Generic SAW Guide by Ocalin

Generic SAW Guide

By: Ocalin
Last Updated: Dec 4, 2019
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SAW

Build: Pew pew die

Ability Path

Spin Up
Heroic Perk
Roadie Run
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Suppressing Fire
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Mad Cannon
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Item Choices

Early Game

Book of Eulogies
Sprint Boots

First Buy (first port or shop)

Travel Boots
Heavy Steel
Book of Eulogies

After first turret or second buy

Travel Boots
Serpent Mask
Weapon Blade
Oakheart

Mid game

Travel Boots
Serpent Mask
Tyrant's Monocle
Lucky Strike
Reflex Block
Warmail

Late Game/Final Build

Journey Boots
Serpent Mask
Tyrant's Monocle
Tyrant's Monocle
Bonesaw
Aegis

alt build for team fighting

Journey Boots
Serpent Mask
Tyrant's Monocle
Bonesaw
Breaking Point
Aegis

Threat Meter

Threat
Low
High
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Threat Hero Notes
1
 Ozo Shoot him a few times, use Mad Cannon, finish off with Roadie Run. Easy kill lol (most of the time)
2
 Rona Same as Ozo.
3
 Petal Munions are annoying but can be easily killed. Just look out for her Spontaneous Combustion
3
 Silvernail Mediocre threat. Just be careful.
4
 Idris Absolutes stomp unless cp.
4
 Leo Just shoot him every time he tries to cs. If ganked by him, do not engage unless you absolutely have to.
4
 Phinn Free health via Serpents tbh. Just look out for Forced Accord and Quibble.
4
 Reza Can burst SAW but only when fed.
4
 Ringo Can only beat SAW if Ringo is an absolute god.
4
 Taka Only dangerous if you are weak or in a 1v2 situation.
5
 Churnwalker Not so scary alone but with teammates...Run
5
 Flicker Same as Churnwalker.
5
 Fortress Refer to above.
5
 Inara Banishing Kick can be annoying but you should be ok as long as there is no follow up.
5
 Lyra Only useful with teammates around to be honest.
5
 Miho Not too much of a threat until late game.
5
 San Feng Just don't hit whilst he is casting Tiger's Bridge.
5
 Varya Poke is ok but realistically no one plays her
5
 Viola Her use of Power Ballad could perhaps contribute to your demise.
6
 Ardan Pathetic until an Atlas Pauldron is acquired. If such is to happen, be fearful.
6
 Baron Porcupine Mortar is Baron's bestfriend whilst it is just a nuisance to SAW...
6
 Caine Poke can be annoying but it is completely manageable.
6
 Gwen Manageable. Just don't get overzealous and overextend without a teammate.
6
 Ishtar She is only realistically a pain in her Ascension state. That is the ultimate, fun fact!
6
 Kensei Stomp early game. Mildly annoying mid game. Run away if you see him late game.
6
 Lance Watch out for Impale and Root combo. Otherwise, you should be ok.
6
 Lorelai Fish Food and Splashdown may cause some issues. Wonderwall is quite irritating as well. Do not engage unless absolutely necessary
6
 Malene Annoying with two escapes, a root, and a slow. Not to mention her high damage via Shadow Tendrils. Be careful.
6
 SAW Depends on who is ahead tbh
6
 Skye Same situation as Samuel but can best SAW rather easily.
6
 Vox Unless going CP, Vox is not much of a threat. Not until much later, anyway.
7
 Blackfeather Can definitely kill saw even without an Atlas. Beware...
7
 Kinetic Not too hard to deal with and shut down. Same situation as Gwen.
7
 Magnus His stun and poke is annoying. Don't get in his way unless you can absolutely win. Feeding a Magnus is essentially throwing more coals into the fire that is gonna end up burning you alive.
8
 Adagio Mostly due to him being a lane bully with a slightly bigger pp than SAW.
8
 Alpha Irritating to play against but shouldn't be too difficult after acquiring a few items.
8
 Grace Stun could be easily dodged but she can just catch back up with Benediction. Be careful with play.
8
 Glaive Afterburn. Need I say more?
8
 Baptiste Ordained and Bad Mojo make for a bad time.
8
 Grumpjaw He is a hungry fellow, should avoid at Level Six especially.
8
 Samuel Not as annoying as the other mages but still a little dangerous.
8
 Warhawk Poker extraordinaire
8
 Yates Wolf's Maw can lead to your demise. This is especially true if combo'd with Overwhelm.
9
 Krul Krul is rather dangerous early game, Avoid at all costs unless assisted or a Reflex Block is in your possession.
9
 Koshka Same with Krul, Her stun is quite annoying.
9
 Joule Just don't let her sit on you, that is all/
9
 Catherine Can be annoying but just get your teammates to handle her, amirite?
9
 Anka A full health SAW should always beat a full health Anka. Pre level six anyway.
9
 Kestrel She outdamages SAW. Do not trade unless able to while assisted by a stun hero.
9
 Tony His Come At Me perk allows him to tank damage. His Jawbreaker is a stun. His Trash talk is well... trash talk! Overall, Tony is dangerous if going the right build path and has support from the enemy jungler.
9
 Ylva Her sudden stun via Charge Shot and high damage with Crimson Fang will definitely get you killed.
10
 Celeste She can poke, poke, poke, oh wait you're dead.
10
 Skaarf As cute as he is, he will literally roast you and your mother.
10
 Reim Reim's natural beefiness makes him a difficult foe for many heroes, SAW included!

