DigitalTQ Logo DigitalTQ

MapleStory Hero Skill Build Guide

February 19, 2024

MapleStory Hero is a hard-hitting Warrior Explorer that was one of the first classes added to MapleStory. Hero is one of three different Explorer Warriors, and of the three it hits the hardest in terms of damage. Whilst it does do great damage, it is also one of the oldest classes in the game, so it is a very simple class to play with very few flashy skills. This makes it a great class for beginners of MapleStory, especially as Warrior's don't have to worry much about their HP.

Hero Overview

Hero's originally were one of the best classes when 4th job patch was first released. It overtook Dark Knight (also Dragon Knight from 3rd job) as one of the best damage dealers and it had decent mobbing skills compared to it's previous third job skills as a Crusader. Today the landscape looks a little different as MapleStory has over 40 different jobs and classes for players to choose from.

All Explorers got a major revamp in the Destiny V.233 Patch update, including Hero!

In terms of training, Hero's are now very good at mobbing since it's revamp. It is not the best mobbing class in the game, but it is now updated to be as good as some more modern MapleStory Classes, especially in the levels 1-200 before 5th job. Their main attack skill Raging Blow can hit up to 8 enemies, which sounds great, the problem is the hit box and range of the skill is very small. That being said, it does really good damage, so in worlds like Reboot where monster's have 5x the normal amount of HP, Hero's really excel. Hero's train best in small maps with platforms that are close together. When you get to 5th job, the skills enhance training by quite a lot.

Hero's are the best at bossing out of the three Warrior Explorers. They have tons of damage behind them, knockback resistant skills and 5th job adds in an i-frame for dodging 1-hit ko moves. As mentioned, the class is very simple to play, with very few skills you have to manage in order to be at your most lethal. Their 3rd 5th job skill Instinctual Combo adds a great burst move for dealing damage against binded bosses.

Explorer Warriors can job advance into either Dark Knight, Hero or Paladin.

  • Weapon: Two-Handed Weapon + Secondary
  • Job: Warrior
  • Class: Explorer
  • Shared Cash Shop Inventory: Explorer Jobs
  • Legion Block: +STR (10/20/40/80/100)
  • Link Skill: Invincible Belief (+restores you HP when your MAX HP falls below 15%)
  • Primary Stat: Str
  • Inner Ability: +1 Attack Speed
  • Job Advancements: Level 10 (1st), Level 30 (2nd), Level 60 (3rd), Level 100 (4th), Level 200 (5th)

Warrior First Job Skill Build

You can max all your skills in 1st job. Follow this skill build:

  • Slash Blast (+1), War Leap (+2)
  • War Leap (MAX)
  • Slash Blast (MAX)
  • Upward Charge (+1), Leap Attack (+1)
  • Warrior Mastery (MAX)
  • Upward Charge (MAX)
  • Leap Attack (MAX)
  • Iron Body (MAX)

First job Warriors use their Slash Blast mobbing skill to power through the early levels. War Leap is their Flash Jump skill and should be gotten to a decent level so that you can get around maps much faster for training. Iron Body and Warrior Mastery are both passive buffs.

With the revamped Explorer patch, you get two new skills for vertical mobility called Upward Charge and Leap Attack.

Skill Description & Overview

Icon Skill Description Type
Slash Blast Slash Blast Consumes MP to attack nearby enemies all at once. Main Attack Skill
War Leap War Leap Use while in the middle of a jump to jump even farther. The higher the skill level, the farther the jump. Flash Jump Skill
Upward Charge Upward Charge Charge through the air to attack the enemy. Can also be used by pressing the upward arrow key plus the attack key. Secondary Attack Skill
Leap Attack Leap Attack Ambush the enemy by rapidly dropping to ground from mid-air. Can only be used if there's a platform within range below you. Use along with a left or right arrow keys to drop yourself diagonally. Can also be used by pressing the downward and left or right arrow keys plus the attack key, instead of manually activating the skill. Secondary Attack Skill
Warrior Mastery Warrior Mastery Trains up your warrior basics to increase Movement Speed, Jump, Max HP, and Max Movement Speed. Also grants a chance to resist knockback. Passive Buff
Iron Body Iron Body Boosts DEF and Max HP by a set percentage, and decreases damage taken when hit by enemies. Passive Buff

Fighter Second Job Skill Build

You can max all your skills in 2nd job. Follow this skill build:

  • Brandish (+1), Combo Attack (+1), Flash Blade (+1)
  • Weapon Mastery (5)
  • Agile Arms (MAX)
  • Weapon Mastery (MAX)
  • Brandish (MAX)
  • Final Attack (MAX)
  • Spirit Blade (MAX)
  • Physical Training (MAX)
  • Flash Blade (MAX)

As you move into 2nd job, Fighter's get a decent mobbing skill called Brandish. Older players will recognize this as the old 4th job skill for Hero's.

