Dawn Warrior is an easy and strong class to play for any stages in the game. Very simple skillset which makes it great for mobbing and also has a great support skill so you’ll be a welcome addition to any boss.
| Best in Slot | Main | Bossing Mule |
| BiS Weapon |  Genesis Two-Handed Sword |  /  Abso or Arcane Two Handed Sword |
| BiS Secondary |  Princess No’s Floral Jewel | Princess No’s Floral Jewel |
| Class | Warrior | |
| Shared Cash Shop | All Cygnus Knights | |
| Legion Effect | Flat Max HP +250/500/1000/2000/2500 | |
| Max Link Skill |  Cygnus Blessing – +25 Att/Matt + 15 Status Resistances | |
| Primary Stat | STR | |
| Secondary Stat | DEX | |
| BiS Inner Ability Top Line | +20% Boss Damage | +15-20% Boss Damage |
| Does it benefit from max Attack speed | Yes | |
| 2 min or 3 min burst type? | 3 min |
Dawn Warrior can reach max Attack Speed with Green Pot (Monster Park) and Decent Speed Infusion so you do not need +1 Attack Speed IA. You always want a Two Handed Sword no matter the situation so don’t get One Handed or a Shield.
The Basics of a Dawn Warrior 1st Job Skill Build
- Solar Slash (+1), Rising Sun (+1), Soul Element (+1)
- Inner Voice (MAX)
- Solar Slash (MAX)
- Rising Sun (MAX)
- Soul Element (MAX)
- Soul of The Guardian (MAX)
The Basics of a Dawn Warrior 1st Job Skill Explanation
For DW 1st job notable skills are Soul Element, Rising Sun/Falling Moon, and Solar Slash/Luna Divide.
Soul Element is a toggle skill that gives you a chance to get cosmic orbs while you use Solar Slash and Luna Divide. Very important to always have on.
Rising Sun and Falling Moon are toggles that change your attacks to be Solar or Luna attacks. For 1st job just use Rising Sun stance to mob until you get to 2nd job where you’ll get a skill that combines the toggles and you won’t have to worry about switching anymore.
Solar Slash and Luna Divide are your main mobbing and bossing skills forever. All your next core job skills will boost this skill so it will always be strong. To switch between Solar Slash and Luna Divide you’ll need to switch stances by changing the toggle to Rising Sun or Falling Moon.
For 1st job just use Rising Sun toggle and Solar Slash to mob until 2nd job.
| Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
 Rising Sun | Final Damage: +10%, Attack Speed: +1 Cannot be used at the same time as Falling Moon | Toggle Skill (Solar Stance) |
 Falling Moon | Number of Attacks for Skills: x2, Final Damage is decreased to 55% Number of attacks cannot exceed 15 Cannot be used at the same time as Rising Sun | Toggle Skill (Luna Stance) |
 Solar Slash | MP Cost: 12, Max Enemies Hit: 5, Damage: 150%, Number of Attacks: 2 | Main Mobbing and Bossing Skill (Solar stance) |
 Luna Divide | MP Cost: 12, Max Enemies Hit: 5, Moon Fragment Damage: 300%, Number of Attacks: 1 | Main Mobbing and Bossing Skill (Luna stance) |
 Soul Element | Max Cosmic Orb Stacks: 2, duration of all cosmic orbs reset upon creation When cosmic orb is created, Attack Power increases by 20 for 30 sec [Passive Effect: Ignore Enemy Defense: 10%] | Toggle On Skill (need this On in order to get cosmic orbs) |
 Soul of the Guardian | Max HP: +1500, Defense: +750, Knockback Resistance: +40% | Passive Buff |
 Inner Voice | Speed: +40, Jump: +20, Max Speed: +20 | Passive Buff |
 Soul Leap | MP Cost: 5. Allows you to jump a greater distance | Flash Jump Mobility Skill (can also up jump with Up+Jump key) |
Path of the Dawn Warrior 2nd Job Skill Build
- Equinox Cycle (+1), Soul Blessing (+1), Celestial Vision (+1)
- Sword Mastery (+5), Soul Speed (+1)
- Celestial Vision (MAX)
- Equinox Cycle (MAX)
- Sword Mastery (MAX)
- Divine Hand (MAX)
- Soul Blessing (MAX)
- Physical Training (MAX)
- Soul Speed (MAX)
- Cosmic Matter (MAX)
Path of the Dawn Warrior 2nd Job Skill Explanation
2nd job DW is where you’ll get an important toggle skill called Equinox Cycle.
