Endgame raiding in DragonSword: Awakening punishes sloppy builds fast. You can have a fully leveled roster and still hit a wall if your gear sets are mismatched, your Karma is wrong, or your team has no one to trigger the status effects your main relies on. The builds below cover every available hero, with gear priorities, Karma picks, and team compositions built around fully awakened characters.
What stats should you target before building any hero?
Before touching individual hero builds, nail down the universal baseline. Aim for around 80% Critical Hit Chance and 150% Critical DMG across your roster. For substats, prioritize Additional Power, ATK Power Up, and DEF Ignore wherever possible. Those three substats do the most work regardless of which hero you're running.
The 3-piece Ruinsbreaker set shows up in almost every build on this list for exactly that reason. It provides the DEF Ignore foundation that makes your damage meaningful against raid-tier enemies. Pair it with a 2-piece elemental set that matches your hero's damage type and you have a functional endgame setup.
Hero builds and team compositions
The table below covers every currently finalized hero. Three heroes (Alex, Sion, and Tarte) are still being tested and will be updated as data firms up.
How does each damage archetype work?
Venom and Poison (Johnny and Charlotte)
Johnny is the game's main Venom DPS. His kit lets him close distance and swap targets freely, which means he stays on-field applying Poison consistently. The Venomfog Shade 2-piece pairs with Ruinsbreaker to amplify that Poison damage, and his Karma choice (Wandering Blade) keeps the pressure going between skill rotations. Charlotte flips the dynamic entirely: she lures enemies from the shadows and needs Johnny to maintain on-field Poison so her burst windows hit their ceiling. These two are purpose-built for each other.
Fire and Burn (Aria, Kalien, and Kalsion)
The Blazeflame trio runs differently from most of the roster. Aria is the enabler: she applies Burn and Airborne simultaneously, which makes her the best setup piece for both Reina and Kalsion. Kalien takes the Burn archetype further by managing Sur and a clone army to stack Burn quickly, then cashing out with Fox Grab and Finale for massive burst plus Stun. Kalsion is the heavy hitter of the three, dealing enhanced damage under Weapon Blaze, but he needs both an Airborne and Burn enabler to fire consistently. All three run 3-piece Blazing Flame as their primary set.
Johnny Venom DPS in action
Frost and Frostbite (Othello, Cerese, and Dana)
Cerese is the best Frost applier in the game, with multi-hit damage and strong crowd control for grouping enemies. Her one weakness is large bosses, where her long animations and Ice Storm can work against her. Othello is the Frostbite DPS who needs Frost stacked fast to trigger his biggest damage windows. His exclusive Karma compensates for limited Critical passives in his base kit. Dana plays a more flexible role: she deals Frost off-field, keeps enemies occupied with her familiar, and can provide party-wide shields after a well-timed deflect.
Bleed and Stun (Roxy, Theresia, and Astria)
This trio forms the backbone of Bloodlust and Amplitude teams. Roxy builds Bleed from all ranges with quick-trigger attacks, but she needs Stun to maximize damage, which is why Theresia and Astria are her natural partners. Theresia runs the same team as Roxy but takes the on-field DPS role herself, applying both Bleed and massive Stun. Astria trades mobility for damage, raining bolts to stack Stun and Break while teammates keep enemies locked down. Stacking Critical Rate is the priority for Astria above anything else.
Wind and Airborne (Reina and Eileen)
Reina is a single-target specialist who chains lengthy skill combos on Airborne enemies. Her Azure Gale 2-piece directly amplifies her Gale damage, and Aria is her best enabler for getting enemies into the air. Eileen supports the Airborne archetype from an offensive angle: she boosts movement speed and ATK for the party and deals solid crits herself as a quick-swap unit. Her gear setup is the most flexible on the roster, with either Ballad of Life or Ruinsbreaker working as the 2-piece depending on your team's needs.
Lightning (Ornette)
Ornette is a Thunderbolt powerhouse who can lead most compositions but reaches her ceiling in shock-focused teams. The Thunderrush 2-piece is mandatory. Lute works as a substitute partner when Sion and Tarte aren't available, since his healing and ATK boost keep Ornette's damage flowing without requiring a dedicated Shock support.
Ornette in a Thunderbolt team
What makes Lute and Tarte special?
Lute is one of only two healers in the game (alongside Tarte), which makes him a genuine wildcard pick for almost any team. His first Awaken node boosts party ATK, and he can slot into both Knockout and Stun compositions without disrupting their core mechanics. The Holy Arbiter 2-piece gives him the healing output to justify a spot, while Ruinsbreaker keeps his personal damage relevant. Running him as a flex pick in teams that lack a dedicated healer is almost always correct.
How do you get the Exclusive Karma items?
The Karma pieces listed above (like Wandering Blade for Johnny or Eternal Blizzard for Cerese) are Exclusive Karma items that require Fragments of Afterimage and Memory to obtain. Farming these materials is the main progression gate between a functional build and a fully optimized one. Prioritize farming those fragments for whichever hero you plan to main before worrying about perfect rune substats.
For a deeper look at how Karma, Leveling, Breakthrough, and Awakening systems interact, the hero upgrade guide breaks down every progression layer in detail.
Karma selection for each hero
Building the right team around your main
Most damage dealers on this list need at least one specific condition met to hit their damage ceiling: Airborne for Reina and Kalsion, Frost stacks for Othello, Poison on-field for Charlotte, Stun for Roxy. Before you finalize a team, identify what condition your main needs and confirm that at least one teammate can reliably apply it.
For a structured look at which heroes pair best across all archetypes, the best team compositions guide covers Bleed, Airborne, Stagger, and beginner-friendly setups in full. Pairing that with the character tier list gives you a clear picture of which heroes are worth investing in first.
All of our DragonSword: Awakening strategy content, including familiar unlocks, cooking recipes, and progression tips, lives in the DragonSword: Awakening guides collection.