Starting your adventure in Solo Leveling Arise? This beginner guide will set you on the right path to become a powerful Hunter right from the start. We’ll cover everything from initial rerolling strategies to stat allocation, equipment, skills, and navigating the various game modes. Let’s dive in and ensure you have the best possible start in the world of Solo Leveling Arise.
Getting Started and Early Progression
Rerolling for the Best Start
When you first launch Solo Leveling Arise, you’ll have the option to reroll your initial summons. Rerolling is highly recommended for new players as it allows you to begin with a significant advantage by securing top-tier Hunters and powerful weapons. The initial tutorial is quick to complete, making the reroll process efficient.
Your primary goal when rerolling should be to obtain the current featured pick-up Hunter. Beyond that, focus on acquiring Seo Jiwoo and Emma Laurent. Min Byung-Gu is another excellent choice, offering versatile support for any team composition. For weapons, since you receive the Scythe for free, prioritize weapons that synergize well with it, such as the Demonic Plum Flower Sword and Thethis’ Grimoire.
Here are the recommended Hunters to aim for during your reroll process:
And here are the suggested weapons to enhance your early game:
Demonic Plum Flower Sword: SSR Dark Weapon for Sung Jinwoo
Demonic Plum Flower Sword Weapon Details:
Rarity: SSR
Element: Dark
Type: Sung Jinwoo
Weapon Skills & Effects:
After using Plum Flower: Swift Flight, applies the [Plum Flower] effect, increasing Critical Hit damage by 12% (stacking up to 3 times, infinite duration). A successful Dash followed by Plum Flower: Swift Flight grants [Full Bloom], boosting Plum Flower: Swift Flight speed by 20%, Attack by 4%, and Critical Hit Rate by 4% for 8 seconds.
Enhancement Bonuses:
- ✦✧✧✧✧: Sheathing after Plum Flower: Swift Flight applies [Amplifying Draw], increasing the chance of a Critical Hit on the next attack by 32% and skill damage by 32% for 3 seconds.
- ✦✦✧✧✧: Increases Dark damage by 10%.
- ✦✦✦✧✧: Dash extends [Amplifying Draw] duration to 5 seconds and additionally increases Critical Hit damage by 32%.
- ✦✦✦✦✧: Reduces Plum Flower: Swift Flight cooldown by 20%.
- ✦✦✦✦✦: Adds [Plum Flower] effect, increases Dark damage by 5%, and applies 2 stacks of [Plum Flower] at stage entry (stacking up to 5 times).
Thethis’ Grimoire: SSR Water Weapon for Sung Jinwoo
Thethis’ Grimoire Weapon Details:
Rarity: SSR
Element: Water
Type: Sung Jinwoo
Weapon Skills & Effects:
Water Spray has a 100% chance to inflict [Cold Ice] on hit, interrupting the target and dealing additional damage equal to 10% of damage taken during the 4-second duration when the effect ends.
Enhancement Bonuses:
- ✦✧✧✧✧: Applies [Deep Erosion] to targets with [Cold Ice], increasing Weakness damage taken by 24% for 15 seconds.
- ✦✦✧✧✧: Increases Water damage by 10%.
- ✦✦✦✧✧: When [Cold Ice] ends, increases user’s additional damage to 20%.
- ✦✦✦✦✧: Reduces Water Spray cooldown by 20%.
- ✦✦✦✦✦: Increases damage dealt to [Frozen] targets by 50%.
For a more detailed guide on the reroll process, check out our dedicated reroll guide:
Solo Leveling Arise Reroll Guide
Early Game Progression: Story Mode and Resource Management
After securing a strong starting team through rerolling, your next focus should be progressing through Story Mode. Push as far as you can to unlock game content and gather essential resources. Don’t worry about completing all missions in each stage immediately, especially speedrun challenges. You can always revisit them later when your team is stronger.
Story Mode is a fantastic source of Summoning Tickets. It’s crucial to avoid spending your Essences (premium currency) on the Standard Banner. Reserve your Essences for Rate-Up banners to maximize your chances of obtaining featured Hunters and weapons.
Gold Management: A Critical Early Bottleneck
Gold is a scarce resource in the early stages of Solo Leveling Arise. Efficient gold management is essential for progression. Concentrate your resources on upgrading only a select few Hunters and weapons. Upgrading in Solo Leveling Arise consumes significant amounts of Gold.
