Duelist: Idle Expedition is an idle strategy game where your duelists fight automatically while you build squads, recruit new characters, upgrade equipment, and explore different outposts. As you progress, you unlock more facilities, stronger classes, and additional squads to help you overcome tougher enemies.
In this beginner’s guide, we will explain how to get started, recruit duelists, manage Followers, upgrade your classes, and build effective squads. We will also cover equipment, the Camp facilities, Exploration, and the most important systems you need to understand when progressing through the game.
If you are just starting your expedition, following the main quests and managing your resources carefully will help you progress more efficiently. Let’s go through the important mechanics one by one.
Duelist Idle Expedition Beginner Guide – Squads and COST
The game runs in a long horizontal window above your taskbar, and your duelists fight automatically. You can deploy up to three squads across three lanes when your progression allows it.
Each squad contains four duelists. However, the combined COST of those four members must stay within your current squad COST limit.
Your main objectives are to:
- Progress through the outposts on the map.
- Recruit stronger duelists at the Tavern.
- Upgrade characters with EXP Tomes.
- Equip and improve your gear.
- Complete Duels to unlock new outposts.
- Increase your title rank to unlock facilities and raise progression limits.
- Unlock advanced classes and improve your squads.
Your First Steps as a Beginner
When you start a new game, you receive a Warrior and the Supply Launch Combat Style. The four base classes initially available are Warrior, Mage, Priest, and Archer.
Follow the main quests to learn the game’s basic mechanics. These quests introduce important activities such as building the Blacksmith and Tavern, recruiting characters, equipping gear, and progressing through stages.
There are 302 main quests in total, according to the supplied game guide, and they unlock one after another.
Follow the Main Quests
Main quests are one of the easiest ways to understand what you should do next. Complete the available objectives instead of spending all your time farming without a clear goal.
Your early priorities should be:
- Build the Tavern and Blacksmith.
- Recruit additional duelists.
- Equip your characters with available gear.
- Complete stages and advance through the map.
- Upgrade your Camp facilities as new requirements become available.
Level Up Your Duelists
EXP Tomes are used to level up your characters. Open the Duelist tab and select Level Up to spend your tomes.
Your maximum character level depends on the level of your Quarters. If a character cannot level up any further, check whether you need to upgrade your Quarters.
What to Do When You Get Stuck
If you cannot defeat the enemies in your current stage, do not keep attempting the same battle without making improvements.
Instead, try these steps:
- Put tougher characters at the front of your formation.
- Place damage-focused characters behind them.
- Farm earlier stages for EXP and equipment.
- Use EXP Tomes to improve your characters.
- Check the Tavern for better candidates.
- Review your squad’s total COST before changing its lineup.
Small improvements to your formation and equipment can help you make progress without wasting resources.
Followers, Duels, and Titles
Followers are an important part of progression in Duelist: Idle Expedition. You need enough Followers to challenge the Duel at your current outpost.
How to Get Followers
Followers increase on your frontier stage, up to the number required for that outpost’s Duel.
Once you have gathered enough Followers, you can challenge the Duel. Winning unlocks the next outpost and allows you to continue your expedition.
How to Rank Up Your Title
Title progression requires enough Followers and completion of the listed main quest, which involves an outpost Duel.
According to the supplied guide, the title rank-up occurs when you open the quest page after meeting the requirements.
Titles are important because they unlock facilities, increase facility level limits, and improve your Quarters. This can raise your character level cap, available squad count, and squad COST limit.
Squads and COST Explained
Every duelist has a COST value based on their class rank. Your four squad members must fit within the available COST limit.
The supplied database lists these typical class costs:
| Class rank | Typical COST |
|---|---|
| Rank I | 1 |
| Rank II | 2 |
| Rank III | 3 |
| Rank IV | 4 |
| Rank V | Usually 6 |
Some classes can have different costs, so check the individual class entry before building your squad.
Quarters Upgrade Table
Your Quarters level determines your character level cap, available squads, and COST limit.
| Quarters Level | Character Level Cap | Squads | COST per Squad |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 30 | 1 | 4 |
| 1 | 60 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | 80 | 3 | 7 |
| 3 | 100 | 4 | 8 |
| 4 | 115 | 5 | 10 |
| 5 | 130 | 6 | 11 |
| 6 | 145 | 7 | 12 |
| 7 | 160 | 8 | 12 |
| 8 | 175 | 9 | 14 |
| 9 | 190 | 10 | 15 |
| 10 | 205 | 10 | 16 |
| 11 | 220 | 10 | 17 |
| 12 | 230 | 10 | 18 |
| 13 | 240 | 10 | 19 |
| 14 | 250 | 10 | 20 |
| 15 | 250 | 10 | 21 |
As you upgrade your Quarters, you can access higher character levels and deploy more squads. Your COST limit also increases, allowing you to build more expensive lineups.
Tips for Building Your Squad
- Keep durable characters in the front.
- Place damage dealers behind your frontline.
- Check the COST of every character before recruiting them into a squad.
- Use your available COST efficiently instead of leaving too much unused.
- Upgrade your Quarters to increase your squad-building options.
Recruiting Duelists at the Tavern
The Tavern is where you recruit new duelists. Passers-by sometimes visit your Camp and become available as candidates.
You can also use the Gather option to call a group of candidates immediately by spending Gold. This can bring in up to 16 candidates.
