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Strategy Guide
This guide walks you through Quest from your very first character to the endgame Expanse. Whether you just started or you're stuck on a prestige wall, you'll find actionable advice for every stage of the game.
New to Quest? Start with Getting Started for installation and basic controls, then come back here when you're ready to optimize.
Quest is an idle RPG built around a prestige loop. You create a character, fight through zones, level up, and eventually prestige to reset your character in exchange for permanent power. Each prestige cycle goes faster than the last because you keep your prestige rank, Haven, Soulforge enhancements, fishing rank, and achievements.
Your goal each cycle: reach the level threshold, prestige, spend your ranks on Haven rooms and Soulforge upgrades, and push further into new zones.
Where you are: Meadow and Dark Forest (Zones 1-2). Your hero auto-battles enemies, gains XP, and levels up.
- Just let it run. Combat is fully automatic. Your hero attacks every 1.5 seconds, enemies every 2 seconds. You don't need to do anything to progress through basic zones.
- Watch for gear upgrades. Items drop from enemies (15% base chance from mobs, guaranteed from bosses). The auto-equip system handles scoring, so better gear is equipped automatically.
- Learn the boss rhythm. After 10 kills in a subzone, the boss spawns. If you die to a boss, you're retreated to your last safe zone -- make sure you're ready before engaging.
- Level up attributes. Every level-up grants +3 random attribute points distributed across your six stats. There's nothing to optimize here yet -- just enjoy the ride.
Your first prestige requires level 10. This goes quickly in the Meadow. Don't wait -- prestige as soon as you can. The 1.5x XP multiplier from P1 makes your second cycle noticeably faster.
Pro Tip: Dying to any boss (subzone or zone) retreats you to your last safe zone -- the highest zone where you've defeated a boss. You keep your level, XP, and prestige rank, but you'll need to fight your way back. Don't be afraid to prestige first for more power before reattempting a tough boss.
Where you are: Still in Zones 1-2 (P0 zones) initially, pushing into Mountain Pass and Ancient Ruins (P5 zones) as your rank climbs.
Each prestige requires a higher level than the last:
| Prestige | Required Level | Tier Name |
|---|---|---|
| P1 (Bronze) | 10 | Metals |
| P2 (Silver) | 25 | Metals |
| P3 (Gold) | 50 | Metals |
| P4 (Platinum) | 65 | Metals |
| P5 (Diamond) | 80 | Gems |
| P6 (Emerald) | 90 | Gems |
| P7 (Sapphire) | 100 | Gems |
| P8 (Ruby) | 110 | Gems |
| P9 (Obsidian) | 120 | Gems |
The XP multiplier uses diminishing returns (1 + 0.5 * rank^0.7), so early prestiges give the biggest percentage boost. Don't sit on a prestige just to push one more zone -- prestige as soon as you qualify and start climbing faster.
Each prestige raises your attribute cap by 5 (base cap is 20). The six attributes are:
| Attribute | What It Does |
|---|---|
| STR | +2 physical damage per modifier |
| DEX | +1 defense and +1% crit per modifier |
| CON | +10 max HP per modifier |
| INT | +2 magic damage per modifier |
| WIS | +5% XP gain per modifier |
| CHA | +10% prestige multiplier bonus per modifier |
Attribute modifiers are calculated as (value - 10) / 2. Points are distributed randomly on level-up, so you can't control which stats grow -- but higher caps mean more total power.
At P1+, you'll start discovering challenge minigames every ~2 hours on average. When the challenge banner appears at the top of your screen, press Tab to open the challenge menu.
Challenges are optional but rewarding -- winning gives prestige bonuses and, at P15+, Stormglass currency that you can spend on Storm Sigils for permanent passive bonuses. There are 14 different minigames ranging from chess and Go to snake, minesweeper, Sudoku, and 2048. See Challenges for details on each one.
Pro Tip: You can decline challenges you don't enjoy by pressing D in the challenge menu. New ones will appear over time.
