Armello Character Guide: Sana, the Forest Sister

A duty-bound druid and servant of the Wyld, Sana, a member of the nature-loving Bear Clan, is on a mission: a mission to bring balance to a troubled and violent world. She traverses the world of Armello clad in her green cloak and carries her Spirit Stone staff, all to rid the land of the Rot that has caused so much strife.

This brown bear shaman is one of the original characters of Armello and an excellent choice for play in competitive games. While not one for direct skirmishes, Sana is one of the better spellcasters in the game, and this can be used to her advantage. In this guide, we’ll dive into Sana’s stats, her hero ability, her optimal loadout, and a general strategy for victory in a standard game of Armello.

Base Stats

Fight: 2
Body: 6
Wits: 3
Spirit: 5
Gold: 3

Sana has two very high stats: her Body and her Spirit. These two, in addition to her average Wits, inform her general play style which we’ll cover a bit later. Her Body stat starts at 6, allowing her to stay alive for long periods of the game even when being targeted by opposing players, the King’s Guard, or Banes. While it’s generally advisable to stay away from direct conflict with other players with Sana, it’s not the end of the world if you stumble into conflict. Most mages in other games tend to have the equivalent of -1 Body stat!

Sana does the majority of her damage with her high Spirit. That is the stat that informs your Magic pool, which is essential to Sana’s spellcasting abilities. She starts with a Spirit stat of 5, one of the higher Spirit stats in the game alongside Volodar of the Dragon Clan and fellow Bear Clan member Yordana.

Sana’s weak point is easily her low Fight stat. This is what restricts her from engaging in direct combat with enemy players more than anything else. Her initial Fight stat of 2 puts her again in the company Yordana. If anything, the weakness of this stat makes it clear that you’ll have to find other pathways to victory than charging in, waging battle, and defeating enemies for Prestige.

Finally, Sana begins the game with 3 gold. While technically not the lowest Gold stat in the game, it is certainly on the lower end of the spectrum and will hinder you some initially when playing Item and Trickery cards.

Hero Ability: Priestess

Sana’s hero ability, Priestess, is one of the more interesting things in the game. This ability allows Sana to use her Spirit stat in place of Fight when fighting corrupted creatures, which includes Banes, any opposing heroes that are corrupted, and the big boss himself, the King.

If you’re planning on playing as Sana and want to get the most out of her, it’s important to leverage this ability to your advantage. Instead of targeting non-corrupted creatures, which will surely defeat Sana with her low Fight stat, aim to put yourself in situations where you’re fighting corrupted creatures instead. This will give you the upper hand in battle, as Sana’s Spirit stat is one of the highest among the characters of Armello.

Suggested Loadout

There are a few good options when choosing rings and amulets for your loadout. Let’s start with rings first.

The Jade Ring is a solid choice if you don’t have much play time as Sana. This ring grants +3 Magic at dawn if you happen to be on a Forest tile. More Magic is always a good thing with a spellcaster like Sana, but exercise a little caution. Magic is balanced at dusk on each turn, meaning that if you don’t use that extra Magic to cast spells during the day, you risk losing it if your Magic is higher than your Spirit when night falls. Fully utilizing the Magic boost provided by the Jade Ring requires casting as many spells as you can during the day.

The Amethyst Ring, which can be earned after reaching Hero Mastery Level 2 with Brun (another member of the Bear Clan), provides its wearer with +1 Magic for every Spell card burned, and +2 Magic for every Rot Spell card burned. If you have a Spell card you don’t want to use or if you don’t have any interest in pursuing a victory through Rot, this can be a very useful ring to wear.

Lastly, the Taaffite Ring can be an interesting choice if you have The Rivals DLC. This ring grants +1 Shield and +1 Spirit when Sana is on a Forest tile. This will help you protect yourself at night when Sana is at her weakest. Any surprise skirmishes that take place on a Forest tile will be tilted a little in your favor with this ring.

Next, let’s take a look at which amulets are good picks for Sana.

Think is a great choice when it comes to Sana. Given Sana’s high Spirit, you’ll be casting a lot of spells during the game. Think will grant you +1 Wits, which will allow you to hold up to 4 cards in your hand instead of Sana’s normal 3. More cards means more opportunities to cast Spell cards, which is central to the druid bear’s playstyle. If you run with the Think amulet, it’s generally advisable to couple it with the Jade Ring to help cover the Magic cost of playing more Spell cards.

Soak and Grow are also good selections. Soak gives Sana +1 Body, while Grow will heal you for +1 Health at Dusk, just when she’ll be at her weakest. Both of these serve to give Sana a little more survivability if you happen to accidentally find yourself in unwanted fights with opposing players. In a similar vein, Discipline is also an option. This amulet grants its user +2 dice according to clan affinity. This gives Sana a better chance at surviving and possibly even winning battles during the day.

One amulet that you definitely won’t want to use with Sana is the Scratch amulet. This amulet grants +1 Fight to its user. As mentioned before, Fight is Sana’s weakest stat and direct conflict is not a strong point of her kit. The measly +1 isn’t useful enough to make her more competitive in that regard. It’s best to stick to amulets that improve Wits to draw more cards, Spirit to have more Magic for spellcasting, or even Body to deepen her already large HP pool.

Strategies for Victory

If you haven’t gotten the hint by now, any path to victory involves Sana’s amazing spellcasting abilities. Our preferred loadout when playing as her is to pair the Jade Ring with the Think amulet, giving her access to more magic at Dawn and additional Spell cards with the +1 increase to Wits. More chances at hitting the Spell deck means more chances of scoring mobility cards like Teleport and Banish, giving Sana the uncanny ability to move around the map at will. This strategy in particular lends itself well to going for a Spirit Stone victory, given that, depending on your hand at the time, you’ll be able to simply Teleport yourself over to a newly spawned stone and quickly snatching it up from other players.

Going for a Rot victory is another good option with Sana. This strategy also involves playing to her strengths, meaning, using as many cards as possible, preferably those with Rot to ensure that her Rot level is above the King’s. Again, the Jade Ring and the Think amulet are the way to go here as they will give you the opportunity to both draw and play more cards. Some players may choose the Spoil amulet when attempting a Rot victory, and while that’s also a viable selection, it’s important to keep in mind that the amulet’s effect only happens once at the beginning of the game. One last amulet choice to consider is the Ruin amulet, which can add to a player’s Rot every time you step into a village. If coupled with the mobility provided by the Spell deck, building up Sana’s Rot won’t prove to be a challenge. Playing Dark Influence to yourself to raise your Rot also helps when going for this kind of victory.

As mentioned previously, you’ll want to avoid battles with uncorrupted players and the King’s Guard. If you’re forced into battle, make sure it’s on your own terms and in daylight, as Sana is stronger during the day than she is after Dusk. Casting spells at night to keep opposing players away, avoiding or erasing any bounties being placed on you, and perhaps even playing a card like Dark Influence to corrupt opponents are great ways to keep Sana alive and from surrendering any easy Prestige to your enemies.

Play Her Right

Sana can be quite the fun character to play with, if you use her correctly. Otherwise, she’ll seem like a pushover that can’t hold her own in a battle. Remember to play to her strengths, like casting Spell cards, rather than trying to win through direct confrontation and Prestige gained through battle. I hope you enjoy serving the Wyld and bringing balance to the kingdom as Sana.

Good luck, and may the dice roll in your favor!