This part of the tutorial is meant to familiarize you with how to navigate DN outside of the duel, as well as with the site’s rules. It will include how to edit your profile, build your own deck, find and add friends, and host duels using the Rated Pool and the Unrated Section. By the end of this tutorial, it is assumed that you will be able to do the following:
- Build a deck and more efficiently search for specific cards
- Edit your user profile
- Host a Singles or Match game in both Rated and Unrated
- Change your password
- Add another user to your friends list
- Differentiate between regular users and admins
- Know the different categories of admins and what they do
So first, you register an account on the site…if you need me to tell you how to do that, you shouldn’t be on DN in the first place. I will also assume through the course of this tutorial that you have read the rulebook and at least know the basics of the game. This tutorial is not meant to hold your hand as you learn how to play Yu-Gi-Oh! without the use of an automatic program; this tutorial is meant to help you learn how to use DN to play the game.
Main Menu 
The main menu is the hub through which you navigate to the rest of DN, whether it’s the Duel Room or your profile.
Deck Constructor 
Obviously, you need a deck to play this game. It is in the Deck Constructor section that you will make your deck. In this tutorial, you will learn how to build your deck and efficiently search for cards.
So by looking at the screenshot, you can see quite a few different functions…anything from saving your deck to searching for cards, even bypassing the card limit so you can run 3 of any card you wish (useful for Unlimited Duels). These functions do what they say, so I won’t explain most of them. The “Save Deck As” function merits a little exploration, though.
Basically, this feature allows you to make a carbon copy of the deck you’re currently on. For example, the deck in the screenshot is one of my personal Dragon Ruler decks. This build is formatted to be able to play in the OCG, but it is illegal for TCG play because of Stardust Radiance Dragon. But this is readily fixable by using the “Save Deck As” function, which will allow me to save a different copy of this deck under a different name (for example, Dragon Ruler TCG). In THAT copy of the deck, I can easily replace Stardust Radiance Dragon with something TCG-legal, without affecting my OCG build at all.
In addition to that, the Deck Constructor menu has a Sort Cards feature. In the past, this used to be written plainly where the “Save Deck As” button is currently located, but it has since been changed to the AZ button on the left-hand side of the deck, right above the word “Deck” in the blue margin of the Main Deck. This automatically sorts your Monsters, Spells, and Traps in that order, and then within each category in alphabetical order. Extra Deck Monsters will be sorted such that Fusion Monsters are to the far left, Synchro Monsters are to the left of Xyz Monsters, and Xyz Monsters are to the far right.
As for searching cards, you can search by card names or parts of the card name (searching for “Blue-Eyes White Dragon” will get you results including Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon, while searching “Malefic” will get you results including Malefic in the name (Malefic Cyber End Dragon, Malefic World, etc.)). If you want to search by description, this is also fine as long as you use the Desc. search bar (example: searching “If this card destroys a monster” will get you a list of cards that have that as a trigger in their card effects). You can also filter cards by card type (Monster, Trap, Spell), Monster Type, Monster Attribute, Spell Type, Trap Type, ATK/DEF, Rank, Level, and even kind of monster (Synchro, Tuner, etc.).
There is also the limit search function, so if you just select 0, 1, or 2, you can search sets of cards that are Forbidden, Limited, and Semi-Limited respectively. And finally, we have the Alpha or New First organizational tool. Searching the database by “New First” will allow you to look at the cards most recently added to DN. Alpha searches the database in alphabetical order.
Duel Room 
Here is where you can either join or host games. You can also select a deck you’ve built to use here, and even set it to your default deck (trust me, this is very convenient). Rated games are selected via a pool system that factors players’ rating, experience, win/loss ratio, time spent waiting, and other factors. In the rated pool, you can restrict games between TCG, OCG, and DNCG (TCG/OCG); you can also restrict languages to either English or Spanish, and select between Singles and Match Format. If you win a rated Single or Match, you will gain rating, while if you lose a rated Single or Match, you will lose rating. If your opponent admitted defeat or if you admit defeat, you will gain experience.
The unrated section is what it sounds like, except you have a bit more say as to who you play. You can either join a game by clicking on the host’s game in the duel filter, or host a game by picking your format (Advanced/Traditional/Unlimited; Single/Match) and selecting “Host Duel”.
Speaking of the filter, you can select which games you can see by clicking either “Duel” or “Watch” in the Mode menu; if you have a valid deck, you will automatically enter the Duel Room in Duel mode, but can switch to Watch mode as needed. Watching a game is just like joining one; just switch to Watch mode and click the game you want to spectate. Alternatively, you can look up the name of one of the players in a game via the Profile Viewer and select “Watch Duel”.
Concerning Duel Notes: If you host a game with a Duel Note, be sure to follow the proper policy. This means avoid advertising, lurking, spamming, and generally offensive duel notes. The policy is laid out in black and white for you before you host your duel that has such a duel note; if you break the policy, don’t complain when you get a 1 day ban. Duel Notes are meant to state deck/format preferences, guide a certain player to your game…things like these.
My Profile 
Here is where you can edit your profile to say whatever you want (as long as it doesn’t break the rules) and edit your avatar and deck sleeves. Different avatars are unlocked as you win a set amount of rated games; different sleeves are unlocked as you gain a set amount of experience. If you donate or are an admin with 20 calls per day or more, you can have custom avatars and sleeves, which you can upload from your computer. These customs must be appropriate.
Profile Viewer 
Here is where you can look through your own and other players’ profiles. Use the search bar to find people by name. Rating, experience, and wins/losses/draws are all found here. Additionally, you can watch duels of online people from here, and can add people as a friend or delete them from your friends list. Friends will be at the top of your Online Users function in blue, above the admins. In the list, you will see different colors of admins, which signify the following:
- Green = regular admin (take calls, moderate chat, handle ban appeals, administer punishment)
- Silver = senior admin (all of above, IP checks)
- Orange = head admin (all of above, IP bans, recruit admins)
Rankings 
Here, you can see the top 200 ratings for wins in Single and Match rated, as well as those who have the most experience and wins on the site.
Change Password 
Here is where you can change your password. How you do so is self-explanatory.
Rules and Punishments http://forum.duelingnetwork.com/index.php?/cp/7-rules-and-punishments
Here is where you can find the various offenses you can be punished for, both in and out of a game. Needless to say, using common sense will make sure you do not go against any of these. If you have been banned, the vast majority of the time it is a just ban. If you feel that you were unfairly punished, you can appeal here: http://forum.duelingnetwork.com/index.php?app=contactus
Conclusion Hopefully with this, you are able to navigate DN outside of a duel. The next part of the tutorial will explain how to use DN to play Yu-Gi-Oh!, so be on the lookout for that.
Subject: How To Use DN Part 1: Navigating Outside the Duel Arena 
