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Portrait of Varka

★★★★★AnemoClaymore

Varka

Knight of Boreas

Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. Knight of Boreas, protector of Mondstadt.

Region
Mondstadt
Released
Version 6.4
GenGuru tier
S DPS

Overview

  • Anemo main damage
  • Mixed-element attacker

Varka is a Mondstadt claymore user who fights with two greatswords. Tapping his Elemental Skill puts him in Sturm und Drang: his Normal and Charged Attacks hit harder, and his two blades deal the elements of his party members. If the party has a Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo character, his skill becomes Four Winds' Ascension, which deals that element plus Anemo, and he can spend its uses on Azure Devour, a special Charged Attack that costs no Stamina.

Team building matters more for him than for most damage dealers. His first Ascension Talent raises his Sturm und Drang damage when the party has two Anemo characters or two characters of the same Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo element, and raises it much further when the party has both. The usual shape is Varka, one more Anemo character and two characters of one element. Build him for ATK and crits; ATK also feeds a passive that converts it into Anemo and elemental DMG Bonus. While he is in Sturm und Drang, his attacks scale with his Elemental Skill talent, so the skill is the talent to level.

Weapons

Best first. Every claymore on this list links to its page.

  1. Gest of the Mighty Wolf ★★★★★

    His signature claymore. Attack Speed, a stacking damage bonus from normals, skill and charged attacks, and extra CRIT DMG when the party has the Hexerei: Secret Rite effect.

  2. A Thousand Blazing Suns ★★★★★

    A strong 5-star alternative. His skill triggers the ATK and CRIT DMG buff, and his elemental Normal Attacks keep extending it.

  3. Wolf's Gravestone ★★★★★

    High base ATK and an ATK main stat, which also helps his ATK-to-DMG Bonus passive.

  4. Serpent Spine ★★★★

    The best 4-star choice. CRIT Rate and a growing damage bonus while he stays on the field, as long as you avoid getting hit.

  5. Blackcliff Slasher ★★★★

    A 4-star from the Starglitter shop. CRIT DMG plus ATK stacks after defeating enemies, which helps most in multi-wave fights.

Artifact sets

  1. A Day Carved From Rising Winds 4-piece

    His best set. Constant ATK bonus from his frequent hits, upgraded with CRIT Rate when its Witch's Homework condition is met.

  2. Marechaussee Hunter 4-piece

    A strong second choice in Hydro teams with Furina, whose HP changes keep its CRIT Rate stacks up.

  3. Shimenawa's Reminiscence 4-piece

    A solid general alternative. Its Normal and Charged Attack bonus fits how he deals damage in Sturm und Drang.

  4. Desert Pavilion Chronicle + Gladiator's Finale 2-piece each

    A stopgap while you farm: Anemo DMG Bonus and ATK. Any other set with an ATK 2-piece can stand in for Gladiator's Finale.

Main stats and substats

Sands
ATK%
Goblet
ATK% or Pyro DMG Bonus or Hydro DMG Bonus or Anemo DMG Bonus
Circlet
CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG
Substats
CRIT Rate > CRIT DMG > ATK% > Energy Recharge

Talent priority

  1. Elemental Skill Windbound Execution
  2. Elemental Burst Northwind Avatar

Teams

  • Double Pyro

    Two Anemo and two Pyro characters give him the larger passive bonus. Ifa heals and boosts Swirl, Durin adds off-field Pyro, and Bennett heals and buffs ATK.

  • Budget Double Pyro

    The same shape with 4-star characters. Sucrose is the second Anemo, while Xiangling and Bennett make up the Pyro pair.

  • Double Hydro

    With no Pyro in the party, his special skill and burst take on Hydro. Furina buffs the team and Xingqiu adds damage reduction and healing.

Tips

  • Tap the skill to enter Sturm und Drang. Holding it only performs a leap and is mainly for moving around.
  • Four Winds' Ascension and his burst take one element from the party, following a fixed priority among Pyro, Hydro, Electro and Cryo. Build the team around a single one of those elements so you know which one he will use.
  • Swirls from nearby party members give him stacks of Azure Fang's Oath, so a second Anemo character who swirls often adds to his damage.
  • He cannot use Plunging Attacks while in Sturm und Drang.
  • His burst does not get the 140%/220% multiplier from his first passive or the Azure Fang's Oath stacks, only the ATK-based DMG Bonus, so it is a minor part of his damage. Raise his skill first and the burst only after that.

Other character guides recommend Varka as a teammate in these teams.

See every team comp, grouped by reaction.