Refer to our Hunter and Weapon Tier Lists to make informed decisions about which characters and armaments are worth investing in:
Solo Leveling Arise Hunter Tier List
Solo Leveling Arise Weapon Tier List
SR weapons are incredibly valuable in early to mid-game progression. They are easier to obtain duplicates of, allowing for faster enhancement and significant power boosts. Don’t underestimate lower rarity weapons, and avoid dismantling them early on. Focus on developing Light and Dark weapons for Sung Jinwoo, as they will be crucial for tackling challenging story stages and farming artifacts efficiently.
Stat Allocation for Sung Jinwoo
Proper stat allocation for Sung Jinwoo is crucial for maximizing his combat effectiveness. Not all stats are created equal, and focusing on the right ones will significantly impact your gameplay.
Prioritize Strength (STR) and Perception stats. These stats are universally beneficial, regardless of your chosen weapon. The amount of Perception needed is somewhat dependent on weapon duplicates, as duplicates enhance Precision, which influences the minimum damage you deal. A maxed-out SSR weapon provides 4000 Precision (2000 from the first dupe, 500 thereafter), while a maxed SR weapon offers 2000 Precision.
A good starting point is a 4:1 STR/Perception stat distribution. As you acquire more weapon duplicates and increase your Precision, you can respec your stats to invest further into Strength for increased damage output.
Equipment and Artifacts
Equipment in Solo Leveling Arise is categorized into two groups: left-side and right-side gear.
- Left-side equipment (Helmets, Gloves, Chest, Boots) is obtained from Gates and Encore Missions.
- Right-side equipment (Necklace, Bracelets, Rings, Earrings), also known as Accessories, is farmed from Instance Dungeons.
Equipment stats are divided into main stats and sub-stats.
- Left-side gear main stats: Helmets can have ATK, DEF, or HP (additional or percentage-based). Gloves and Chest pieces always provide additional DEF. Gloves always provide additional ATK. Boots can have Crit Damage, Defense Penetration, Healing Given Increase %, Defense %, or HP %.
- Right-side gear main stats: Necklaces always give additional HP. Bracelets increase elemental damage %. Rings can have ATK, HP, or DEF (additional or percentage-based). Earrings always give additional MP.
In the early game, avoid upgrading gear beyond +5. Focus on acquiring purple (Rare) or higher rarity gear as quickly as possible. While sub-stats are beneficial, prioritize obtaining equipment with the correct main stats first. Then, gradually replace pieces as you find gear with better sub-stats. Percentage-based stat increases become more potent in the later game as your base stats grow, while flat increases are highly effective for early progression.
For many Hunters, simply stacking their preferred primary stat early on is sufficient to clear the initial tiers of Encore Missions.
For Sung Jinwoo, focus on attack bonuses (percentage-based or flat), critical hit chance, and defense ignore. Critical Hit Damage is currently known to be bugged and only fully effective when your Combat Power (CP) exceeds the stage’s recommended CP. Once this is addressed, high critical hit rate builds will see a significant damage increase.
If you are unsure about the optimal stats for a specific Hunter, utilize the “Recommended Stats” feature within the artifact page:
Artifact Sets
Equipping multiple pieces from the same artifact set grants set bonuses at 2 and 4 pieces. While aiming for ideal sets is optimal, don’t hesitate to use “broken” sets or individual pieces with favorable stats during the early game. However, strive to activate at least the 2-piece set bonus, as these can provide substantial stat boosts. The popular Toughness set, for example, provides 8% crit rate with the 2-piece bonus. Sets like Noble Sacrifice (HP%) and Armed (ATK%) also offer valuable percentage-based stat increases.
For in-depth information on Artifact Sets and Stats, consult our dedicated guides:
Solo Leveling Arise Artifact Sets Guide
Solo Leveling Arise Artifact Stats Guide
Skills, Runes, and Blessings
Skills are the core of combat in Solo Leveling Arise, enabling both Hunters and Sung Jinwoo to inflict damage and support their allies.
Hunter Skills
Each Hunter possesses a diverse skill set:
- Two Basic Attacks: A standard attack and a Core Attack, triggered by filling a gauge.
