Vesna
AnemoSwordMain DamageTL;DR
Vesna is an on-field damage dealer. Her Skill puts her into a 15 second mode where the Skill button turns into a different attack that levels up every time you press it. The third level is where the damage is and she gets to fire it three times before the mode ends. Each press costs one charge, but her Burst and Normal Attacks can build more charges. All of that only hits properly when the enemies are carrying Cryo, so bring a Cryo teammate who applies it from off the field.
Rotation
- Cryo teammate first. Their Skill or Burst on the enemies, then swap to Vesna.
- Skill (E). She draws a spirit sword and her attacks turn Anemo.
- Skill (E) or Burst (Q) whenever they're ready, Normal Attack between them. The mode ends on its own after the third top-level shot.
Abilities
| Normal Attacks | A six-hit string. Inside her mode the swings turn Anemo and a little gust flies out alongside each one. That gust is what refills her Skill charges, so the swings are how you pay for the next press. |
|---|---|
| Skill (E) | The first press is an Anemo hit that starts her mode for 15 seconds, on an 18 second cooldown. Entering the mode gives her two charges. Inside it the same button becomes a stronger strike that costs one charge and comes back a level higher each time, from 1 to 3. Levels 2 and 3 summon a spirit sword, which is the hit that counts. The third level 3 shot ends the mode. Any charges left over are lost when it ends. |
| Burst (Q) | 60 Energy, 15 second cooldown. Summons several spirit swords at once for a big Anemo hit and gives her one Skill charge (the Burst itself does not raise the Skill level, just lets you do a Skill early). It fits neatly between Skill presses. |
The one mechanic to understand
Her swords only count while enemies are carrying Cryo.
With Vesna in the party, any Swirl of Cryo becomes Stellar Swirl, which hits far harder than the ordinary version. Her spirit swords are dealt as Stellar Swirl damage too, but only during an 8 second window that opens each time one goes off nearby. Her own Anemo swings swirl whatever Cryo is on the enemy, so as long as something keeps putting Cryo there the window renews itself and you never think about it. Take the Cryo away and the swords fall back to plain Anemo hits, which is roughly a third of the character. She does the converting herself, so no other Snezhnaya character is needed for it.
What actually matters
- A Cryo teammate who applies it from off the field. Not optional. She has to swirl Cryo constantly and she cannot apply it herself. A Cryo character whose Skill or Burst keeps working after they swap out is the whole requirement.
- Attack and Crit. Her passive turns her Attack into more Stellar Swirl damage for the whole party and every Cryo or Anemo teammate adds 6% Attack on top. Elemental Mastery helps, but a long way behind those two.
- Get to level 3 Skill quickly. The first two presses are setup and the three level 3 shots are the payload. The mode is 15 seconds, so swing only as long as it takes for the button to light up and then press it.
Gear
| Weapon | Crit first, then Attack. Emberwell is craftable in Snezhnaya and built for exactly this: an Attack bonus whenever she reacts and extra Stellar Swirl damage. |
|---|---|
| Artifacts | 4-piece Scarlet Proof. Triggering a Stellar Swirl gives her Crit Rate and more of that damage for 10 seconds, which she does every few swings. If she is the only Anemo in the party, 4-piece Viridescent Venerer instead: it strips Anemo and Cryo resistance off the enemy for everyone. |
| Sands | Goblet | Circlet | Substats |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATK | ATK | Crit | Crit / ATK |
An Anemo damage goblet does nothing for the sword hits, which are most of her damage. Around 120% Energy Recharge is plenty, since the Burst is a bonus rather than the rotation.
CryoDon't bother
- Counting her stacks. Every Skill press and Burst adds one and each makes the swords a bit bigger. They build from the presses you were making anyway and reset when you start the next mode.
- Fighting from the hover. Holding jump out of combat makes her float. It is for getting around Snezhnaya, not for combat.
- Building Elemental Mastery over Attack. It helps a reaction character on paper, but Attack does the same job here and feeds her passive as well.
- Running her without Cryo because the Anemo swings look handy. That is the version with a third of the damage.
Want the full deep dive? Read Vesna on KeqingMains.
Found something wrong? If a rotation is wrong, or a page skips the bit you needed, the contact form lands straight in my inbox.