Kaedahara Kazuha, also known as The Lone Samurai, is one of the most sought-after characters in Genshin Impact. First appearing in Teyvat Chapter Two Prologue Storyline "Autumn Winds, Scarlet Leaves," Kazuha is regarded as one of the best Elemental Damage dealers in the game. He is a master of crowd control and dealing Swirl reaction damage with his Kazuha Slash talent, and he's shockingly flexible in terms of the role he can play on a team. Kazuha can be useful to players as both a sub-DPS and a support.
Due to his vast talent capabilities, many players will find it challenging to decide what to run on him to get the most out of his talents. Everyone will have their own idea of what works best, whether that be as a sub-DPS or support unit, which in-turn gives players many available builds. Still, there are a few that stand out from the rest:a full Elemental Mastery build and an Anemo Attack build that makes him arguably the best damage dealer in the game.
Kazuha's Best Artifact Sets
If building Kazuha as a support unit, a full Elemental Mastery build is a viable option for those who want to make the most out of his elemental Swirl reactions. Having a high Elemental Mastery allows the swirl reactions created from his Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst to create a consistent high-damage output, as well as absorb the element affecting the enemy for extra damage. Giving Kazuha an Elemental Mastery Sands of Eon, Goblet, and Circlet is the best way to attain this, as it will give him the most Elemental Mastery possible.
For those who want to give Kazuha a more Anemo Attack-focused build with regard to his skills as a sub-DPS, having an Attack Sands of Eon, Anemo Damage Bonus Goblet, and Crit Rate or Crit Damage Circlet is an ideal set up for his artifacts. With an Anemo Attack focused build, it is essential to have Attack percentage, Crit Rate and Crit Damage, Elemental Mastery, and Energy Recharge sub-stats.
The best artifact set for Kazuha is the Viridescent Venerer set, which can be found in The Valley of Remembrance just south of Wolvendom in Mondstadt. Its two-piece set will give Kazuha a 15% Anemo Damage bonus. If going for an Elemental Mastery build, then players will wish to farm for its four-piece set that gives Kazuha a 60% increase to swirl damage and decreases the resistance of the infused element by 40% for 10 seconds. For an Anemo Attack build, players should combine the two-piece Viridescent Venerer set with a two-piece Attack percentage set, the most available being Gladiator's Finale. Players can obtain Gladiator's Finale pieces from World Boss drops that become available at World Level 2.
5-Star, 4-Star, & Free-to-Play Weapon Options for Kazuha
Kazuha's best weapon for his Elemental Mastery build is Freedom Sworn, which is a five-star sword that is available only on Weapon Event Banners. Its secondary sub-stat is Elemental Mastery, and its passive increases overall damage by 10%. Plus, when "Millennial Movement: Song of Resistance" is active, all normal, charged, and plunging attack damage is increased by 16%, and base attack is increased by 20%.
For his Anemo Attack build, the best weapon is the Primordial Jade Cutter which is also only available on Weapon Event Banners. It gives Kazuha a Crit Rate boost of 44.1% at Level 90, and its passive increases Kazuha's HP by 20% while also increasing his attack by 1.2 % of his max HP.
There are also decent four-star weapon options for players who have yet to obtain better ones. For his Elemental Mastery build, the craftable Iron Sting is another Elemental Mastery sub-stat weapon that makes for an ideal substitute for Freedom Sworn. Its passive increases all damage by 6% for six seconds after dealing Elemental damage at first refinement and at fifth refinement it increases all damage by 12%. Energy Recharge weapons like the Sacrificial Sword and Favonius Sword are great substitutes for those who don't have the sword billets available to craft Iron Sting.
With his Anemo Damage build, four-star weapon The Black Sword is another Crit Rate weapon that is available from the Battle-Pass. As for purely free-to-play options, the craftable Prototype Rancour is ideal for Kazuha due to its passive increasing attack and defense stats by 4%.
Building Kazuha's Team
Characters that can effectively and consistently apply Elemental damage to enemies are critical to Kazuha's effectiveness. Xingqiu can easily apply Hydro damage with his Rain Blades talent during Kazuha's Elemental Burst and provide a high chance of high damage reactions such as Vaporize and Freeze. Having a Pyro character on the team such as Hu Tao, Bennett, or Yanfei can apply Vaporize damage while also applying additional damage control to enemies. The ideal team for Kazuha consists of Hu Tao as main-DPS, Xingqiu as sub-DPS, Kazuha as support, and a character like Sayu or Bennett on healing. However, the sheer amount of five-stars needed for this team can make it difficult for players to obtain.
A more accessible team for Kazuha includes Deaconess Barbara, Mondstadt Librarian Lisa, and Cavalry Captain Kaeya, with Kazuha taking on the role as either support or sub-DPS. Lisa's Elemental Burst and easy Electro application can enhance Kazuha's swirl damage while Barbara protects the team from the resulting damage from enemies. Kaeya can use his Elemental Skill and Burst to apply superconduct damage and decrease physical damage resistance. Barbara and Kaeya are already a strong duo due to their ability to apply permafreeze to Kazuha's burst if timed correctly, which is ideal for further crowd control.
Overall, Kazuha's support and sub-DPS builds are a highly accessible and robust composition that makes them the best possible build for him. Players can get creative with their sets to include their readily available weapons and artifacts. With easily attainable team compositions and free-to-play options, new and veteran players alike should find it easy to run Kazuha.