Saber is the famed cyborg assassin of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Before his transformation, he used to be a swordsman who originated from the legendary Tianyin Swordmaster Sect. His real name is Duan Meng and he was eager to become the best swordsman in the land.
After becoming the top student of the sect, Duan Meng grew tired of his training. He asked his master Longma to leave the mountains so he can challenge stronger enemies. Longma denied his request and told him that he wasn’t an invincible swordsman yet.
Since Duan Meng was overconfident in his skills and strength, he defied his master and went on a journey to challenge different fighters. He quickly reached the title “The Best Swordsman” without losing a single battle. But one day, a fighter name Zhixu ended his win streak. He trained on his own for three years and then challenged him again but Zhixu got even better and defeated him again.
During his journey to the Land of Dawn, he overheard about a laboratory that is experimenting with human enhancement through artificial transformation. The desperate Duan Meng inquired more about this project with the hope that this would quickly fulfill his ambition of becoming the greatest swordsman.
The evil scientists of Laboratory 1718 were pleased to have him in their project because they were looking for a skillful swordsman. After a successful transformation, Duan Meng significantly improved as a fighter but he lost all of his memory. He was given the name Saber and the evil organization used him as an assassin.
His fighting routine and activities started to give him fuzzy flashbacks of his old life. One evening, Saber managed to severe a neural implant in his head then he destroyed the humanoid project lab. After this, he embarked on a journey to rediscover his origin and real identity.
Saber Overview
Saber is prominent for his signature single-hero concentrated attack which certifies him as an assassin. Despite his high burst damage, he has an Area of Effect skill that is greatly beneficial for the team because it lowers the opposing team’s defense. Saber can eliminate squishy heroes in a snap when fully upgraded and in full batter gear.
This tutorial will be mostly based on the Global Top 1 Saber player KÂSUKE. He managed to maintain a high win rate for Saber despite having more than a thousand games. We’ll examine his best Saber build and then take a closer look at how his selected spell, emblem and items will maximize the hero’s potential.
Skills
Passive: Enemy’s Bane
Damage dealt by Saber will have a 3-8 Physical Defense reduction to the enemies for 5 seconds. It’s stackable up to 5 times.
First Skill: Orbiting Swords
Saber unleashes five swords that encircle him. Every sword deals 80 + 30% Extra Physical Attack Damage. The swords would all fly back to him after a short period.
While this skill is active, Saber will send one flying sword to his target in every Basic Attack. This deals 210 + 60% Extra Physical Attack Damage. Nearby enemies who get hit by the swords will receive 50% damage. Every hit will reduce the cooldown charge by 1 second. Minions will only receive 50% of the damage.
Second Skill: Charge
Saber dashes in a straight line dealing 75 + 50% Extra Physical Attack Damage to all enemies that will get hit in his path.
His Basic Attack will be enhanced after the dash and will deal 75 + 120% Total Physical Attack Damage. This will also slow the enemy by 60% within 1 second.
Ultimate Skill: Triple Sweep
Saber charges at a target then knock it up into the air for 1.2 seconds. While the enemy is airborne, he will deal with three swift consecutive attacks. The first two attacks will deal 120 + 100% Extra Physical Attack Damage while the third attack will deal 240 + 200% Extra Physical Attack Damage.
Best Saber Build
Items
War Axe. This weapon will bulk up Saber’s HP while giving him an armor-busting attack because of the extra Physical Damage and Physical Penetration that it provides. Its cooldown reduction will allow Saber to use his skills more.
Warrior Boots. This second item will make Saber more damage-resistant while improving his Movement Speed.
Hunter Strike. High damage and cooldown reduction are the active features of this weapon that would begin to stir up Saber’s abilities. Its Passive Physical Penetration feature will make his every attack more armor-busting. The weapon’s Unique-Passive-Retribution is perfect for Saber because it boosts his Movement Speed after 5 consecutive attacks. Considering the combo that Saber does, he would really need that extra Movement Speed to quickly exit the battlefield while waiting for his skills to refresh before re-entering again.
Endless Battle. This weapon may be a bit pricey but it will help sustain Saber on the battlefield. It practically has a little of everything from lifesteal, mana regen, movement speed, cooldown reduction and additional HP. The two biggest benefits for Saber are the high damage and the armor-busting True Damage.
Late Game Items
Malefic Roar. Armor-busting is the biggest feature of this weapon. In the late part of the game, most of your enemies would have improved their Physical Defense already so to counter that, getting this high-penetration item would greatly reduce their armor’s value.
