Chasca

Chasca

5★AnemoBowMain Damage

TL;DR

Chasca's Skill puts her in the air riding a giant gun. From there you hold the attack button to pick out targets and load six shells, then let go and she fires the lot. The back half of those shells change element to match your teammates, which is where nearly all of her damage comes from. Four rounds of six shells is about what one cast covers, then Burst if it is up.

Rotation

  1. Skill (E) to mount up. She lifts off the ground and her nightsoul meter fills.
  2. Hold Charged Attack to aim. Keep holding until all six shells are in, then release to fire them.
  3. Do that four times over, which is roughly what one meter is worth.
  4. Burst (Q) before the meter empties, if you have the Energy for it.

Abilities

Skill (E) A burst of Anemo damage, then she mounts her gun and takes to the air with 80 nightsoul points. Pressing it again puts her back on the ground. 6.5 second cooldown.
Charged Attack Only while she is mounted. Holding it opens an aiming mode where you mark targets. The longer you hold, the more shells load, up to six. Release and they fire off one at a time, last loaded going first.
Normal Attacks Tapping while mounted shoots forward for Anemo damage that counts as Normal Attack damage. No shells, no element conversion. Not what you are here for.
Burst (Q) One large shell that splits into six smaller ones chasing nearby enemies. Two of them convert element per qualifying teammate. 60 Energy on a 15 second cooldown.
Her nightsoul meter Drains the whole time she is airborne, faster if she sprints or climbs. Empty ends the mount, though inside Natlan she starts burning Phlogiston instead and keeps going.

The one mechanic to understand

Your teammates decide what her shells are made of.

The fourth, fifth and sixth shells loaded convert element based on the party. For every Pyro, Hydro, Cryo or Electro character with her, one shell turns into that element. Her first passive adds the third shell to the pile on a chance, which is 33% with one of those elements present, 67% with two and a certainty with three. That same count stacks a damage bonus on every converted shell: 15%, 35%, then 65% with three. Teammates outside those four elements convert nothing, so three different elements from Pyro, Hydro, Cryo and Electro is the shape you want.

What actually matters

The two or three real decisions. Everything else is noise.

  • Three different elements out of Pyro, Hydro, Cryo and Electro. That is a guaranteed fourth conversion plus the full 65% bonus on the converted shells. Two elements is a real step down and one is most of her damage gone.
  • Full loads of six. Releasing early fires fewer shells. The ones you drop are the last to load, which are the converted ones.
  • Attack over an element bonus. Her damage is spread across three or four elements at once, so an Anemo goblet only covers the shells that did not convert.

Gear

A build that works. KeqingMains lists every other option.

Weapon Crit first, Attack second. Hamayumi is the craftable pick, since its passive boosts Charged Attack damage and every shell she fires counts as a Charged Attack.
Artifacts 4-piece Obsidian Codex. It pays out a flat damage bonus while she is in her nightsoul state plus a large chunk of Crit Rate once she has hit something. She is in that state for her whole turn on the field.
Main stats Attack sands, Attack goblet, Crit circlet.

Works well with

PyroHydroCryoElectro

Pick three different ones from those four. A teammate of any other element adds nothing to her shells.

Don't bother

  • Energy Recharge past about 110%. Getting the Burst every rotation costs far more than the Burst is worth, so fire it when it happens to be up.
  • Tap firing while mounted. It skips the shells entirely.
  • Flying about. Gaining height and sprinting eat the meter you wanted for shells.
  • Holding the skill while mounted. That drops her into a plunging attack. If it reaches the ground the mount ends.

Want the full theorycrafting version? Read Chasca on KeqingMains.