Artoria Pendragon, known as Saber, joins Honkai: Star Rail as a limited 5★ Destruction-path DPS with the Wind element. This guide covers her optimal build!
Best Light Cones for Saber:
For maximum damage, equip Saber with a five star Destruction Light Cone. Her own signature Light Cone will likely be her best-in-slot due to tailored effects.
Saber's Signature Light Cone - A Thankless Coronation:
Increases the wearer's CRIT DMG by 36% / 45% / 54% / 63% / 72% . Increases the wearer's ATK by 40% / 50% / 60% / 70% / 80% when using Ultimate. If the wearer's Max Energy is greater than or equal to 300, regenerates a fixed amount of Energy equal to 10% of the wearer's Max Energy and increases their ATK by 40% / 50% / 60% / 70% / 80% , lasting for 2 turns.
Otherwise, the top five star options are:
Something Irreplaceable (5★ gacha): Offers a huge ATK boost and bonus damage; also heals Saber on defeating enemies or taking hits. This is a premier pick for raw damage and some sustain.
On the Fall of an Aeon (5★ F2P Herta Store): Excellent free option that ramps up ATK on hits and increases damage after Weakness Break. Saber’s kit focuses on Damage, so this synergizes well by rewarding frequent breaking.
The Unreachable Side (5★ limited): Blade’s signature Light Cone – boosts Crit Rate and Max HP with damage buffs on self-damage or hits. Saber doesn’t self-damage, but she can still benefit from the Crit and damage boost when struck. Use if already owned.
The 4 star options are:
A Trail of Bygone Blood (NEW 4★ battlepass):
Increases the wearer's CRIT Rate by 12% / 14% / 16% / 18% / 20% . The DMG dealt by the wearer's Skill and Ultimate increases by 24% / 28% / 32% / 36% / 40% .
A Secret Vow (4★ gacha): Strong 4★ option giving up to 40% increased damage when the enemy’s HP % is higher than Saber’s. Great for boss fights or MoC where enemies start healthy.
Under the Blue Sky (4★ gacha): Increases ATK (16%) and grants Crit Rate on defeating an enemy. This is useful in MoC multi-wave scenarios where Saber’s AoE can secure kills and snowball her crit buffs.
Nowhere to Run (4★ Nameless Glory BP): High ATK% buff and heals on kill. Good for sustain if team healing is low, though the kill condition makes it situational in boss fights.
Budget Tip: If none of the above are available, use any 3★ Destruction cone (like Collapsing Sky or Mutual Demise) and replace as soon as possible. Saber's damage scales heavily with her Light Cone choice, so plan to obtain at least a solid 4★ option.
Best Relic Sets & Planar Ornaments:
For relics, focus on sets that boost Wind damage, Crit, and overall damage output. The best choices are:
4-piece Eagle of Twilight Line – (Wind DMG +10%, Action Forward on Ultimate). This set is ideal if you want Saber to capitalize on her Ultimate. After using her Ult, Saber advances forward 25% in the turn order, letting her act again sooner. The Wind damage bonus and turn-advancing effect help maximize her DPS uptime, especially since her kit rewards frequent Ult usage (enhanced by ally Ultimates).
2-piece Eagle of Twilight Line + 2-piece Musketeer of Wild Wheat – Combines +10% Wind DMG with +12% ATK. Use this if you cannot obtain a good 4-piece Eagle set. The mix provides a solid balance of elemental damage and Attack to boost all of Saber’s output.
4-piece Scholar Lost in Erudition – (+8% Crit Rate; +20% Skill/Ult DMG, and +25% bonus to next Skill after using Ult). Note: This is a newer set geared toward skill-spam DPS (BiS for Jingliu) and could be strong if available, as Saber’s rotation involves frequent skill and Ult use.
For Planar Ornaments (2-piece sets), these are top picks:
Inert Salsotto – (Crit Rate +8%; if Crit ≥50%, increases Ultimate and follow-up damage by 15%). This is a universal best-in-slot for many DPS. Saber benefits from the Crit boost and the Ult damage increase (she has no follow-ups, but the Ult buff alone is great). Aim to use Salsotto if your Crit Rate is built up to the threshold.
Rutilant Arena – (+8% Crit Rate; if Crit ≥70%, increases Basic ATK and Skill damage by 20%). If Saber’s build reaches high Crit Rate, this set is excellent, especially in content where she’s using her Skill frequently (e.g. AoE waves). It won’t buff her Ult, but it amplifies her bread-and-butter attacks.