Equinox Cycle is a toggle skill that automatically changes your stance after each attack. You’ll alway want to have this on for the best damage up time. Eventually you’ll get a skill that combines the passive buffs of each stance into one so you don’t have to think about using one over the other.
Cosmic Matter is the 1st skill you get that uses cosmic orbs and it can be ok to use in 2nd job but since it is not used at all after 2nd job I wouldn’t keep it on a keybind or use it.
You’ll be using 1st job Solar Slash/Luna Divide as your mobbing and bossing skill forever.
| Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
 Celestial Vision | Solar Slash – MP Cost: 14, Max Enemies Hit: 6, Damage: 150%, Number of Attacks: 4 Luna Divide – MP Cost: 14, Max Enemies Hit: 6, Moon Fragment Damage: 190%, Number of Attacks: 3 | Passive Buff |
 Cosmic Matter | MP Cost: 25, consumes all cosmic orbs and launches a dark matter Dark Matter – Max Enemies Pierced: 8, Damage: 160%, Number of Attacks: 2 Upon exploding, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Damage: 220%, Number of Attacks: 3 Dark Matter Damage per Cosmic Orb Consumed: +20% pointsCooldown: 15 sec | 2nd Job Secondary Mobbing Skill (not used after 2nd job) |
 Equinox Cycle | MP Cost: 35, changes stance every time Solar/Luna skills are used Rising Sun – Final Damage: +15%, Attack Speed: +1 Falling Moon – Critical Rate: +15%, Number of Attacks for Skills: x2, Final Damage is decreased to 60% Number of attacks cannot exceed 15 | Toggle On Skill (can only turn on after you have the Rising Sun/Falling Moon Toggle on) (make sure to always have this on) |
 Soul Blessing | Soul Element Cosmic Orb Creation Chance: 15%, Max Stacks: +1 When cosmic orb is created, Bonus Attack Power: +15 | Passive Buff |
 Soul Speed | Attack Speed: +2, STR: +20 | Passive Buff |
 Divine Hand | Attack Power +20 | Passive Buff |
 Sword Mastery | One-handed and Two-handed Sword Mastery: +50% | Passive Buff |
 Physical Training | Permanently increases STR by 40 and DEX by 20 | Passive Buff |
Dawn Warrior’s Guide 3rd Job Skill Build
- Celestial Vision II (+1), Equinox Mastery (+1), Cosmic Shower (+1), Bluster/Flicker (+1)
- Celestial Vision II (MAX)
- Equinox Mastery (MAX)
- Cosmic Shower (MAX)
- Inner Shout (MAX)
- Will Of Steel (MAX)
- True Sight (MAX)
- Bluster (MAX)
Dawn Warrior’s Guide 3rd Job Skill Build Explanation
DW 3rd job notable skills are Cosmic Shower, Bluster/Flicker, and True Sight.
Cosmic Shower is a great summon skill that uses cosmic orbs and will continuously attack the area it’s placed for a set amount of time. Duration increases the more cosmic orbs are used but shouldn’t matter while training or bossing.
Bluster/Flicker is a rush skill that helps you quickly move horizontally on the ground. Changes depending on the stance but they do the exact same thing so it doesn’t matter what stance you are in.
