2 Roku Saigo

Overview

With a massive hammer and even more massive defense, Saigo is an immortal wall (and not much else). No other character can ignore boss mechanics the way Saigo can, all while stacking his unique Rage meter to grow tankier as the fight continues. Given out as a free character to all, Saigo is a solid teammate that will always have your back. Just don’t expect him to bring much damage.

Rage

Saigo’s unique meter is Rage, built via hits from his Secondary Attack or from taking damage. Rage stacks to 30, each stack granting +5% defense. Using his ultimate clears all Rage, increasing its damage multiplier based on how much Rage he had (further boosted if you level passive 2). Rage also fuels passive 1, letting him heal himself per Rage stack.

Primary Attack

A slow 3-swing melee chain. You’ll rarely see the full chain unless the enemy is already broken. Each hit applies Attention for 20s and deals a high amount of break damage, though its slowness hampers its real value.

Secondary Attack

Saigo moves forward while spinning his hammer. Holding the button charges it, increasing hits before the final swing. He appears to resist interruption while spinning, letting him continue even if hit. As a player, you’ll spam this for break damage alongside counterattacks. Each hit grants +1 Rage and applies Attention for 20s.

Counterattack

A deflect counterattack (won’t deflect non-physical attacks). Saigo charges forward while deflecting. This can be awkward against certain enemies (like SHARK’s underwater dash). Otherwise, it functions as a standard deflect counter.

Strategy Skill

Character defining. Saigo holds his hammer up, gaining 70% damage reduction while the button is held. Each hit he takes costs him 200 stamina. After he’s hit, his next secondary attack is treated as fully charged (no spin-up needed). If you attempt to charge the secondary after that, you won’t get the full effect. As a player, you’ll often use this instead of counterattacking, especially against projectiles or if you want that fully charged secondary for break damage.

Ultimate Skill

Costs 3 Tension Bars and all Rage. Saigo slams down with a big AoE centered on himself. Its base damage is low but scales heavily with Rage, and can reach jaw-dropping numbers with passive 2. However, 3 bars is steep, and usually better spent on a dedicated DPS ult. Ult efficiency lines are handy if you choose to do this anyway.

Chain Skill

Saigo slams down with a leaping overhead strike. Applies Attention for 20s, otherwise fairly typical.

Combos (If Operating)

Use secondary attacks for break and Rage generation, then decide if you want to counterattack or use strategy skill to block enemy moves. For instance, you might deflect certain attacks (e.g., Backgammon’s aerial dive) for an extended stun but use the strategy skill vs its tail swipe.

Tips:

1. Rage can be built by hitting enemies with secondary attack or by letting them hit you, so plan your openings to build Rage quickly.
2. Saigo’s primary attacks do more DPS, but are slow. Use them if an enemy is stunned/broken or not attacking for a while.
3. Don’t be shy about getting hit. Saigo easily tanks hits and can heal if built that way.

Potential

• Fighting Instincts: +60%, 60%, 240% Primary, +40%, 80% Secondary, +40% Counter, N/A for Strategy, +800% Ultimate, +240% Chain.
• Survival Instincts: +10% HP, +10% Defense, +100 Stamina.
• Coordination: +20 support per point.
• Passive Skill 1: Heals 0.04% (+0.04%/rank) max HP every 5s per Rage stack (up to 1.2% at rank 1, 6% at rank 5 with 30 Rage).
• Passive Skill 2: Increases Rage-to-ult multiplier by 2.4% (+2.4%/rank, 12% max) per Rage stack (72% at rank 1, 360% at rank 5; effectively
  177% at rank 1 or 465% at rank 5 with base level included).

For pure survivability, max passive 1 and Survival Instincts (split as you need). For damage, max passive 2 and add Fighting Instinct, or just Fighting Instinct if you don’t plan on ulting. A single point in passive 1 is nice since Saigo will inevitably take hits.

Dupes

• T1 (Assistance): Upon “Roar of Outrage,” allies get increased recovery effect for 15s, +5% more for each Rage stack. Good for teammates like Yo’s passive 2.
• T2/T4: +2/+3 Potential Gems. Great for a character who likes 4-5 potential picks.
• T3 (Steel Body): -50% stamina use on Shock Absorber. Nice quality of life but not game-changing.
• T5 (Iron Fire): If all allies drop below 50% HP, apply 20s of Attention on all enemies. Doesn’t matter much now since he can keep single targets’ attention anyway, but could be helpful if multiple strong elites appear later.

Operating Character

His AI is decent enough for most. The AI often charges his secondary fully and holds strategy skill for extended periods (being quite passive), which might be all you want from a tank. Manually piloting him allows for more break optimization the AI doesn’t do.

Conclusion

While tanks aren’t strictly necessary right now, Saigo is still a good choice if you dislike or aren’t adept at countering/dodging. He can cheese many boss mechanics with strategy skill, and unlimited time in fights means you won’t mind his low DPS as much.