Okay, first of all, I'm sorry for the delay. I really hope this analysis will still help someone, considering the poor timing.
Also, warning: Super long excel ahead.
Intro
Kazuha, the 5-star Anemo Samurai (who's apparently bard-y like Venti), is the first Inazuman character in Genshin Impact. He's released in Genshin Impact 1.6, just one version before the long-awaited 2.0 version.
The selling of this character is said to be low, which is a shame considering Kazuha has a high utility as a support. But, I mean, how can I blame the players? So many waifus are coming soon!
(I myself am not pulling for Kazuha because I want the Electro Archon.)
((Actually I did pull for Kazuha, but I got Diluc instead! Now I'm saving my 100%.))
(((Yes, Diluc is still level 1. Not even 20.)))
Conclusion (TL;DR)
Kazuha's Best Artifacts
Kazuha's Best Artifacts for DPS
Main stat: Atk/Phy/Crit
Artifact sets:
1. 4-Gladiator's Finale
2. 2-Bloodstained Chivalry + 2-Pale Flame
3. 4-Viridescent Venerer
Main stat: Atk/Anemo/Crit
Artifact sets:
1. 4-Viridescent Venerer
2. 2-Gladiator's Finale + 2-Viridescent Venerer
3. 2-Gladiator's Finale + 2-Wanderer's Troupe
4. 2-Viridescent Venerer + 2-Wanderer's Troupe
Kazuha's Best Artifacts for Sub-DPS
Using EM instead of Atk generally leads to lower damage output. However, putting EM on Kazuha means he'll provide a larger buff from his second passive.
Main stat: EM/EM/EM
Artifact sets:
1. 4-Viridescent Venerer
Main stat: Atk/Anemo/Crit
Artifact sets:
1. 2-Gladiator's Finale + 2-Viridescent Venerer
2. 2-Gladiator's Finale + 2-Wanderer's Troupe
3. 2-Viridescent Venerer + 2-Wanderer's Troupe
Kazuha's Best Artifacts for Support
Main stat: EM/EM/EM
Artifact sets:
1. 4-Viridescent Venerer
2. 2-Viridescent Venerer + 2-Wanderer's Troupe
3. 2-Gladiator's Finale + 2-Viridescent Venerer
4. 2-Gladiator's Finale + 2-Wanderer's Troupe
5. 2-Viridescent Venerer + 2-Noblesse Oblige
6. 4-Noblesse Oblige
Kazuha's Best Weapon
Kazuha's Best Weapon for DPS
1. Jade Cutter
2. Aquila Favonia
3. Summit Shaper (With Zhongli)
4. Freedom-Sworn Sword
5. Black Sword
6. The Flute
7. Skyward Blade
8. Blackcliff Longsword
9. Prototype Rancour
Kazuha's Best Weapon for Sub-DPS
1. Jade Cutter
2. Freedom-Sworn Sword
3. Summit Shaper (With Zhongli)
4. Skyward Blade
5. Aquila Favonia
6. Black Sword
7. Alley Flash
8. Iron Sting
9. Blackcliff Longsword
Kazuha's Best Weapon for Support
1. Skyward Blade
2. Freedom-Sworn Sword
3. Favonius Sword
4. Jade Cutter
5. Summit Shaper (With Zhongli)
6. Festering Desire
7. Iron Sting
8. The Flute
9. Alley Flash
Disclaimer
1. The calculations on Freedom Sworn are separated due to this peculiarity that will cause complications in the calculation.
2. The Swirl base damage I will use is (1445 x 0.6). The correct one is (1446.7 x 0.6), however, due to the small error in the EM formula, 1445 fits better than 1446.7
3. Crit build has slightly more advantage than EM build because of the "always crit" method. I will be running a "60% Crit" simulation (similar to the one on Venti analysis) as well. The result can be seen at the bottom of the post.
4. EM calculation is a little tricky because the more enemies are affected by the Swirl, then the more AOE damage the enemy will receive. If there are more than 2 enemies, EM build can out-damage Attack build.
Choosing the weapon
1. Jade Cutter
• Passive will be considered.
2. Freedom-Sworn Sword
• Passive will be considered in a different row.
3. Summit Shaper (With Zhongli)
• Passive will be considered in a different row.