- Two Basic Skills
- Four Special Skills:
- Assist Skill (Passive): Activated when the Hunter is selected as an Assist character. Duplicates increase this passive skill level (1/3/5/7/10 extra levels). Can also be leveled using Hunter Skill Scrolls.
- QTE (Quick Time Event) Skill: Used during “switch-in” actions in Hunter Stages.
- Ultimate Skill: Activated when the power gauge is full.
- Passive Skill: Defines the Hunter’s unique playstyle and mechanics. Duplicates add “stars,” granting extra skill charges or modifying skill behavior. For example, Choi Jong-In’s first dupe alters his skill mechanics.
Skill levels are increased using Hunter Skill Scrolls (Level 1 scrolls up to level 4, Level 2 scrolls up to level 7). Level 8 and 9 upgrades require Level 3 scrolls and Mana Dust, which are extremely rare and should be used judiciously.
Jinwoo Skills
Sung Jinwoo acquires more skills as you progress through the game’s story.
- Skill Customization: You can customize Jinwoo’s skill layout, selecting two basic skills and one ultimate skill. You can also set his QTE dodge skill and ultimate skill.
- Skill Upgrades: Similar to Hunter skills but utilize different skill scroll types.
- Weapon Skill Leveling: Jinwoo can level up weapon skills. Each weapon has a Basic Attack, Core Attack, and Ultimate skill. Prioritize leveling the skills of your most frequently used weapons to enhance damage output. If a weapon is primarily used for its Ultimate skill during switch-ins, leveling basic or core attack skills is less critical initially. Weapon skill upgrades are accessed via the “Weapon” menu.
Runes
Runes are exclusive to Sung Jinwoo and offer significant skill customization. Runes are crafted and can alter the skills they are equipped to, adding effects or changing elemental attributes. Unlocking a rune for a skill grants an additional skill level. Each skill has four distinct runes that can be unlocked, although only one can be equipped at a time.
Runes come in three rarities: Basic, Epic, and Legendary. Epic runes provide stronger buffs and grant two skill levels when equipped. Runes are crafted through the Fusion menu.
Rune Fragments can be exchanged (100 fragments) for a random rune, typically a Basic rune. Obtaining a new rune adds it to the skill’s rune list. Duplicate runes are stored and used for skill fusion to attempt crafting higher rarity runes.
The chance of obtaining a higher rarity rune during fusion is displayed and increases with each failed attempt. The percentage resets upon successfully crafting a higher rarity rune. Duplicate Epic Runes can be used to attempt Legendary Rune fusion.
Blessings
Blessings are passive buffs that provide additional effects. You start with one Blessing slot and unlock additional slots at levels 50, 60, and 70. Blessings offer diverse effects, ranging from increased damage to resource bonuses like “Daily Quest Completion.”
Blessings are obtained by fusing Blessing Powder, similar to rune crafting. Duplicate blessings can be fused to attempt crafting higher-grade blessings.
Best Skills, Runes, and Blessings for Jinwoo
For optimized Jinwoo builds, refer to our dedicated guide on the best skills, runes, and blessings:
Solo Leveling Arise Best Skills for Jinwoo
Army of Shadows
Unlocking at Chapter 9, the Army of Shadows is Sung Jinwoo’s signature ability. It comprises generic shadow soldiers and Named Shadows, each contributing to combat. Named Shadows have unique skills and party-wide buffs.
Army Level impacts Army Total Power and maximum Shade capacity. Level up your army using Shadow Energy, acquired primarily from Gates and Story Mode. Shades act as “stamina” for your army.
Deploying your army in missions consumes Shades. The Shade cost per mission is displayed in the pre-battle menu, accessible by tapping “named” shadows and checking their party menu.
Named Shadows
Named Shadows are elite units, story-relevant enemies turned allies. Some are game-original characters like Blades. Igris is your first Named Shadow.
Each Named Shadow has a Rank, Growth Level (similar to Hunters), a passive skill, and summon-activated skills.
Increasing Named Shadow Growth Level boosts Army Power. Upgrade materials are obtained from Gates and Battlefield of Time. Rank increases require Traces of Shadow, the same currency used to unlock shadows.
Game Modes: Exploring Solo Leveling Arise
Story Mode: Relive the Narrative
Story Mode immerses you in the Solo Leveling narrative, charting Sung Jinwoo’s journey to becoming the strongest Hunter. Progression is chapter-based, with each completed chapter unlocking the next. Side Chapters delve into supporting character storylines.
