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MapleStory Kain Skill Build Guide

June 12, 2024

Kain is coming to GMS MapleStory on 22 June 2021 and this skill build will guide you through all the skills you need to get in order to maximize your damage using Kain! Kain is a Bowman class character in MapleStory that utilizes a new weapon called Whispershot. Kain was once part of a vicious organization that ruled Toolen City, where every new player choosing Kain will begin their MapleStory Adventure.

Kain Overview

Kain is a new Nova Bowman class that has a Malice gauge used for special Possession skills. The Malice Gauge will generate over time, as well as when using certain Kain skills. You can then use your Malice to enter Possession mode, which will enhance your main attacking skills for a short period. As you move into third and fourth job, you begin to use Execute skills. Whilst in Possession Mode, you'll generate marks on enemies and Execute Skills will convert those marks into buffs.

As a training class, Kain is everything you'd want in a modern-day MapleStory class. It has plenty of mobility, using Grappling Wire to jump to high platforms and Shadow Step for dodging enemy attacks and teleporting. It has plenty of lines and damage, as most new MapleStory classes give. Players who want to main Kain will need to get a good understanding of the Malice, Possession and Execute skills to maximize damage. When one-hitting, you'll likely only need to use Possession skills but when bossing being able to make use of your Death Blessings will be critical to your damage output.

Kain comes out on June 22 2021! In the meantime, why not check out our New MapleStory Class Preparation Guide to prepare for the release!

Check our our MapleStory Training Guide to help find the fastest maps to level up your characters.

  • Weapon: Whispershot
  • Job: Bowman
  • Class: Nova
  • Shared Cash Shop Inventory: Cadena, Kasier, Angelic Buster, Kain
  • Legion Block: +DEX (10/20/40/80/100)
  • Link Skill: Time To Prepare (+Gives 17% damage buff for 20 seconds after hitting mobs/bosses a number of times)
  • Primary Stat: DEX
  • Inner Ability:

Kain First Job Skill Build

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

  • Strike Arrow (+1), Shadow Swiftness (+1), Grappling Wire (+1)
  • Assassin (MAX)
  • Shadow Swiftness (MAX)
  • Strike Arrow (MAX)
  • Grappling Wire (MAX)
  • Shadow Step (MAX)
  • Ghost Walk (MAX)

In first job, Strike Arrow is your main attacking skill. Kain is very simple to play in first job, you don't have access to your Merit gauge yet. You get plenty of mobility; flash jump skill Shadow Swiftness is decent (not double flash jump), Grappling Wire can pull you up to platforms and Ghost Walk gives you a further passive boost to your movement stats. Assassin is a really good early damage buff, so maxing that out early will help.

Skill Description & Overview

Icon Skill Description Type
Strike Arrow Strike Arrow Lay down multi-arrow suppression fire. The arrows scatter fragments around enemies they hit, dealing additional damage to surrounding targets.Occasionally results in the manifestation of uncontrolled, wild Malice. Main Attack Skill
Assassin Assassin Power up to take care of the company's enemies. Passive Buff
Shadow Swiftness Shadow Swiftness Allows you to double-jump. Double Jump Skill
Shadow Step Shadow Step Flit unseen through the shadows. Use the arrow keys to move in any direction. This skill can be used while using other skills.You are Stealthed while using this skill, and cannot be hit. When using this skill on the ground, use it again to make a sudden stop. Movement Skill
Ghost Walk Ghost Walk Move more quickly and covertly. Passive Buff
Grappling Wire Grappling Wire Shoot a special Drakas-made wire mechanism, hooking it to an overhead platform, then use this skill again to move along the wire. Press the key skill again, while on the move, to cancel the skill. Use the skill in conjunction with an arrow key to fire at a 45-degree angle. If you use this skill in the air, you will hover briefly. If you don't use the wire after hooking it to a platform, it will disappear. Movement Skill

Kain Second Job Skill Build

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

  • Strike Arrow II (+1), Dragon Fang (+1),
  • Whispershot Mastery (5)
  • Whispershot Booster (6)
  • Strike Arrow II (MAX)
  • Whispershot Mastery (MAX)
  • Whispershot Booster (MAX)
  • Dragon Fang (MAX)
  • Scattered Shot (MAX)
  • Physical Training (MAX)

In second job, Kain gets its Malice Gauge. The gauge will generate 100 Malice and each time it hits 100 Malice, a Malice Stone is generated and stored. You also get a Possession skill by default, which allows you to use the Possess skill for Strike Arrow and Scattered Shot. These are enhanced skills that deal more damage; but can only be used when you have activated Possession.

You need to activate Possession each time you want to use a Possess skill. Every time you activate Possession it will consume 1 Malice Stone.