Space Sealing Station – (+12% ATK; +12% ATK if Speed ≥120). A solid early/endgame pick if you need pure ATK and can get Saber’s Speed to 120+. This is outclassed by the Crit-oriented sets once you meet their conditions, but still useful if substats don’t allow high Crit yet.
Optimal Relic Main Stats per Slot:
Choosing the correct main stats on relics is crucial for Saber’s damage output:
Body (Chest): Crit DMG or Crit Rate. Aim for Crit DMG% if Saber's Crit Rate is ~50% or higher from substats/ornaments; otherwise use Crit Rate% until you reach a comfortable crit balance. Maintaining the ideal 1:2 ratio of Crit Rate:Crit DMG is key for DPS output.
Feet (Boots): Speed%. Saber's base Speed is middling, and more Speed means more turns (and more ally Ultimates used in-between to buff her). Aim for Speed boots to hit important breakpoints (discussed below). Only consider ATK% boots if you already exceed desired Speed thresholds via substats and team buffs.
Planar Sphere: Wind DMG%. Boosting her elemental damage is the best way to scale all of Saber’s attacks. A Wind-damage Sphere is non-negotiable for maximizing her DPS.
Link Rope: ATK%. This provides the largest increase to her overall damage, as Saber’s kit scales primarily with ATK. An ATK rope is generally optimal once Crit and Speed needs are met. Alternatives: An Energy Regeneration% rope can be considered if her Ult uptime is lacking, but note that her talent already helps with energy regen when allies use Ultimates.
Substat Priorities:
For substats, Saber wants to balance critical stats and offensive power:
Crit Rate & Crit DMG: These are top priority to hit the 1:2 ratio. Crit is king for DPS – Saber's damage spikes when she crits, especially her multi-hit Ult. Stack Crit Rate until ~70-80% (with buffs) and pump Crit DMG thereafter.
Speed: Enough Speed to reach key turn benchmarks in MoC. Aim for ≥120 Speed unbuffed to get an extra turn over slower enemies, and around 134-135 Speed if running with Sunday or similar buffers to optimize turn order. Every ally Ultimate used gives Saber a talent stack, so more turns (for allies and Saber) directly translate to higher buffs for her.
ATK%: Increases all her damage. Once Crit and Speed are decent, additional ATK% strengthens both her raw hit damage and her Wind Break damage scaling.
Recommended Endgame Stat Thresholds:
To tackle Memory of Chaos, try to build Saber to roughly these stats by level 80:
Crit Rate: ~75% (85%+ with buffs). High crit is important for consistent damage. If using 4-piece Eagle (which has no crit in set), you’ll rely entirely on gear and possibly an ornament for crit.
Crit Damage: ~150% or higher. Endgame DPS ideally push 150–180% Crit DMG. Saber’s relic substats and Body piece will drive this.
ATK: 2,500+ (unbuffed). With fully leveled traces and relics, try to exceed 2500 ATK. Higher is better since her damage scale from ATK. Buffs (Tingyun, etc.) will raise this in combat.
Speed: 120–134. At 120 SPD, you trigger Space Sealing Station’s bonus and ensure Saber isn’t too slow. 134+ SPD is a common breakpoint when running Bronya – it lets Saber take action after Bronya’s Technique or Ult in proper order. If not using Bronya, simply aim for 120-130 to outpace most mobs.
Major Trace Upgrade Priority
Saber’s Major Traces provide powerful passive bonuses that enhance her combat performance. Prioritize unlocking and leveling them in this order:
- Knight of the Dragon:
Increases Saber's CRIT Rate by 20%. When entering battle and using an Enhanced Basic ATK, obtains "Mana Burst." If Saber has "Mana Burst" and "Core Resonance" at the same time, then she can fully regenerate her Energy after using a Skill and consumes "Mana Burst" to allow allies to recover 1 Skill Point while letting her immediately take action.
- Blessing of the Lake:
Saber can accumulate up to 120 excess Energy. After using Ultimate, the excess Energy is cleared and a corresponding amount is regenerated. When the battle starts, if Energy is below 40%, it is regenerated to 40%.
- Crown of the Star:
When using Skill, increases Saber's CRIT DMG by 50% for 2 turns.
Overall, unlock all her major traces as you ascend, but focus resources on the damage and energy ones first.