Hiring Costs by Rank
| Duelist Rank | Hiring Cost |
|---|---|
| Rank I | 1,000 Gold |
| Rank II | 5,000 Gold |
| Rank III | 25,000 Gold |
| Rank IV | 125,000 Gold |
| Rank V | 625,000 Gold |
Higher-rank duelists arrive with higher starting levels, according to the supplied guide.
| Rank | Starting Level |
|---|---|
| Rank I | Not specified |
| Rank II | 50 |
| Rank III | 80 |
| Rank IV | 100 |
| Rank V | 120 |
Understanding Potential Grades
Each duelist has a Potential grade ranging from F to S. Potential affects the character’s level-based stats.
| Potential Grade | Stat Multiplier |
|---|---|
| F | ×0.75 |
| C | ×1.00 |
| S | ×1.25 |
The supplied guide gives these multipliers for F, C, and S, but does not list the exact multipliers for the other grades.
A higher Tavern level improves the best Potential grade that candidates can receive. As you upgrade the Tavern, keep checking the available candidates for stronger characters.
Changing Classes
The Class Hall allows you to change a duelist’s class and advance them to higher ranks.
Class changes have specific level, Gold, and badge requirements. Make sure you meet these requirements before attempting to promote a character.
Class Change Requirements
| Target Rank | Minimum Level | Gold Cost | Required Badge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank II | 20 | 5,000 | Bronze |
| Rank III | 40 | 25,000 | Silver |
| Rank IV | 60 | 125,000 | Gold |
| Rank V | 80 | 625,000 | Diamond |
These requirements follow the formula of a minimum level of ((N-1)\times20) for rank (N).
Ranks II through V also require the matching Class Badge.
Unlocking Advanced Classes
Most advanced classes must first be unlocked at the Class Hall. Requirements can include reaching a particular Class Hall level and completing special conditions, such as defeating a certain number of enemies from a class or forging a required number of weapons.
Check each class’s individual page to see its unlock conditions.
Important: A class change replaces the character’s previous skill with the new rank’s skill, and the change cannot be undone. Review the new class and its requirements carefully before confirming the change.
Equipment and Gear Guide
Equipment helps improve your duelists’ performance in battle. You can obtain gear from multiple sources throughout the game.
How to Get Equipment
The supplied guide lists these equipment sources:
- Stage enemy drops.
- Clear chests.
- First-time Duel victories.
- Blacksmith forging.
- The Shop.
- The auction.
Stage drops are listed at a 15% chance per defeated enemy, with one quarter of those drops being gear. Higher Blacksmith levels improve the chance of forging higher-rarity equipment.
Equipment Rarities
From lowest to highest, the listed rarities are:
- Common
- Rare
- Epic
- Legendary
- Mythic
Event Joke Gear is also available.
Which Equipment Stats Should You Prioritize?
The supplied game guide notes a potential issue with percentage-based affixes. In the referenced build, HP%, Attack%, and Defense% affixes receive only one-hundredth of their displayed effect because the code divides the percentage by 100 twice.
For that build, the guide recommends prioritizing flat-value affixes instead of percentage-based affixes.
Keep in mind that this is a version-specific implementation detail and may change in a future update.
Camp Facilities Explained
Your Camp contains several facilities, each serving a different purpose. Understanding them helps you decide where to spend your resources.
| Facility | Main Function |
|---|---|
| Tavern | Recruits new duelists |
| Blacksmith | Forges and enchants equipment |
| Shop | Buys and sells items |
| Class Hall | Changes and advances classes |
| Exploration Post | Sends squads on background exploration |
| Quarters | Determines level cap, squad count, and COST limits |
Upgrade facilities as your progression allows. The Quarters are particularly important because their level affects several major squad limits.
Exploration Post Guide
The Exploration Post lets you send squads to explore outposts where you have already won the Duel.
Exploration continues in the background, allowing deployed squads to earn rewards over time.
Exploration Rewards
Your squads can earn:
- Gold.
- EXP Tomes.
- Character EXP.
- Materials, rolled per minute when you collect rewards.
The Exploration Post’s level improves its bonus and the number of squads you can deploy for exploration.
How to Use Exploration Efficiently
- Win an outpost’s Duel to unlock exploration there.
- Send available squads to explore the outpost.
- Allow them to earn rewards in the background.
- Collect your rewards, including materials.
- Upgrade the Exploration Post to improve its bonuses and available squad count.
One important detail: according to a developer reply cited in the supplied guide, quests requiring you to defeat a certain number of enemies count deployed battles, not exploration. Do not rely on passive exploration to complete those defeat quests.
Useful Beginner Tips
Turn Off Focus Mode if the Window Blocks Other Programs
If the game window prevents you from interacting with other programs or clicking behind it, the supplied guide recommends turning off Focus Mode in Settings.
Adjust UI Scale if the Window Moves to Another Monitor
One player-reported fix for the window jumping to another monitor is to lower the UI Scale. Portrait monitors are not supported yet, according to the supplied guide.
Learn the Hide Hotkey
The default hotkey for hiding the game window is Shift + E.
Understand Auto-Save
With auto-save enabled, the game saves every game day. One game day lasts approximately 10 minutes in real time.
Seasons Do Not Affect Gameplay
Seasons change every five hours and only affect the Camp background when the background DLC is enabled. According to the supplied guide, seasons do not provide gameplay effects.
Duelist: Idle Expedition has several interconnected progression systems, including Followers, titles, squads, recruitment, class changes, equipment, and exploration. The easiest way to get started is to follow the main quests, recruit useful characters, upgrade your gear, and keep improving your Quarters.
When you get stuck, farm earlier stages for equipment and EXP, review your squad formation, and check the Tavern for better candidates. As you unlock more facilities and class options, you will have more ways to strengthen your squads and progress through the Duelist Continent.
Remember to check the requirements before changing classes, attempting one-time Duels, or investing heavily in equipment. A well-managed Camp and a balanced squad will help you make steady progress through the game.