Zones unlock based on prestige rank:
| Prestige | Zones Available |
|---|---|
| P0 | Meadow, Dark Forest |
| P5 | Mountain Pass, Ancient Ruins |
| P10 | Volcanic Wastes, Frozen Tundra |
| P15 | Crystal Caverns, Sunken Kingdom |
| P20 | Floating Isles, Storm Citadel |
Each zone has 3-4 subzones with progressively tougher enemies. Enemy stats are zone-based (not scaled to your level), so higher prestige multipliers and better gear are your main tools for pushing through.
Where you are: Volcanic Wastes through Sunken Kingdom. This is where the game's account-level systems start opening up.
Around P10, you'll discover the Haven -- an account-level base that persists across all prestiges and characters. Press H to open the Haven overlay once discovered.
Haven is a skill tree of 14 rooms split into two branches:
Combat Branch (left side):
Hearthstone -> Armory -> Training Yard -> Watchtower -> War Room
\-> Trophy Hall -> Alchemy Lab --/
Quality of Life Branch (right side):
Hearthstone -> Bedroom -> Garden -> Fishing Dock -> Vault
\-> Library -> Workshop ------/
Both branches converge on the Storm Forge (requires War Room + Vault).
Rooms cost prestige ranks to build and upgrade (T1/T2/T3). Here's a recommended build order:
First priority -- get passive bonuses rolling:
- Hearthstone T1 (1 PR) -- +25% offline XP. Always build this first.
- Armory T1 (1 PR) -- +5% damage. Speeds up everything.
- Bedroom T1 (1 PR) -- -15% HP regen delay. Lets you fight faster.
- Training Yard T1 (2 PR) -- +5% XP gain.
Second priority -- expand both branches: 5. Trophy Hall T1 (2 PR) -- +5% drop rate. 6. Garden T1 (2 PR) -- -10% fishing timers (when fishing opens up). 7. Library T1 (2 PR) -- +20% challenge discovery rate.
Then start upgrading what helps most:
- Armory T2 (+10% damage) and Training Yard T2 (+10% XP) are high-value upgrades.
- Watchtower (crit chance) and Alchemy Lab (HP regen) open deeper branches.
Capstone rooms (requires both parents):
- War Room -- Double strike chance. Very powerful for DPS.
- Vault -- Preserves items across prestige. Game-changing for keeping legendary weapons.
Pro Tip: Haven bonuses are permanent and account-wide. Every prestige rank spent on Haven rooms pays dividends forever. Don't hoard ranks -- invest them.
Fishing sessions appear randomly while you're adventuring. When one starts, your hero automatically casts, waits, and reels in fish. Fishing is a separate progression track with 40 ranks across 8 tiers.
Base max rank is 30 (Grandmaster). With Fishing Dock T4 (+10 max rank), you can reach rank 40 (Transcendent) -- which is required for the Stormbreaker Path.
Fish give XP, and rarer fish give more:
- Common (60%): 50-100 XP
- Uncommon (25%): 150-250 XP
- Rare (10%): 400-600 XP
- Epic (4%): 1,000-1,500 XP
- Legendary (1%): 3,000-5,000 XP
Fish can also drop equipment items, with better chances from rarer fish.
Pro Tip: The Garden room reduces fishing timers, and the Fishing Dock grants double fish chances. Both make the fishing rank grind much faster.
Dungeons are discovered randomly during zone combat (1% chance per kill). When one appears, your hero enters automatically and explores a procedurally generated grid dungeon.
- Small (5x5) at low prestige, scaling up to Legendary (13x13) at high prestige
- Rooms contain combat encounters, treasure, elite enemies, and bosses
- Keys found in rooms unlock locked doors
- Death in a dungeon is safe -- you exit without losing prestige
Dungeons provide bonus XP and loot. They're a nice break from zone grinding but not something you need to optimize around.
At P15+, you'll discover the Soulforge -- an account-level enhancement system. Press S to open the Soulforge overlay once discovered.
The Soulforge lets you enhance each of your 7 equipment slots from +0 to +10. Enhancements are permanent and apply to whatever gear is equipped in that slot.
See Soulforge for the full mechanics, but here's the key insight: levels +1 through +4 are guaranteed successes at 1 PR each. Get all 7 slots to +4 early (28 PR total). That alone gives +20% stat multiplier to every equipment slot.
