AFK Journey Saida Guide: Skills, Teams & PVP

In this article, LDShop will provide an in-depth Guide of Saida, discussing her current usage, team composition, applicable scenarios, and examining her relevance in both the current version and potential future updates. Let's go!!!

Saida's Information

Faction	Class	Rarity	DMG Type
Hypogean	Rogue	S-Level	Magic DMG

Saida is an S-Level Hypogean Rogue hero. She deals Magic damage and has a base range of 1 tile. Saida is a master of attrition, who truly comes into her own during prolonged battles. With adequate support, she can transform from an early-game liability into an excellent late-game team carry in both PvE and PvP. Her signature Drain Seeds siphon power from enemies while replenishing her allies' energy, creating a snowball effect that becomes increasingly difficult to stop as the battle progresses.

 

Saida's Skills and Gameplay

Here are the overview of Saida's Kit:

Ultimate - Seed Siphon (Unlocks at level 1)

Active: Saida teleports in front of an enemy, preventing them from moving or acting. She then deals 520% + 60% damage and drains 220 + 20 Energy from the enemy. Saida remains unaffected while doing this and plants a Drain Seed in the enemy. She prioritizes enemies without a Drain Seed. This seed drops to the ground if its host is defeated or if Saida uses her Ultimate on its host again. Up to 8 Drain Seeds can exist on the battlefield at the same time. In boss fights, Drain Seeds on the ground will not obstruct unit movement. Passive: Every 2.5s, Drain Seed deals 250% damage to its host and reduces their Energy by 120.

Skill I - Crimson Claim (Unlocks at level 11)

Passive: Saida restores extra HP equal to 100% of the damage dealt by her normal attacks and skills. Any excess healing from this effect is converted into a shield. The shield value cannot exceed 3000% + 300%. Active: Saida forms a blood spike to pierce an enemy, dealing 420% + 40% damage and interrupting their action. If any Drain Seeds are within 1 tile of the enemy, each one also forms blood spikes to strike that enemy, dealing 30% damage.

Skill II - Revenant Sprout (Unlocks at level 31)

When Saida is defeated, she consumes a Drain Seed to revive at the seed's position, restoring 10% + 1% HP. She prioritizes the oldest seed available and restores an extra 2.5% HP for each second the consumed seed existed. The extra HP restored cannot exceed 50%.

Hero Focus (Unlocks after reaching Legendary+)

Saida reduces her damage taken by 12% during battle. She further reduces her damage taken by an extra 2% for each existing Drain Seed, up to a maximum of 10%.

Skill - Deepening Roots (Unlocks after reaching Mythic+)

Saida reduces the damage dealt by enemies afflicted with a Drain Seed by 35%. Each time she casts her Ultimate, the interval between Drain Seed attack effects is shortened by 0.5s, up to a maximum reduction of 1.5s for the current battle.

Enhance Force (Unlocks after reaching Supreme+)

When a battle starts, Saida plants Drain Seeds in 2 nearby allied heroes. These seeds do not harm allies but grant them a shield that can absorb 800% damage.

Her damage comes from her Ultimate ability, where she can perform Seed Siphon on enemies, dealing damage to them, draining their energy, and further increasing the damage with her EX weapon. Additionally, after casting her Ultimate multiple times, the EX weapon provides powerful crowd control capabilities, making her a semi-control unit if the battle lasts long enough. Beyond that, she also possesses defensive capabilities: first, her revival ability, and second, her firing ability unlocked at the Supreme+. Thus, her third skill provides additional healing, allowing her to survive better while dealing damage, and also incorporates an interrupt effect to counter certain common channeling skills.

 

Saida EX Weapon - Deepening Roots

Saida's EX Weapon is a core component of her kit.

• At EX+5, it increases the damage of her Drain Seeds, providing a significant boost in both PvE and PvP.
• At EX+10, this scaling continues, allowing her to pressure enemies more effectively during prolonged engagements.
• The true game-changing breakthrough occurs at EX+15. Saida unleashes a fierce trap that hits all enemies with a wave of AoE damage and roots them in place for 4.5 seconds. This ability can turn the tide in team fights, giving you just enough breathing room to secure victory or stage a comeback from a losing battle.

Dedicated Saida players may find EX+10 a solid milestone, but EX+15 unlocks her full potential as a control-focused anchor.

 

Saida's Teammate recommended

Based on the information above, we can understand that Saida's strengths emerge in the mid to late game, while she remains relatively fragile in the early stages. This indicates that Saida is a backline damage-dealing character, meaning that in terms of teammate selection, she prefers characters who can provide as much protection as possible for her during the early phase.

Damian

Damian excels in this regard, particularly with his Ultimate—"Explode, My Chariot!"—which sends out a clone that detonates, dealing area-of-effect damage and restoring allies' energy based on the chariot's remaining health. His Skill I, "Emergency Support!", heals the weakest ally multiple times, ensuring Saida survives long enough to cast her first Seed Siphon. The combination of healing and energy restoration rapidly accelerates Saida's power spike.

 

Koko

Koko brings powerful damage mitigation through her Ultimate—"Full Energy!"—which provides global damage reduction, lifesteal, and an attack power boost for the team. Her Skill I, "Fulfilling Feast", heals the lowest-health ally multiple times, creating a buffer for Saida to operate behind a sturdy frontline. Koko’s EX upgrades also grant shielding, synergizing perfectly with Saida’s late-game resilience.

 

Igor

Igor slows enemy momentum with his Ultimate—"Funeral Ring"—summoning tombstones as enemies lose health. His Skill I, "Ghastly Explosion", detonates these tombstones to deal area damage and heal himself, prolonging battles. His EX weapon reduces enemy healing when Igor is at high health, limiting opponents’ sustainability and allowing Saida’s damage-over-time mechanics to dominate.

 

Elijah and Lailah

Elijah and Lailah are key to activating Saida’s energy engine. Their Skill, "Graceful Rhythm", grants a Haste buff that accelerates action speed and energy gain for the entire team. Their Stellar Bond mechanism restores energy and health to linked allies, helping Saida reliably chain-cast her Ultimate. This is especially valuable in the mid-to-late game when repeated Seed Siphon cycles make Saida’s presence overwhelming.

 

Saida's Strengths in Different Scenarios

AFK Stages

• Excels in extreme deficit pushing, leveraging sustained control and revival to stall time and enable core carries (Baden, Baron).
• Not a mandatory pick; requires high-investment team synergy and heavy resource allocation.

 

Dream Realm

• Underwhelming against most current bosses due to kit limitations.
• Top-tier damage dealer against the Primal Lord Crystal Crawler.
• High potential if future bosses introduce mechanics vulnerable to energy drain or attrition.

 

PvP (GOOD!)

• Dominant in prolonged battles, with repeated revives disrupting enemy strategies. Synergizes well with sustained damage allies (Talia).
• Vulnerable to burst comps and fast-paced teams (Igor, Scarlet).

 

Conclusion

Based on the above analysis, Saida is a viable option for players seeking optimal configurations. She has proven highly effective against the Crystal Crawler. If you're looking for a hero who evolves into a late-game powerhouse, Saida is the one to watch. Should the need arise, you may consider Top-up in AFK Journey to enhance your gaming experience.