't find a party to run IDN
   • Trade drops at Mei for rewards and enhancement materials through Midnight Frost +5

9. Guardian Nest (Midnight T2)

   • Solo/Duo content to help you farm Midnight Frost materails after +5
   • Helpful for when you can't find a party to run IDN
   • Trade drops at Mei for rewards and enhancement materials through Midnight Frost +17

10. Ice Dragon Nest Vahrcore 4-Man (IDNVC)

    • Upgrade Midnight Frost to +20
    • Upgrade Evolving Radiance Tier 5 accessories to Tier 6
    • Upgrade T4 accessories to Tier 5
    • Drops two Omega Dragon Gems and Defiled Dragon Rune keys

11. Green Dragon Nest Time Attack (GDNTA)

    • Get Omega Dragon Gems
    • Get Omega Expedition Plates
    • Get Defiled Dragon Runes

12. Dungeons (Tyrant's Valediction/Goddess Lament/Reclaimed Peak)

    • Get Relics (25 of each type = 1 defiled dragon rune crafted at Belin)
    • Get Lapis/Vermillion Dragon Souls to enhance Omega Dragon Gems
    • Scale with party size so they are soloable or done with friends

13. Professor K Nest (PKN)

    • Get Lapis/Vermillions
    • Get Flawless Dragon Powder
    • +4 your Omega Dragon Gems

14. Kaeron Trial Nest (KTN)

    • Get Flawless Dragon Soul and Flawless Dragon Resin
    • Get Lapis and Vermillion Dragon Souls
    • +5 your Omega Dragon Gems

15. Intricate Valley, Blazing Caldera, and Golden Grasslands

    • Three returning dungeons that help you get gear to prepare for Rune Dragon Nest 8-man Normal.
    • Drop Astral Crest/Talisman materials, Omega Dragon Gem enhancement materials, and Extinction Equipment crafting materials

16. Storm Manticore Nest and Storm Apocalypse Nest

    • Two returning nests with a few special Project Duck edits
    • Drop Astral Crest/Talisman materials, Omega Dragon Gem enhancement materials, and Extinction Equipment crafting materials

17. Rune Dragon Nest 8-Man Normal

    • The end game raid for the first part of EXP4
    • You WILL NOT be able to survive hits from this raid without first farming the Astral equipment from the new dungeons and nests.

18. Rune Dragon 4-Man Normal

    • Simplified version of Rune 8-man balanced for a 4 person party
    • Has fewer drops than Rune 8-man, but is great if you are having trouble finding a full party

19. Black Dragon Nest Time Attack

    • Each boss is time-gated, so make sure you're confident in your party
    • Farm materials for your Sinister Dragon Gem and enhance it to +10 (there's a small break chance)
    • Evolve your accessories again at Belin

20. Volcano Nest

    • Farm materials to upgrade your damage dragon gems (the ones you used Vermillion souls on) to +15

21. Rune Dragon Hardcore

    • Upgrade your weapons and armor from +10 to +20