Dragon Cliff Beginner to Pro: A Complete Progression Guide

Last Updated on 28 October, 2025

Welcome, aspiring guild master, to the world of Dragon Cliff. This is not a game where you control a single hero. Instead, you are the founder and manager of an entire adventuring town. You will recruit heroes, manage their strategies, build a thriving economy, and craft legendary gear. It is a deep, semi-idle RPG that combines town-building with intricate party customization.

Your goal is to clear all exploration zones and build an unstoppable team of adventurers. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the entire process. We will cover your first hours, explain the complex class system, master the crucial battle tactics, and prepare you for the endgame Rebirth mechanic.

Quick Fact: Dragon Cliff was created by Meta Interaction, a very small independent studio. The game is known for its surprising depth and complex systems, especially coming from such a small team

Table of Contents

• The Core Loop: How to Play Dragon Cliff
• Phase 1: Your First Town (Levels 1-25)
• Phase 2: The Star-Up System and Advanced Classes (Levels 26-100)
• Phase 3: The First Rebirth (Unlocking the Chronotraveler)
• Deep Dive: Mastering Key Systems
  • The Battle Tactics Screen: Your Most Important Tool
  • Class Unlocks and Recommended Teams
  • Stat Priorities for Enchanting
• Conclusion: The Endless Adventure

The Core Loop: How to Play Dragon Cliff

Dragon Cliff operates on a simple, addictive loop:

1. Recruit: You hire adventurers from the Adventurer’s Guild. Each has a random class and potential.
2. Explore: You send your party on quests into exploration zones. This part is automatic. Your team fights based on the strategies you set for them.
3. Loot: Your team returns with gold, wood, monster parts, gems, and powerful scrolls.
4. Upgrade: You use this loot to build and upgrade your town. You will construct a Blacksmith, Enchanter, Marketplace, and more.
5. Equip: You use the monster parts to craft powerful new gear. You use scrolls to enchant that gear with new stats.
6. Repeat: With better gear, skills, and stats, you send your team into harder zones to earn even better loot.

You do not actively fight. You are the manager. Your primary job is to prepare your team for success.

Quick Reminder: An adventurer’s Potential dictates their maximum stat growth from leveling. This is a separate system from the Star-Up you perform to unlock new classes.

Phase 1: Your First Town (Levels 1-25)

Your first few hours focus on establishing your town and your first “A-Team”.

Recruiting Your First Team

You start with a few “Young Adventurers.” Your first priority is to build the Adventurer’s Guild. This building lets you recruit specific classes. A balanced team is essential for survival. A great starting party consists of:

1. 1 Tank (Guard): This hero will stand in the front line and soak up damage.
2. 1 Healer (Priest): This hero will keep your tank and other party members alive.
3. 2-3 Damage Dealers (DPS): You can fill the remaining slots with DPS. Good starting options are the Hunter (Physical DPS) or the Mage (Magical DPS).

Try to recruit heroes with high “Potential” (4 stars or more), as this determines their stat growth. Do not worry about it too much at the start, but favor higher-star recruits when you see them.

Your First Building Upgrades

Your Town Hall level dictates the maximum level for all other buildings. Always upgrade your Town Hall when you can. After that, prioritize these buildings:

1. Adventurer’s Guild: This lets you recruit new classes and expand your roster. You will eventually manage multiple teams.
2. Exploration Guild: This building unlocks new adventure zones. You must clear the final stage of one zone to unlock the next. This is your main “quest” progression.
3. Marketplace: This building lets you sell the junk items and materials you collect for extra gold.
4. Blacksmith: You will quickly find that crafted gear is far superior to gear that drops from monsters. The Blacksmith is where you build your power.
5. Training Ground: This is where your heroes spend “Skill Scrolls” to learn new active and passive abilities.

Setting Your First Battle Tactics

This is the most important part of the game. You must set up your team’s AI. Go to the “Battle Tactics” screen from your party menu.

A tactic has three parts: Condition, Skill, and Target. The list is a priority list. The game checks Tactic 1 first. If the condition is met, the hero uses it. If not, it checks Tactic 2, and so on.