Base stats at level 90

Base HP
12613
Base ATK
353
Base DEF
795
CRIT DMG
88.4%

Talents

Normal Attack Favonius Bladework: Dancing Radiance
Normal Attack Imitating an ancient knightly war-dance, Varka wields dual claymores to perform up to 5 consecutive strikes. Charged Attack Consumes a certain amount of Stamina to charge forward and perform an especially powerful dual blade slash toward the front. Plunging Attack Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact.
Elemental Skill Windbound Execution
Manifest the true essence of Favonius Bladework with absolute power. Produces different effects depending on whether the skill is Tapped or Held. Tap Leap forward and slash in one fluid motion, dealing AoE Anemo DMG and switching to **Sturm und Drang** mode. While in Sturm und Drang, Varka's Normal Attack and Charged Attack DMG is increased, and he cannot perform Plunging Attacks. Also, when performing Normal or Charged Attacks, Varka's dual-wielded claymores will deal corresponding Elemental DMG based on the Elemental Types of the characters in the party, respectively. This Elemental DMG cannot be overridden by infusions. Additionally, when in Sturm und Drang, if there are Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo characters in the party, Varka's Elemental Skill Windbound Execution will be converted to the special Elemental Skill, **Four Winds' Ascension**, dealing corresponding Elemental DMG and Anemo DMG. Additionally, Varka can also expend uses of the special Elemental Skill Four Winds' Ascension to perform a special Charged Attack, Azure Devour, that does not consume stamina to deal corresponding Elemental DMG and Anemo DMG. Hold After charging for a while, leap forward. The duration of the charge will increase the distance of the leap.
Elemental Burst Northwind Avatar
In the name of the mightiest Knight of Boreas, unleash a powerful double slash attack toward the front, dealing 2 instances of Anemo DMG. If there are Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo characters in the party, the first slash will be converted to deal corresponding Elemental DMG according to the aforementioned priority order of Elemental Types.
Passive talent Dawn Wind's March
When there are Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo characters in the party, according to the aforementioned priority order of Elemental Types, every 1,000 points of Varka's ATK will grant Varka a 10% Anemo DMG Bonus and corresponding Elemental DMG Bonus (among the aforementioned Elemental Types, only one element can gain bonus DMG this way). Up to 25% bonus DMG can be gained this way. Additionally, if there are at least 2 Anemo characters, or at least 2 characters of the same Element among Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo in the party, the Normal Attacks, Charged Attacks, Special Charged Attack Azure Devour and the special Elemental Skill **Four Winds' Ascension** that Varka deals or unleashes while in the **Sturm und Drang** mode will deal 140% of their original DMG. If there are at least 2 Anemo characters and at least 2 other characters of the same element among Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo present in the party at the same time, the aforementioned effect will be increased to 220%.
Passive talent Wind's Vanguard
When nearby party members trigger a Swirl or Stellar Swirl reaction, Varka gains 1 stack of Azure Fang's Oath, increasing the DMG dealt by his Normal Attacks, Charged Attacks, special Charged Attack Azure Devour and special Elemental Skill **Four Winds' Ascension** by 7.5% for 8s. Max 4 stacks. Each character can grant Varka with 1 stack of Azure Fang's Oath every second this way.
Passive talent Homebound Wind's Paean
For every party member from Mondstadt, the Hold version of Varka's Elemental Skill Windbound Execution's CD is decreased by 5%. This effect does not trigger in Domains, Trounce Domains, or the Spiral Abyss.

Constellations

C1 "Come, Friend, Let Us Dance Beneath the Moon's Soft Glow"
When Varka switches to **Sturm und Drang**, he will obtain an additional use of the special Elemental Skill **Four Winds' Ascension**. Additionally, after switching to Sturm und Drang, Varka will gain the Lyrical Libation effect: When unleashing the special Elemental Skill Four Winds' Ascension, or when performing the special Charged Attack Azure Devour, Varka will consume this effect to deal 200% of the original DMG dealt by Four Winds' Ascension or Azure Devour.
C2 "When Dawn Breaks, Our Journey Shall Take Flight"
When unleashing the special Elemental Skill **Four Winds' Ascension**, or when performing the special Charged Attack Azure Devour, Varka will perform an additional strike, dealing AoE Anemo DMG equal to 800% of Varka's ATK.
C3 "O Friend, Quaff Not the Bitter Wine That Brings Tears of Woe"
Increases Elemental Skill **Windbound Execution** Level by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
C4 "For None May Take From Us Our Freedom of Song"
When Varka triggers a Swirl or Stellar Swirl reaction, based on the Elemental Types involved in the reaction, all nearby party members gain a 20% Anemo DMG Bonus and the corresponding Elemental DMG Bonus for 10s.
C5 "Fill High the Cup With Fine Wine, for Tyrants Come and Go"
Increases Elemental Burst **Northwind Avatar** Level by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
C6 "Beloved Mondstadt, Steadfast You Shall Shine"
**Sturm und Drang** is enhanced: · For a short time after unleashing the special Elemental Skill **Four Winds' Ascension**, Tapping on Varka's Elemental Skill or Holding his Normal Attack will not expend any uses of Four Winds' Ascension, and will perform one additional instance of the special Charged Attack, Azure Devour. · For a short time after performing the special Charged Attack Azure Devour, tap on Varka's Elemental Skill to unleash an additional instance of Four Winds' Ascension without expending any uses of Four Winds' Ascension. When triggering an additional special Charged Attack, Azure Devour, or unleashing an additional special Elemental Skill, Four Winds' Ascension, in this manner, the above effect cannot be triggered. Additionally, the Azure Fang's Oath effect in Ascension Talent **Wind's Vanguard** is enhanced: Every stack of Azure Fang's Oath will increase Varka's CRIT DMG by 20%.