Early Game Top

As you spawn in level one, you obviously get a starting gold amounting to 600. That is enough to buy two tier one items, as I am confident that most people know already. Start off by getting either Book of Eulogies (for sustain, of course) or a weapon blade and a pair of Sprint Boots. Although Roadie Run is a decent method of getting out of sticky situations alive, it is always good to just have a back up. This could also be a "just in case" kind of the thing too. An example of such an occurrence would be the inevitable Level One/Two engagement between the opposing laner. Let's just say you manage to get them in a few auto attack range health and you want to finish the kill. They could be just a few extra meters away from you which would render Roadie Run useless (unless you really dare to dive turret that hard). You could just use your boot activation to close the gap and shoot the opposing laner a few times and boom, an easy First Blood. This should create a snowball effect and some "tilt" in the opposing laner. Tilt is the effect that I like to describe as frustration or anger. Ever gotten mad at someone for something that shouldn't had happened in a game and remained upset even well after the match? That is almost exactly what tilt is, a mindset in which you are upset at something and let it continue to eat at you for like half an hour to an hour. Furthermore, Sprint Boots could also save your life as well. Now before anyone criticizes me for suggesting to use sprint boots offensively, just know that these are mere suggestions. At the end of the day, it is up to the player's judgement. Back on topic, Sprint Boots can be used to quickly escape a situation if needed. Let's imagine the enemy jungler is ganking and you don't have the reflexes to run in time. You could always just use Roadie Run in combination with Sprint Boots for a hasty retreat. The smart move after doing such a maneuver would most definitely be to port and communicate that the Enemy Jungler is lurking in your Jungle.

"First" Buy Top

You should have a sufficient amount of gold by now to be able to afford a Heavy Steel. If you are debating whether Heavy Steel or Barbed Needle, just think about this. Barbed Needle raises your damage values by an insignificant margin. Heavy steel, on the other hand, will dramatically increase your damage. It is all mostly due to Heavy Steel coming in with a whopping +45 weapon increase. If you do the math, that is four and a half Weapon Blades! Aside from being a bang for your buck (1500 Gold for five Weapon Blades, 1150 for Heavy Steel), it also makes your gold efficiency a whole lot better. If you were to compare a player running five Weapon Blades as opposed to a player with a Heavy Steel, the player with the Heavy Steel will be triumphant in engagements. While one can argue that the extra +5 weapon power may be "worth", it is almost always more worth it to just build smart and get a tier three instead of having multiple tier twos. The five Weapon Blades player may be able to win a few skirmishes in the Early Game but will mostly all the time be destroyed by the opposing player who shopped smart.

Middle Game Top

Midgame, a SAW player's wet dream. Well that is if you're winning your lane, of course. The main purpose/objective of a SAW player in the mid game is well, objectives! Unless your team requires, you're mostly going to be out of team fights. Your main purpose is to shove the lane as hard as possible. It is ok to take the turret for the cost of your life (except don't do it when you're worth a bounty). Since you'll essentially be non stop shoving turrets, you will be a huge target for the enemy team. This is ok as it gives time for your allies to focus on their lanes and perhaps even Ghostwing! What's a SAW for a dragon, right?! Anyways, if you wish to play a more team fight style game, just have your team rotate to your lane and five man push it. This will force the enemy team to rotate unless they want to lose all of their turrets in that lane. Rinse and repeat. If this does not work then the game is most likely lost as SAW thrives in the early to mid game. A side note, SAW can also solo Ghostwing if given the sufficient tools, Serpent Mask, Tyrant's Monacle. Infusing early wouldn't necessarily be a terrible idea either.

Late Game Top

Ah. Welcome to the last part of the game, Late Game! Here you will find that you will most likely be shut down by enemies with Atlas Pauldron, the item that hinders attack speed for a few seconds. In that scenario, run! You don't want to just give them a free kill as you're essentially a useless asset of the team. I swear I am not trying to be mean. It is just how SAW works. If this is the case, try to block the Atlas Pauldron by using your Reflex Block or Aegis (you should at least have a block by this stage). Doing so will make them waste the item and maybe even a few Crowd Control abilites (Impale, Gythian Wall, Merciless Pursuit, etc). Your main purpose now is to be the big, big, BIG, objective damaging machine. Essentially what you'll be doing is just hitting a dragon or turret. It is almost never a good idea to charge in headfirst as saw. This is due to his natural squishiness and low defensive stats. If you get into the enemy base, you should be able to shred the Turret(s), Armor(ies)y, and Vain Crystal alike. That should be GG!

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