True Sight is a debuff skill that will reduce enemy defense and increase the amount of final damage you do to the enemy. Very important skill while bossing for you and your party. Make sure the debuff is always active which should be easy since this skill has no cooldown.
| Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
 Celestial Vision II | Solar Slash – MP Cost: 19, Max Enemies Hit: 6, Damage: 225%, Number of Attacks: 5 Luna Divide – MP Cost: 19, Max Enemies Hit: 6, Moon Fragment Damage: 180%, Number of Attacks: 5 | Passive Buff |
 Cosmic Shower | MP Cost: 45, consumes all cosmic orbs to create meteor shower zone Meteor Shower Zone – Duration: 45 sec, Max Enemies Hit: 6, Damage: 210%, Number of Attacks: 3 Meteor Shower Duration per Cosmic Orb Consumed: +3 sec Damage Against Normal Enemies: +50% Cooldown: 30 sec | Active Summon Skill (longer duration the more cosmic orbs consumed but don’t go out of your way to maximize since it has a short cooldown) |
 Bluster | MP Cost: 20, Max Enemies Hit: 7, Damage: 170%, Number of Attacks: 2 while moving | Rush Skill (can only be used on the ground) |
 Flicker | MP Cost: 20, Max Enemies Hit: 7, Damage: 170%, Number of Attacks: 2 while moving | Rush Skill (can only be used on the ground) |
 True Sight | MP Cost: 50, Success Rate: 100%, Enemy DEF in Range: -10%, Max Enemies: 10, Duration: 30 sec, final damage the enemy receives increased by 5% | Active Debuff Skill (super important in bossing and why you’ll be wanted in party bossing) |
 Soul Blessing II | Soul Element Cosmic Orb Creation Chance: 15%, Max Stacks: +1 When cosmic orb is created, Bonus Attack Power: +15 | Passive Buff |
 Equinox Mastery | Rising Sun – Final Damage: +20%, Attack Speed: +1 Falling Moon – Critical Rate: +20%, Number of Attacks for Skills: x2, Final Damage is decreased to 75% Number of attacks cannot exceed 15 | Passive Buff |
 Will of Steel | Abnormal Status Resistance: +30, Elemental Resistance: +30%, Damage Intake: -25%, Recovers 5% of your Max HP every 4 sec | Passive Buff |
 Inner Shout | Attack Power: +30, STR: +40 | Passive Buff |
Completion of the Dawn Warrior 4th Job Skill Build
- Celestial Vision III (+1), Cosmic Burst (+1), Master of the Sword (+1), Soul Blessing III (+1), Equinox Slash (+1)
- Master of the Sword (MAX)
- Celestial Vision III (MAX)
- Soul Pledge (MAX)
- Student Of The Blade (MAX)
- Cosmic Burst (MAX)
- Soul Blessing III (MAX)
- Call Of Cygnus (MAX)
- Unpredictable (MAX)
- Equinox Slash (MAX)
- Impaling Rays (MAX)
- Cygnus Knight’s Will (MAX)
Completion of the Dawn Warrior 4th Job Skill Explanation
DW 4th job notable skills are Cosmic Burst, Impaling Rays, Equinox Slash, and Master of the Sword.
Cosmic Burst is a skill that releases your cosmic orbs to attack nearby enemies. Right Click the skill in the skill window so that it will activate the skill automatically when you have maximum cosmic orbs. Highly recommend you make this automatic so that you have less things to think about.
Impaling Rays is your bind skill. When used it will stun/bind an enemy for 10 secs. Mainly used for bossing right before you do your big burst.
Equinox Slash is one of your best mobility skills. It is an instant dash skill that has the effect of a teleport. So you’ll be able to pass through stuff like Phase 1 Lotus lasers using this skill.
