Best Build Theories for the Wanderer in Genshin Impact: Weapons, Artifacts & Talent Focus

Scaramouche is finally being let out of the vault that Hoyoverse has been keeping him in after a very long two years. Since 1.1 in the Unreconciled Stars event, we have seen veil and toe of this man teasing us in each passing Story Event, but no longer. We are prepared to see him home and ready to begin building him.

Genshin Impact – Elemental Skill – You Can Float Too

Contrary to what we were led to believe for so long through fan theories alone, the Wanderer will be wielding an Anemo vision and his weapon of choice is the Catalyst. Problematic only because this means he’s going to need so much more talent materials, but after waiting two years, there is nothing that is going to stop us now. Like Heizou, he attacks aggressively with slashes and tears of Anemo damage, but it certainly doesn’t stop there.

Our last Harbinger was Childe and just like Childe, the Wanderer’s abilities are no joke. His Elemental Skill is Hanega: Song of the Wind, and it enables him to begin hovering in the air. Apparently, along with the power of Anemo, Venti loves handing out the gift of flying to all of his favorite protégés. Hanega will use a different stamina bar to keep the Wanderer afloat and is completely separate from the stamina bar that we regularly use to dash and move around. It’ll illuminate a new blue stamina bar that will account for our time hovering in the air. Unlike other catalysts, his charged attack, otherwise referred to as the Kuugo: Toufukai, will not consume these stamina points. The Kuugoyorku Stamina points can only be used by his movement in the air, whether that’s by ascending, sprinting with his newfound flight, or simply remaining in the air. Ascending or sprinting will naturally use up his Kuugoyorku points.

With Hanega being his primary source of power and ability, we cannot go without mentioning his passives that will further affect its function. Unlocking the first of these passives, Jade-Claimed Flower, allows the Wanderer to pick up two elements to provide different buffs to his attacks. Only two of these can be in effect at the same time and will be indicated based on the insignia that is lit up on the Wanderer’s back. 

• Hydro: Increases the Kuugoyorko points by 20.
• Pyro: Increases Attack by 30 percent.
• Cryo: Increases Crit Rate by 20 percent.
• Electro: When Normal and Charged attacks hit opponents, Energy is restored by 0.8 every 0.2 seconds. 

Mixing and matching these types of elements in battle can be the key to your success and strategy as well as what types of team comps you will use for the Wanderer. 

His second Passive, Gales of Reverie, has a bunch of jargon going on in it, but we got you. With each attack that the Wanderer does in his Wind-Favored state, where he’s hovering, he’ll get the chance to achieve Descent. Every time you dash, the Wanderer’s attack will launch four Anemo arrows that attack enemies based on 35 percent of the Wanderer’s overall Attack. Since this effect only has a chance of occurring, on the times it doesn’t launch the arrows, the next burst of attacks will have an increased 12 percent of achieving the Decent effect. 

Elemental Burst – The Absolute Fan Service

Like mother, like son, the Wanderer has an extremely unique take on his burst. Yes, it’ll pull in enemies and deal massive amounts of Anemo damage sucking them in and then blasting them with some gnarly lasers. But if that wasn’t enough, Hoyoverse decided to put these last two years to some good use and animate Scaramouche to be stepping on the enemies (or rather the player given the camera viewpoint) whenever he does his Burst. 

Yes, completely unnecessary, totally unneeded but goddamn, I’m happy it’s in this game. Bless these otakus.

Oh yeah, and if he’s in the air, obviously he’ll descend and lose his skill for the duration of its cooldown.

Best Weapons In The Game – Ring-a-ling, Hear Them Sing

Along with the Wanderer’s banner, as a five-star, he will be running alongside his signature weapon. Tullaytullah’s Remembrance will be based on Crit Damage and have the unique passive of increasing attack speed while also boosting normal attack damage by using the Elemental Skill and further increasing it while normal attacks hit enemies. It resets upon trading out the character in your party but is handy for using when relying on a selfish DPS on the field. 