Beyond +4, the Soul Tithe option lets you pay more prestige ranks for guaranteed success at +5/+6/+7 (4/6/8 PR respectively). This is much more reliable than gambling on the standard rates. Don't push past +4 until you have prestige ranks to spare.
When you defeat The Endless (the Zone 11 cycle boss) for the first time at P15+, you unlock The Deep -- a mercenary expedition system where you recruit squads of mercenaries and send them on multi-hour missions into a vast underground labyrinth. This is a guaranteed trigger, not a random discovery. Press D to open The Deep overlay once discovered.
The Deep runs on real-time wall-clock time -- missions take 1 to 40 hours depending on layer and mission type (the one-time Gateway Expedition at Layer 30 is a fixed 72 hours), and progress even while the game is closed. This gives you something meaningful to manage between prestige cycles.
Getting started with The Deep:
- You start as Freelancers (Guild Rank 1) with 3 starter mercenaries and 1 concurrent mission slot
- Send mercs on Supply Runs to earn Warband Marks (the Deep's currency)
- Use Marks to recruit more mercenaries and build infrastructure on cleared layers
- Send Breakthrough missions to push deeper and unlock higher guild ranks
- All Deep progress persists across prestige -- guild rank, cleared layers, infrastructure, mercs, marks, and active missions all carry over
The Deep is a long-term side system. Don't feel pressured to optimize it immediately -- the infrastructure and guild rank you build persist permanently and compound across prestige cycles.
Also at P15+, you'll discover Stormglass -- a currency earned from item salvage, dungeon treasure, challenge wins, and failed Soulforge attempts. Press G to open the Stormglass Exchange.
The Exchange has four spending options:
- Invoke Trial (3,000 SG): Instantly generate a challenge to play, bypassing the ~2 hour discovery wait
- Chrono Surge (500-16,000 SG): Fast-forward game time for accelerated progression (also accelerates The Deep mission timers)
- Storm Sigils: Unlock up to 5 persistent sigil slots with percentage-based bonuses (damage, XP, crit, etc.)
- Storm Lure (50,000 SG): Guarantees Storm Leviathan encounters while fishing at rank 40 (see Fishing)
See Stormglass for the full system breakdown.
Where you are: Floating Isles and Storm Citadel (Zones 9-10). This is where the game's ultimate challenge begins.
Zone 10 is the final "normal" zone. Its last boss has a unique requirement: you need the Stormbreaker weapon to defeat it. Without it, the boss encounter simply won't complete.
The full Stormbreaker path is a multi-system quest. See Stormbreaker Path for the complete walkthrough.
| Prestige | Name | Required Level |
|---|---|---|
| P10 (Celestial) | Cosmic tier begins | 130 |
| P15 (Transcendent) | Divine tier begins | 180 |
| P20 (Eternal) | Eternal tier begins | 235+ |
At P20+, each additional prestige requires 15 more levels than the last (235, 250, 265...). The grind gets real.
To fully maximize Haven (all rooms T3, Fishing Dock T4, Storm Forge T1), you need a significant prestige rank investment. Prioritize the rooms whose bonuses compound your power most:
| Room | Max Bonus | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| War Room T3 | +35% Double Strike | Effectively +35% DPS |
| Armory T3 | +25% Damage | Straight damage boost |
| Watchtower T3 | +20% Crit | More burst damage |
| Training Yard T3 | +30% XP | Faster leveling each cycle |
| Hearthstone T3 | +100% Offline XP | Huge for idle play |
| Alchemy Lab T3 | +100% HP Regen | Survive tougher fights |
| Vault T3 | 5 items preserved | Keep your best gear through prestige |
The optimal Soulforge strategy at this stage:
- All slots to +4 (28 PR, guaranteed) -- 1.20x multiplier per slot
- Push weapon to +7 via Soul Tithe (4+6+8 = 18 PR guaranteed) -- damage matters most
- Push armor to +5 or +6 via Soul Tithe -- survivability
- Other slots to +5 as budget allows
Past +7, success rates are brutal (30%/20%/10%), but Soul Tithe still covers them at a much steeper price: 25 PR for +8, 85 PR for +9, and 750 PR for +10. Only push to +10 via Soul Tithe if you have hundreds of spare prestige ranks to burn, or gamble on the raw odds if you don't.
