How to Change Class in Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive

You can change class in Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive at any time after the opening missions, in one of two ways: reset Jinwoo's points and reinvest them in a different skill tree (the reset costs Gold), or switch to Jinwoo's second profile and activate a different tree's Overdrive there, which leaves your original build untouched. Your gear and story progress stay put either way; only stats and skill points are rebuilt.

This walkthrough is based on the class guides from Destructoid, The Backdash, GamerBlurb and games.gg, plus Netmarble's own patch notes for the reset and Job Change systems, checked in November 2026.

The Four Classes You Can Switch Between

Jinwoo's "class" in Overdrive is really one of four skill trees, chosen at the end of the introductory missions: Assassin, Duelist, Elementalist and Ruler. Each starts with its own two skills and two weapons, and the game shows a difficulty rating next to each one when you pick. The table below lists the starting kit for each as documented by The Backdash and Destructoid.

Overdrive classes and their starting kits

Class	Archetype	Difficulty	Starting skills	Starting weapons
Assassin	Rogue	Very Hard	Cutting Rush, Internal Wound	Kasaka's Venom Fang (dagger), Kim Sangshik's Sword
Duelist	Fighter / Berserker	Easy	Rush, Armor Break	Razan's Blade (sword), Rock Golem Hammer (two-handed)
Elementalist	Mage	Hard	Cold Storm, Firestorm Dagger	Sandstorm Cube (focus), Ice Elf's Bow
Ruler	Summoner	Normal	The Commander's Touch, Dispersion	Lizard Glaive (polearm), Arachnid Hand Crossbow

Because the class is defined by which tree you invest in, "changing class" simply means moving your points from one tree to another. There is no separate class item to buy and no quest to repeat.

Method 1: Reset and Reinvest on Your Main Profile

This is the straightforward route if you have decided you are done with your current class. According to Destructoid and The Backdash, the switch happens in the Sung Jinwoo section of the main menu once you have access to the Hunters Association hub.

1. Open the main menu and select Sung Jinwoo's tab.
2. Open the skill tree and use the reset option. games.gg notes that resetting the skill tree costs Gold, so have some set aside.
3. Spend the refunded skill points in the tree of the class you want, starting with its Overdrive node and core skills.
4. Reset and redistribute stat points on the stat page to suit the new class (for example, Intelligence for Elementalist, Strength and Perception for the physical classes).
5. Equip a weapon that fits the new tree on each weapon bar and set the new skills in your skill set.

Stat resets are a long-standing feature: one of the earliest demo patches, in June 2025, already fixed a bug where stat points were reduced when resetting stats. If a reset ever seems to lose points, restart the game before contacting support.

Method 2: Build a Second Class on Jinwoo's Second Profile

If you want to try a new class without throwing away a build you have spent hours on, use the second profile. GamerBlurb's class-change guide describes the first profile as holding the build tied to your starting class, and the second profile as starting clean with untouched stats and unspent skill points.

1. Open the Jinwoo character screen.
2. Select the second profile at the top of the screen.
3. Enter the skill tree and activate the Overdrive of the class you want to run; this sets the class path for that profile.
4. Spend your skill points to unlock that tree.
5. Rebuild stats on the stat page and set up your skill set.

Each profile keeps its own build, so you can flip back to the first one whenever you like. This is the best way to keep, for example, a Ruler for farming crowds and an Assassin for single bosses on the same save. The one warning from that guide is worth repeating: mixing two trees on the same profile weakens your damage, so give each profile one clear path.

Why Your Class Label Does Not Change (Job Change and Shadow Monarch)

Many players switch trees and then panic because the stat screen still shows their original class name. GamerBlurb explains that the label is cosmetic: the menu can keep showing names like Assassin or Duelist after you move your points, and once you are past Chapter 5 it changes to Shadow Monarch for everyone. What actually decides how Jinwoo fights is the Overdrive you activated and the skills you bought.

