Sazan is a damage-focused hunter in Crucible with a diverse set of weapons and low early-game mobility.
She is one of the strongest late-game hunters available in Crucible, but she is vulnerable in the early game before she acquires her essence upgrades. Her playstyle is unique because it involves switching between three weapons throughout a fight to deal damage.
Jack of all weapons, master of none
Sazan’s kit and passive abilities rely on constantly switching between her three very different weapons. She carries an Electro Knife, which can be thrown at targets. She also carries an Inertia Gun, which applies a stacking slow effect to targets and is effective at medium and short ranges. Finally, she carries a Shotgun, which is highly effective at close range.
When any of these weapons run out of ammo, you have to switch to another weapon while your former weapon goes on a short cooldown. Many of Sazan’s level abilities also offer various bonuses for swapping weapons, which is good because you will be swapping weapons a lot. To master Sazan, you will need to master smoothly swapping between weapons mid-fight.
Sazan also has a Jet-Dash ability, which comes with a reasonably short cooldown. Her mobility isn’t great, but her directional Jet-Dash can get you out of trouble in a pinch, especially once you double your Jet-Dash at essence level four. Sazan is a great damage dealer when she is paired with a partner to have her back. She is definitely not a solo operator, and she will likely die if left isolated.
Use Sazan’s Weapon Combo to Burst Enemies Down
The biggest advantage Sazan brings to a team is her ability to deal a ridiculous amount of burst damage. Sazan has a powerful kill combo with her weapons which has the potential to badly damage, or even kill, opposing hunters.
Start the fight with your inertia gun. If you hit enough shots, the enemy will be dramatically slowed down, at which point move close to your opponent and switch to your shotgun. After blasting your three shotgun blasts into your slowed target, pull out your knife and throw it into your target.
If you hit enough of these abilities, your target will likely be dead or running away from you. Depending on how quickly you performed the combination, your inertia weapon may be ready to use, and you can restart the combination again. In the case that your combo did not work, use her jet-dash to escape, relying on your partner to bail you out while your weapons are on cooldown.
Teamwork is essential to the success of this tactic. Sazan does a lot of damage quickly, but her weapons have significant cool downs, and don’t provide a strong source of consistent damage. She is best paired with a partner who can deal consistent damage from diverse ranges, since she is really only effective up close.
Invest in Sazan’s Swap Bonus Upgrades
Sazan has a few interesting essence upgrades available. For the best standard Sazan loadout, select the abilities that buff her stats after swapping weapons. These abilities stack on each other, making you a damage machine if you can consistently land your shots while rapidly switching between weapons.
For level one, you can choose between Stalkers Knife which allows your knife to detect enemies within 25 meters of impact, Taking Cover which cloaks you for five seconds after completing an interaction or using a medkit, and finally, Restorative Exchange which offers you 20 health when swapping weapons. Restorative Exchange is the most powerful of these abilities since it means that you will gain 60 health if you cycle through all your weapons in combat. That extra health is often the crucial difference between winning and losing a confrontation.
Her second level essence upgrade is Fully Engaged. With Fully Engaged unlocked, you can swap between weapons to grant brief passive abilities to Sazan’s various weapons. Switching to her electro knife gains cloak, switching to her Inertia Gun grants 150 shields, and switching to her Shotgun gives you a short speed boost.
Her third level essence upgrade offers you a choice between Capacitor Overflow which makes it so that swapping between weapons grants a 6% damage boost for 10 seconds, Full Blast Shot which increases shotgun knock back and accuracy, and Cut and Run which causes your Jet-Dash to deal damage to opponents when you pass through them. Of these three, either Capacitor Overflow or Full Blast Shot is your best option. Capacitor Overflow is another upgrade to swapping, but Full Blast Shot can also increase the usefulness of your shotgun.
Her level four essence upgrade is Go the Extra Mile. This ability increases your dash number from one to two. This dramatically increases the survivability of the character, making level four an essential upgrade before trying to take on any opponents. Any early-game fights without Go the Extra Mile available are going to be an upward battle, just due to Sazan’s limited mobility.
Sazan’s final level five essence upgrade offers you a choice between Disruptor Charge, which causes the first shot of the inertia gun to briefly disrupt an enemy’s ability, and Upping the Voltage which adds 33% knife damage and 33% extra energy per weapon, allowing you to fire longer with the Inertia Gun and the Shotgun. Upping the Voltage is a must, this ability makes Sazan a much more credible threat in the end game. That said, if you are playing with a high damage partner, Disruptor Charge is a decent support ability if you are looking to play a more supportive role.
Sazan is strong in the end game, if you can get there
Sazan is one of the strongest end-game characters available in Crucible. In the menus, Sazan’s byline is One Woman Army, a title she lives up to after level five. The challenge with Sazan is supporting her through the early game, long enough to reach that level five in the first place.
Until she is fully leveled, Sazan is a highly vulnerable target. At low essence levels, she struggles to deal enough damage to finish opponents and also struggles to escape harm’s way. As a result, the best way to succeed with Sazan is by playing a stealthy early game, focused on farming essence and avoiding fights. Once you are fully leveled, you can play much more aggressively, reassured that your double Jet-Dash can get you out of harm when needed.
