Hayabusa is the Sasuke of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. After his brother, he was next in line to become the Akakage—the highest position in ninja leadership. His competition was Hanabi from the Scarlet sect. In a trial competition, he defeated her and it made the proud Hanabi very upset. Every now and then, Hanabi will challenge him to a spar and beat her every time.
He loved his brother deeply and he used to go out fishing or mountain-climbing with him. They even tag Kagura along on some of their trips. One day, his brother told him that he needs to go on a long mission trip. As the days come to pass, he seemed to be taking longer than usual until he lost track of time. He wanted his brother to see how he has grown and how skillful he has become but he never heard about him.
With a mournful face, his father told him that his brother was not returning anymore and the mission was now assigned to him. The culprit of his brother’s tragedy is Hanzo, the ninja prodigy who was possessed by the demon Pneuma. As he set out for his mission, Kagura wanted to join him but Hayabusa turned her away because of its dangers. He also saw a downcast Hanabi in the flash of lightning but she fled after offering her an umbrella. With a firm decision, he set out to eliminate Hanzo and become the Akakage.
Hayabusa Overview
Hayabusa is an assassin hero who is feared for his swift moves and signature invulnerable shadow attacks. His skills are composed of buff, dash, slow and burst. He’s an enemy you wouldn’t want to fight alone because you’ll end up receiving his deadly concentrated shadow blows. With the right strategy, build and combos, Hayabusa can become a phantom that would instill fear on the battlefield.
This guide will reference the current Global Top 1 Hayabusa player *silence* and then follow his best Hayabusa build. We will also study his choice of emblem, spell and items to learn how their features would optimize Hayabusa’s skills and abilities on the battlefield.
Skills
Passive: Trace of Shadow
A Shadow Mark is placed on an enemy every time it receives an attack from Hayabusa (4 stacks max). Each stack has a 6-second limit and will increase Hayabusa’s damage to the target by 5%.
First Skill: Phantom Shuriken
Hayabusa throws three shurikens in a cone shape with each one dealing 170 + 70% Extra Physical Attack Damage to all enemies hit. They will also be slowed by 35% for 2 seconds. An enemy hit by multiple shurikens will only receive 30% damage after the first hit.
Non-minion enemy hits will restore Hayabusa’s energy by 10.
Passive: Every upgrade of this skill will increase Hayabusa’s Spell Vamp by 3%.
Second Skill: Quad Shadow
Hayabusa leaps to a selected area and then releases four shadow images in opposite directions. The shadow images will stay in the locations or attach themselves to a target. An enemy hit by a shadow image will receive 130 + 30% Extra Physical Attack Damage. It will also be slowed by 40% for 2 seconds.
If an enemy is hit during the leap, Hayabusa will stop at that point.
Use Again: Hayabusa can teleport to the location of the selected shadow image which will reduce the cooldown of Phantom Shuriken by 1 second. Teleporting to an enemy with an attached shadow image will deal 130 + 30% Extra Physical Attack Damage.
Ultimate Skill: Shadow Kill
Hayabusa unleashes his powerful 6-single target shadow attacks on all enemies in the area. Each attack deals 130 + 75% Total Physical Attack Damage.
Enemies with Shadow Marks will be targeted first and each consumption of a mark will deal 45 + 20% Extra Physical Attack Damage. This move won’t leave Shadow Marks and deal their bonus damage.
Best Hayabusa Build
Items
Swift Boots. This will simply boost Hayabusa’s Movement Speed while increasing his attack speed.
Hunter Strike. This second item will significantly increase his Physical Damage while giving him Physical Penetration to counter the defense of his target. It will also reduce his cooldown and give him a momentary Movement Speed boost after 5 consecutive attacks.
Blade of the Heptaseas. Hayabusa’s next Basic Attack will be buffed by this item if he’s not dealing or receiving any attacks within 5 seconds. By default, it will give him high Physical Attack, Physical Penetration and a slight HP boost.
Blade of Despair. This has the highest Physical Attack in the list and a quarter of his overall Physical Attack will be added if the enemy’s HP is below half. It will also give him a slight Movement Speed boost.
Late Game Items
Malefic Roar. This late-game item is his most powerful armor-busting weapon because of its high Physical Penetration. If the target has a high Physical Defense, this weapon will also have an extra Physical Penetration that scales with the armor.
Endless Battle. This final item will help Hayabusa stay in the fight longer because it gives him a little of everything he needs. Namely, Physical Lifesteal, cooldown reduction, HP boost, Movement Boost and high Physical Attack. Its True Damage passive feature will make his Basic Attacks more painful because it will add extra damage while bypassing a large chunk of the target’s defense.
