MapleStory Dawn Warrior Skill Build Guide

Dawn Warrior is a Cygnus Knight class that uses one-handed and two-handed swords to drive their enemies back into the abyss. Originally released back in 2009, Dawn Warrior is now a fully-fledged MapleStory class with it's own unique 5th job skills that allow it to take on the toughest bosses in end-game MapleStory.

• Dawn Warrior Overview
• Dawn Warrior First Job Skill Build
• Dawn Warrior Second Job Skill Build
• Dawn Warrior Third Job Skill Build
• Dawn Warrior Fourth Job Skill Build
• Dawn Warrior Hyper Skill Build
• Dawn Warrior Fifth Job Skill Build
• Changelog

Dawn Warrior is a Warrior job, so their main stat is STR and they make use of either one-handed or two-handed swords depending on your preference. Most Dawn Warriors will use a Two-Handed Sword when they reach end-game as the damage is considerably more than using one-handed + a shield.

Dawn Warrior Overview

All Cygnus Knights were revamped as part of the 2022 update V.237 Ignition! They increased their damage skills, improve mobility and added in some new storylines for you to follow.

In June 2009, MapleStory GMS released the Cygnus Knight classes, which included Dawn Warrior. They were originally limited to level 120 only, and were more of a side-character than a main character class for MapleStory. All the jobs were similar to the Explorer classes, with Dawn Warrior being most like a Hero (or Crusader back in the day). Today, Dawn Warrior's are their own unique class that can be trained up to max level (current level 300 at the time of writing this guide!).

With Dawn Warrior, you'll burst through the first 200 levels of MapleStory with its great mobbing skills and high-damage output. Dawn Warrior uses a toggle system to change between two types of skills: Solar and Lunar. When you reach 4th job, these skills are combined, making the class very simple to play. You get lots of passive buffs along the way to 5th job, without too much change in how you play the class.

As you get to fifth job and beyond, you'll find training to be very fun as you have great mobbing and range on your slash attacks. It's a very simple class to play with very little buffs to micro-manage or keep up. They can train in both big and small maps, with small maps you're going to comfortably clear the entire map of mobs before they respawn!

The revamped Dawn Warrior is a lot better at bossing now, with plenty of i-frame skills, it's own Bind skill and the use of True Sight as a debuff makes them very valuable for bossing in parties. Their damage now scales up nicely with other classes and gone are the funky mechanics of old that you used to have to manage.

• Weapon: One-Handed / Two-Hand Sword
• Job: Warrior
• Class: Cygnus Knight
• Shared Cash Shop Inventory: Blaze Wizard, Wind Archer, Thunder Breaker, Dawn Warrior, Night Walker, Mihile
• Legion Block: + MAXHP (250/500/1000/2000/2500)
• Link Skill: Cygnus Blessing (Level 10: Attack Power: +25, Magic Attack Power: +25, Abnormal Status Resistance: +15, All Elemental Resistance: +15%)
• Primary Stat: STR
• Inner Ability: 20% Boss Damage

Dawn Warrior First Job Skill Build

You can max all of your skills in first job. Follow this build:

• Solar Slash (+1), Rising Sun (+1), Soul Element (+1)
• Solar Slash (MAX)
• Rising Sun (MAX)
• Soul Element (MAX)
• Soul of The Guardian (MAX)
• Inner Voice (MAX)

You get two different toggle skills; Rising Sun and Falling Moon. Depending on what toggle skill you are using, your main attacking skill changes from Solar Slash to Luna Divide.

Both skills are pretty great but you might find Solar Slash to be more useful since it attacks enemies directly in front of you.

Regarding the toggles: They affect your skills in different ways. Rising Sun gives you +5% Final Damage and +1 attack speed, whereas Falling Moon doubles your attacks but decreases your final damage by 51%

If you switch between your skills, you can benefit from gaining attack stacks that Soul Element provides. Each time your next attack is different from the last, you have a chance to gain an orb that creates an attack stack.

Soul Leap is your Flash Jump skill; you get two passives buffs with Inner Voice and Soul of the Guardian that increase HP, Speed and Knockback resistance.

Skill Description & Overview

Dawn Warrior Second Job Skill Build

You can max all of your skills in second job. Follow this build:

• Soul Speed (+1), Sword Mastery (+1), Celestial Vision (+1)
• Equinox Cycle (+1), Soul Blessing (+1)
• Celestial Vision (MAX)
• Sword Mastery (MAX)
• Divine Hand (MAX)
• Soul Blessing (MAX)
• Soul Speed (MAX)
• Physical Training (MAX)
• Cosmic Matter (MAX)

You're main attacking skills get upgraded with Celestial Vision in Dawn Warrior's second job.

