If you’ve started playing Escape From Duckov thinking it’s just another cute indie game with talking ducks and funny guns, you can’t be more wrong. Inspired heavily by the mechanics of Escape from Tarkov, Escape From Duckov is a PvE extraction shooter played from a top-down perspective.
One minute you’ll be scavenging resources peacefully, and the next you’ll be surrounded, bleeding out, and watching your hard-earned loot vanish. To help you out, this guide covers everything you need to know to survive your early raids, upgrade your base, and stop dying every five minutes in Escape From Duckov.
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10 Always Talk to Jeff
When you first arrive at your base, you’ll meet Jeff, a white duck NPC who is your first guide in the game. He’s not just a background character. Jeff gives you important quests, like the Basic Construction quest, which unlocks essential upgrades like your Workbench and Warehouse.
Completing Jeff’s early quests teaches you about vending machines, crafting materials, and item management. Make sure to exhaust his dialogue completely. You’ll unlock multiple systems just by talking to him.
9 Adjust The Difficulty Anytime
If things are getting a little too chaotic (or too easy), remember that Escape From Duckov lets you change the game’s difficulty at any time. To do so, head to the table inside your base and press F to open the difficulty settings. This feature is a lifesaver for both new and veteran players.
Playing on a custom difficulty setting might disable achievements entirely. So, if you’re going for a 100% completionist run, stick to the official modes.
8 Know What to Upgrade First
Your early upgrades determine how smooth your entire Escape From Duckov playthrough will be. You can prioritise Workbench and Warehouse. The Workbench lets you craft and upgrade tools, while the Warehouse expands your storage capacity so you can hoard more loot between runs.
Avoid wasting your money on ammo or armor upgrades early on, unless you’re planning to use them long-term.
7 Manage Your Storage Early
As you scavenge for resources, your inventory space fills up ridiculously fast. If you want to avoid swimming in clutter. You need to start managing your Warehouse storage as soon as possible.
You can expand your storage using special expansion items found during raids. Access the Warehouse, scroll your mouse wheel to the upgrade menu, and apply the expansion. A single storage upgrade can make your crafting life much easier later on.
Apart from that, you should also upgrade your backpack. A bigger backpack means longer runs, more loot, and fewer decisions about what to sell/drop.
Interestingly, your weight matters in Escape from Duckov. Carrying too much slows you down and makes you vulnerable. For example, Storage Expansion boxes are really heavy, so try to go back to the base quickly whenever you find one.
6 Use Quests to Level Up
The main way to progress in Escape From Duckov is by completing Quests. NPCs like Jeff and others you’ll meet later offer quests that introduce new mechanics, unlock stations, and reward you with gear or blueprints.
Make sure to keep track of these quests, as completing these missions also expands the world, opening access to new zones and resources. Players who skip quests often might find themselves stuck with basic loot long after others have upgraded their bases.
5 Know What To Sell
Not everything you find in the wild is worth keeping. Selling is handled through vending machines located in your base. Anything with a coin value can be sold directly from your inventory or storage.
A simple rule of thumb is to keep crafting items, like eco lamps, CD drives, wrenches, IV medicine, and always sell duplicate or damaged weapons, junk gear, or anything marked as “common.”
4 Avoid Roaming At Night At First
If you’re a complete beginner, it would be a good idea to avoid roaming the map after dark. At night, the difficulty spikes dramatically: stronger enemies spawn, visibility drops, and your flashlight barely helps. Unless you’re fully geared and know the map inside out, stick to daytime raids early on.
When you’re more experienced and have better gear, these night runs can be profitable, but until then, rest and prepare for your next daylight raid instead.
You can use the bed in your bunker to rest and safely skip time to begin raids during the safer daytime hours.
3 Protect And Recover Your Loot
One of Escape From Duckov’s harshest lessons is that death takes all your loot. Anything in your inventory is gone forever once you die. Even though it’s risky, you can retrieve your loot if you return to the same spot where you died as soon as possible.
On the plus side, you can stash your most valuable loot in your dog’s bag. The small companion that follows you around isn’t just for show. Any item you place inside your dog's bag is safe and will be recovered even if you die during the raid. This way, you’ll always keep your best loot, even if you fail the mission.
Always be aware of your current loot value and the remaining time. If your inventory is already decent, head back to your bunker. Getting greedy for "one last crate" can lead to losing everything.
2 Use the Teleporter to Fast Travel
A couple of hours into the game, you’ll unlock the Teleporter. Once built, you can use the Teleporter to travel between zones effortlessly. Every major area has a beacon you can activate by pressing F on it. This way, you can fast travel back and forth, saving time and making resource runs safer. It also reduces the risk of dying on the return trip.
1 Fight Smarter, Not Harder
In Escape From Duckov, charging into every fight like an action hero is the fastest way to end up dead. If you hear gunfire in the distance, wait it out. It’s usually because enemy factions are battling each other. You can use this to your advantage. Move in cautiously, loot the dead bodies, and extract quickly. Every fight you don’t start saves ammo, health, and gear durability, all of which are precious in this game.
If you do have to fight, do it on your terms: stay low and use the environment for cover. Whenever possible, rely on silenced weapons or melee attacks, as noise attracts attention in Escape From Duckov.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 78 /100 Critics Rec: 67%
- Released
- October 16, 2025
- Developer(s)
- Team Soda
- Publisher(s)
- BiliBili