Here is a simple, effective setup for your first team:

• Guard (Tank):
  • Tactic 1: (Self) -> Use “Taunt” -> (Self)
    *This makes all enemies attack the Guard.*
  • Tactic 2: (Self HP < 60%) -> Use “Defend” -> (Self)
    *This gives a defensive buff when the Guard is hurt.*
  • Tactic 3: (Always) -> Use “Bash” -> (Random Enemy)
• Priest (Healer):
  • Tactic 1: (Ally HP < 40%) -> Use “Heal” -> (Ally with Lowest HP %)
    *This is your emergency heal.*
  • Tactic 2: (Ally HP < 80%) -> Use “Heal” -> (Ally with Lowest HP %)
    *This is your standard heal.*
  • Tactic 3: (Always) -> Use “Smite” -> (Random Enemy)
• Hunter (DPS):
  • Tactic 1: (Always) -> Use “Focused Shot” -> (Enemy with Lowest HP)
    *This helps focus fire to kill enemies one by one.*
  • Tactic 2: (Always) -> Use “Aimed Shot” -> (Enemy with Lowest HP)

This simple setup will carry you through the early game zones.

Heads-Up: Pay attention to enemies that bypass your tank. Certain foes will specifically target your back row, which can instantly kill your undefended healers or DPS if their Vigor is too low.

Phase 2: The Star-Up System and Advanced Classes (Levels 26-100)

Once your team is consistently clearing zones, your focus shifts to upgrading your heroes.

Unlocking Advanced Classes (The Star-Up System)

You cannot just recruit a 3-Star Paladin, you must unlock the class first. You do this by “Starring-Up” your existing adventurers.

1. Gain Stars: As your heroes level up, they gain “Star-Up Points.”
2. Star-Up: In the Adventurer’s profile, you can spend these points to increase their Star Rating (from 1-Star to 5-Star, and later to 6 and 7-Star).
3. Unlock Classes: When you get a base class (like Guard) to a 3-Star rating, you contribute to unlocking advanced classes. For example, to unlock the Paladin class, you must get your Guard to 3-Stars and your Priest to 3-Stars.
4. Create the Hero: Once unlocked, the Paladin class becomes available at the Adventurer’s Guild. You must then recruit a new adventurer and assign them the Paladin class.

Your mid-game goal is to unlock the 3-Star and 4-Star classes, as they are significantly more powerful.

Crafting, Enchanting, and Gem Slotting

This is your core gameplay loop for gear.

1. Blacksmith: Use materials to craft equipment. You have a chance to craft higher-quality items, with Divine (orange) being the best. Always equip your team with the highest-level Divine gear you can craft.
2. Enchanter: This building lets you apply “Enchantment Scrolls” to your gear. This is how you add specific stats like “Strength,” “Haste,” “Critical Damage,” or “Vigor.” This is far more important than the base stats of the item.
3. Jeweler: This building lets you slot gems into your gear. Gems provide simple, powerful stat bonuses.

The Loop: Farm zones for materials and scrolls. Craft Divine gear. Enchant that gear with the perfect stats. Slot gems. Push to the next, harder zone.

Practical Tip: As soon as you build the Marketplace, set up the Auto-Sell feature. You can configure it to automatically sell all non-magical (white) and magical (blue) equipment, which keeps your inventory clean and provides a steady gold income.

Phase 3: The First Rebirth (Unlocking the Chronotraveler)

Your adventurers will eventually hit a wall, likely around level 100-110. This is when you unlock the “prestige” mechanic of the game: Rebirth.

Unlocking the Chronotraveler

You unlock the Chronotraveler building when your Town Hall reaches level 10. This building allows you to perform a Rebirth.

What is Rebirth?

When you perform a Rebirth, the following things happen:

• Resets: Your adventurers’ levels, Star-Up progress, and skill levels all reset to 1. Your gold and exploration progress also reset.
• Keeps: You keep all of your buildings, all crafted equipment (in your inventory), all materials, all enchantment scrolls, and most importantly, all Ancient Tomes.

Why You Should Rebirth

Resetting sounds bad, but you gain two permanent, game-changing resources:

1. Permanent Stat Points: You gain points based on how far you progressed. You can assign these points to permanent, account-wide bonuses like “+% Gold Gain,” “+% All Stats,” “+% Crafting Quality,” etc.
2. Ancient Tomes: You earn these powerful “perk points” from leveling up and clearing boss stages. You spend them in the Chronotraveler’s “Ancient Power” tree for massive permanent upgrades, like “+% Haste,” “+% Crit Damage,” or allowing your tactics to use 10-Star skills.

Your first Rebirth will feel slow. But with your new permanent bonuses, your second run will be dramatically faster. You will reach level 100 again in a fraction of the time. This is the true endgame loop of Dragon Cliff.

Resource Note: The Enchanter building has a Scroll Synthesis function. This allows you to combine 5 low-level enchantment scrolls (e.g., 5x Scroll of Strength I) into one scroll of the next tier (1x Scroll of Strength II), which is essential for endgame enchanting.

Deep Dive: Mastering Key Systems

To truly succeed, you need to master the game’s details.