Equinox Cycle allows you to constantly switch between the different toggle skills (Rising Sun and Falling Moon) automatically. This will allow you to gain the attack stacks from Soul Element, which is buffed by Soul Blessing.

You get a bunch of passive boosts, including Soul Speed which increases Attack Speed making Dawn Warrior skills incredibly fast now.

Divine Hand, Sword Mastery and Physical Training all add new passive stats.

Skill Description & Overview

Dawn Warrior Third Job Skill Build

You can max all of your skills in third job. Follow this build:

• Celestial Vision II (+1), Equinox Mastery (+1), Cosmic Shower (+1)
• Celestial Vision (MAX)
• Equinox Mastery (MAX)
• Cosmic Shower (MAX)
• Inner Shout (MAX)
• Will Of Steel (MAX)
• True Sight (MAX)
• Bluster (MAX)

In third job, your skills go through another round of damage upgrades with Celestial Vision II. Your Equinox Mastery toggle now is buffed more with +20% Final Damage and +20% Critical Rate when using Lunar skills.

You get a bunch of passive buffs with Inner Shout, Will Of Steel and Soul Blessing II gets upgraded again.

Cosmic Shower is more useful than the previous Cosmic skill; it provides an area of attack that will attack enemies for a decent length of time.

True Sight is really useful in bossing as it adds lots of debuffs on enemies, allowing for greater damage by you and party members. You won't use it much during Third Job, so leave that til last. Bluster is a simple rush skill.

Skill Description & Overview

Dawn Warrior Fourth Job Skill Build

You can max all of your skills in fourth job. Follow this build:

• Celestial Vision III (+1), Student of the Blade (+1), Master of the Sword (+1)
• Soul Blessing III (+1), Equinox Slash (+1), Cosmic Burst (+1)
• Celestial Vision (MAX)
• Master of the Sword (MAX)
• Student Of The Blade (MAX)
• Soul Pledge (MAX)
• Cosmic Burst (MAX)
• Call Of Cygnus (MAX)
• Soul Blessing III (MAX)
• Unpredictable (MAX)
• Cygnus Knight's Will (MAX)
• Equinox Slash (MAX)
• Impaling Rays (MAX)

4th Job Dawn Warrior is where you really start to shine. Your skills go through further upgrades with Celestial Vision III and Soul Blessing III.

You also get the Master of the Sword skill, which combines both effects of Rising Sun and Falling Moon where you really start to deal some solid damage.

Cosmic Burst is another toggle skill that will shoot out orbs and damage enemies around you as you attack.

Use Equinox Slash to teleport to platforms and Call of Cygnus is one the only buffs you have to really cast.

Skill Description & Overview

Dawn Warrior Hyper Skill Build

Hyper skills are available at level 140. You get Hyper Skill Points as you level towards 200, but not enough to max all the skills, so choose wisely. These skills mostly help increase the damage of your current skills.

• True Sight - Enhance
• True Sight - Guardbreak
• True Sight - Persist
• Cosmic Shower - Reinforce
• Divide and Slash - Reinforce
• Blazing Assault
• Glory Of The Guardians
• Cosmic Forge

Dawn Warrior Fifth Job Skill Build

Upon reaching level 200, you will now have access to the V Matrix, which acts as your new fifth job skills. Each class gets their own skills to use, along with boosting nodes to increase the damage of existing skills. To obtain new skills, you open up items called Nodestones, which drop from every mob in Arcane River. You have limited number of slots in your V Matrix, so you want to obtain perfect nodes for maximize your character's damage.

Check out the 5th Job V-Matrix Guide for more in-depth details about fifth job.

Dawn Warrior's Nodes should include:

• Cosmos
• Rift of Damnation
• Soul Eclipse
• Flare Slash
• Trio Node: Solar Slash, Cosmic Shower, Cosmic Burst

All 5th Job classes should try to also obtain these:

• Decent Holy Symbol
• Decent Sharp Eyes
• Decent Speed Infusion
• Erda Nova
• Rope Lift
• True Arachnid Reflection
• Weapon Aura
• Impenetrable Skin
• Empress Cygnus's Blessing
• Phalanx Charge

Skill Description & Overview

Changelog

26/03/2024 - Ignition Update

22/10/2021 - First update