Pro Tip: The +10 enhancement gives a 2.50x stat multiplier -- more than double +4's 1.20x. It's incredibly powerful but the road there is paved with failed attempts.
With a growing Stormglass stockpile, start unlocking Storm Sigil slots (25,000 SG for the first, doubling each time). Prioritize Sigil of Fury (damage) and Sigil of Wisdom (XP) for faster progression. Even average rolls provide meaningful bonuses -- you can reroll for better grades later.
Where you are: You've forged Stormbreaker, conquered the Storm Citadel, and unlocked Zone 11.
Zone 11 is the true endgame. It has 4 subzones that cycle infinitely -- after defeating the final boss, you loop back to subzone 1 with the same difficulty.
The Expanse is a massive difficulty wall:
- ~6.2x HP compared to Zone 10 enemies
- ~4.6x Damage compared to Zone 10 enemies
- ~4.8x Defense compared to Zone 10 enemies
You'll need P50+ to farm here comfortably. The Expanse is about pushing your prestige rank as high as possible and seeing how far you can scale.
The Deep is discovered when you defeat The Endless (the Zone 11 cycle boss) for the first time at Prestige 15+. This is a guaranteed trigger -- not a random discovery like Haven or Soulforge. Press D to open it.
The Deep runs in wall-clock time and is best treated as a parallel progression track:
- Keep at least one mission active whenever possible
- Spend early Warband Marks on roster depth and mission throughput
- Use Chrono Surge to accelerate Deep missions. Every surge advances active mission timers by the equivalent wall-clock time -- a 4-hour surge finishes a 4-hour mission instantly
- Supply Run costs scale with depth (5 + layer Warband Marks per launch), so farm shallower layers early
- Build Bridges broadly across cleared layers -- each bridged layer gives -2% mission duration, and you can build up to 15 for a total -30% reduction
- Check in when events are pending, then return to your normal prestige loop
Once you're earning Stormglass from challenge wins, start investing in Storm Sigils through the Stormglass Exchange (press G). Sigils provide permanent passive bonuses across 12 categories (XP, Damage, DR, Crit, Drop Rate, HP, Fishing Speed, Offline XP, Attack Speed, Double Strike, Regen Delay, Chrono Overcharge).
The sigil pool rotates daily (5 of 12 effect types available each day), so check back regularly. Each etch presents 3 random sigils -- pick the one that best fits your build. Prioritize Damage % and XP % sigils early, then fill in utility slots with Crit %, Attack Speed %, or Drop Rate % as you unlock more sigil slots.
- All Haven rooms built and upgraded to T3 (War Room and Vault are priorities)
- Fishing Dock at T4 for max fishing rank
- Storm Forge built, Stormbreaker forged
- All Soulforge slots at +4 minimum, weapon at +7+ (use Soul Tithe)
- All 5 Storm Sigil slots unlocked and etched with combat-focused sigils
- Vault preserving your best items through each prestige
- God items obtained (Asprika, Sleipnir, Megingjord) for massive endgame bonuses
- The Deep guild rank progressing (invest spare time in Breakthrough missions)
- Power Cores unlocking passively via Deep layer milestones (up to 48 PR/day)
- Prestige as soon as you hit the level threshold every cycle
At this point, each prestige cycle is about:
- Starting over at level 1 (with preserved Vault items)
- Blitzing through zones with your massive prestige multiplier
- Reaching the level threshold as fast as possible
- Prestiging to push your rank higher
- Investing extra ranks in Soulforge pushes
- Repeating
The prestige multiplier has diminishing returns (1 + 0.5 * rank^0.7), so each rank gives less percentage gain than the last. But the flat combat bonuses from prestige (damage, defense, crit, HP) keep scaling, making each cycle smoother.
Where you are: You've been farming The Expanse, pushing through The Deep, and accumulating prestige ranks. Deep layer breakthroughs start opening fracture zones -- 19 new zones across six chapters that extend the game far beyond Zone 11. Later, Ascension VII-X unlocks Loom zones (Z31-50), pushing your power multiplier from 96x all the way to 324x.
