While Duet Night Abyss may appear as a regular gacha title, it actually features free and permanent character/weapon acquisition. And if you still miss gacha pulls, you'll find them reserved for cosmetics, as it should be. This may be confusing if you're used to rerolling for characters and weapons, but with our beginner's guide, you'll be ready for action in no time.
DNA Beginner Guide - How to Get Characters, Best Starter Teams & Progression Tips
To help you navigate through new mechanics, we created this DNA beginner's guide on how to unlock your favorite units, build a strong starter team, farm resources, unlock characters, and more!
How does the Gacha work in DNA?
Duet Night Abyss doesn't feature a traditional gacha for characters or weapons. All units and gear are earned entirely through gameplay and progression. The gacha elements are reserved exclusively for cosmetic items, such as character outfits and weapon skins. That said, Duet Night Abyss is still a gacha game and features microtransactions, though these are limited to in-game cosmetics.
How to get Cosmetics - Banners & Prismatic Hourglass
Prismatic Hourglasses can be acquired by progressing through the game and completing in-game events and login campaigns. These are used to pull limited-time cosmetics and are much harder to obtain. That being said, cosmetics don't make or break the game, and can be quite easily ignored.
But if you feel that gatcha itch, banners are the main spot for you. Since the Standard Banner contents are permanent, prioritize pulling on the event-exclusive Limited Banner over the regular Standard versions.
- Limited-Time Cosmetic Banner: Use Prismatic Hourglasses to pull for limited-time skins. These hourglasses are acquired by progressing through the game, completing in-game events, and through certain login campaigns.
- Standard Cosmetic Banner: Use Pristine Hourglasses for a permanent pool of character and weapon skins. These are also acquired through main story progression and by clearing events.
- Direct Purchase: Certain skins can be bought outright in the Shop using Phoxene Plumule, a premium currency purchased with real money. Look for expiration dates listed on their banners, as some items are limited-time offers.
| Rarity | Drop Rate | Pity |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 0.30% | Featured Outfit guaranteed after 90 pulls. |
| Purple | N/A | Guaranteed purple rarity item every 10 pulls. |
Note: The pity counter does not carry over to future Limited Banners. There is currently no confirmed "soft pity" mechanism.
How to Unlock Characters in Duet Night Abyss (Free-to-Play)
The main way to get more free characters in DNA is by exchanging Character Secret Letters. Each character has unique Secret Letters to go with it, which means that you cannot use Secret Letters for one character on another unit. Here’s the whole process of unlocking a character from scratch:
- Get Secret Letter Clues: These are your primary resource. Here's how to farm them:
- Complete Daily Missions to get 15 Clues per day.
- Completing Side Quests,
- Open chests
- Participate in Events
- Convert 10x Secret Letter Clues into x1 Character Secret Letter for the character you wish to unlock.
- Run Covert Commissions: This system unlocks after you get your first Geniemon.
- Go to the Covert Commissions menu and select the Character tab.
- Choose the character you have a Secret Letter for.
- Select a mission type (Mediation is recommended for beginners as it's the easiest; Relocation and Termination are harder, combat-focused stages).
- Complete the mission and choose Character Thoughts as your reward.
- Once you have 30 Character Thoughts, head to the Character menu.
- Click the Reminiscence button and permanently add the unit to your roster.
It is also possible to transform extra Thoughts into Intron bonuses, which can be used to further improve your characters. These are quite similar to the Constellation system in Genshin Impact.
Alternatively, you can buy the characters for 4500 Phoxene Plumules or by completing in-game events.
Free Characters List in Duet Night Abyss
Certain characters are handed out for free, without requiring any sort of farming. These characters include:
- Protagonist (Phoxhunter)
- Berenica
- Daphne
- Rebecca
- Margie
- Outsider
- Truffle and Filbert
- Lisbell
Best Characters & Starter Teams for Beginners in DNA
You really won’t have a lot of options when you start the game, as far as characters are concerned. Simply focus on leveling up your existing roster and accumulating enough Character Thoughts to unlock the character.
