Looking for a hero in Mobile Legends that can one shot enemy carries? You came to the right place! Saber is one of the strongest assassins in the game. However, you need to pick your spots and targets wisely to make the most out of him. Here’s everything you need to know to get you started playing the Wandering Sword. 

Overview

Most Assassin heroes in Mobile Legends are usually equipped with high burst damage skills that can deal massive damage in a short amount of time. A big tradeoff for assassins is that they are sort of glass cannons where they deal high damage but are also not very durable. Saber falls under this category but can actually be viable with only two damage items and dedicating the rest of his inventory to tank items. He has pretty good aoe damage as well as single target damage. His wave clear is pretty great and he can be played in either the jungle or in a side lane. 

While Saber is a really great hero, he does come with quite a bit of drawbacks. The biggest knock on him is his late game presence. In the late game, most heroes will have completed their core items making them either super tanky or have high damage. Saber falls off in the late game because he won’t be able to one shot targets anymore or if he does, he is susceptible to being killed immediately after diving in. Overall, if you’re a beginner looking for an assassin hero to practice on or if you’re a veteran player who’d like to use an assassin to end the game early, Saber is the perfect hero for you. 

Abilities

All of Saber’s abilities are geared towards dealing damage. He has decent DPS and aoe damage but he shines best with his single target burst. 

Passive – Enemy’s Bane

Saber’s damage reduces Physical Defense by 5–8 (scales with level) for 5 seconds. This effect stacks up to 5 times (for a maximum of 25-40 Physical Defense Reduction).

Enemy’s Bane is a pretty straightforward passive. You use this to lower the enemy’s Physical Defense before you go in with your ultimate. Luckily, Saber’s first skill has a pretty wide range so you can stack this passive to its maximum effect without having to get too close. 

First Skill – Orbiting Swords

Saber shoots out 5 flying swords that orbit around him, dealing 80 / 85 / 90 / 95 / 100 / 105 (+30% Extra Physical Attack) Physical Damage to enemies in contact. After orbiting around Saber for [5 seconds], the swords will fly back to Saber.

Within the duration, when Saber deals damage with his Basic Attack or skills, he will send an orbiting sword towards the target, dealing 210 / 220 / 230 / 240 / 250 / 260 (+60% Extra Physical Attack) Physical Damage (for a total of 1050 / 1100 / 1150 / 1200 / 1250 / 1300 (+300% Extra Physical Attack) Physical Damage) to the main target and 50% (or 105 / 120 / 135 / 150 / 165 / 180 (+30% Extra Physical Attack)) of the damage to the other targets it passes through and reducing the cooldown of Charge by 1 second. It deals only 50% damage to [Minions].

Orbiting Swords is kind of Saber’s signature skill. It is his primary damaging ability and the skill that people will often associate with him. It’s great for clearing waves, jungle camps, and poking your enemies from afar. Try to use this first to whittle your opponent’s life before securing the kill with your ultimate.

Second Skill – Charge

Saber charges towards a designated direction, dealing 75 / 90 / 105 / 120 / 135 / 150 (+50% Extra Physical Attack) Physical Damage to enemies along the way.

Saber gains an enhanced Basic Attack after the charge, dealing 75 / 90 / 105 / 120 / 135 / 150 (+120% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage and slowing the target by 60% for 1 second.

Charge is Saber’s primary mobility spell. It’s because of this ability that he can easily dive in and make a quick escape. Although most of the time, you’ll be using this ability defensively, it is still a great ability to use when trading or securing kills. The best part is that this ability can go through walls. 

Ultimate – Triple Sweep

Saber attacks an enemy [Hero] and knocks the target airborne for 1.2 seconds. During this period, Saber launches 3 consecutive blows in quick succession. The first 2 blows deal 120 / 150 / 180 (+100% Extra Physical Attack)Physical Damage and the third blow deal 240 / 300 / 360 (+200% Extra Physical Attack) Physical Damage {for a total of 360 / 450 / 540 (+200% Extra Physical Attack) Physical Damage).

Triple Sweep is a very powerful ability. However, you must learn the perfect time to use it. Never use this ability to lead or initiate a fight unless you’re confident that you can one shot your desired target. Apart from that, you should focus on using this ability mostly to secure kills on a low health target. You can also outplay opponents that try to dive you by using this on them which will knock them up, letting them take a few tower hits.

Builds

When it comes to items, your only focus should be to buy your core damage items. Afterwards, you can go for tank items to increase your durability. However, if you feel like your team has enough tanks, you can go ahead and directly purchase damage items to increase your burst. No matter what build path you choose, there are two core damage items that you should always have on Saber. These items are Hunter Strike and Blade of Despair.

• Hunter Strike

+80 Physical ATK

+10% CD Reduction

Unique Passive: +15 Physical PEN

Unique Passive – Retribution: Deals damage to an enemy hero or Creep for 5 times in a row and improves Movement Speed by 50% that decays rapidly over 3s. This effect has 8s cooldown.

• Blade of Despair

+160 Physical ATK

+5% Movement SPD

Unique Passive – Despair: Attacking enemy units that have HP below 50% will increase the hero’s Physical Attack by 25%. Lasts 2s. (Takes effect before damage is dealt).

Both these items are the highest sources of Physical Attack in the game. Having them both will increase Saber’s raw damage by a high amount. In fact, with just these two items, Saber can easily one shot squishy carries. 

Useful Tips

1. For emblems, take the Assassin set and Killing Spree as your talent. This allows you to restore a bit of health and gain movement speed whenever you score a kill on an enemy.
2. For your battle spell, take Retribution if you’re playing as a Jungler and Petrify if you’re playing in a side lane. Retribution lets you clear jungle camps faster and lets you secure objectives like Lord or Turtle. Petrify, on the other hand, stuns enemies around you for a short amount of time. 
3. Saber is countered by heroes that can cancel his crowd control and his mobility. Heroes like Bruno, Nana, Diggie, Kaja, Miya, and Eudora are considered strong counters to this hero.

So there you have it! That’s everything you need to know on how to play Saber in Mobile Legends. Be sure to check back with us again for more awesome guides on your favorite games. Have fun!