Kaedehara Kazuha is a 5-star Anemo support character in Genshin Impact who combines damage, crowd control, buffing, and debuffing into one character slot. Let’s take a look at what makes Kazuha such a powerhouse in Genshin teams and how he compares to Venti.
Why is Kazuha so good in Genshin Impact?
Kazuha is an Anemo character, meaning he can hold the powerful 4pc Viridescent Venerer artifact set, which reduces enemy RES to a Swirled element. Unlike other Anemo characters though, Kazuha also provides an elemental DMG buff when he Swirls an element. If you’re able to Swirl multiple elements at a time, Kazuha will buff all of them!
On top of making numbers bigger, Kazuha is easy to play. His crowd control ability with his Skill is centered on himself and doesn’t have weird targeting mechanics like Sucrose or Venti’s abilities. Kazuha’s pulling effect is less sustained, but he gives you more control over where your enemies end up.
Artifact sets for Kazuha in Genshin Impact
Kazuha build with 4pc Viridescent Venerer (4VV)
As an Anemo character, Kazuha defaults to the 4pc Viridescent Venerer set. When Kazuha triggers Swirl, this set decreases enemy RES to the Swirled element. Combined with the elemental DMG buff from his Ascension 4 passive, this set turns Kazuha into a potent buffer and debuffer. 4pc Viridescent Venerer is Kazuha’s best artifact set, and you should strive for a full 4VV set.
Interim builds for Kazuha with Elemental Mastery and Energy Recharge
While you’re working towards a 4pc Viridescent Venerer set, you can equip Kazuha with whatever artifacts you have on hand. Try to maximize his Elemental Mastery and Energy Recharge. Mixed sets should never be your endgame goal though; 4VV is just too good to pass up.
Artifact stats to prioritize for Kazuha
Sands | Goblet | Circlet |
Elemental Mastery Energy Recharge | Elemental Mastery | Elemental Mastery |
Kazuha requires about 190-200% Energy Recharge in most of his teams. You can reduce this number by having Kazuha or a teammate hold a Favonius weapon.
Aside from Energy Recharge, Kazuha only cares about Elemental Mastery. Prioritize reaching your Energy Recharge threshold, then build as much Elemental Mastery as possible.
CRIT builds on Kazuha are possible, but they end up making poor use of his elemental DMG buff, which scales with Elemental Mastery. A bit of CRIT Rate is nice if your Kazuha is holding Favonius Sword, but otherwise, I don’t recommend building CRIT on Kazuha.
Kazuha’s best weapons in Genshin Impact
Xiphos’ Moonlight
Xiphos’ Moonlight is my personal favorite weapon for Kazuha. It’s a 4-star Sword that sometimes appears on the featured weapon banner, not in the standard pool. Not only does it give Kazuha Elemental Mastery, it allows him to buff his whole team’s Energy Recharge based on his Elemental Mastery stat. While Freedom-Sworn is often stronger, Xiphos is my personal recommendation because of the sheer comfort of having more Energy Recharge for the entire team.
Freedom-Sworn
Freedom-Sworn is Kazuha’s signature 5-star Sword. It provides Kazuha with valuable Elemental Mastery and allows him to buff his teammates. It doesn’t help with Kazuha’s hefty Energy Recharge requirements though, so you may want to run an Energy Recharge sands when using this weapon.
Favonius Sword / Fleuve Cendre Ferryman / Sacrificial Sword
Favonius Sword, Fleuve Cendre Ferryman, and Sacrificial Sword are 4-star options that help with Kazuha’s Energy Recharge. Sacrificial Sword lets Kazuha cast his Skill twice, which extends his field time but increases his particle generation and crowd control abilities.
Toukabou Shigure / Iron Sting
Toukabou Shigure and Iron Sting are 4-star Swords that provide Kazuha with Elemental Mastery. Toukabou Shigure was an event weapon and is no longer obtainable if you missed out. Iron Sting can be crafted using a billet, and I don’t recommend refining it for use on Kazuha.
Is Kazuha better than Venti?
Kazuha and Venti are similar enough where you can usually substitute one for the other, but there are different situations where each excels. Kazuha often results in more damage, but Venti has a stronger crowd control effect.
Kazuha is better in reaction teams where he can Swirl and buff multiple elements (e.g. Childe-Xiangling Vaporize). Kazuha also enables mono-element teams where he can buff multiple teammates.
Venti is better in Freeze teams, particularly with Ganyu. His sustained pull is effective at grouping Frozen enemies, even large ones that aren’t typically susceptible to crowd control. Outside of Freeze, Venti trivializes any content that involves small, light enemies, sweeping them all up into a black hole of death.