Immortality. Saber will most likely get barraged with more powerful attacks at the late part of the game so increasing his defense should be the next move. He is also more likely to get killed in a clash so having that resurrection feature gives him a chance to escape and heal. Respawning in the late part of the game can take forever.
Saber Emblem Set
Saber without a doubt should use the Custom Assassin Emblem Set considering he’s a pure assassin, unlike other dual-function heroes. Let’s find out what configuration our Global Top 1 Saber player chose for this emblem.
KÂSUKE selected and maxed out Agility for the first feature. This will optimize Saber’s Movement Speed which is ideal for his roaming assassin role. As someone needs to get in and out of the battle, greater mobility is a must. For the second feature, he maxed out Invasion for greater Physical Penetration. This mixes well with his armor-busting items as a burst damage hero.
For the final feature, he selected High and Dry which adds 7% extra damage to a target who doesn’t have any allies nearby. Since Saber makes a concentrated combo, this feature will make his every attack more painful. This helps ensure a kill in every lone target catch.
Battle Spell
Retribution. Like most assassins, it’s ideal for Saber to take the Core Player role. Farming faster, getting the buffs and completing his collection of strong items will make him a formidable foe and strong ally early in the game.
Execute. If one of your teammates already assumed the Core Player role, the next Battle Spell to consider is Execute since he’s a burst damage killer. In case your target survived your killer combo, you can use this spell to finish the job.
Saber Gameplay
Skill Sequence
Orbiting Swords. This skill should be prioritized because it doesn’t just give Saber an AoE but a huge Buff as well. The flying swords add monstrous damage to his Basic Attacks while reducing the target’s Physical Defense.
Triple Sweep. Upgrade this ultimate skill as soon as it’s available because it is what makes Saber an executioner. Your enemy will be helpless as you knock it up in the air and rapidly shred it to pieces.
Charge. This skill is effective in chasing your target and boosting your Basic Attack but it shouldn’t be your priority. It’s important to take note that it can slow down your target and raise your Basic Attack Damage after the dash.
Saber Combo
First Combo:
First Skill + Second Skill + Basic Attack
This will be your combo at the early part of the game before getting your Ultimate Skill. Take note that you can use your first skill to gradually reduce the Physical Defense of your target. Dash to it if you can see that it has incurred enough defense-reduction stack and damage. If your battle spell is “execute”, use it to finish off your enemy or just to deal huge damage to send it back home.
Second Combo:
First Skill + Second Skill + Ultimate
This will practically be your combo throughout the game. In case the enemy survives your ultimate skill, simply barrage it with your strong Basic Attacks if you still have some flying swords around. Keep in mind that the flying swords can reduce the cooldown of his second skill. You can use it again to either escape after a combo or chase an enemy who survived your combo.
Fighting Strategy
Farm. As a core player, start the game by farming to get the buffs and earn more coins to buy the strong items immediately. The buffs will help you assist your teammates better as you roam.
Assist. After killing most of the jungle monsters, hide in a bush near your ally to signal that you’re going to help if a fight breaks out. Once your ally initiates a fight, that is where you jump in to secure the kill early in the game.
Gank. Once your item build is strong enough to assassinate a single target, this is where you start hunting down lone enemies one by one. Visit common areas where the buffs and jungle monsters are, then hide in the nearest bush until you get that ambush opportunity.
Team fight. Utilize your orbiting swords to weaken the Defense of multiple enemies. This will benefit your team during a clash. Even if you already used up your ultimate skill, your basic attacks are powerful thanks to your flying swords. This will still allow you to kill more enemies in a team fight. Use his dash to prioritize squishy heroes.
Saber FYI Checklist
- The flying swords don’t deal extra damage to towers when they merge with Saber’s basic attacks.
- Saber’s dash allows him to pass through most walls but not the thick walls in the buff area.
- Saber’s ultimate can be escaped by several heroes like Diggie, Miya and Valir using their ultimate skill.
- Wanwan’s second skill, Hanabi’s passive and the Purify spell can also counter Saber’s ultimate skill.
- Saber’s ultimate skill will work on a spinning Kai and a bouncing Khufra but you’ll get knocked up as well. Despite its dashing move, it will also work inside Minshittar’s territory.
- Franco can still hook you and Kaja can still pull you even if you are airborne using your ultimate skill.