Pretty much any other five-star catalyst weapon will work on Scaramouche since most of them deal in Crit Rate and Crit Damage with passives that would only further boost his damage. But if you’re looking for a more viable option that you may already have then look no further than the handy-dandy Widsith. This catalyst can sing praises to all types of characters, especially those that have been released with visions in both Dendro and Anemo. It increases attack, it increases elemental mastery, and it can increase Elemental Damage. Not all at the same time, but it’s still an easy-to-build piece whether at refinement one or refinement five, and is a great catalyst to put on any DPS catalyst. 

Other options can include the Blackcliff Agate which can be bought in the shop for 24 Starglitter. However, these weapons will not be running in this term, so you’ll have to wait until the next update, or month, when they return to Paimon’s Bargains. Hopefully, some of that Starglitter will come to use after spending all of your wishes on the Wanderer, may he come home early. The weapon in the shop during his banner wouldn’t be half bad, either. The Royal Grimoire is a catalyst that runs on Attack damage and yet boosts Crit Rate in its passive talents. Easier to attain than most five-stars (unless you too cannot ignore Kaeya floating in the shop) it’s a pretty good catalyst for DPS.

Weapons that can be built or easily achieved in the game through the Standard Banner include the Frostbearer which will run on Attack damage and do additional physical damage according to the Wanderer’s overall attack. Equipping Eye of Perception will change the Wanderer back into the Electro catalyst we all thought he was going to be while also running on attack and doing some additional lightning damage. 

Artifact Sets and the Stats You’ll Need – Both New and the Old

Debuting alongside the Wanderer will be the new artifact that’s made for him. Not new given that Hoyoverse has been doing the same thing for the past few updates. Desert Pavilion Chronicle introduces an Anemo Damage bonus of 15 percent at two pieces and Increased Attack Speed by 10 percent with Attack Damage by 40 percent for a short duration.

If you don’t have access to this domain, since it’s likely going to be set in the depths of Sumeru somewhere, then look no further than the classic Viridescent Venerner. However, halt yourself before thinking of getting him all four pieces. While swirl is effective for many Anemo characters, it won’t be entirely necessary for your ex-Harbinger. Like Heizou, he’s going to be dealing crazy numbers through mostly Anemo, so you’re going to want to gather enough artifacts to represent two or three great pieces of Viridescent Venerner while focusing your other two artifacts on Attack. This can come in a number of different artifacts, like Gladiator, or Shimenawa’s Reminiscence. Maybe you can even play around with what Noblesse Oblige will do for his Elemental Burst Damage. But because the Wanderer is going to be a pretty flexible DPS, you have plenty of options to shape his kit to whatever suits you best. 

For the stats that you are going to want to be focusing on, as a DPS, the Wanderer makes it pretty easy. For his Sands, you’re going to want to focus on Attack Percentage as his main stat, with Crit Rate, Crit Damage, and Attack as his sub-stats. For his Goblet, you’re going to want to find your best Anemo Damage Bonus and gift that to him for the best boost to his damage. And for his crown, you’re going to want to go with Crit Rate or Crit Damage, depending on what you need more of. This coincides with what weapon you have equipped on him or how his artifact’s sub-stats end up. You’re going to want to look for a 1:2 ratio of Crit Rate to Crit Damage, but because the Wanderer gets so many hits in, and one of his buffs can affect his Crit Rate, we’d recommend going with a Crit Damage crown. Like Albedo, Childe, or Eula, when you get so many hits doing your attacks, you may as well build into Crit Damage because eventually one of them is going to Crit.

Where to Focus Your Talents

As a catalyst, the Wanderer is going to need as many of his talents leveled up as possible with the primary focus on the Normal Attack and Elemental Skill. These are his main sources of damage with his Elemental Burst having the least amount of investment. This isn’t to say that there isn’t good damage in increasing the Elemental Burst Branch, but if you like to be smart about your resources, then the Normal Attack and Skill will be your best choice. 

How long have you been waiting? When did you join Genshin Impact? Let us know what you think of the character, the Wanderer!