Fracture zones use dual-gating: you need both a Deep layer breakthrough and sufficient prestige rank. The progression loop is:
- Push through The Deep -- breakthrough missions on milestone layers (3, 7, 12, 18, 25, 30) unlock new fracture chapters
- Ascend -- each breakthrough also unlocks the next Ascension level, which multiplies your combat stats
- Explore fracture zones -- use your Ascension-boosted power to fight through the new zones
- Prestige -- keep building your rank to meet the next chapter's prestige requirement
- Repeat -- deeper layers, higher Ascension, harder zones
The Ascension system is essential for fracture and Loom zones. Each level doubles your combat stats (I-VI), with VII-X scaling further via Loom Pattern gates:
| Ascension | Deep Gate | PR Cost | Multiplier | Fracture Chapter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Layer 3 | 35 PR | 2x | The Red Fault (Z12-14) |
| II | Layer 7 | 65 PR | 4x | The Mirror Scar (Z15-17) |
| III | Layer 12 | 120 PR | 8x | The Black Mouth (Z18-20) |
| IV | Layer 18 | 200 PR | 16x | The Hollow Throne (Z21-23) |
| V | Layer 25 | 325 PR | 32x | The Wailing Reach (Z24-26) |
| VI | Layer 30 | 500 PR | 64x | The Origin Wound (Z27-30) |
| VII | 8 Patterns | 1,500 PR | 96x | Woven Frontier (Z35-38) |
| VIII | 16 Patterns | 4,000 PR | 144x | The Unraveling (Z39-42) |
| IX | 22 Patterns | 8,000 PR | 216x | Grand Design (Z43-46) |
| X | 28 Patterns | 15,000 PR | 324x | Final Weave (Z47-50) |
Key tips:
- Ascend as soon as you can. The combat power spike is enormous and makes fracture and Loom zones manageable.
- Budget PR for Ascension. Total cost for I-VI is 1,245 PR. Total cost for I-X is 29,745 PR. Plan your prestige rank spending carefully.
- Don't skip prestige gates. Even with Ascension, you need P50 for Zone 12, P75 for Zone 15, P100 for Zone 18, P150 for Zone 21, P200 for Zone 24, and P300 for Zone 27. Keep prestiging.
Enemy stats in fracture zones scale at 1.6x per zone from Zone 11's base. This is exponential -- Zone 30 enemies are roughly 7,500x stronger than Zone 11 enemies. Without the Ascension multiplier, these zones are impassable.
Each chapter's cap zone (the last zone in the chapter) cycles infinitely until the next chapter unlocks. Non-cap zones advance forward normally.
- All previous endgame checklist items complete
- The Deep guild rank 5 (Vanguard) for maximum concurrent missions
- Deep infrastructure built on farming layers (Outposts for speed, Supply Caches for income, Bridges for cumulative -2% duration each, up to 15 bridges for -30% total)
- Ascension I through VI purchased (1,245 total PR)
- Fracture zone achievements earned (19 achievements for zones 12-30)
- Zone 30 cleared -- "Scar Mender" achievement and title
- The Gateway opened -- ultimate Deep achievement, unlocks Loom of Worlds
- Loom of Worlds patterns progressing -- 28 Woven Patterns across all arcs
- Ascension VII-X purchased as Loom Patterns are completed (28,500 additional PR)
- Loom zones (Z31-50) explored with Ascension VII-X power
Where you are: You've opened the Gateway, cleared fracture zones through Zone 30, and begun weaving Loom Patterns. The Loom of Worlds is your final frontier -- completing all 28 Woven Patterns unlocks the full Ascension path to level X and opens Loom zones Z31-50.
