Escape from Duckov guide — Ground Zero, quests, gem slot

Escape from Duckov throws you into randomized runs where loot, weather, and even micro-layouts shift every time. Treat the steps below as priorities rather than a rigid route. You’ll adjust on the fly, but having a plan for the first hours makes every extract more likely.

Tutorial and your first loadout (what to pick, what to equip)

After the intro, set your character and step into the tutorial hallway. Your first cache includes a TT-33 pistol with 30 rounds, bandages, and basic food. Grab the carrot and early junk (lighter, wiring, small electronics) from nearby containers — you’ll use and sell this mix.

Equip the pistol before rounding the first corner. When you see the red flash from an enemy’s shot, dodge, then return fire. Looting the first guard nets a Police Baton plus early clothing; put the baton on your hotbar for quick melee swaps. The game quietly encourages steady aim: hold the right mouse to tighten your spread and land headshots when it’s safe.

Base, controls that matter, and your first two quests

Your base is more than a lobby. Use it to bank progress and control difficulty. A few key bindings save gear and time:

• Press L to lock critical inventory slots you don’t want to drag or drop by accident.
• Press N on required items in crafting/quest views to tag them; this keeps you from selling or scrapping them.
• Press C to holster and sprint faster between fights.
• Difficulty can be changed at the base table with F.

Pick up the earliest quest pair:

• Basic Construction: build a Workbench (requires 2 Wood).
• Startup Capital: eliminate any enemy on Ground Zero and successfully extract.

Use your Stash to offload anything you don’t want to risk on the next raid. Keep one gun, healing, a melee option, and a little food; everything else stays home.

Ground Zero: reliable early route, enemy types, and loot you should keep

Ground Zero is where you’ll make (or lose) your first fortunes. Early encounters break down into two clear archetypes:

• Red Ducks: melee chargers with butcher knives. Bait their rush, step aside, and punish. A single takedown checks the box for Startup Capital.
• Green Ducks: shotguns and body armor. Engage from cover, force reloads, and close distance only when safe.

Work through the first encampment and loot it methodically. Expect to pull a Butcher Knife, wood, some cash, and a blueprint from a data box. Tactical and ammo crates here can roll into a Homemade Shotgun, standard bullets, and sometimes arrows. If you spot an explosive barrel near a blocked wall, shoot it to open a flanking path into a green-duck zone; check the nearby container for a Marker, spare ammo, and attachments like a Laser.

Pay attention to “small bumps” in the ground. With a shovel, these stashes can yield items such as a J-Lab floppy disc or a Storage Fence Key. South on the forest path, you can unlock a gate; just beyond is another dig spot. A broken bridge toward a cave requires 2 Metal Plates and 2 Wood to repair — note it for later. Around the lake toward North Mountain you’ll hit a breakable wall and, at Northwest Camp, another green-duck fight. An extraction sits above Road Camp; check for a muzzle attachment that boosts SMG damage before you leave.

Useful common pickups early on:

• Small stones: throw to lure or split patrols.
• Nails, nuts, bolts, car battery: base crafting fodder; stash unless you need quick cash.
• Medicine and aspirin: immediate sustain and quest unlocks.

Quests you can finish on Ground Zero (and what they pay)

If you don’t have a screwdriver for the tower repair, buy a Flathead from the Vending Machine at the base before your next raid. Keep a bandage on your belt to trigger the bleeding-control quest as soon as you take damage.

Spend early, survive more: vending, enhancer, and base unlocks

Two early Enhancer perks do a lot of work for the cost: Survival Instinct 1 adds +5 Max HP, and Wide View 1 increases your field of view by +15. Take both as soon as you can.

As you start pulling out consistent loot, prioritize base progression that compounds survivability and movement:

• Armor shop and repair bench: better helmets and the ability to restore a favorite weapon instead of scrapping it.
• Blueprint registration: bank blueprints immediately to avoid losing them on death.
• Teleport Bubble (shortcut): use Dynamite on the broken wall outside the base entrance to open faster traversal.
• Sewer entrance and Cave bridge: unlock additional routes and extracts once you’ve stockpiled Metal Plates and Wood.

Combat habits that prevent wipe-after-wipe

• Holster with C to reposition quickly between fights; sprinting with a raised weapon drags you into bad trades.
• Use cover and hold right mouse to stabilize your shot before peeking. Green Ducks punish wide swings.
• Keep a melee option on your hotbar. When Red Ducks rush, a quick swap can save ammo and health.
• Death empties your pockets. If you do go down, return to your body fast to recover what you dropped.
• Avoid early bosses like the “Big Boy” until you’ve upgraded armor and routes. Live to extract.

The axe gem slot, briefly

The axe shows a gem slot, and some items are labeled as Gems. In the early game, the effects of socketing aren’t clearly surfaced, and you can progress without engaging with the system. If you find a Gem, you can try slotting it into the axe back at base, but don’t risk critical raid gear testing this mid-run. Treat it as optional until the game starts asking for it explicitly.

On your next loop, aim to: extract once to cash in Startup Capital, repair the north Signal Tower with a Flathead Screwdriver, and bank enough materials to build the Workbench and stage the Cave bridge (2 Metal Plates, 2 Wood). Keep bandages and aspirin on your belt, stash every blueprint, and upgrade HP and FOV early. From there, Ground Zero stops feeling like a gamble and starts paying consistent dividends.