Sage Hero Guide

Overview

Unique Traits and Backpack

• Poison Blood and Revenge abilities
• Moonlit Assassin: Specializes in fast-paced execution
• Weapons:
  • Crossbow/Arbalest: Long-range, burst damage, and debuffs with various bolts
  • Kunai and Katana: Melee revenge attacks
• Special Backpack Items:
  • Shadow Satchel (Dark Green): Extra bolts or Mana generator when inflicting debuffs
  • Radiance Satchel (Light Green): Bolt generator, can be sold for extra Gold

Playstyle

• Fast burst damage, especially effective against low-defense enemies
• Revenge-based attacks (counters multi-hit strategies)
• Inflicts Poison and Bleed for additional damage over time
• Relies on critical hits from main weapons

What to Expect

• Assassin-like gameplay
• Quick fights
• Punishes reckless weapon and dagger spam

Matchups

Advantages

Strong against burst, tempo burst, multi-weapon, and low-defense builds:

• Chana
• Nymphedora
• Tink

Disadvantages

Weak against durable-sustain playstyles and pet-based builds:

• Ronan
• Harkon
• Buzz

Counterplay Against Sage

• Build Thorns to counter Katana
• Use Stamina Drain to limit attacks
• Employ blocking damage (e.g., Heater Shield)
• Apply heavy Blind effects (Sage lacks cleansing and high Luck)

Gameplay Progression

Early Game Challenges

• Unstable progression, reliant on good item and Iron Bolt RNG
• Struggles against durable builds, especially Ronan
• Vulnerable to block damage from shields
• Accuracy is crucial; missing attacks is detrimental

General Strategies

1. Always store Bolts in Shadow Satchel
2. Keep crossbow fully loaded with Bolts:
   • Hand Crossbow: 2 Bolts
   • Ironwood Boltcaster: 3 Bolts
   • Titanwood Repeater: 3-4 Bolts (build-dependent)
   • Arcane Bolt Blaster: 4+ Bolts
3. Manage Stamina carefully:
   • Main Stamina sources: Banana, Apple, Endurance Potion, Wrath Potion
   • Without additional Stamina sources:
     • 1 crossbow + any weapon (< 1.15 Stamina/s)
     • 1 crossbow and 2 Autotrigger
4. Utilize Mana consumption for extra attacks with higher-tier crossbows
5. Use Jade or Refined Jade to achieve 100 Accuracy for starting weapons

Item Choices

Early Game (Rounds 1-8)

Weapons

• Recommended:
  • Wooden Club → Mallet: Strong, removes Thorns, reduces Armor
  • Stick → Willow Wand: Reliable ranged weapon with Mana generation
  • Fishing Rod: Mana generation and fish (aim for Pinktail, Tuna, or Willowfin)
  • Rock, Dagger → Hooked Dagger: For Bleed builds
  • Iron Bolt: Essential for crossbow builds
• Avoid: Wooden Sword, Broom, Fisherman’s Hook (vulnerable to Thorns)

Mana Generation

• Wizard Robe: Decent generator, provides defense and random buffs on upgrade
• Lucky Tuna: Good stats and fast cooldown
• Watermelon: Viable but space-inefficient

Defense

• Spiked Shield: Effective against melee heroes
• Heater Shield: All-purpose, but large (2x3 spaces)
• Stunbreaker Shield: Counters stuns, improves with upgrades

Miscellaneous

• Nightshade: Damage boost, useful for transitioning to Poison builds
• Night Dahlia: Sustain and initial Mana
• Water Potion: Strong against Chana, useful for later combinations
• Consumables: Banana, Tender Sausage, Apple, Fly Agaric (good for combinations)
• Whetstone, Jade: Useful for Katana builds
• Ginseng Root + Wild Rose → Bloodthorn: Versatile stat boosts
• Sash → Belt: Situational, prioritize survivability
• Bat: Must-buy when on sale, generally helpful

Mid to Late Game (Rounds 9-21)

Bleeding Build

• Suitable for most unique items (except Plague Ichor, Noxious Lantern)
• Core items:
  • Crossbow + Razor Bolt
  • Throwing Hatchet / Soulstealer (with Stamina source)
  • Axe of Abraxas / Woodsman’s Axe (less optimal, needs Stamina source)
  • Fishing Harpoon / Neptune’s Wrath (with Stamina source)
  • Hooked Dagger → Scroll of Blood (top-tier for Bleed)
• Situational:
  • Mars Flytrap + Plants: Space-intensive, consider carefully
  • Ancient Relic + Bloodthorns: Strong for countering Bleed and burst damage

Poison Build

• Ideal for Noxious Lantern, Plague Ichor
• Can work with Serpent Deathbolt (Bleed build still viable)
• Key items:
  • Nightshade (save for Botulinum Potions and Belts)
  • Crossbow + Toxic Bolt or Razor Bolt (Toxic Bolt excels with Bolt Quiver)
  • Serpent’s Tongue (with Stamina source)

Mixed Debuff Build

• Focuses on debuff damage and high base weapon damage
• Consider Pet Collar if using pets like Boomslang or Red Widow (from Serpent Deathbolt)

General Late-Game Items

• Essences: Magic, Life, and Speed are priority (combine for Astral Reaver if desired)
• Holy Essence: Good but requires Mana focus
• Death Essence: Suits Poison builds or Unholy Skull combination
• Amethyst Pendant: Reliable Mana generator with Lifesteal
• Frost Barrier, Gothic Shield: Solid but not game-changing
• Stunbreaker Shield: Excellent with high-level upgrades
• Brainsquasher: Reliable for breaking Armor/Thorns and stunning
• Golden Tail: Provides Empower, boosting all weapon damage including Bolts