After the Explorer Revamp patch, Rage skill gets replaced with Spirit Blade, which gives an attack power booster to you and party members. Flash Blade allows you to teleport diagonally around maps, so it's a good idea to put at least one point into this skill at the beginning.

Agile Arms is your Weapon Booster that increases attack speed. You will also get access to the Combo Attack system, which allows you to increase your damage based on the amount of combo orbs you have generated.

Skill Description & Overview

Icon Skill Description Type
Brandish Brandish Perform a double attack on enemies in front of you. Main Attack Skill
Combo Attack Combo Attack When activated, grants a chance to add each attack to the Combo Orb, up to 5. Using the skill activates the effect, and using the skill again deactivates it. Right-click to toggle the Combo Orb Effect Buff
Weapon Mastery Weapon Mastery Increase Sword and Axe Mastery and Attack Speed Passive Buff
Agile Arms Agile Arms Increases Attack Speed and Strength. Attack Speed Booster
Spirit Blade Spirit Blade The sword and the spirit are united to improve the Attack Power of party members including yourself for a short time, and reflect a multiple of the damage that you receive. Buff
Flash Blade Flash Blade Zip forward in a flash, cutting enemies in your path. Use the arrow keys to target enemies in any direction. Impervious to Knockback while casting. Secondary Attack Skill
Physical Training Physical Training Permanently increases STR and DEX through sheer physical training. Passive Buff
Final Attack Final Attack Chance to deliver an additional hit after a direct attack skill. Must have a sword or axe equipped. Passive Buff

Crusader Third Job Skill Build

You can max all your skills in 3rd job. Follow this skill build:

  • Intrepid Slash (+1), Combo Synergy (+1), Beam Blade (+1)
  • Intrepid Slash (MAX)
  • Combo Synergy (MAX)
  • Scarring Sword (MAX)
  • Chance Attack (MAX)
  • Beam Blade (MAX)
  • Self Recovery (MAX)
  • Rush (MAX)
  • Endure (MAX)

Crusader's upgrade their attack to Intrepid Slash. The skill has received a huge buff and upgrade since the Explorer Patch, making it great for mobbing, so you should be tearing through the levels.

Scarring Sword will leave a mark on enemies you hit and if you combine this skill with Chance Attack, it'll allow you to deal more damage. Beam Blade is a cooldown attack skill that you will want to throw into your rotations and Combo Synergy boosts your overall damage as you gain more orbs.

Rush isn't very useful as you have a decent flashjump to get around maps, so it's maxed close to last.

Skill Description & Overview

Icon Skill Description Type
Intrepid Slash Intrepid Slash Deal 3 consecutive attacks to multiple enemies in front of you. Main Attack Skill
Scarring Sword Scarring Sword Infuses the sword with spirit, which leaves an indelible scar on the enemy. Buff
Self Recovery Self Recovery Regularly recovers some HP and MP, even in combat. Passive Buff
Rush Rush Dashes forward and pushes back multiple monsters. Can be resisted by some monsters. Secondary Attack Skill
Beam Blade Beam Blade Launches out blades that tear your enemies apart. Use the arrow keys to attack in any direction. Cooldown Attack Skill
Endure Endure Enhances your Abnormal Status Resistance and Elemental Resistance. Passive Buff
Combo Synergy Combo Synergy Increases Final Damage for each combo orb and increases the chance to gain combo orbs. Passive Buff
Chance Attack Chance Attack Deals greater damage when attacking weakened enemies. Also, permanently increases Critical Rate. Passive Buff

Hero Fourth Job Skill Build

You can max all your skills in 4th job. Follow this skill build:

  • Raging Blow (+1), Combat Mastery (+1), Advanced Final Attack (+1)
  • Raging Blow (10)
  • Advanced Combo (10)
  • Combat mastery (10)
  • Enrage (10)
  • Raging Blow (MAX)
  • Combat Master (MAX)
  • Advanced Combo (MAX)
  • Enrage (MAX)
  • Advanced Final Attack (MAX)
  • Maple Warrior (MAX)
  • Puncture (MAX)
  • Power Stance (MAX)
  • Magic Crash (MAX)
  • Hero's Will (MAX)

With fourth job, Hero's get a lot of damage boosting passive skills. Both Advanced Combo and Enrage add extra Final Damage and you get to ignore a massive 50 IED with Combat Mastery. Raging Blow is your main attacking and mobbing skill, which has a lot better range than Intrepid Slash. Puncture is great for bossing to help increase damage of party members and Power Stance will help with knockback type moves.

