Sabres are weapons that take the heavy slashing and cutting damage of Katana’s but add a splash of blunt damage, sacrificing some of the cutting damage in the process. They are outstanding when used defensively with a fast attack that can stun-lock opponents.

They’re quite common in the early game and especially favoured by Dust Bandits. If you took the wanderer start and are in the Border Zone. A cheap Horse Chopper can be easily looted from those pesky denizens.

In this article, we’ll go through five of the best sabres and where their top-tier, one-of-a-kind Meitou quality versions can be found.

5. The Desert Sabre

The curved, interesting-looking desert sabre.

The desert sabre can be found in, you guessed it, The Great Desert, where one can be purchased in city weapon shops. It is particularly adept at taking on both spiders and skimmers with a 100% damage bonus. A 50% damage bonus to smaller spiders like Blood Spiders and a little 25% bonus to those damn Bonedogs that keep trying to eat you.

If you’re going after the Bugmaster, one of the end-game bosses of Kenshi, it’s advisable to have some of your squad equipped with these. Especially if their sabre skill is maxed out. Unless you want to lose all of your characters, you shouldn’t go after the Bugmaster without a maxed-out team. 

The Meitou quality version of the Desert Sabre can be found on Eyegore. He is a Hiveless Southern Hive Soldier Drone and leader of the United Cities army. He cannot be found in the base game, so you will have to commit considerable violence against the United Cities for him to lead a raid against your outpost. You will also need an outpost for him to attack.

Kidnapping Emperor Tengu and imprisoning him in your base will cause Eyegore to spawn with an army of samurai to destroy everything you hold dear. Then, you will have your chance to defeat him in battle and claim the Desert Sabre. 

Desert Sabre Stats

All stats are listed at their Meitou level quality unless otherwise stated.

• Cutting Damage - 2.42
• Blunt Damage - 0.5
• Blood Loss - Nil
• Attack Bonus - Nil
• Defence Bonus - +2
• Required Strength - 20

4. The Foreign Sabre

The long-curved Foreign Sabre.

The Foreign Sabre will turn many heads in bars and garner quite a few laughs. It is rarely seen and not very popular among most citizens throughout Kenshi, but they can still be picked up in shops worldwide. Mainly places like Mongre or the Black Desert City. 

Defensively, it is the best sabre out there, with a huge, +8 bonus to melee defence. Despite its -4 penalty to melee attack, in the right hands, it should not be underestimated. 

The Meitou version of this exotic weapon can be found on none other than the Bugmaster himself. So be prepared for a hell of a fight if you want to claim this unique weapon for yourself.

Foreign Sabre Stats

• Cutting Damage - 2.62
• Blunt Damage - 0.3
• Blood Loss - Nil
• Attack Bonus - -4
• Defence Bonus - +8
• Required Strength - 12

3. The Holed Sabre

The Sabre with a hole in it.

The Holed Sabre is essentially a Horse Chopper, only slightly lighter. Probably because of the hole. This gives it a slight advantage over the Horse Chopper with an added bonus to melee defence. 

Relatively common throughout the world and generally favoured by mercenaries, it’s a weapon that can be looted or bought pretty much anywhere in the game.

The Meitou version of the Holed Sabre is wielded by Ponk. A Skeleton bandit that resides in the Tower of Abuse in the middle of Venge. A place where Skeletons have their heads removed and are turned into mindless thralls. 

To get it, you will have to venture into Venge. A hot land blighted by the orbital beams of a weaponised satellite. If you plan on going in with organic characters in your squad, going at night when the satellite is inactive is advisable. 

When you reach the Tower, you will have a bit of a fight on your hands, but once Ponk and his associate, Screamer the False, are beaten, you can loot his Meitou holed sabre and turn both of them in for a hefty bounty. 

Holed Sabre Stats

• Cutting Damage - 2.20
• Blunt Damage - 0.5
• Blood Loss - 90%
• Attack Bonus - -4
• Defence Bonus - +6
• Required Strength - 20

2. The Long Sword

The Longsword.

The lightest sabre in the weapon class and the closest thing to a katana in its class. It is also the only Sabre to be equipped in the secondary weapon slot, leaving room for another primary or a crossbow. 

It is seen as a status symbol among the nobles and mercantile class of the United Cities and will often be seen among the upper classes and traders in the area. You can also purchase them at varying qualities in the UC territories.

The Longsword is also unique in that two characters carry a Meitou version. Longen, leader of the Traders Guild, can be found atop his seat at Traders Edge, an offshoot enclave of Heng.

The other can be found on Valamon. The Shek leader of the Reavers can be found in their capital at Ark. 

Longsword Stats

• Cutting Damage - 2.20
• Blunt Damage - 0.3
• Blood Loss - 90%
• Attack Bonus - -2
• Defence Bonus - +2
• Required Strength - 12

1. The Ringed Sabre

The ringed sabre.

Coming in with a higher damage than most sabres and swords, the ringed sabre is favoured among bandit lords and feared warriors. Its rings serve more to annoy opponents and rattle out a reaction from Beak Things.

It is relatively common and easy to find or buy from shops all over the continent, which is convenient as it comes with higher damage plus all the other great defensive bonuses of most sabres.

The Meitou version of this weapon can be found on Elder, leader of the Skeleton bandits. Although he himself is a skeleton, the rest of the skeleton bandits are regular, flesh and blood people who have become convinced that they are skeletons. 

You can ally with him and his deluded followers by talking to him at his Iron HQ, but if you want that top-tier ringed sabre, you’ll need to take it from his corpse.

Ringed Sabre Stats

• Cutting Damage - 2.64
• Blunt Damage - 0.5
• Blood Loss - 90%
• Attack Bonus - -2
• Defence Bonus - +4
• Required Strength - 20

Conclusion

Sabres in Kenshi are a relatively common, easy-to-use, easy-to-acquire weapon that comes with enough defensive bonuses to make for a good all-rounder. While the very best are wielded by some endgame bosses, you can always craft your own masterworks before taking them on and claiming the one-of-a-kind sabres for yourself.

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