Once a Possess skill is used, Possession is deactivated, so you will need to keep this skill button close.

As you can see, keeping your Malice up and generating Malice Stones allows you to use more Possession skills. As you get into the later job advances, this becomes critical for damage up-keep.

As well as introducing the new Possession mechanic, you also get Dragon Fang; which generates orbs around you as you are attacking that fly towards mobs and deals damage. You also get your attack speed booster in Whispershot Booster.

Skill Description & Overview

Icon Skill Description Type
Strike Arrow II Strike Arrow II Follow up a Strike Arrow with additional suppression fire. After using Strike Arrow, you'll have a certain window to use this skill. Activates Arrow Fragments in the same way Strike Arrow does. Main Attack Skill
Whispershot Mastery Whispershot Mastery Increase Whispershot Mastery and Attack Power. Passive Buff
Whispershot Booster Whispershot Booster Consume MP to increase the attack speed of your Whispershot by 2 levels for a short time. Attack Speed Booster
Scattering Shot Scattering Shot Scatter arrows across a wide arc. Secondary Attack Skill
Physical Training Physical Training Your physical training grants you a permanent bonus to DEX. Passive Buff
Dragon Fang Dragon Fang Enticed by the scent of death, the fangs of the Devil Dragon materialize on the physical plane. Dragon Fang is summoned when Kain's direct skill attacks hit beyond a certain number, is unaffected by attack reflection, and targets the enemy with the highest max HP.It follows Kain, but disappears when changing maps. If it disappears in this manner while it still has time on the clock, that time will translate into fewer hits required to activate the skill again.Can be toggled On/Off. Toggle Skill

Kain Third Job Skill Build

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

  • Strike Arrow III (+1), Death's Blessing (+1),
  • Strike Arrow III (MAX)
  • Death's Blessing (MAX)
  • Nature Born Instinct (MAX)
  • Shaft Break (MAX)
  • Phantom Blade (MAX)
  • Tearing Knife (MAX)
  • Lasting Grudge (MAX)
  • Grinding (MAX)

Third job Kain introduces Execute skills. You have two Execute skills: Phantom Blade and Tearing Knife. When you add the passive skill Death's Blessing, you will start adding "marks" to mobs you attack with Possess skills. When you hit these mobs with Execute skills, you'll gain stackable buffs. Your skill rotation will consist of generating Merit with normal attack skills, use Possess skills to generate marks and then finally hit the mobs with Execute skills to get the damage buffs.

In third job, your main attacking skill Strike Arrow III gets upgraded. Shaft Break is a useful mobbing skill as it sucks mobs towards it, including from platforms above and below (it works even better as a Possess skill). Natural Born Instinct is a great passive buff, giving +20% Final Damage and the Grinding skill increases the damage of your second job skills.

Skill Description & Overview

Icon Skill Description Type
Strike Arrow III Strike Arrow III Follow up a Strike Arrow II with additional suppression fire. After using Strike Arrow II, you'll have a certain window to use this skill. Activates Arrow Fragments in the same way Strike Arrow does. Main Attack Skill
Shaft Break Shaft Break Fires piercing arrows, which then collapse together, pulling the enemies with them, and explode. The explosion is unaffected by attack reflection. Secondary Attack Skill
Natural Born Instinct Natural Born Instinct Awaken the innate, primal instinct of the Black Nova. Passive Buff
Lasting Grudge Lasting Grudge Materialized malice gathers and crystallizes. When Kain's direct skill attacks hit around the created crystal, it activates to attack enemies nearby, unaffected by attack reflection.Can be toggled On/Off Toggle Skill
Grinding Grinding Sharpen and hone yourself. Passive Buff
[Execute] Tearing Knife [Execute] Tearing Knife [Execute Skill] Stab the enemy with a sharp dagger, then rip it out for fatal damage. Defeating an enemy with [Execute] Tearing Knife resets the cooldown of Shadow Step. [Execute] Skill
[Execute] Phantom Blade [Execute] Phantom Blade [Execute Skill] Deploy the Whispershot's hidden blade to shank enemies in front of you. [Execute] Skill
Death's Blessing Death's Blessing Gives the blessing of death to enemies exposed to malice. Blessing is given to enemies hit by the death domain from Thanatos Descent and with certain attacks from among Possess Skills. When these enemies are attacked with Execute Skills, the blessing materializes to destroy the enemies from within. The merit from materializing the blessing temporarily enhances blessing of death and Execute Skills, and resets cooldown of Shadow Step.This skill negates attack ignore and attack reflection effects, and [Possess/Execute] Unseen Sniper isn't affected by the merit buff. Passive Buff