Loom zones are gated by Woven Pattern completion rather than Deep layers:
- Complete Woven Patterns -- each pattern requires building resource production chains in the Loom
- Unlock Ascension VII-X -- pattern milestones (8, 16, 22, 28) gate each new Ascension level
- Explore Loom zones -- Ascension VII opens Z35-38, VIII opens Z39-42, IX opens Z43-46, and X opens Z47-50
- Prestige for PR -- Ascension VII-X costs a combined 28,500 PR, so keep cycling
Loom zones scale even more aggressively than fracture zones. Each Ascension level beyond VI uses a 1.5x multiplier rather than 2x, so your power growth slows while enemy difficulty keeps climbing. Prioritize:
- Complete Patterns efficiently. Each pattern unlocked is progress toward the next Ascension gate. Focus on patterns that use resources you already produce.
- Stockpile PR before ascending. Ascension VII costs 1,500 PR, VIII costs 4,000 PR, IX costs 8,000 PR, and X costs 15,000 PR. These are massive investments.
- Push Loom zones in order. Zones 31-34 are accessible without a new Ascension level; Z35-38 require Ascension VII, and so on. Clear what you can before ascending.
- All 28 Woven Patterns completed -- "Loom Perfected" achievement
- Ascension X purchased (29,745 total PR across I-X)
- All Loom zones (Z31-50) cleared
- Final Weave (Z47-50) conquered with 324x power
- All 240 Achievements unlocked
- "The Absolute" title equipped
- Prestige multiplier is king. The fastest way to get stronger is to prestige more, not to grind longer in one cycle.
- Zone-based enemy stats mean you can't outlevel a zone. Push to higher zones for better rewards, but if you're dying a lot, prestige first for more power.
- Boss death retreats you to your last safe zone (the highest zone where you've defeated a boss). You lose all progress in the current zone, so gear up and prestige before attempting tough bosses.
- Mob drops cap at Epic rarity. Only bosses can drop Legendary items (2% chance for normal bosses, 5% for Zone 10's final boss).
- Item level = zone number x 10. Zone 10 gear (ilvl 100) is the best in the standard game. Fracture zones (ilvl 120-300) and Loom zones (ilvl 310-500) drop even stronger gear.
- Vault your best weapon and armor when prestiging. Legendary weapons from Zone 10 are irreplaceable at the start of a new cycle.
- God items (Asprika, Sleipnir, Megingjord) are the strongest items in the game, with unique passives that dramatically boost combat. Sleipnir in particular speeds up everything -- combat, regen, dungeons, and fishing. See Equipment for full details.
- Quest accumulates offline XP at 25% of the normal rate, up to 7 days. The Hearthstone room in Haven boosts this up to +100%.
- You'll see an offline progress report when you return to the game.
- Press A to open the achievement browser anytime.
- Achievements span 9 categories: Combat, Level, Prestige, Progression, Challenges, Exploration, Deep, Loom, and Stats.
- There are 240 achievements total, including 19 fracture zone completions, 10 Ascension milestones, 7 Loom milestones, and 6 Power Core milestones.
- Some achievements are progression gates (like TheStormbreaker for Zone 10).
| Rank | Name | Level | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| P0 | None | -- | 1.00x |
| P1 | Bronze | 10 | 1.50x |
| P2 | Silver | 25 | 1.81x |
| P3 | Gold | 50 | 2.08x |
| P4 | Platinum | 65 | 2.32x |
| P5 | Diamond | 80 | 2.54x |
| P10 | Celestial | 130 | 3.51x |
| P15 | Transcendent | 180 | 4.33x |
| P20 | Eternal | 235 | 5.07x |
| P30 | Eternal | 385 | 6.41x |
- Getting Started -- Installation and first steps
- Combat -- Combat mechanics
- Zones and Progression -- Zone data and progression (including fracture zones 12-30 and Loom zones 31-50)
- Stormbreaker Path -- Complete Stormbreaker walkthrough
- Prestige -- Prestige system details
- Haven -- Full Haven room reference
- Soulforge -- Enhancement mechanics deep dive
- Stormglass -- Stormglass currency and Storm Sigils
- The Deep -- Mercenary expedition system
- Ascension -- Combat power multiplier for fracture and Loom zone progression
- Fishing -- Fishing system guide
- Dungeons -- Dungeon exploration guide
- Challenges -- All 14 challenge minigames
- Loom of Worlds -- Resource production chain system (endgame)
- Achievements -- Achievement tracking
- Controls and UI -- Keyboard controls reference