Wanderer

Wanderer

5★AnemoCatalystMain Damage

TL;DR

The Wanderer's Skill lifts him into the air, where he hovers and attacks until his own meter runs out. Casting it into another element on the field steals a buff off it, so what you press before the Skill decides how strong the whole window is. Get an element down, launch, attack until you're nearly empty, Burst on the way out.

Rotation

  1. Have a teammate put Pyro or Electro on the enemies first.
  2. Skill (E) into it. He leaps up and picks up a buff from whatever the cast touched.
  3. Normal Attack in the air. Charged Attack too, since it costs no stamina up here.
  4. Watch the meter. When it's nearly gone, Burst (Q), which drops him out of the air.
  5. Land, let your supports refresh the element, press Skill (E) again on its 6 second cooldown.

Abilities

Skill (E) 6 second cooldown. An Anemo hit around him, then he takes off and hovers. Pressing it again while airborne ends the flight early. So does running the meter dry.
His meter Drains steadily just to keep him up. Sprinting to dart sideways and holding jump to climb both eat it much faster. When it's empty he drops out of the sky and the state is over.
Normal and Charged Attacks In the air both are upgraded: more damage, wider hit, plus the Charged Attack stops costing stamina. He can't plunge while up there. This is where all his damage comes from.
Burst (Q) 60 Energy, back in 15 seconds. A series of Anemo hits in one spot. Casting it from the air ends the flight, so it's the last thing you press.

The one mechanic to understand

The Skill takes a buff off whatever element it touches.

At the moment you cast it, the Skill checks for Hydro, Pyro, Cryo or Electro nearby and grabs the matching buff for that flight. Pyro gives him 30% Attack, Cryo gives 20% Crit Rate, Hydro gives a bigger meter and Electro refunds Energy as he hits things. He can hold two of them at once, so the usual setup is one damage element and one that fixes his Energy. Cast into nothing and you get a plain flight, which is the difference between a good rotation and a wasted one.

What actually matters

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

  • Don't sprint or climb. Both burn the meter that your attack window is made of. Hover, hit things, stay put.
  • Something has to be on the field when you launch. The buffs come off the element the cast touches, not off your team list, so a teammate's effect has to still be up when you press the button.
  • Crit and Attack. Everything he does is normal and Charged Attack damage. Level those first, Skill and Burst well after.

Gear

A build that works. KeqingMains lists every other option.

Weapon Crit and Attack. The Widsith is a standard banner 4-star with Crit DMG on it and one of its three random buffs is a big Attack boost.
Artifacts 4-piece Desert Pavilion Chronicle. Anemo damage on the two-piece, then a normal and Charged Attack boost after a Charged Attack lands, which is his entire flight.
Main stats Attack sands, Anemo damage goblet, Crit circlet.

Works well with

PyroElectroCryo

These are the elements his Skill can steal from. Pyro for the Attack, Electro for the Energy, Cryo for the Crit Rate. Hydro is the fourth and it only buys him a longer flight.

Don't bother

  • Flying around. The meter is your damage window, not travel budget.
  • Elemental Mastery. His Anemo swirls a little, but he's here to hit things.
  • Plunge attacks. The state removes them, which catches out anyone used to Xiao.
  • Bursting early. It puts him back on the ground.

Want the full theorycrafting version? Read Wanderer on KeqingMains.