Skill Description & Overview

Icon Skill Description Type
Raging Blow Raging Blow Deals consecutive blows to multiple enemies in front of you. The final blow will always be a critical. While you are Enraged, your single attacks are more powerful. Main Attack Skill
Puncture Puncture Leave a wound on your enemy that deals continuous damage for a short time. While taking continuous damage, the enemy will also take more critical damage. Also permanently increases Shout's damage. Single Target Attack Skill
Power Stance Power Stance Concentrates to hold your ground when struck, resisting knock-back effects permanently. Buff
Maple Warrior Maple Warrior Temporarily increases the stats of all party members. Does not stack with Maple Warrior, Call of Cygnus, Nova Warrior, Hero of the Flora, President's Orders, Anima Warrior, or Rhinne's Protection. Buff
Magic Crash Magic Crash Grants a chance to remove buffs from affected enemies and prevent them from casting new buffs.Debuffs: Attack Power & Magic ATT Increase, DEF Increase, Obsidian Skin. Buff
Hero's Will Hero's Will Hones your resolve to ignore certain abnormal status effects. Immune to Abnormal Status for 3 sec after use. Buff
Enrage Enrage Focuses on a specific enemy using a combo orb to deal increased damage. Consumes 1 combo orb.This skill can be toggled on and off with the skill key. Toggle Buff
Combat Mastery Combat Mastery Ignores a portion of a monster's defense while attacking. Passive Buff
Advanced Final Attack Advanced Final Attack Permanently increases Attack Power. Greatly increases the damage and activation rate of your Final Attack. Passive Buff
Advanced Combo Advanced Combo Increases the final damage dealt per combo orb and enables you to gain more orbs. Also grants a chance to gain orbs twice as quickly. Additionally increases mastery. Passive Buff

Hero 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.

  • Advanced Combo - Reinforce
  • Advanced Combo - Boss Rush
  • Advanced Final Attack - Opportunity
  • Raging Blow - Reinforce
  • Raging Blow - Extra Strike
  • Cry Valhalla
  • Rising Rage
  • Epic Adventure

Hero 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.

Hero's Nodes should include:

  • Burning Soul Blade
  • Worldreaver
  • Instinctual Combo
  • Sword Illusion
  • Trinode: Raging Blow, Rising Rage, Final Attack
  • Trinode: Beam Blade, Cry Valhalla, Puncture

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

  • Decent Holy Symbol
  • Decent Sharp Eyes
  • Decent Speed Infusion
  • Erda Nova
  • Rope Lift
  • Weapon Aura

Skill Description & Overview

Icon Skill Description Type
Burning Soul Blade Burning Soul Blade Conjures a burning soul blade to fight at your side. Attack Boost Skill
Worldreaver Worldreaver Unleashes a brutal slash that decimates all in sight. I-Frame / FMA
Instrinctual Combo Instrinctual Combo Tap into your subconscious abilities and use your power to its fullest potential. Increase the ability gained from the Combo Orb and allows you to leave a tear in space when Raging Blow is used. Burst Attack
Sword Illusion Sword Illusion Slice forward faster than the eye can see. Sword Illusion is unaffected by attack reflection. Cooldown Attack Skill

Changelog

06/09/2022 - Updated for Destiny V.233 Update

26/03/2021 - Added new 5th Job Skill from the Awake update.

27/10/2020 - First update

Discussion

User Icon
Tri-nodes for Hero here are way outdated, DO NOT USE this build for nodes!
1
User Icon
We will be doing a revamp of the Explorer Classes and previous class patch changes soon!
0
User Icon
Thanks so much for taking the time to update this guide for the Destiny patch!
0
User Icon

Aleph - Editor In Chief

Aleph is the main writer and programmer of DigitalTQ. His aim is to provide quality gaming guides, articles and news from the video game industry. We've been playing games since the 90s and are always on the lookout for new gems to play.

Twitter

Learn About Us