Saito — guide

In short

Saito is a Legendary Attack champion from the Undead Hordes: an undead samurai who buffs his own damage and finishes single targets. He shines most on Clan Boss and in Faction Crypts, and he is usable in the Arena. Build priority: damage, ACC and SPD, with a bit of DEF on the side.

Strengths

• Wild Onslaught hits twice and has a 50% chance to place 50% Decrease DEF for 2 turns — and if the debuff lands, it adds a third hit. On Clan Boss that is both a team debuff and extra damage.
• Steadfast Warrior gives him 50% Increase ATK and 30% Increase C.RATE for 2 turns before attacking — self-sufficient ramp with no support needed.
• One in the Field is 6.5× ATK on a single target, and with 3+ living enemies it also splashes AoE on everyone else plus 20% more damage on the first hit against a target with higher MAX HP.
• The Vendetta passive ignores up to 30% of enemy DEF as long as he keeps hitting the same target — direct value against bosses.
• Dungeons Attack aura of +30% and a strong 4.0 rating in Faction Wars.

Weaknesses

• His key skills are all conditional: Steadfast Warrior needs his DEF to be higher than the enemy's, the AoE needs 3+ living enemies, and the bonus damage needs a target with more MAX HP than him.
• Vendetta resets when he switches targets, so on trash waves the passive barely does anything.
• Weak base stats: 1,321 ATK and 102 SPD — gear has to carry him.
• Poor in Hard mode (2.0) and only average in Hydra, Chimera and Dungeons (3.0 each).

Where to use

First of all Clan Boss (4.0): that is where he keeps Decrease DEF up and stacks Vendetta on one target. Second, Undead Hordes Faction Crypts (4.0) and Arena (3.5), which is exactly where the site author recommends him. In Hydra, Chimera, Doom Tower and Dungeons he sits at 3.0 — a backup damage dealer, not a core pick. In Hard content (2.0) he is close to pointless.

Stats and gear

Targets: SPD 180–200+, C.RATE 100% (do not rely on the Steadfast Warrior buff alone), C.DMG 200%+, ATK 4,000+, ACC 200+ so the Decrease DEF from his A1 lands on Clan Boss and in Arena. Also pick up roughly 2,000–3,000 DEF from substats, otherwise the A2 condition simply never triggers.

Sets: Savage, Lethal or Cruel for damage, Perception for accuracy. Relic priority: Malefic Talon, The Cat's Gaze, Gorecrescent.

Masteries and blessings

Offense tree per the build sheet: Pierce Defenses, Foekiller, Piercing Strike, Constant Onslaught, Bloodthirsty Prowess — all about penetration and finishing kills. Take a defensive or support second tree for survivability. No blessing is fixed in the build: pick an offensive one for damage and a survivability one if you use him in Arena.

Tomes

Book Steadfast Warrior (A2) first: it adds damage and cuts 1 turn of cooldown, which means far more uptime on his own buffs. Then Wild Onslaught — the Decrease DEF chance goes from 50% to 60%, which is consistency for the whole team. Leave One in the Field for last, unless you specifically want the Arena AoE.

Verdict

A solid, self-sufficient damage dealer for Clan Boss, Arena and Faction Crypts, but he comes with a lot of conditions — worth building, just don't expect him to be universal.