Top 5 Escape from Duckov Totems & How to Unlock Them

Select Language:

In Escape From Duckov, totems are a key part of your equipment. While you’ll often swap out most gear as you find better items or lose everything after a tough defeat, a well-chosen totem can stick with you for the entire game. Unlike powerful guns with high damage output, top-tier totems can be acquired fairly early. So, which totems are the best?

Most totems are only useful in specific situations, but a few stand out as valuable upgrades regardless of how you play. Here’s a list of the best totems you can find in Escape From Duckov and how to get them.

How to get totems in Escape From Duckov

You can obtain totems from several sources. Some enemies drop them, and in the late game, you can buy totems from the Black Market. The most reliable way, however, is through a sort of in-game lottery system — similar to a gacha — which you can grind for using in-game resources, with no real-money purchases involved.

In your base, head to the right of the doorway leading to Ground Zero. Look for a ladder that goes down into a pit, which you can enter by pressing the F key. At the bottom, you’ll see two symbols on the ground marked with an “Offer” prompt. One asks for 8 Fading Feathers and will give you a random totem, while the other wants 80 feathers and will give you ten totems at once. There’s no clear advantage to saving feathers for the ten-tooth pull — you can just do single pulls when you have enough feathers. Fading Feathers are loot gained by defeating enemy ducks on the field, and you can carry up to 15 in your backpack, with a small weight increase. You can also dismantle totems for feathers, and rarer totems give more feathers when broken apart.

How to understand totem rarity in Escape From Duckov

Totems come in different levels of rarity. Most have three tiers: I, II, or III. For example, “HP I” is common, while “HP III” is rare. The game doesn’t specify the odds of drawing each level, so luck plays a role.

Rarity doesn’t always mean better. A “Recovery I” totem, which gives a small health regeneration boost, is useful compared to having no totem. “Recovery III” offers more healing but also increases how fast your hydration and energy drain. Similarly, a “Sturdy III” adds extra backpack space and carrying capacity, but lower-tier versions improve only one aspect each — like Sturdy I or II. You should weigh the pros and cons of each version based on your playstyle.

You can’t equip two of the same totem at once, but you can equip totems of the same class in different rarity levels. Since they are separate items, keep that in mind when building your setup.

Top totems in Escape From Duckov

While many totems are situational, some are almost always beneficial and work well at every stage of the game. If you’re unsure which totem to pick, any of these will serve you well:

Sturdy (I, II, or III): Increases backpack space and carrying capacity, making looting easier. These are especially helpful since the game provides plenty of loot, and you’ll often find yourself needing to leave items behind.
Agile (II): Boosts your movement and running speed, which helps with exploring and escaping dangerous spots. Agile II is a noticeable upgrade over Agile I, and Agile III offers even more speed but at the expense of gradual health loss — only go for it if you’re comfortable managing that downside.
Aegis (III): Offers strong damage resistance to head and body attacks, improving survivability. It also increases vulnerability to elemental damage like fire or electric, but these are relatively rare, making Aegis III generally a powerful choice.
Physical RES (III): Guards against physical damage and completely negates Bleed effects, which drain health rapidly. It’s excellent for durability, especially when healing supplies run low.
Assault (II): Raises weapon damage, making your guns more effective. It’s a straightforward way to deal more damage unless you focus on melee combat, in which case other totems may be more useful.

In summary, while some totems are situational, the ones listed above are versatile and steadily helpful. Choosing the right totem depends on your specific tactics, but these options are a safe bet to enhance your chances of success.

Note: Many totems come in different levels of rarity, and their benefits vary accordingly. Assess each totem’s pros and cons carefully to match your running build and strategy.