Master of the Sword is a passive skill that combines the effects of both Rising Sun and Falling Moon together while Equinox Cycle is active. Makes it more important that you always have Equinox Cycle on.
| Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
 Call of Cygnus | MP Cost: 70, Increases all stats assigned APs by 15% for 900 sec | Active Buff for stats |
 Cygnus Knights’ Will | MP Cost: 30, Cooldown: 300 sec | Active Skill that clears status effects |
 Celestial Vision III | Solar Slash – MP Cost: 24, Max Enemies Hit: 7, Damage: 485%, Number of Attacks: 6 Luna Divide – MP Cost: 24, Max Enemies Hit: 7, Moon Fragment Damage: 485%, Number of Attacks: 6 | Passive Buff |
 Cosmic Burst | MP Cost: 50, releases cosmic orb by consuming all cosmic orbs Each of the released cosmic orbs targets 1 enemy, Damage: 400%, Number of Attacks: 4 If a single enemy gets hit with several cosmic orbs, Final Damage is decreased by 30% starting with the second orb Cooldown per Cosmic Orb Consumed: -1 sec Cooldown: 15 sec [Passive Effect: Cosmic Shower Damage: +60% points] | Active/Passive Skill (if you right click the skill it will trigger on its own after you reach max orbs) (make it automatic so that you can focus on boss or have one less button to press while training) |
 Equinox Slash | MP Cost: 100, Damage: 240%, Number of Attacks: 6, Max Enemies Hit: 7 Cooldown: 5 sec | Dash/Teleport Skill (can be used in the air and while dashing you pass through things like a teleport) |
 Impaling Rays | MP Cost: 100, Max Enemies Hit: 15, Damage: 500%, Number of Attacks: 3, Chance to Incapacitate: 100%, Incapacitate Duration: 10 sec Stun Duration: +100% depending on damage inflicted with Impaling Rays After debuff, Bonus Damage: 300%, Number of Attacks: 3 Cooldown: 180 sec | Active Bind Skill |
 Soul Blessing III | Soul Element Cosmic Orb Creation Chance: 20%, Max Stacks: +1 When cosmic orb is created, Bonus Final Damage: +10% | Passive Buff |
 Soul Pledge | All Stats: +30, Critical Rate: +10%, Power Stance Chance: +60% | Passive Buff |
 Student of the Blade | One-handed and Two-handed Sword Mastery: +70%, Attack Power: +50, Critical Damage: +12% | Passive Buff |
 Unpredictable | Monster DEF ignored: 30%, When attacking Boss Monster – Damage: +15% | Passive Buff |
 Master of the Sword | Applies the effect of Rising Sun and Falling Moon at the same time during Equinox Cycle Rising Sun – Final Damage: +25%, Attack Speed: +2 Falling Moon – Critical Rate: +35%, Number of Attacks for Skills: x2, Final Damage is decreased to 90% Number of attacks cannot exceed 15 | Passive Skill |
Dawn Warrior Hyper Skill Build
DW has 2 different hyper skill builds, one for bossing and one for training. The main difference being True Sight. Since you’ll never use it while mobbing/training you’ll switch those out for ones that help your mobbing skills do more damage.
While solo or party bossing, make sure to have the bossing passives on since it is a big increase in damage for you and your party.
Bossing Passives
True Sight – Persist- True Sight – Enhance
- True Sight – Guardbreak
- Cosmic Shower/Burst – Reinforce
- Divide and Slash – Reinforce
True Sight – Persist
True Sight – Enhance
True Sight – Guardbreak
Cosmic Shower/Burst – Reinforce
Divide and Slash – ReinforceTraining Passives
- Cosmic Shower/Burst – Reinforce
- Cosmic Burst – Guardbreak
- Cosmic Shower – Persist
- Divide and Slash – Reinforce
- Divide and Slash – Spread
Cosmic Shower/Burst – Reinforce
Cosmic Burst – Guardbreak
Cosmic Shower – Persist
Divide and Slash – Reinforce
Divide and Slash – SpreadActives
- Blazing Assault/Luster Charge
- Glory of the Guardians
- Cosmic Forge
Blazing Assault/Luster Charge
Glory of the Guardians
Cosmic ForgeBlazing Assault/Luster Charge is an I-Frame dash skill. You’ll get 2 uses out of the skill and each dash will be an I-Frame. After you use the 1st dash you have 5 seconds to use the next one or it will go on cooldown.
Glory of the Guardians is an active buff mainly used for bursting.
