Kazuha
AnemoSwordSupportTL;DR
Kazuha's Skill sucks nearby enemies into a heap and throws him in the air. His Burst leaves a small tornado that keeps hitting them. On the way through, both of those swirl whatever element your team is applying, and every swirl hands the whole party a damage bonus based on his Elemental Mastery. Build nothing but Elemental Mastery, press two buttons, and everyone else's numbers go up by a third. He also makes fights tidier, which counts for more than it sounds.
Rotation
- Let a teammate put their element on the enemies first, so there's something to swirl.
- Burst (Q), then Skill (E) and plunge on the way down.
- Swap to your damage dealer. The buff lasts 8 seconds and the tornado keeps refreshing it.
- That's the whole thing. He wants about two seconds of field time a rotation.
Abilities
| Skill (E) | Pulls enemies towards him and launches him upwards. Tap it for a 6 second cooldown, hold it for a stronger pull on a 9 second one. Tap when 1/few target(s), hold with larger groups. |
|---|---|
| Plunging attack | Attack while you're in the air after the skill. It's free damage and it triggers another swirl, so you may as well. |
| Burst (Q) | A tornado that sits there for 8 seconds hitting whatever is inside it. It picks up one element from the field and keeps the team buff refreshed while he's off doing something else. |
The one mechanic to understand
He buffs the element he swirls, not his own.
When he swirls Pyro, the team gets a Pyro damage bonus. Swirl Electro and they get an Electro bonus. He gives nothing to a team he can't swirl, which is why he is useless next to a Geo character but can almost always fit into every Pyro and Electro. If two different elements are on the enemy he grabs one of them, and he can carry more than one buff at a time, so you don't have to manage the order. Just make sure something is applied before he casts.
What actually matters
The two or three real decisions. Everything else is noise.
- Elemental Mastery is the buff. Roughly 1000 Elemental Mastery turns into a 40% damage bonus for the party. Every point is worth something and nothing else on him is.
- Cast after your element is on the field. A burst thrown at an unaffected enemy swirls nothing and buffs nobody.
- Energy Recharge to the point his burst is reliable. Around 180% if he's your only Anemo. It's the one stat competing with Elemental Mastery, so take just enough.
Gear
A build that works. KeqingMains lists every other option.
| Weapon | Elemental Mastery. Iron Sting is craftable, has Elemental Mastery as its main stat and costs nothing, and it is genuinely close to the expensive options on him. Favonius Sword instead if his burst keeps being late. |
|---|---|
| Artifacts | 4-piece Viridescent Venerer. Swirling an element drops that element's resistance on the enemy by 40% for everyone, which is a bigger buff than his passive and the main reason to bring him. |
| Main stats | Elemental Mastery sands, Elemental Mastery goblet, Elemental Mastery circlet. Take an Energy Recharge sands instead if his burst is not coming back on time. |
Works well with
Pyro
Hydro
Electro
CryoThese are the four he can swirl. Put him next to a Geo team and he does nothing at all, which is the one hard rule about him.
Don't bother
- Crit stats. His own damage is a side effect and Elemental Mastery is worth several times more.
- Holding the skill by default. The longer cooldown costs you more than the slightly stronger pull gains, unless you specifically need the grouping.
- Playing him on the field. Two seconds is the whole job.
- Anemo damage goblets. Elemental Mastery beats them because the buff is what you're actually selling.
Want the full theorycrafting version? Read Kazuha on KeqingMains.