That Chapter 5 change is tied to the story's Job Change quest, which mirrors the webtoon. Netmarble's patch notes reference it directly: a November 2025 patch fixed skills received as Job Change rewards after the Chapter 5 Job Change not applying until players logged in again, and an earlier demo-era fix addressed players who could not proceed with Job Change after clearing the Job Change main quest. The Steam store page describes the overall system as a skill tree that branches into eight job advancements.

So if you finish Chapter 5 and see Shadow Monarch on your profile, nothing has gone wrong and nothing has been locked; your trees are still yours to rearrange.

What Carries Over When You Switch

Switching class is cheaper than many players expect because most of your progress is not class-specific:

• Gear and story: GamerBlurb is clear that no gear is lost; only stats and skill points are reset.
• Weapons: games.gg notes you can equip starting weapons from other classes regardless of your current specialization, so a crafted weapon is never wasted.
• Weapon upgrades: each weapon type has its own skill tree, separate from the class tree, so upgrades you bought for a firearm still help any class that uses a firearm on its second bar.

The real cost of a switch is usually weapons, not points. A Duelist moving to Elementalist needs a Focus weapon and the materials to upgrade it. Netmarble acknowledged this problem in a November 2025 developer note and added partially leveled weapons to the Exchange Shop, so new players are not forced to farm a new weapon type from tier one. Our weapons guide lists the crafting path for each type.

Which Class to Switch To, and When

There is no wrong time to switch, but a few moments make sense. Early on, Duelist (rated Easy) or Ruler (rated Normal) carry most players through the story. When you start farming World Map content for materials, the Ruler's crowd pulls and area damage clear packs faster. When you move on to the Workshop of Brilliant Light bosses, single-target builds like the Assassin and Duelist come into their own, and the Elementalist suits players who prefer to fight from range.

Each destination asks for something different, so check this before you pay for a reset:

• Switching to Ruler: you need a polearm for the main bar, and the Overdrive summons shadow soldiers. games.gg ties the Ruler to Perception, while Alcasthq's Ruler build splits points evenly between Strength and Perception.
• Switching to Duelist: a sword (or the starting two-handed hammer) and good deflect timing, because the Duelist Overdrive is built around deflecting attacks. games.gg links the class to Strength.
• Switching to Assassin: a dagger and the patience to fight from behind enemies. games.gg pairs the Assassin with Agility, but Alcasthq's Assassin build keeps the same Strength and Perception heavy spread as the other melee classes, so sources differ on how far to push Agility.
• Switching to Elementalist: a magic Focus weapon and a big shift into Intelligence, which drives MP and elemental status effects. This is the switch that changes your stat page the most.

Whichever you choose, budget for the weapon first and the reset second. A fresh tree with an under-leveled weapon will feel weaker than your old class for a while, which is why so many players give up on a switch too early.

For exact stat spreads, skill picks and gear sets for each class, see our best Jinwoo builds. If you want to plan individual nodes before committing points, the skill tree guide maps each tree in detail.

Tips to Make a Class Switch Cheaper

• Use the second profile first. Test a class there before paying Gold to reset your main build.
• Craft the new weapon before switching. Check the crafting menu, click a missing material and use its Source button to see where it drops.
• Unlock the new Overdrive immediately. It uses a different resource from regular skill nodes, so you can usually afford it straight away.
• Keep your hunters. Hunter teams do not depend on Jinwoo's class, so your recruited roster and their upgrades stay useful after any switch; at most you may want a different support whose trigger suits the new playstyle.
• Level up first. Every level adds points, and the June 2026 update expanded Jinwoo's level cap. Our guide to leveling up fast shows the quickest routes.

Start Fresh With Points to Spend

If you would like to rebuild Jinwoo from a clean slate without grinding the levels again, the store's Starter Save gives you Sung Jinwoo at Lv. 40 with 477 unspent stat points, so you can build any of the four classes your way. It also includes gold at 1,000,000,558, a second currency at 999,999,999 and 16 material stacks at 999,999, which covers reset costs and weapon crafting, while the campaign itself starts from the beginning.

The save is for PS5 and PC only, not Xbox, and you must own the game. Browse the Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive section for the Complete Save as well.

Frequently Asked Questions