4. Skyward Blade
• Passive will proc 20 times after every burst.
5. Aquila Favonia
• Passive will proc every 15 secs.
6. Black Sword
7. Alley Flash
• Passive is always active.
8. Iron Sting
• Passive is always active.
9. Blackcliff Longsword
• Passive will be considered in a different row.
10. Favonius Sword
• Passive is not considered.
11. The Flute
• Passive will proc every 4 seconds.
12. R5 Festering Desire
13. Prototype Rancour
• Passive is active at full-stack.
Choosing the artifact
Tested main stat:
1. Atk/Phy/Crit
2. Atk/Anemo/Crit
3. EM/Anemo/Crit
4. EM/EM/EM
Tested artifact sets;
1. 4-Viridescent Venerer
2. 2-Viridescent Venerer + 2-Wanderer's Troupe
3. 2-Instructor + 2-Wanderer's Troupe
4. 2-Gladiator's Finale + 2-Wanderer's Troupe
5. 2-Viridescent Venerer + 2-Noblesse Oblige
6. 4-Noblesse Oblige
7. 4-Gladiator's Finale
8. 2-Pale Flame + 2-Bloodstained Chivalry
Stat Overview
Simulation and assumptions
1. Kazuha is level 90, talents level 8, C0.
2. The enemy is two lv80 hilichurl, however, the damage output will only show the damage for one hilichurl.
• This is due to how swirl works:
Swirl damage is a small AOE, and if there are two enemies nearby, then the two enemies will be damaged by two swirls on every tick.
If there are three enemies, then the swirl will proc three times every tick, and so on.
3. The swirl will be assumed to be cryo/pyro/electro.
• Hydro swirl appears to be the least effective swirl for some reason, proccing much less than the other three elements.
4. Critical Rate will be simulated at 60%. All hits crit.
5. Triple EM build will not crit.
6. The swirl from his skill damage 4 times.
7. The DoT and elemental damage of his burst proc 5 times each.
8. The swirl from his burst proc 12 times.
9. Kazuha passive 1 and passive 2 will be considered.
Damage Overview
Note: Despite having enough critical rates, Jadecutter and Black Sword are calculated as not-critting. This will affect the result of the triple EM build in the simulation.
Simulation Result
Note:
Normal = (1-hit to 5-hit) / 3
Skill = (Plunge Anemo + High plunge + Press skill + (4 x Swirl) + Passive 1) / 6
Total = Normal + Skill + Burst + Passive
Skill + Burst = Skill + Burst + Passive
Sorted Result
I understand the numbers must've been overwhelming, so I sorted them for ease:
Top Weapon and artifacts
I also sort the top value of each artifact set and take the weapon's name.
Result explanation
For damage build, Atk still triumphs over EM. Therefore, if you’re going to play Kazuha for damage you should use Atk/Anemo/Crit or Atk/Physical/Crit.
But, for support build, obviously, triple EM is the way to go. Since triple EM will greatly amplify swirl damage, ER will help Kazuha deal higher damage. That is why Skyward Blade and Favonius Sword perform amazingly in triple EM build.
However, if you don’t care about Kazuha’s damage then you should use weapons that give EM like Freedom Sworn or Iron Sting.
60% Crit Simulation
Instructor Set for Kazuha
The most important thing about Instructor is the fact it does not have a 5-star version. Assuming you are using 4-Instructor with a 5-stars EM off-piece, they will lose 96 EM off the main stats. If you are using 2-Instructor on flower and feather, then they will lose up to 84 EM from the sub-stats.
These numbers alone can’t be properly covered by Instructor set bonus. Therefore, using 2-Instructor + 2-Wanderer is not a good idea. The 80 EM addition is barely worth the lost stat from Instructor's 4-star.
The difference is, although Kazuha will have less EM (which eventually leads to a lower Elemental Damage bonus), the rest of the team will gain 120 EM from 4-Instructor. If you are aiming for some Elemental Reaction fun, then this may be viable. But it's not recommended like 4-Viridescent Venerer.
Penny for your thoughts
What do you think about Kazuha?
Are you pulling for him? Why?
As usual, if you see any mistake, feel free to tell me! I'd appreciate the correction