Achievements and Rewards
Story chapters reward completion and achievement completion within each mission, granting 4 Standard Banner Tickets per chapter.
Achievements vary from time-based clears to specific objectives like “kill X monsters,” “last hit with a specific character,” or “use a Hunter of a specific element.” Side Chapters often mandate using story-relevant characters, sometimes providing trial versions if you don’t own them. If you own the character and it’s stronger than the trial version, your version will be used. This system is beneficial as it avoids resource expenditure on leveling up SR characters solely for story progression.
Upon reaching Chapter 8, Hard Mode unlocks. Hard Mode mirrors Normal Mode but with increased difficulty and omits story segments, focusing solely on combat missions.
Prioritize completing Chapter 8 early to unlock the Army of Shadows. Story progression unlocks other game modes and provides substantial XP, making it a primary focus.
Gates and Gate Mining: Resource Farming
Gates are instanced dungeons that generate periodically, offering valuable resources. Each Gate has:
- Difficulty Rank (D-Rank to S-Rank)
- Entry Condition (Solo Gates for Sung Jinwoo or Hunter Gates)
- Gate Type (Normal, Dungeon Break, Treasure, Red Gates)
Rescan available Gates every 10 minutes or use Essence Stones for immediate rescans if you are not satisfied with the current selection.
Increase your difficulty rating as you level up for more challenging Gates but improved rewards. Adjust difficulty during rescans to match your current power level.
Challenges may require clearing specific Gate types, such as Dungeon Breaks or Red Gates. Track your progress in the challenge menu.
Gate Mining: Passive Resource Generation
Gate Mining, accessible from the Gate menu, allows for passive resource generation.
Mining duration depends on Gate Rank and provides rewards based on rank and type. Mining increases your Miner Team XP, unlocking perks as you level up your team.
Encore Missions: Artifact Acquisition
Encore Missions unlock through story progression and are the primary source of Artifacts (equipment). Only Hunters can be used in Encore Missions. Each difficulty tier features two bosses:
- Kasaka and Mage Forces: Drop Helmets and Chest pieces (up to level 35 Artifacts).
- Cerberus and Arachnid: Drop Gloves and Boots (level 40-55 Artifacts).
Each boss has increasing difficulty tiers with escalating rewards. Completing all battle missions for a tier unlocks a buff granting 50% increased damage and 50% reduced damage taken, ideal for auto-farming lower difficulty tiers to expend keys.
Boss difficulty may vary based on your Hunter roster. Focusing on the easier boss initially to gear up your Hunters can facilitate progress against the more challenging boss. Alternate between bosses to ensure a diverse range of artifact main stats for your Hunters.
Instance Dungeons: Accessory Farming
Instance Dungeons are where you farm right-side equipment (accessories). Only Sung Jinwoo can be used in Instance Dungeons.
- Steel-fanged Lycan: Drops Necklaces and Bracelets.
- Igris: Drops Rings and Earrings.
Instance Dungeons follow the same tiered difficulty structure as Encore Missions. Progress through tiers to obtain higher quality accessories. Having a variety of Break-type weapons will greatly aid your progression.
Other Game Modes: Expanding Your Horizons
Battlefield of Trials
Battlefield of Trials offers challenging stages rewarding resources and draw tickets. Every 5 stages cleared grants 5 tickets, making it a valuable mid-game ticket source. There are separate versions for Sung Jinwoo and Hunters.
Battlefield of Time
Battlefield of Time is an end-game mode where you challenge story bosses in a ranked format. Rewards are based on personal best damage and group ranking. Bosses unlock progressively throughout the season. Challenge mode missions may require setting new best times, so plan accordingly. A Challenge mode offers escalating difficulty boss fights for rewards.
Power of Destruction
Power of Destruction is a raid battle against the boss Pitch-black flame Ennio. The objective is to break his hands quickly to maximize damage during the vulnerable phase. Weapons inflicting debuffs like Poison or Bleed can deal significant damage, particularly when targeting the head. The effectiveness of debuff weapons has been adjusted in the past to balance gameplay.
After each run, you can retry, return to the menu, or register your score. Registered scores contribute to rankings and reward points based on score thresholds.