Cosmic Forge is part of your big burst setup and gives you more orbs plus more damage for a duration.
If you’re making a boss mule I would stick with the Bossing Passives and switch out True Sight – Persist for Divide and Slash – Guardbreak if you can keep 100% uptime on True Sight (30 sec duration). Otherwise I’d stick with True Sight – Persist since with this passive you won’t have to recast True Sight in the middle of your burst.
Dawn Warrior 5th Job Skills
When you reach level 200 you’ll get access to your V Matrix and new 5th job skills. The best way to level them up is through Nodestones and Experience nodes. Dawn Warrior V Skills are in order of importance are Rift of Damnation, Cosmos, Flare Slash, Soul Eclipse.
Dawn Warrior 5th Job Skill Explanation
| Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
 Rift of Damnation | MP Cost: 1000, creates max cosmic orbs upon use, Styx Crossing can be used for 40 sec Styx Crossing – Max Enemies Hit: 15, Damage: 830%, Number of Attacks: 5, Number of Chase Cuts: 5 Additional Ignore Enemy Defense: +20%, creates max cosmic orbs, changes stance with Equinox Cycle Attacking with Styx Crossing cuts space to leave a rift for 10 sec Rift – Gradually grows when it’s attacked by Styx Crossing and in the end, Max Enemies Hit: 15, Damage: 1150%, Number of Attacks: 6, Number of Explosions: 5 More than 2 rifts cannot be created at the same Rift can be created again in 5 sec after exploding Rift disappears and explodes immediately when duration ends but damage is decreased Cooldown: 180 sec | Big Burst Skill (also good for mobbing)(changes your attacks so that it is a giant purple sword that has a big hitbox and more damage) |
 Soul Eclipse | MP Cost: 1000, creates an eclipse, attacking up to15 enemies 7 time(s), dealing 990% damage 40 times consecutively Invincible during casting Equinox Divide: The eclipse dissipates, triggering explosions 5 time(s) at a certain interval Max Enemies Hit: 15, Damage: 2750%, Number of Attacks: 15 Invincible while casting If you use in the air, you can use it while using an attack skill in mid-air Cooldown: 180 sec | Full Map Attack Skill and I-Frame (great for mobbing and bossing) (pop this skill while mobbing and you can basically just chill for a bit while it is going) (you must recast again to get the I-Frame effect and does big damage once you do) |
 Flare Slash | MP Cost: 80, Max Enemies Hit: 10 , Damage: 1210%, Number of Attacks: 7 Cooldown: 12 sec, reduced by 0.8 sec when changing stance with Equinox Cycle and reduced by 1.5x when Styx Crossing hits | Passive Skill (auto activates while attacking in stances and gets a shorter cooldown as you switch stances) |
 Cosmos | MP Cost: 500, consumes all cosmic orbs to unleash the galaxy Galaxy Unleash: periodically deals 990% damage 5 times up to 12 enemies for 15 sec Attack interval decreases per cosmic orb consumed Cooldown: 90 sec | Mini Burst Skill (creates a galaxy around and deals damage periodically) |
Dawn Warrior Perfect Trio Nodes
In the V Matrix you’ll also have Boost Nodes. They are there to level up your 1st – 4th job skills past their initial cap. You’ll want to level up the most useful skills for your class and those will form your perfect trios.
For Dawn Warrior these are the perfect nodes you’ll want to look for,
| Primary Node |
 Solar Slash and Luna Divide |
 Cosmic Burst |
 Cosmic Shower |
Whether you’re making a boss mule or a main this is the only trio that you need.
An explanation of perfect trios and full list of all classes and their perfect trio nodes here.
All Useful 5th Job Skills for Dawn Warrior
These are all the skills you’ll need to get the most out of Dawn Warrior. Any other skills are not useful and can be disassembled.
Do not level up your Decent skills past level 1 unless you’re at the end game and min/maxing to get an extra 5 stat at max level. At level 1 all your decent skills have 100% uptime since the duration will be longer than the cooldown. Holy Symbol is the only exception since you’ll get more exp and drop rate as you level it.