Completing certain quests will unlock characters for free, so make sure to complete them as soon as possible. That being said, certain characters unlock early. Some of the better picks here include:
| Character | Role | How to Unlock | Beginner Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truffle and Filbert | Main Carry / Healer | Early story progression. | Editor's choice Excellent long-term investment as a primary DPS unit that also provides healing and damage buffs. |
| Rebecca | Main Carry / AFK Farmer | Unlocks upon reaching the Sanctuary. | Specializes in consistent Damage Over Time (DoT). Prioritize her leveling for clearing initial content and later for efficient resource farming. |
| Outsider | Single-Target DPS | Early campaign progression. | Moderate Investment. A solid choice for boss fights, focusing on high single-target damage, especially at lower HP (risky but rewarding playstyle). |
| Protagonist (Phoxhunter) | Support / Utility | Initial starting character. | Minimal Initial Investment. Level just enough to clear early stages. Later shines as a support who provides party shields and damage buffs. |
Best Early Game Teams
Teams in Duet Night Abyss involve trios, and the best combination for the early game happens to include the following characters:
- Rebecca (Player Controlled - Main Damage)
- Truffle and Filbert (AI Controlled - Sub-DPS/Healer)
- The Phoxhunter (Protagonist) (AI Controlled - Support/Shield)
Rebecca is our main damage dealer here, being unlocked rather early on during the game’s campaign. She specializes in dealing damage over time, and can spam Jellyfish to slowly kill enemies.
Adding in Truffle and Filbert to the mix helps massively, thanks to their combination of consistent heals and damage boosts.
The Phoxhunter is technically the first character you unlock in the game, and is a great support unit. Their ultimate can grant shields to allies, making your team more durable than ever. Even outside of support, their damage-dealing capabilities are sufficient for the early game.
As always, feel free to experiment here. There will no doubt be different strategies for the endgame and midgame, when more options become available (and when the game’s meta also matures further!).
DNA Combat Tips - Dual Weapons and Phoxene Management
Your DNA combat success relies on your knowledge of the Dual Weapon System and the smart use of Phoxene energy. Every character can equip and switch between one melee weapon and one ranged weapon instantly in combat.
| Melee Weapon | Ranged Weapon | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Function | High damage, close combat. | Mid-to-long range control. |
| Phoxene | Generates Phoxene energy. | Consumes Phoxene energy for skills and attacks. |
| How to Use | Build resource, sustain combos, break enemy stances. | Release powerful attacks, maintain distance, finish combos. |
How to Unlock Weapons - Blueprints
Unlike characters, you need Weapon Blueprints to unlock weapons. You'll most often get them by beating bosses and participating in events. You then use materials earned from Covert Commissions to craft and upgrade them.
Duet Night Abyss Beginner FAQ
Secret Letters are primarily acquired by converting Secret Letter Clues (10 Clues = 1 Letter). You can farm Clues by completing Daily challenges.
Yes and no. It features no gacha for characters or weapons—all are earned through free gameplay. It does feature a gacha system for cosmetics, such as outfits and weapon skins.
Due to limited early-game resources, it is highly recommended to focus on leveling one primary damage-dealing unit at a time, such as Rebecca or Truffle and Filbert, to ensure you can clear the higher-level Covert Commissions needed for long-term progression.
Now that you know more about game mechanics thanks to our Duet Night Abyss beginner's guide, check out DNA Codes on Pro Game Guides.
Dipan is a writer for Pro Gamer Guides, having completed his Masters in Zoology from Vidyasagar College, Calcutta University. His favorite genres include horror and action (more specifically, hack-and-slash), with favorites including the Devil May Cry series, Prince of Persia and Alien: Isolation.
His other interests include anything related to technology, with bleeding edge hardware (when he's not inadvertently bricking his devices).