The wandering swordsman returns for his second run in the Genshin Impact 2.8 update. It was difficult to say how Kaedehara Kazuha would fit into the meta during his debut, but the Genshin Impact community finally figured it out. Most of his pros have to do with the potential to deal massive amounts of Swirl damage, which heavily empowers Elemental Reaction teams. His Elemental Skill, Chihayaburu, also offers crowd control with how it gathers small enemies. You can compare it to other Anemo suction abilities from Venti, Sucrose, or Heizou.
He’s one of the best in the game, so long as you build him correctly. Here’s how to turn Kazuha into the EM god you’ve always dreamed of.
Elemental Mastery (EM) is key to building Kazuha. There’s no such thing as having too much of it, and many players enable Kazuha with teammates that boost it even more. EM helps most Anemo characters with their Swirl reactions, but Kazuha’s EM is especially important thanks to his 4th Ascension Passive.
Poetics of Fuubutsu (4th Ascension Passive): Upon triggering a Swirl reaction, Kaedehara Kazuha will grant all party members a 0.04 percent Elemental DMG Bonus to the element absorbed by Swirl for every point of Elemental Mastery he has for 8s. Bonuses for different elements obtained through this method can co-exist.
For example, Genshin Impact YouTuber Tenha raised Kazuha’s Elemental Mastery to 2101. If you multiply it with Kazuha’s passive multiplier (2101 * 0.04), you get an 84.04 percent Elemental DMG Bonus. If it’s Pyro plus Anemo, that can translate into 84.04 percent additional Pyro DMG. In short, it shreds.
Best weapons for Kaedehara Kazuha
Freedom Sworn was basically made for Kazuha. It raises Elemental Mastery up to 198 and enables Elemental Reactions with its ability. Each time the weapon wielder triggers an Elemental Reaction, they gain a Sigil of Rebellion. You only need two Sigils (two Elemental Reactions) to trigger the “Millenial Movement: Song of Resistance,” which increases ATK by 20 percent and Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attack DMG by 16 percent. In short, Kazuha should have no problem taking advantage of these significant buffs with how easy it is for him to trigger reactions.
Alas, Freedom-Sworn is a 5-star weapon. Iron Sting stands out as a F2P-friendly choice for raising EM in its stead, partly because it’s a craftable weapon. It has EM as its main stat and an Elemental DMG-boosting ability to boot, even if isn’t as devastating as its 5-star counterpart. However, it needs a Sword billet.
Favonius Sword and Sacrificial Sword also work thanks to their widely applicable abilities and Energy Recharge stats. Out of the two, I’d suggest Sac Sword because of how often it can reset its cooldown. Meanwhile, Favonius Sword’s ability only activates when you CRIT. You may need these for teammates like Bennett or Xingqiu, though.
- Freedom-Sworn (5-Star) - When the character wielding this weapon triggers Elemental Reactions, they gain a Sigil of Rebellion. When you possess 2 Sigils of Rebellion, all of them will be consumed and all nearby party members will obtain "Millennial Movement: Song of Resistance" for 12 seconds. "Millennial Movement: Song of Resistance" increases Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attack DMG by 16 percent and increases ATK by 20 percent.
- Iron Sting (4-Star) - Dealing Elemental DMG increases all DMG by 6 percent for 6s. Max 2 stacks. Can only occur once every 1s.
- Sacrificial Sword (4-Star) - After dealing damage to an opponent with an Elemental Skill, the skill has a 40 percent chance to end its own CD. Can only occur once every 30s.
- Favonius Sword (4-Star) - CRIT hits have a 60 percent chance to generate a small number of Elemental Particles, which will regenerate 6 Energy for the character. Can only occur once every 12s.
Best artifacts for Kaedehara Kazuha
Viridescent Venerer is Kazuha’s best artifact set for any build. A two-piece buffs his Anemo DMG by 15 percent, which boosts the damage he does with his skill and burst. Better yet, invest in a four-piece Viridescent Venerer set if you plan to capitalize on his Swirl DMG. It boosts Swirl DMG by 60 percent and lowers enemies’ Elemental RES to the element infused in the Swirl by 40 percent.
If you don’t have four Viridescent Venerer artifacts ready, you can also complement a two-piece set with two Wanderer’s Troupe or Noblesse Oblige artifacts. Wanderer’s Troupe adds 80 Elemental Mastery and Noblesse Oblige increases Elemental Burst by 20 percent. They won’t be as effective as the four-piece Viridescent, but they work better than other alternatives.
- Viridescent Venerer: (2) Anemo DMG Bonus +15 percent. (4) Increases Swirl DMG by 60 percent. Decreases opponent's Elemental RES to the element infused in the Swirl by 40 percent for 10s.
- Wanderer’s Troupe: (2) Increases Elemental Mastery by 80.
- Noblesse Oblige: (2) Elemental Burst DMG +20 percent
Best artifact substats for Kaedehara Kazuha
As mentioned earlier, Kazuha always benefits from Elemental Mastery. If you have three decent artifacts with it as the main stat, then use them. An Elemental Mastery Goblet, Sands, and Circlet is ideal. However, it’s perfectly reasonable to settle for any of the other stats below rather than grind forever for the perfect artifact. The recommendations below refer to both main stats and substats.
- Flower: Elemental Mastery > Crit Rate > Crit DMG > Energy Recharge
- Feather: Elemental Mastery > Crit Rate > Crit DMG > Energy Recharge
- Goblet: Elemental Mastery or Anemo DMG > Crit Rate > Crit DMG > Energy Recharge
- Timepiece: Elemental Mastery > Crit Rate > Crit DMG > Energy Recharge
- Circlet: Elemental Mastery > Crit Rate > Crit DMG > Energy Recharge
Best teams for Kaedehara Kazuha
Kazuha works best in teams that benefit from Swirl DMG. In case you need a refresher, Swirl DMG spreads Elemental Reactions and increases the Elemental DMG from them. With an element like Pyro, that means boosting the already existing Elemental DMG from the reaction into something more devastating. In that sense, Kazuha complements a DPS that liberally applies Elemental DMG like Hu Tao, Xiangling, or Yanfei.
Teammates that can easily cause Elemental Reactions like Xingqiu, Kaeya, or Kuki Shinobu can round out the team even further. Kazuha, and other Anemo characters like Sucrose, benefit teams that rely on Elemental Reactions by buffing the damage they can do with their own abilities.