 Decent Sharp Eyes |
 Decent Combat Orders |
 Decent Speed Infusion |
 Weapon Aura |
 Empress Cygnus’s Blessing |
 Decent Holy Symbol |
 Erda Nova |
 Blink |
 Decent Advanced Blessing |
 Will Of Erda |
 Erda Shower |
 Phalanx Charge |
 Impenetrable Skin |
 Rope Lift |
 True Arachnid Reflection (Obtained from Will boss) |
 Solar Crest (Obtained from Seren boss) |
The ones that are underlined and bolded are not necessary if making a boss mule.
Dawn Warrior 5th Job V Matrix Node Slot Priority
This is the order of what skills you should equip first,
- Boost Node, Level 1 Decent Sharp Eyes, Level 1 Decent Speed Infusion, Rift of Damnation
- Cosmos, Decent Holy Symbol
- Soul Eclipse, Flare Slash
- Weapon Aura, Empress Cygnus’s Blessing, Level 1 Decent Combat Orders
Maxing the skills in this order (except decents) is also ideal for bossing but if you want to get better training rates I would suggest putting more focus on Boost Nodes, Decent Holy Symbol, and Erda Shower.
Dawn Warrior 6th Job HEXA Skills
The HEXA matrix is split up into Skill Node (6th job Origin skill), Mastery Node (enhances 4th job skills), Boost Node (5th job enhancement), and Common Node (Job specific skills)
You’ll get your 1st Origin skill for free once you finish the quest line and the rest you’ll have to unlock yourself. Link to a Guide for HEXA Matrix so that you’ll have the best start possible.
| Node Type | Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
| Skill Node |  Astral Blitz | MP Cost: 1200, invincible during casting Chase Cut occurs 48 times which attack up to 15 enemies with 2100% damage 5 times After that, triggers 24 Big Bang that attack up to 15 enemies for 2062% damage 7 times Increases final damage by 10% for 20 seconds when used Cooldown: 360 sec | Big Bind and Burst Skill (This is your Origin skill which binds the boss and gives a big buff to your skills for a duration) (This bind is different than a regular bind (erda nova) which means you can use your regular bind right after your Origin bind |
| Mastery Node |  /  HEXA Solar Slash / HEXA Luna Divide | MP Cost: 35, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Damage: 830%, Number of Attacks: 6 | Passive Boost to Your Main Bossing and Mobbing Skill |
| Boost Node |  Cosmos | Cosmos Final Damage: +60% | Passive Damage Boost to Skill |
| Boost Node |  Rift of Damnation | Rift of Damnation Final Damage: +60% | Passive Damage Boost to Skill |
| Boost Node |  Soul Eclipse | Soul Eclipse Final Damage: +60% | Passive Damage Boost to Skill |
| Boost Node |  Flare Slash | Flare Slash Final Damage: +60% | Passive Damage Boost to Skill |
6th Job Dawn Warrior HEXA Skill Priority
When starting your HEXA Matrix you’ll want to unlock everything then start putting focus on depending on if you’re a solo progression player or a party player.
If you’re a party player you’ll want to focus on your burst and getting that as high as possible. Especially important in late/end game bosses. For DW you’ll want to prio Astral Blitz and HEXA Solar Slash/Luna Divide.
If you’re a solo progression player there are infographics online and in the Dawn Warrior discord that you can follow.
6th Job Dawn Warrior HEXA Stat Priority
For Dawn Warrior, your 1st HEXA stat node, you’ll want
- Main Stat: Attack
- Additional Stat: STAT
- Additional Stat: Critical Damage
HEXA stat is an RNG type system and it doesn’t matter what you get in the beginning since it is not worth it to reroll until your entire 6th job is maxed. Once it gets to level 20 leave it there and no matter what you got it would still be at least a 2-3% FD gain.
Ideally, you want 10/10/0 but that is very costly and you shouldn’t try to go for unless you have an excess of fragments or everything is done.