DragonSword: Awakening Beginner Guide — How to Start

Starting DragonSword: Awakening is simple: you begin with three heroes, learn a tag-team combat system that rewards swapping mid-combo, and work your way through the main story to unlock the rest of the 19-hero roster. There's no energy system, so you can take the opening hours at your own pace — grind, explore, or push the campaign, it's all up to you. Here's how to start strong. ## Your Starting Team You begin the game with three playable heroes, and you control them as a three-person party from the very first fights. **Lute** is the main character — a sword user who can also cast healing magic, which ties into the story of why he joins the mercenary group. He's your reliable all-rounder for the opening hours. **Castella** wields a giant two-handed axe with slow, heavy, satisfying swings. Her spin-to-win ability and shout attacks make her a fun melee powerhouse early on. **Aria** is your ranged option, using a crossbow and throwing bombs that deal big burst damage. Having one ranged hero in the party makes a real difference against groups. You can swap between the three mid-combat at any time, and your party can hold three heroes with up to five different team presets. As you unlock more heroes, you can build different teams tuned to different content. ## How to Unlock All 19 Heroes Every hero is earned through gameplay — there's no gacha. Early on, you receive a **ticket** that lets you redeem one hero of your choice from the Exchange shop. This is your first real roster decision. The Exchange shop lets you preview each hero's skills, voice lines, and combat style before you commit. Popular early picks from the starting batch include **Raina** (a sword user with strong airborne attacks) and **Teresa** (a heresy judge with bleed, stuns, and shockwaves), alongside characters like Roxy, Alex, and Sion. Beyond the ticket, characters unlock through story progression and some through Hero Quests. In total, the roster is split roughly between Exchange-shop recruits and story/progression unlocks — but every single one is earned in-game, never bought. ## Early Combat Tips The combat clicks once you stop thinking of your three heroes as separate units. Because you can swap mid-animation, a hero keeps attacking in the background while you're already playing the next one. That's the core of the tag-team system. Learn what each hero's status effect does — Stun, Airborne, Burn, and so on — because certain heroes combo off each other. Knock an enemy into the air and an aerial hero can grab them out of the sky. Watch for your Signal Skill charge and time it right after applying a status for big damage windows. ## What to Do First Follow the main story to start — it introduces the world, the mercenary group, and your first real fights. Along the way you'll find chests, materials, and fast-travel points spread across the map. Don't feel pressured to rush. The world has side quests, vendors, and a decent amount of open-world content. Materials you gather early are used to level up skills and equipment, so grabbing plants and loot as you explore pays off later. There's no stamina system, so you can farm or explore freely without being blocked by an energy bar. ## A Note on the Grind The campaign takes roughly 25 hours, and most players stop periodically to power up their characters. The game respects your time — no daily chores, no energy caps — but it's still an RPG grind. As you progress, harder dungeons offer better rewards, so gear and skill upgrades come steadily if you're willing to engage with the loop. For which heroes are worth building first, see our [Tier List](/tier-list/). For a full breakdown of every playable character, check the [Characters page](/characters/).