The Battle Tactics Screen: Your Most Important Tool

As you unlock new skills, your tactics must evolve. The tactic list is a priority list.

1. Healer Tactics (Example): A high-level Priest needs to manage multiple things.
   1. Tactic 1: (Ally Status = Poison) -> Use “Cure” -> (Ally with Poison)
   2. Tactic 2: (Ally HP < 30%) -> Use “Greater Heal” -> (Ally with Lowest HP %)
   3. Tactic 3: (Ally Status = Dead) -> Use “Resurrect” -> (Ally with Dead)
   4. Tactic 4: (Ally HP < 70%) -> Use “Heal” -> (Ally with Lowest HP %)
   5. Tactic 5: (Self MP < 40%) -> Use “Meditate” -> (Self)
   6. Tactic 6: (Always) -> Use “Smite” -> (Random Enemy)
2. Tank Tactics (Example):
   1. Tactic 1: (Self Buff: Taunt = 0) -> Use “Taunt” -> (Self)
   2. Tactic 2: (Enemy Count > 2) -> Use “War Cry” -> (All Enemies)
   3. Tactic 3: (Always) -> Use “Bash” -> (Enemy with Highest Threat)
3. DPS Tactics (Example):
   1. Tactic 1: (Self Buff: Damage Up = 0) -> Use “Rage” -> (Self)
   2. Tactic 2: (Always) -> Use “Powerful Shot” -> (Enemy with Lowest HP)
   3. Tactic 3: (Always) -> Use “Basic Attack” -> (Enemy with Lowest HP)

Always set your DPS to focus on the “Enemy with Lowest HP” to kill targets one by one.

Quest Tip: Your main progression is clearing exploration zones. However, your real quest for farming is to maximize your Kills Per Minute (KPM) in your current zone. If a new, harder zone drops your KPM, it is often more efficient to keep farming the easier one.

Class Unlocks and Recommended Teams

Your team composition will change as you unlock new classes.

1. 3-Star Classes (Examples):
   1. Paladin (Guard + Priest): An amazing tank who can also heal.
   2. Berserker (Guard + Hunter): A powerful physical DPS who gets stronger at low health.
   3. Frost Mage (Mage + Priest): A great magical DPS who also provides crowd control.
2. Recommended Mid-Game Team (Levels 50-100):
   • Paladin (Tank): Set to taunt and self-heal at high HP.
   • Priest (Healer): Set to focus purely on healing and curing debuffs.
   • Frost Mage (Magical DPS): Set to use Area-of-Effect (AoE) spells.
   • Berserker (Physical DPS): Set to focus on the lowest HP enemy.
   • Assassin (Physical DPS): Set to focus on the lowest HP enemy.
3. End-Game Farming Teams: After many Rebirths, you will move to specialized “speed-farming” teams. These often involve 5 adventurers of the same powerful class, like 5x Dragon Knight or 5x Arcane Knight, to clear zones as fast as possible.

Survival Tip: “Threat” is the game’s aggro stat. If your DPS heroes deal too much damage too quickly, they will pull aggro from your tank. You must enchant “+% Threat” gear on your tank or use a Paladin’s “Holy Light” skill to manage this.

Stat Priorities for Enchanting

When you use Enchantment Scrolls, focus on these stats for each role.

• Tanks (Paladin, Guard):
  1. Vigor (Health)
  2. Tenacity (Defense)
  3. Agility (Dodge)
  4. Haste (Skill Speed)
• Healers (Priest):
  1. Spirit (Increases healing power)
  2. Haste (Lets you heal faster)
  3. Vigor (So they can survive)
• Physical DPS (Hunter, Berserker, Assassin):
  1. Strength
  2. Haste (More attacks = more damage)
  3. Attack Power
  4. Critical Hit
  5. Critical Damage
• Magical DPS (Mage, Frost Mage):
  1. Intelligence
  2. Haste (Lets you cast faster)
  3. Spell Power
  4. Critical Hit
  5. Critical Damage

Pro Tip: In the Adventurer’s Guild, you can Tag (or Lock) your main adventurers. This prevents you from accidentally dismissing them when you are clearing out your roster of low-potential recruits.

Conclusion: The Endless Adventure

At length, you now have the complete blueprint for success in Dragon Cliff. You know how to build your town, how to create a balanced team, and how to program their tactics for victory. You understand the vital importance of crafting, enchanting, and the long-term Rebirth strategy.

The game is a masterpiece of interlocking systems, designed to be played for hundreds of hours. Your journey starts with a single Guard and Priest, but it will end with an army of god-like heroes clearing dimensions. Now, get out there, recruit your team, and build your legend.