Kain Fourth Job Skill Build

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

  • Falling Dust (+1), Dogma (+1), Whispershot Mastery (+1)
  • Falling Dust (MAX)
  • Whispershot Mastery (MAX)
  • Dogma (MAX)
  • Adapt To Death (MAX)
  • Poison Needle (MAX)
  • Chain Sickle (MAX)
  • Advanced Death's Blessing (MAX)
  • Grinding II (MAX)
  • Nova Warrior (MAX)
  • Dragon Scale (MAX)
  • Nova Temperance (MAX)

In Fourth Job, you get two new Execute skills: Poison Needle and Chain Sickle. Both have cooldowns, so you will want to use them in accordance with your other Execute skills from third job to maximize stacking the blessings. Falling Dust is a great mobbing skills for fourth job and you get enhanced version of Possession and Advanced Death's Blessing.

You get lots of passive Final Damage with Dogma and Whispershot Mastery. Adapt To Death also gives damage boost and boss damage. Dragon Scale is an iframe that you can move around in for 3-4 seconds, whilst Nova Warrior and Nova Temperance are your two typical fourth job skills (+15% all stat and cleansing).

Skill Description & Overview

Icon Skill Description Type
Falling Dust Falling Dust Follow up a Strike Arrow II with additional suppression fire. After using Strike Arrow II, you'll have a certain window to use this skill. Activates Arrow Fragments in the same way Strike Arrow does. Main Attack Skill
Advanced Deaths Blessing Advanced Deaths Blessing Enhance Death's Blessing through deeper malice, and turn the enemy's pain and fear into your strength. Passive Buff
Grinding II Grinding II Sharpen and hone yourself even more, pushing perfection to its limits. Passive Buff
Dogma Dogma Formulate your own creed and overcome your limitations. Passive Buff
Whispershot Mastery Whispershot Mastery Increases Whispershot Mastery and Attack Power. Passive Buff
Adapt To Death Adapt To Death Adapt to death and fear. Passive Buff
[Execute] Chain Sickle [Execute] Chain Sickle [Execute Skill] Throw a chain sickle, which swings wide in front of you. Then grab the chain and swing it downward. The swinging attack manifest the effect of Death's Blessing. Defeating an enemy with [Execute] Chain Sickle will reset the cooldown of Shadow Step. [Execute] Skill
[Execute] Poison Needle [Execute] Poison Needle [Execute Skill] Slash the enemy to the front with a wide spin. Then somersault and shoot poison needles in all directions. When used in the air, you can float while shooting the poison needles. Not affected by Attack Speed increase buffs. The slashing attack will manifest the effect of Death's Blessing. Defeating an enemy with [Execute] Poison Needle will reset the cooldown of Shadow Step. [Execute] Skill
Dragon Scale Dragon Scale Gather Malice into a shield, nullifying all attacks. Become invincible upon use. Hold the key down to maintain that state and move. Not affected by cooldown reset. iFrame
Nova Warrior Nova Warrior Temporarily increase 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
Nova Temperance Nova Temperance Hone your resolve to ignore certain abnormal status effects. Immune to Abnormal Status for 3 sec after use. Buff

Kain 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.

  • Whispershot - Reinforce
  • Whispershot - Boss Rush
  • Execute - Reinforce
  • Execute - Enhance
  • Lasting Grudge - Reinforce
  • Chasing Shot
  • Incarnation
  • Unseen Sniper

Kain 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.

Kain's Nodes should include:

  • [Posess] Dragon Burst
  • Fatal Blitz
  • Thanatos Descent
  • Grip Of Agony
  • Trio: Strike Arrow, Dragon Fang, Shaft Break
  • Trio: Death's Blessing, Chain Sickle, Falling Dust
  • Trio: Phantom blade, scattering shot, [free]

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
  • Might Of the Nova
  • Grandis Goddess's Blessing
  • Guided Arrow

Skill Description & Overview

Icon Skill Description Type
Dragon Burst Dragon Burst Channel your intrinsic power through the Whispershot, then blast it forward. Possess Skill
Fatal Blitz Fatal Blitz Move rapidly, dealing fatal consecutive blows to the front. Execute Skill
Thanatos Descent Thanatos Descent Malice and death descend to the ground as you unite in spirit with Satiras the Devil Dragon. Attacking Buff Skill
Grip Of Agony Grip Of Agony Use the enemy's death throes as an offering to summon Satiras the Devil Dragon's Hand of Agony, which ignores attack reflection. Summon Skill

Changelog

21/06/2021 - Skill Icon Update

07/06/2021 - First update (draft)

Discussion

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What about trio nodes?
2
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What about hyper stats?
0
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Hyper Stats are between 4th & 5th Jobs.
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