Hayabusa Emblem Set
The Global Top 1 Hayabusa player is using the Custom Jungle Emblem set for this hero. This is clearly for a core player role with a goal of having that extra advantage when farming in the jungle. Let’s look at his configuration of this emblem and see how he’s optimizing it for Hayabusa.
For the first feature, he maxed out Thrill to increase Hayabusa’s attack damage; for the second feature, he maxed out Swift to increase his attack speed. This will help Hayabusa farm faster in the jungle and also inflict greater damage to his enemies.
For the final feature, he selected Demon Slayer to increase his damage to the Turtle, Lord and Turrets. He is clearly focused on having that team buff and push advantage when using Hayabusa.
Battle Spell
Retribution. The best partner for his jungle emblem is retribution. It will decrease the damage he gets from jungle monsters while increasing the rewards he gets from them. Its active feature will make sure that the buffs don’t get stolen and it can also be used to damage enemy heroes.
Execute. If you’re not using Hayabusa as a core hero, you can use execute as an alternative spell. This can help secure his kills in cases where his target managed to survive his combos.
Hayabusa Gameplay
Skill Upgrade Priority
Phantom Shuriken. Prioritize upgrading this first skill because it can easily let Hayabusa give the enemy a full stack of his Shadow Mark. It also has a low cooldown, high damage, slow effect and Spell Vamp.
Shadow Kill. As his most deadly skill, this should be upgraded the moment it’s available because it will inflict the largest chunk of damage to his target.
Quad Shadow. This second skill is great for chasing, escaping and slowing down his target but there’s no need to rush upgrading it.
Hayabusa Combo
First Combo:
Second Skill + First Skill + Second Skill + Basic Attacks + First Skill + Basic Attacks/Execute
You can use this combo before unlocking your ultimate skill. Start by getting close to your target using your second skill and then hit it with all the shurikens to max out its stack instantly. Make sure that your target gets hit by one of the shadow images because it will attach to it. This means that it will let you teleport to the exact location of the target with an attached shadow image even if it blinks away. Teleporting to an enemy with an attached shadow will deal damage as well. Use the second skill again to get near the target so you can barrage it with your Basic Attacks. Your first skill’s cooldown will be reduced because you teleported to your shadow image so you should be able to use it again after a short time. Use execute if the target’s HP is low enough.
Second Combo:
Second Skill + First Skill + Second Skill + Second Skill + First Skill + Basic Attacks/Execute
This combo is almost similar to the one above but after using the first skill, you’re going to teleport behind momentarily to wait for the first skill to refresh and then teleport to the enemy with an attached shadow to hit it again with your first skill. This combo is also good for assessing if unexpected enemies will appear. If that’s the case, you may cancel getting back to your target to avoid death.
Level 4+ Combo
Third Combo:
Second Skill + First Skill + Second Skill + Ultimate Skill + First Skill + Basic Attacks + Execute
In this combo, you’re using the ultimate skill immediately before your enemy gets the chance to run far, immobilize you or kill you. Delaying the use of the ultimate skill could sometimes put you in danger of getting killed first by the enemy.
There are more combos you can use for Hayabusa but always take note that his ultimate skill will prioritize and deal greater damage to a target that has Shadow Marks. Whatever combo you come up with, always consider this fact.
Fighting Strategy
Poke. The moment Hayabusa gets his second skill, he can easily poke his target by simply jumping back and forth from one shadow image to another. The goal of poking is to deal high surprise damage to your target while getting less damage from it by quickly backing out. If you’re lucky enough, you might get the first blood. If the enemy manages to escape, you’ll still gain a level and gold advantage.
Ambush. Hayabusa’s ultimate skill is more deadly in a one-on-one fight if there are no minions, jungle monsters or other enemies around. Try to ambush fellow assassins who love to spend more time alone in the jungle and let them receive the entire wrath of your ultimate skill. Marksman heroes are easy targets as well because they tend to distance too much away from the minions.
Teamplay
Farm. Since you’re using the jungle emblem with retribution as a core hero, you should start by farming in the jungle to earn gold and get the buffs. This will make you help your allies better once you visit their lanes. The jungle emblem configuration shown previously will give you greater damage to the Turtle and Lord so make sure that your team gets them.
Team Fight. Always wait for the tank or fighter to initiate the clash before joining in because you have a low HP. Take note that an enemy with the most shadow marks will be prioritized when you use your ultimate skill. Based on that, the best approach is to target high-damage heroes with your first skill before casting your ultimate skill. You can also use your shadow images to quickly step back and wait for the CC attacks to get finished before jumping back in with your ultimate skill.
Do you know another great tip for Hayabusa? Please share it with us in the comments section.