Skill Level-Up Priority:
Maximize the skills that yield the most damage and team benefit for Saber’s role:
Ultimate (Excalibur) – Top Priority. Saber’s Ultimate is her strongest attack, dealing heavy single-target damage with splash, and it becomes a massive AoE nuke when enhanced. Leveling it increases its damage multipliers significantly, which is vital for burst phases in MoC. Since her kit revolves around powering up this Ultimate, you want it hitting as hard as possible.
Skill (Strike Air: Hammer of the Wind King) – Second Priority. This damages a target and adjacent enemies. You will use her Skill frequently in MoC waves and to chip multiple enemies’ Toughness. Leveling it boosts both its direct damage dealt to multiple enemies. In prolonged fights, Skill contributes a large portion of total damage, so it’s nearly as important as the Ultimate.
Talent (Dragon Reactor Core) – Third Priority. Saber's talent gives her a stacking buff whenever any ally uses an Ultimate, increasing her survivability and energy regen, and eventually upgrading her own Ultimate. Leveling the talent typically increases the buff effects (e.g. energy recharge rate, damage reduction, etc.). This indirectly boosts her performance and should be maxed eventually. However, prioritize direct damage skills first; the talent’s utility is potent but harder to feel immediately than raw damage gains.
Basic Attack (Invisible Air: Barrier of the Wind King) – Last Priority. Saber’s basic is single-target and used least often. It’s mainly a filler when low on skill points. While it should not be neglected entirely (higher basic ATK helps in zero-skill-point moments and finishing off low-health foes), it yields the lowest benefit from maxing. Leave this for last when everything else is done.
Trace Leveling Note: Don’t forget to level her Skill, Ultimate, and Talent evenly up to their level caps as you ascend Saber. But when resources are limited, funnel them into Ultimate and Skill first for the biggest impact on her MoC performance.
Best Team Compositions for Saber:
Saber shines as the main DPS in teams that leverage attack buffs and frequent Ultimate usage. She deals strong damage, especially with the right allies. Here are some of her optimal team setups:
Saber + Sunday + Robin + Sustain (BiS): Sunday action advances Saber, Robin boosts Saber's attack by her ultimate, and the Sustain protects Saber. For the sustain, use Lingsha, Hyacine, Gallagher, Huohuo, Fu Xuan, Luocha, or Aventurine.
Saber + Ruan Mei + RMC + Gallagher (BiS F2P): Ruan Mei was given for free and is a great universal support. RMC provides Saber with True Damage. You can get Gallagher for free in Patch 3.3's main event; Legend of the Galactic Baseballer: Demon King Event.
Saber + Bronya + Silver Wolf + Sustain: This is a powerhouse MoC team. Bronya provides ATK and Crit buffs and extra turns for Saber (and Bronya’s Ultimate itself gives Saber a talent stack). Silver Wolf applies DEF reduction and can implant Wind weakness on enemies, ensuring Saber can break any enemy. This duo maximizes Saber’s damage and break potential. A Healer (Luocha, Bailu, or Natasha) keeps the team healthy – particularly useful until Saber can launch her enhanced Ult which heals the party. A Shielder like Aventurine or Fu Xuan can also be used. This comp is extremely effective against single-target bosses (Wind-weak or not, thanks to Silver Wolf) as well as multi-enemy waves (due to Saber’s AoE and Bronya’s turn pushing).
Saber + Tingyun + Pela + Sustain: A more accessible support setup. Tingyun greatly boosts Saber’s damage with ATK buffs and energy (and her Ultimate counts toward Saber’s talent stacks). Pela provides DEF shred and removes enemy buffs; notably, Pela can reduce enemy Toughness by lowering Wind RES if they are Wind-weak, accelerating breaks. The last slot can be any healer or shielder to protect Saber (Gallagher for budget healing, Fu Xuan for shields, etc.). This team focuses on enabling Saber to ult often and hit harder, while keeping enemies debuffed and breakable.
In all comps, Saber thrives on allies using their Ultimates frequently – every ally ult buffs her (via her talent) and hastens her own Ultimate’s enhanced state. Thus, try to include at least 1–2 supports with energy generation or short Ultimate rotations (e.g. Tingyun, Bronya, Asta).
Lastly, remember Saber is a Destruction DPS: she can function as solo carry in a team with 2 supports and a healer or shielder. Adjust the team based on content – if survivability is an issue, swap in a Preservation unit; if damage check is tight, ensure double buffers. With the above builds and team recommendations, Saber will be well-equipped to pull the sword from the stone and conquer the toughest depths of the Memory of Chaos. Good luck!
